The title here is one of my favourite clues for the answer to 6a/7, with thanks to Nestor, its originator. I think I will give Cyclops’s clue for the same answer my vote for clue of the fortnight in this puzzle, too.
Writing this blog, I seem to have described a lot of anagrams, but no hidden answers for a change.
| Across | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 6/7 | CITIZENS ARREST | Nick, as an ordinary member of the public, to perform one big table surprise for Tony To perform a citizen’s arrest is to nick someone as an ordinary member of the public; one Twiggy Garcia attempted to perform one on Tony Blair as he was eating in a restaurant in Shoreditch. |
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| 10 | BATHE | Boris, affronted, starts article “Clean up!” BA = first letters of ‘Boris, affronted’; THE = article |
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| 11 | SHRIVEL UP | Push liver out and lose erection rapidly? *(Push liver) |
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| 12 | APOSTLE | Maybe Andrew’s pole is covered with piss POST = pole; in ALE = piss. Andrew the Apostle |
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| 13 | VULTURE | Preying type bent TV rule to ensnare underaged primarily *(TV rule u) Vultures |
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| 15/19 | TOY BOY | Blair loses direction turning back ’oaf’ — his partner is maturer TO[n]Y [Blair]; YOB = oaf, reversed |
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| 16 | SO WHAT | Broadcast by Panama? I don’t give a toss SOW = broadcast; HAT = Panama (example) |
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| 21 | PARASOL | Part of an article by the Sun that would make you a shady person? PARA = short for ‘paragraph’; SOL = Sun |
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| 23 | ENDORSE | The ’ack that was last to show support for political candidate? END ’ORSE |
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| 25 | EPHEMERAL | “Here today, gone tomorrow MP,” he provoked with a leer *(MP he a leer), with ‘provoked’ as the anagram indicator |
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| 27 | HOARD | Reserve went on the game broadcast Sounds like (‘broadcast’) “whored” |
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| 28 | ON SHOW | Participating in TV programme about who’s getting screwed? ON = about; *(whos), with ‘getting screwed’ as the anagram indicator |
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| 29 | SWINDLER | Liberal Les full of gas, right scam artist WIND = gas; in *(Les); R = right |
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| Down | |||
| 1 | STATE OF WAR | Two Far East manoeuvres into which Bush and Blair took us *(Two Far East) |
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| 2 | IZVESTIA | Russian paper tie, as Viz translated *(tie as Viz) Izvestia |
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| 3 | KNESSET | Assembly: Ken’s out — “Fix!” *(Kens); SET = fix The Israeli parliament |
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| 4 | GROVEL | Government minister embraces Right then Left, as a brown-noser would GOVE = the unspeakable Secretary of State for Education; containing R then L |
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| 6 | COBRA | It’s been overwhelmed by rising levels of cocaine ring supporters, combined C = cocaine; O = ring; BRA = supporters, combined The Cabinet Office Briefing Room emergency committee has been overwhelmed by the flooding situation, including that affecting the Somerset Levels. |
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| 8 | TOPLESS | Two tits on show don’t peak as often? Double definition, of sorts — topless; top less [often] |
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| 9/5 | PRIVY SEAL | By which a monarch approved of lavatory water creature PRIVY = lavatory; SEAL = water creature Privy Seal |
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| 14 | UNWORKABLE | Powerless to embrace Labour — simply won’t run WORK = labour; in UNABLE = powerless |
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| 16 | SUPREMO | Euro MPs abandoned the one with the most power *(Euro MPs), with ‘abandoned’ as the anagram indicator |
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| 18 | REDSHANK | Estuary resident: she drank, screwed … *(she drank), with ‘screwed’ as the anagram indicator Redshank |
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| 19 | BLARE | Blast the ex-PM we’re told Sounds like (‘we’re told’) “Blair” |
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| 20 | YELLOWY | Canary-like ejaculation that hurt lady’s bottom YELL = ejaculation; OW = “that hurt!”; Y = lady’s bottom |
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| 22 | SYMBOL | Well up, being wrapped in kinky slob’s flag MY = “Well!”, reversed; in *(slob) |
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| 24 | ELDER | Senior “$1000 off” castration practitioner [g]ELDER |
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| 26/17 | HASH BROWNS |
A right mess, Gordon’s? Dish HASH = a right mess. BROWNS = reference to former PM Gordon Brown. A dish of re-cooked potatoes, diced or mashed, mixed with chopped onion, seasoned, and fried until brown. just |
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just
just
Here are some intellectual jokes for you (I particularly like number 14):
Intellectual jokes
… and another amusing link:
Unfortunate publishing layouts
You must have typoed in compiling the answers, which is why your reasoning’s off: 26/17 is HASH BROWNS, which explains the “Gordon’s”.
Thanks, Frederic. The perils of completing a blog in haste!
I do feel a little silly here but I still don’t get the answer for 23A.
How does ‘ack = ‘orse?
Though most often used for the activity of riding a horse, HACK can refer to the horse itself:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hack_(horse)
and if you’re a true-bred cockerney Hersham Boy like me you don’t bother pronouncing those silly Hs.
’Ersham Boy, surely?
Ah, thanks.
After growing up in East London I’ve never heard of a horse referred to as a hack. We always called ’em nags raand aa way (E Stam, Newm).
Chambers gives:
‘a horse (or formerly, and still in the USA, a vehicle) kept for hire, esp one in a sorry condition; an ordinary riding horse; a ride on horseback; any person overworked on hire; a literary or journalistic drudge’
In the equestrian circles where I come from (in which I did not personally move, but my sister did), the ‘general purpose riding horse’ sense was the understood meaning. And people talked about a hacking jacket as one they wore for riding when not out hunting (to hounds).
But where in the world is “whored” pronounced like “hoard”?
The perils of ‘homophones’! But I pronounce them more or less the same. How would you pronounce them differently?
In my head: similar:{horde,hoard,bawd} similar:{sawed,bored,whored}
I’m moderately happy with a bit of semantic looseness, especially when there’s a rewarding word-play discovery when you get it. But non-close ‘homophones’ I do find difficult, and not really rewarding. I think this one I’d be tempted to clue as “nearly broadcast”.
And on the other side of the coin … (as seen in a recent newsgroup posting)
>My wife, on hols in Ireland as a youngster, asked for “three thrupenny”
>stamps. The nice An Post lady looked baffled, then said “Ah, you mean
>tree treepennies”.