I enjoyed this a lot. FOI was DESPOIL, then FAIR-AND-SQUARE, and then, from only the Q and the definition, I got SESQUIPEDALIAN, and was well on my way. The only frustrating LOGJAM occurred with my LOI, IMPLEMENT, which turned out to be a bit of a yawn. Though it seems to have taken me a week to fully parse 6D (I still found plenty to say ostensibly related to that clue).
I have touched below on a few matters political, but only in the most uncontroversial manner, I think. In regards to FRANKLIN, I might have gone on at length about the currently precarious existence of the United States Post Office, who exactly is threatening it, and why that is grossly unfair. You see how well I have controlled myself.
I do (sangrama)* like this, and italicize anagrinds in the clue.
ACROSS
| 1 | Falls on second base, oddly (4) |
| MOBS — MO (“second”) + the odd letters in BaSe. This was the first one I “got,” though I didn’t write it in for a while. | |
| 3 | He’ll represent people if he’s given a different case (10) |
| AMBASSADOR — H(is) E(xcellency) is how an ambassador may be referred to, with both letters upper-case, unlike “he” (or “He,” for that matter). I didn’t parse this until some time after writing it in. | |
| 9 | Don’t get me wrong number for criminal (2,7) |
| NO OFFENCE — NO = “number,” OF FENCE = “for criminal”; I wrote in NO OFFENSE, and at first had that here. Although it’s surely spelled with a C in the London paper, I didn’t know why either answer wouldn’t be acceptable, since that letter does not involve a checker. However, Jackkt set me straight about the second part of the clue. It had occurred to me that I didn’t know what “for” was for in the clue, but a more salient fact was that “criminal” is not clearly parallel to “offence.” I think what threw me was that “for” and OF didn’t seem equivalent to me; they still don’t. | |
| 11 | Spring edition (5) |
| ISSUE — Double Definition. | |
| 12 | At times school may be one good way into worker’s job (7,7) |
| POLLING STATION — POLLIN(G + ST)ATION. That’s a worker bee, of course. I will be voting in a couple weeks at a college around the corner. | |
| 14 | Stop to record jazz session (6) |
| LOGJAM — LOG (“record”) + JAM (“jazz session”) | |
| 15 | In truth, not entirely popular American politician (8) |
| FRANKLIN — FRANKL[-y] + IN. Benjamin F. has to be, actually, one of the most popular figures in American history—and probably the one who wore the most hats, comme on dit. Calling him a (mere) “politician” seemed a little off to me (if not insulting! ha), though he did at least once hold elected public office. He was a diplomat, a statesman (ambassador of good will to French womankind!), author, printer, scientist, inventor, visionary, political theorist, my country’s first postmaster general… An all-round mensch. | |
| 17 | Close your old houses down? (8) |
| THUNDERY — TH(UNDER)Y. This was the definition that seemed the most oblique to me. Oxford: Uncomfortably humid or airless. Collins, Cambridge and Chambers say essentially the same thing. Thunder doesn’t happen, though, until all that hot air collides with cooler air, and usually signals some relief from the oppressive conditions. I wonder what Benjamin Franklin would say about this. | |
| 19 | Losing vote, fakes cheers for party (6) |
| FIESTA — FI[-x]ES is “fakes,” minus X for “vote,” + TA, “cheers” | |
| 22 | Very long joke in an idealess novel (14) |
| SESQUIPEDALIAN — QUIP is the “joke,” inside (an idealess)*. A better definition is “multisyllabic”; etymologically, it means “a foot and a half long.” I think I first came across this word either in reference to or from the mouth of William F. Buckley Jr., founder of National Review and host of Firing Line, where every week he personified superciliousness, and quite literally, with that famous raised eyebrow. This may be the only new word I ever learned from him, though he was renowned for having (as his Wikipedia entry says) an “overpowering vocabulary.” I saw a Buckley word-a-day calendar once, and was unimpressed. National Review’s role on the right was comparable to The Nation’s on the left, but Buckley and our Victor Navasky joined forces in campaigns to keep mailing costs down for magazines and on other free-press issues. Buckley was also for marijuana legalization, after he sailed his yacht beyond the three-mile border of our national waters to try the herb for himself (of course, he would have been in possession while still ashore, so this was a rather empty gesture). | |
| 24 | A court case not quite enough for courts (5) |
| ATRIA — A + TRIA[-L] | |
| 25 | Agent put into operation (9) |
| IMPLEMENT — Double Definition, one a noun and the other a verb | |
| 26 | Physicist in the RAF worried about explosive (10) |
| FAHRENHEIT — (in the RAF)* with H(igh) E(xplosive) inside (I assumed it was a reference to helium, but, as Kevin points out, this is not an explosive in the chemical sense. It can be very dangerous, though, because it is typically stored in high-pressure cylinders—which can, indeed, explode). | |
| 27 | Composer’s boring book rejected (4) |
| BYRD — DRY + B(ook) <— That would be William, English composer of madrigals and organ music (1539/40 or 1543–1623). But the Byrd I’m most familiar with was another American politician, the longest-serving senator in US history (who had also been in the House of Representatives), Robert—from my home state of West Virginia. (Robin Byrd is interesting too.) |
|
DOWN |
|
| 1 | Crikey—I turned up late for work (10) |
| MANIPULATE — “Crikey” = MAN + I + PU<— + LATE, not much work! | |
| 2 | Merseyside town good for pirate (7) |
| BOOTLEG — BOOTLE + G. I guessed there was such a place. | |
| 4 | Control area beset by disease (6) |
| MANAGE — MAN(A)GE | |
| 5 | One fresh flower opening (8) |
| APERTURE — “One” = A + “fresh” = PERT + the river (flow-er) URE | |
| 6 | Sat around piano on one new game show on TV (8,5) |
| SPITTING IMAGE — S(P)ITTING + I (“one”) + (game)*. I couldn’t fathom how “Sat” might mean “sitting,” but, much to my amazement, if not consternation, I find that the two words are used equivalently in some dialects of English. Fellow from Yorkshire says, online, that he hears constructions like “I am sat” or “I am stood” in his neck of the woods and that it also occurs elsewhere. A French program very similar to the one named here, Les Guignols, which had run for twenty years, aired its last show this past June. In 2015 business magnate Vincent Bolloré, who did not appreciate being a frequent target of the Guignols’ mordant wit, bought the network that aired the show and first made it available to subscribers only, finally canceling it this year. | |
| 7 | Rifle shot polished husband off! (7) |
| DESPOIL — (polis[-h]ed)* | |
| 8 | Hum when tough vocabulary’s no good (4) |
| REEK — [-G]REEK | |
| 10 | Just a show—also boring (4-3-6) |
| FAIR-AND-SQUARE — FAIR is “a show,” AND is “also,” SQUARE is “boring” | |
| 13 | Made concrete and certain rocks (10) |
| INCARNATED — (and certain)* | |
| 16 | Rather weak swimmer grabs bar (8) |
| FRAILISH — F(RAIL)ISH. Hmm. I think of “rather” as an intensifier and FRAILISH as meaning “a little frail.” | |
| 18 | Find menu near the sandwiches (7) |
| UNEARTH — menu near the, “sandwiches” is the tip-off | |
| 20 | Sun’s welcome, getting extremely cold (7) |
| SHIVERY — S (“Sun”) + (apostrophe-s for “has,” ugh) HI (“welcome”) + (“getting”) VERY (“extremely”). Seems “S” is not “Son” this time, though that’s how I read it—and I wonder what it says in the paper. | |
| 21 | Indian city contains quiet sanctuary (6) |
| DELPHI — DEL(P)HI, where the oracle could be consulted | |
| 23 | Digs using hook (4) |
| GAFF — A week later, I almost had to look up the first meaning again: British for one’s pad, dig? “Using” is only for the surface. | |
I might have told myself the clue was referring to the number of a criminal’s offense, whatever that might mean. I did notice the grammatical discrepancy between ”criminal” and ”offence,” just didn’t come to grips with it!
LOI was DESPOIL; could not see what the clue was driving at until the end. I managed to construct Sesquipedalian but did worry about getting the consonants in the right squares; an unknown to me. Local knowledge helped with Bootle. And I have visited the Benjamin Franklin House in London several times; well worth a visit. It’s at 36 Craven Street, near Charing Cross. I used to work at 39 Craven Street. He was the polymath’s polymath.
Count me as another who could not parse Fiesta; also Ambassador.
I’m definitely improving but yesterday I stared at the puzzle on the way to Crewe-and back-and got about 10 clues. Perhaps I was put off by all the announcements -See it, Say it, Sorted etc.
David
I haven’t yet worked out whether the Franklin Mint, the home of collectables that you can’t avoid in the States is a compliment or insult to the great man’s memory.
Fine and expansive blog: worth the reading in its own right.
COD: BOOTLEG.
All in all it was a real, -e-s-p + m-s-u-.
I have been away for a week without access to wifi so I have a week’s worth of puzzles to catch up on. I wonder if this extra solving practice will help me next week. I doubt it.
So one of those words which you can justifiably use in the style of Humpty-Dumpty.
For those going to the championships next Saturday, I’ll be rather busy in the marking room, and rather likely to be at the usual pub afterwards.
Have to wait until I repatriate, which is proving to be less straightforward than expected after 45 years ex UK.
I finished the bottom half in 20 minutes, and then left it until later. Duly refreshed, I finished at 28:20
If we forgive the “late” part of 1D, this was a decent puzzle. FOI MOBS, leading to MANIPULATE, then THUNDERY, hence my gravitation to the lower area.
I thought UNEARTH was one of the best “hiddens” I’ve seen in a long time.
LOI DESPOIL
COD AMBASSADOR