QC 2879 by Jimmy

I like clues like this where the whole phrase is exactly equivalent. Not sure we have a name for it, where no wordplay is needed.

“Botheration” implies entry-level swearing as might be rendered by a Great Aunt doing a jigsaw. I think Jimmy chose the right point on the swearing scale with RATS.

Etymology of swearwords is difficult, but it looks to have gone “GoD rot”,  ‘Drot, Drat, Rat, Rats.

Charlie Brown (from Peanuts) often used it: Peanuts February 10, 1951

I tried MISERS first.

“Maverick” originates from the name of Samuel A. Maverick, a 19th-century Texas cattle owner who was known for not branding his cattle, which was unusual at the time. As a result, any unbranded cattle found roaming free were referred to as “mavericks”.

Sounds like “tour guide etymology” but it’s from the OED.

“Bit of a looker” is a clever definition, the retina is a component of the eye, which can be called a “looker”, in that it looks.

My first attempt was wild of the mark here, {g}ROWING.

Wenceslaus I, Duke of Bohemia (907-935) was never a King, and not that Good either. He was assassinated by by his younger brother, Boleslaus the Cruel (who should of course be pronounced cru-el).

The OED says that “Stable Lad” is used for Females as well? Seems unlikely, we no longer have Airman or Batsman. In film, can the Best Boy be female?

BRUT comes from the French word for “raw/rough” and was originally used to describe wines that were unrefined or natural. Over time, it came to be associated with dry sparkling wines, especially champagnes, that have little to no residual sugar.

Try=essay is a crossword staple, with the tricky slippage between a noun and a verb. “Try” is the older form, where “assay” is the more common form, as in coinage and hallmarks.

Hostelry (3) cues up PUB, INN, BAR and not much else. But I though it was an E missing, not an F, but with IMPLIES FOI I did not have to work through BARE, BEAR or (ahem) PUBE.

Not UR! And with the Initial P, Palmyra was my first choice.

Poor old Rishi, will “election loser” be his moniker forever?

The late Jimmy Carter was an election loser as well, but his recent biographies don’t mark him as such. In fact he was the “only US president to use the office as merely a stepping stone to greatness”.

This was tough as it looks like “topless” only applies to Americans. After giving up on Yanks, I thought it could be Iowans (or any other state).

Parrot or ape : they both come with negative connotations

parrot=imitate does come from the bird, which is supposed to be a good mimic, and now means to talk incessantly, inconsequentially, or repetitively.

ape=imitate comes from older usage, that an ape looks like a man. Ape comes with additional idea of to mimic slavishly but often with an absurd result.

Very succinct, and the “around” confused me by being part of the definition, not a placement indicator.

It was Clinton who actually attended Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar in 1968, where he studied for a B.Phil in Politics, but did not finish the programme.

For our younger solvers (as if), The Doors were a 1960s band featuring Jim Morrison. GK not needed but explains the capital D in the surface. Do I need to explain what a “track” is as well, or are we good?