I really should not refer to Liz Truss as a nerd. It gives us nerds a bad name.
Solving started oddly because my eyes were drawn to the Trumpian all-caps treatment of the clue for 16A and slapped it in with great alacrity.
16D followed and the bottom right hand corner and subsequently most of the bottom half was complete. The phrase at 1/6 eluded me so I had scant answers in the top half before finding I had tried all the clues – what I call the end of the first pass. I picked away at the remaining unsolved lights till the last possible available crossing letter for 1/6 was given when I got 5D and the middle word became obvious.
| Across | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1/6 | DRILL BABY DRILL | As Trump aims to do in Venezuela? Infantile creature into one military exercise after another (5,4,5) BABY (infantile creature) between DRILL (military exercise) and DRILL (ditto) Last one in. Will he drill? Who’s he going to get to do it? The US oil companies seem reluctant. I guess they know it will come back to bite them. |
| 9 | KANSAS | State requires 1001 undercover soldiers (6) K (1000) AN (1) SAS (undercover soldiers) “There’s no place like home” |
| 10 | LITIGATE | Fired, one needs access to take legal action (8) LIT (fired) I (one) GATE (access) Yes you do |
| 12 | PASTILLE | Lozenge from Dicky, covered by Pulp (8) ILL (dicky) inside PASTE (pulp) Pulp play mostly original material, but they probably do a few good covers too. |
| 13/20 | NETHER REGIONS | Genitals? Hell! (6,7) Double Def. Both jokingly – maybe not – maybe some things best not joked about – Nah. |
| 14 | OUTSIDER | Tories all but due for a transformation – Liz Truss’s role? (8) (TORIES + DU[e])* AInd: for a transformation. In hindsight, it really does seem astonishing that Liz T was ever PM, even for as long as 49 days. |
| 16 | GALL | “GREENLAND’S FIRST THEN THE WHOLE SHEBANG – IT’S GROWTH!” (4) G[REENLAND] ALL (THE WHOLE SHEBANG) First read and first one in. Surface reading enhanced by the use of all-caps so beloved by you-know-who. |
| 18 | ARCH | Saucy underwear Charles conceals (4) Hidden in underweAR CHarles We must all stay very quite on this subject |
| 19 | DARTMOOR | Can act increasingly like a tear-arse, by the sound of it (8) Homophone “Dart More” HM Prison Dartmoor is “temporarily” closed due to radon levels 14 times permitted limit. |
| 22 | AVENUE | Approach Madonna’s rear spot (6) [Madonn]A VENUE (spot). I’m not sure a road called an “Approach” is equivalent to an “Avenue”. An “Avenue” usually joins to other directions at each end, while an “Approach” is a cul-de-sac servicing e.g. a station or works. |
| 24 | GIGANTIC | Massive show against Conservative leader (8) GIG (show) ANTI (against) C[onservative] Some gigs are massive these days |
| 26 | ESPRESSO | Drugs taken by hacks – nothing on drink (8) ES (Drugs) PRESS (hacks) O (nothing) I thought hacks survived on strong coffee |
| 27 | AUGUST | Dignified, USA? Gut-wrenching! (6) (USA GUT)* AInd: wrenching. Not much dignified in USA these days |
| 28 | MY EYE | Organ on right side of Cyclops’s balls (2,3) EYE (Organ) after MY (Cyclops’s) One mild profanity for another |
| 29 | ESSENTIAL | Key Republicans’ focus after senate is corrupted (9) (SENATE IS)* AInd: corrupted, then L (from [repub]L[icans]) See comment two above |
| Down | ||
| 2 | REAGAN | In here a gangster president is revealed (6) Hidden in heRE A GANgster Ah simpler times |
| 3 | LOSE TOUCH | Get behind with the news of Miss T? That’s painful (4,5) LOSE (Miss) T then OUCH (That’s painful) Not Liz Truss again – why is she still hanging around? |
| 4 | BASIL | Herb: “Is blocking Keir’s lot on the up?” (5) IS inside LAB (Keir’s lot) all reversed (on the up) Up and over the way things are looking now. |
| 5 | BELLEND | Contemptible type of charmer introduces new date (7) BELLE (charmer) N[ew] D[ate] Is this a reference to Jeffrey Epstein, or Ghislaine Maxwell? |
| 7 | RIGHT | Clever to go topless, being fit (5) [b]RIGHT (clever, topless) If you keep telling them it’s clever Cyclops, I’ll support you |
| 8 | LATTERLY | Drink, right, taken by gutless Lammy in recent times? (8) LATTE (drink) R[ight] L[amm]Y Does the Rt. Hon. David “two jobs” Lammy like a drink? (I genuinely don’t know) |
| 11 | TANTRUM | Temper hit the president on ditching Pence (7) TAN (hit) TRUM[p] (president, -P[ence]) Continuous “temper” |
| 15 | SADNESS | Danes forced to be crushed by a totalitarian force – tragedy (7) (DANES)* AInd: forced, inside (crushed by) SS (totalitarian force) History lesson |
| 16 | GOODNIGHT | Hot dog, gin cocktail and it’s bed for me (9) (HOT DOG GIN)* AInd: cocktail. Sounds like a plan |
| 17 | TRAVESTY | An undergarment caught in crack leads to mockery (8) A VEST (an undergarment) inside TRY (crack, i.e. attempt) Excellent surface reading – a one sentence story |
| 21 | FIESTA | Able to swallow drugs at a party in Ibiza? (6) ES (drugs) inside FIT (able), A Reference to Ibiza to give it a Spanish feel |
| 23 | NERDY | Deny bust overlaps top of robe, being geekish (5) (DENY)* AInd: bust, over R[obe] Us men have much worse problems with our dressing gowns |
| 25 | GRAVE | Sombre end of ruling party (5) [rulin]G RAVE (party) Isn’t it always at the end. |
A lorry containing 100,000 bottles of Vicks Vapor rub overturned on the motorway.
There was no congestion.
Thanks for the blog , I think approach=AVENUE when referring to a country house for example . Very enjoyable puzzle , sound clues even with all the usual references .
For 3 down I had LOSE TRACK instead of LOSE TOUCH, until I got 18a. Parses perfectly, but that’s even more painful.
Thanks for the blog beermagnet, and Cyclops for the puzzle. Several clues raised a smile with me, not least 5d and 9a. I hadnt heard the word in 9a used in that way before and had to look it up. How would Ms Truss fare in a ‘Worst Ever’ list of PMs I wonder? There are a few others well up there with her, and don’t even mention that 5d in the White House 🙄.
My thanks to Cyclops and beermagnet.
I got a bit stuck until 1a Drill baby drill came to me.
I had a problem with 29a Essential as I couldn’t see the L, so thanks beermagnet.
Thanks, beermagnet and Cyclops. I found this quite tough but got there in the end. The same happened to me as with Michael John@ 3 for 3 d.
For 22a across, I took it as in the usage of, say, a politician, official, or police commenting on a situation and saying they are “exploring every avenue” to resolve an issue. I think in that sense, Avenue = Approach.
Lots of great clues, 24a I marked as a favourite.
I was another LOSE TRACK until others clashed.
Nice stuff all round, thanks.
All my eye and Betty Martin.