QC 2867 by Hurley

Seems an odd anagram indicator, something that is crude is not jumbled up in anyway that I can see. But I’ve long given up on justifying anagram indicators, after the first 500.

Tough to parse, I thought it was something to do with Milksop.

I had GEE, so was looking for an AGEEN. I’m not sure that COR=surprised, more a snort of approval, as in the classic headline “Cor! What a Scorcher”, for a couple of hot days in July.

Repast is the kind of word that is now only used ironically. Often by the kind of people who say Methinks.

Antis (a word that looks flat out wring in its plural) was originally an opponent of federalism in the early years of American independence.

Their UK equivalents, the antidisestablishmentarianists didn’t see the need for a short version.

Two hiddens today.

Sarong is part of formal dress for Malay men, like the Kilt for the Scots. But they wear a form of trousers underneath, which would look very odd in Scotland, if somewhat more practical.

Golf usage goes back 150 years, when golf balls were still made by stuffing feathers into a leather sack or by molding latex from gutta-percha.

Also, LIE is being incorrectly replaced by LAY, look out for “LIE of the land”.

Brave as a verb, as in “brave the elements”. I think the clue works much better without that “,wild” on the end. It’s not needed to further define party, and really messes up what would have been a great surface.

“Cop” and “Nick” are both slang for getting caught by the police, although “cop” seems pretty dated now. You might say that you got “copped for speeding” or “nicked for speeding”.

Great surface with that “for” slipping in there unnoticed.

Man, I hate typing all those curly brackets.

Pet peeve is using “on a regular basis” for “regularly” and “on a daily basis” for “daily. The phrase “Live Simply, Act Wisely, Love boldly” will soon become “Live on a simple basis, act on a wise basis, love on a bold basis”

It’s the Periodic Table of Elements, so in a backwards sense the ELEMENTS feature on it periodically. Still doesn’t quite work for me, though.

February 7th is celebrated as Periodic Table Day, mark it in your new 2025 Diary now, right after “Pheasant shooting season ends”.

I like puzzles that start of with a 1A/1D on the easy side, especially on Christmas Eve when there’s a lot to do. But this portcullis grid means that 1A/1D down don’t provide the gift of any initial letters.

I found out that the first belt given as a prize for boxing was presented in 1810 by King George III to bare-knuckle boxer Tom Cribb. Though why the king gave him this is not clear; was he worried about his shorts slipping down?

Amusements are diversions, but the use of the verb divert=amuse is quite obscure these days.

Rather pleasingly the word comes from the Spanish as well.

“Leading Couples”. I device I’ve not seen before, simple and allows the creation of smooth surfaces

I tried to get Amiable to fit, but on reflection they are subtly different: AMIABLE describes a person’s character, while AMICABLE describes the nature of interactions or relationships

Wow, Cable TV. We’ve never called it that in the UK, but interesting fact: when the infant BBC Television service was started in 1936, Rediffusion started providing “Pipe TV” to its customers who had difficulties tuning into the weak television broadcast signal.

The day before November is Halloween, but that’s a dead end.

SET=group, and C=about was how I first parsed this.

Surprisingly the BROW on the face is hundreds of years older than the metaphorical Brow of a hill. I’d have guessed the metaphor running the other way.

Robert Peel, British prime minister (1834–35, 1841–46) and founder of the “boys in blue”— the  Conservative Party and the Metropolitan Police.