This was a three-ring circus of delights, even including elephants. But seriously, folks, elephants are gradually achieving liberation from their long servitude to the spectacle. Perhaps we can still manage to save these magnificent creatures, endangered now worldwide (in my Inbox just this morning is the newletter of Philosophie magazine, headlined En défense des éléphants). There are certainly other ways in which they could earn their keep. Check out the Thai Elephant Orchestra, cofounded by my acquaintance the neuroscientist and musician David Sulzer/Soldier. Some of them even paint!
I indicate (ragas, man!)* like this, and italicize anagrinds in the clues.
| ACROSS | |
| 1 | Volume of moans gently audible (4) |
| SIZE — “sighs” | |
| 4 |
Joke made by working class about Labour’s leader (10) …something to do with a ham sandwich? |
| PLEASANTRY — P(L)EASANTRY | |
| 9 | One shifting around ice as fish start to rot (6) |
| SKATER — SKATE, “fish” + R[-ot] The definition for “shift” that fits the surface best is the British slang usage I found in Collins: “to move quickly.” | |
| 10 | Reserved band after soldiers backed it (8) |
| RETIRING — RE (Royal Engineers), “soldiers” + IT<=“backed” before RING, “band” | |
| 11 | Departs from Eilat, maybe in the late PM (8) |
| DISRAELI — D(eparta) + ISRAELI, “from Eilat, maybe” First heard of this bloke from the title of the Cream album Disraeli Gears. (I didn’t get the pun. Having gotten it, its significance eludes me. Which is cool.) | |
| 12 | A case of rare wine bottles brought up (6) |
| REARED — RE(A)(R[-ar]E)D | |
| 13 | It’s some cheek saying America trails EU in surpluses (7,7) |
| GLUTEUS MAXIMUS — GLUT(EU)S coming before MAXIM, “saying” + US, “America”… The term has been proposed as the “Roman emperor name” of a certain recent US president. | |
| 16 | Useless stuff repaired with a teen’s help (5,9) |
| WHITE ELEPHANTS — (with a teen’s help)* Poessession of such an animal has traditionally been held to have great symbolic importance by your typical Southeast Asian monarch… who has an army of servants and vast financial reserves to assure that the enormous (and sensitive) creature is fed, well and happy. Sometimes the potentate will, as a sign of his highest favor, bestow such a precious pachyderm on a worthy subject—who will have to provide for the beast’s maintenance out of his own meager resources. “Geez, thanks, Yer Highness…” Nowadays people may try to get some value out of worthless things they have lying around by participating in “white elephant sales”—one person’s garbage is sometimes another’s treasure. | |
| 20 | Meeting places of old men having a chat outside (6) |
| AGORAS — A G(OR)AS | |
| 22 | Sceptical or acting so anyhow (8) |
| AGNOSTIC — (acting so)* | |
| 24 | Bloke swamped by too much huge furniture (8) |
| OTTOMANS — OTT (over the top), “too much” + OS, “oversize” with MAN sunk inside | |
| 25 | Oath I for one said out loud (6) |
| AVOWAL — “a vowel” | |
| 26 | Religious believers curtailed underwear thefts (10) |
| PANTHEISTS — PANT[-y] + HEISTS, “thefts” | |
| 27 | Real turnaround for the boxing clubs (4) |
| ECHT — TH(C)E<=turned around | |
| DOWN | |
| 2 | Making a connection after dropping large hint (7) |
| INKLING — LINKING with the L(arge) moved | |
| 3 | Lacking capital, one paying for room and board (5) |
| ENTER — [-r]ENTER | |
| 4 | Plough on a grave (9) |
| PERSEVERE — PER, “a” + SEVERE, “grave” | |
| 5 | Some insects are ruinous to rugs (7) |
| EARWIGS — (are)* + WIGS, “rugs” | |
| 6 | One’s lifted to accompany raga primarily (5) |
| SITAR — IS<=“lifted” + T[-o] A[-ccompany] R[-aga]… &lit! | |
| 7 | Telling people a bishop is visiting (9) |
| NARRATION — N(A RR)ATION, “bishop” being Right Reverend | |
| 8 | Poem don sent in about a university (7) |
| RONDEAU — RE, “about” with (don)* inserted + A + U(niversity)… That’s “sent” in the sense of “excited” for the anagrind. | |
| 14 | Make the speech that’s longest and greatest (9) |
| UTTERMOST — UTTER MOST, say no more | |
| 15 | Articles name Scotsmen as foreign capitalists? (9) |
| ATHENIANS — A THE, “articles” + N(ame) + IANS, “Scotsmen” | |
| 17 | Meal that’s bad to eat unfortunately (4,3) |
| HIGH TEA — HIGH, “bad” meaning rotting + (eat)* | |
| 18 | Slips by left-winger in England failures (7) |
| ELAPSES — E[-ngland] + LAPSES, “failures” | |
| 19 | Small measure of salt coating a vegetable (7) |
| SPINACH — S(mall) + PIN(A)CH | |
| 21 | Wine bar hides Barolo at the back (5) |
| SOAVE — S(O)AVE, “bar” as in “except” | |
| 23 | Ways to leave clothes item worn by clergy (5) |
| STOLE — Hidden. Also, of course, a woman’s long scarf or shawl. Once, in the early 1980s, I was standing in line in a soup kitchen in Philadelphia with squatter comrades, and when my turn came to be served, the priest remarked that he had thought that I (of the long flowing locks) was a woman. I was indeed flattered, but I couldn’t resist replying, “You’re the one wearing the dress.” | |
Edited at 2021-09-12 12:14 am (UTC)
Edited at 2021-09-12 12:18 am (UTC)
One of the very last flights operated by the American cargo airline I had worked for, before it went out of business in December 2013, was to carry an elephant from Auckland to L.A. The zoo in NZ had had to close but fortunately, a new home was found for the elephant.
My co-CODs to GLUTEUS MAXIMUS and INKLING.
Edited at 2021-09-12 06:44 am (UTC)
Edited at 2021-09-12 06:35 am (UTC)
FOI SKATER
LOI REARED (industrial language was uttered)
COD GLUTEUS MAXIMUS (mine frequently aches)
TIME 16:03 (without that typo around 13-14 minutes)
I kept going because it was enjoyable and, with time to concentrate, not too difficult.
David
Edited at 2021-09-12 04:12 pm (UTC)
Had to think of former Labour leader Edward Miliband when I read the clue for PLEASANTRY. I knew Eddie when he was an intern with my employer, The Nation, in ‘90 or ‘91…
Edited at 2021-09-12 10:51 pm (UTC)