“How did the constipated mathematician deal with his problem?”
“He worked it out with a pencil”!
If you haven’t heard this one before, you probably haven’t heard the follow-up either:
“It was a Number 2…”
Other than it being very funny, I include this as it relates to the only clue in this otherwise steady grid that I can’t parse. I’ll see what you lot can make of it in the comments!
Otherwise this was an enjoyable set of clues with some lovely surfaces and one beautiful misdirection (“Does”).
Thanks to Henri for the grid.
Definitions are underlined
ACROSS
Association cut short [CLUB] Seles playing [anag SELES = ELESS]
Does [DEER] travelling westwards [backwards] appeal [IT]
Double definition
Set out (twice) [anag SET x 2] covering [around] California [CA]
French article [LE] by avant-garde [anag of] theatre director [D]
Woman mostly [LADY] eating [around] duck [O]
Union commitment [“I DO”], lecturer [L] is [IS] principally exonerated [first letter = E]
Investigation [PROBE] encompassing [around] Luxembourg [L] millions [M]
Thus [SO], an honour [MBE] to welcome [around] queen [R]? Ultimately [last letters of] rather old [R O]
Translator [TR], each [A GO] second-rate [B], rejected [backwards]
Song [AIR] withdrawn [backwards] about American [US] south [S]
Anag [“up”] SAIL HUNG
DOWN
Essentially [middle letters of] coOLer breakDAncing subGEnre
Hidden word [“contribution from”] someoNE ON A TALkshow
Elite force [SAS] surrounding Rhone complex [anag RHONE]
Briefly to [TO] places [SETS] supported by El Salvador [ES]
Setter [I] gets up [RISE] on day [D]
Broadcasts [AIRS] speed [PACE]
The Parisian [DU] maestro will go touring, you decide finally [last letters of = O L O G U E]
Anag [“harry”] EATS BRAN
Blessed perhaps [BRIAN], having got rid of a [=BRIN] swelling [OUT]
My [COR] jar [OLLA]
King [K] & I [I] book half-finished [BOOK], such vacuous [SUCH]
Anag [“melting”] ICECAP
Bob [S] Ferguson [SARAH] possibly turning up [backwards]
Regarding 20a/22a/6d — “Laughable conclusion to educational health claim that’s going around?”
(stare at the grid for a moment…)
(oh, and an image of the completed grid may help other readers on this 😁)
I hadn’t done the puzzle, but reading Leedsclimber’s introduction and looking at the initial letters of 8a and 1-7d gave me an idea … then I scrolled down and saw #1 above.
I almost never see a Nina, which is a shame today, as it’s quite funny. I enjoyed the rest, too. Slight typo in the blog, I think. The swelling in BRING OUT is GOUT.
Well there I was expecting a lovely rainbow theme. But a funny nina nonetheless. TEST CASE, LETTERHEAD, LOAD, DUOLOGUE and KIBOSH were all particularly good. My favourite was the subtly hidden NEONATAL. BOGART was pretty tricky (each = A GO seemed tough to me, anyway!). Merci Henri and Leedsclimber
Helped a bit by the subheading but glad that I backparsed it and spotted the Nina.
Thought the hiddens OLD AGE and NEONATAL were really smooth in this one.
Thanks Henri and Leedsclimber