Alan Connor finds poker jargon and rose-coloured blooms in his pick of the best cryptic clues
If you haven’t solved Tramp’s puzzle from last Thursday’s Guardian, you will not regret some pausing, spoiler-avoiding, and returning here once your grid is filled.
8ac One squeezed by awful mansion tax: Myleene ultimately probes (12)
[ Roman numeral for “one” inside anag. of “mansion tax” and the last letter (“ultimately”) of “Myleene” ]
[ I inside anag. of MANSIONTAXE ]
Here’s why our NHS needs a mansion tax. It’s Pure and Simple. http://t.co/ol6eRj5aAW
27ac English politician: tax houses uproar (7)
[ abbrev. for “English” + abbrev. for “politician” housed by synonym for “test”]
[ E+MP inside TEST ]
14ac/28ac/21ac/4d Silly Myleene Klass thrived — financial red herring? How it stinks(The 27) (1,4,7,3,4-4,5)
[ anagram of “Myleene Klass thrived financial” ]
16d Kept one’s cards close to be just good enough for raised stakes (5,3)
[ synonym for “close”, “staked” by “raised” synonym for “to be just good enough for” ]
[ STOP AT containing reverse of DO ]
(a) In Poker, to play, or declare one’s intention of playing, one’s hand just as it has been dealt, without drawing other cards.
(b) transf. To adhere to an existing state of things or to an avowed policy (esp. a high tariff), refusing to consider proposals for change or reform.
But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions – that time has surely passed.
24ac Therefore a colour for a rose is rose? (6)
[ synonym for ‘Therefore’ + A + a colour ]
[ SO + A RED ]