Some cabinet members have names that offer little to the crossword setter: I’m thinking of Liz Kendall, with her paucity of vowels, her surfeit of Ls and that nice-in-Scrabble nasty-to-clue duo K and Z. Others have decent letters but fail the “Can you expect the solver to have noticed them?” test: the letters in the name Steve Reed offer EVEREST and the surname of the chancellor but the environment secretary himself remains less than ubiquitous.
Perhaps Wes Streeting will prompt a setter to answer the subliminal question “how do you street?”; in the meantime, some ministers have had cameos and some are nearly celebrities of crosswording.
In the cameo category we have the foreign secretary in Pasquale’s clue …
1a Sweaty Conservative confronting Labour politician (6)
[ wordplay: abbrev. for ‘Conservative’ next to (‘confronting’) surname of Labour politician ]
[ C + LAMMY ]
[ definition: sweaty ]
… for CLAMMY and the deputy PM in Tramp’s clue …
8d/23d Change it: MP Angela Rayner at one working on private bills (13,5)
[ wordplay: anagram (‘change’) of IT MP ANGELA RAYNER AT ]
[ definition: one working on private bills ]
… for PARLIAMENTARY AGENT – and if it’s the home secretary you’re after, you can find her along with sundry surnamesakes (a word I just made up but you know full well what it means so I hope it catches on) in a Cooper-packed themed puzzle from Pasquale.
The emerging star is the chancellor – not because a REEVE is a sandpiper, something you can do with a rope and a teller of a Canterbury Tale but because she has cut through and has excellent letters, as used in a clue in Paul’s recent election-day politics-themed puzzle …
13a Needing regeneration, Reeves leading the way – it’s most brutal (8)
[ wordplay: anagram (‘needing regeneration’) of REEVES before (‘leading’) abbrev. of ‘street’ (‘the way’) ]
[ SEVERE + ST ]
[ definition: most brutal ]
… for SEVEREST. Of course, if I’ve missed a clutch of witty Steve McFadden clues, do let us know.
PS in our cluing conference for VANCE, the audacity award goes to runner-up Schroduck for “Divan certainly entertains him”; the other runner-up is Harlobarlo’s stark “New vegan eating head of cabbage for good number two?” and the winner is the devious “2 to the power of 47?”. Kludos to Playitagainstu; please leave entries for WHIPS below for along with any favourite clues or puzzles you’ve spotted.
