Politics by Fresco

Puzzle explanation

Thematic answers were Animal Crackers, Duck Soup, Horse Feathers and Monkey Business, four Marx Brothers films. The diagonal “Marx Brothers” was to be highlighted. Extra letters in the wordplay to 29 clues spelt: “Je suis Marxiste, tendance Groucho”, a slogan seen during protests in France in May 1968. The clues involved are shown in the table below.

Clue explanations

Conventions: * = anagram, < = reversal

No Extra
letter		 Answer Explanation
Across
1 J CRARE JAR in CRE(w)
6   B-SIDES B + S + IDES
10   FEATHERS FEAT + HERS
12   ANIMAL Animal Crackers; see 1dn
13 E BEL BEEL(ine)
14   SOUP UP after SO
15   DAPHNIA HAD A NIP*; the editors apologise for their ignorance of the fact that, although a flea is an insect, a water flea — the definition used in Chambers — is a crustacean
16 S KOTOW KOTO + ’S + W
18 U IAMB I(njured) + U(nusually) + A + MB
20 I EMERY POWDER I’M in EERY + POWER about D
22   ENTEROCELES E + LOSE CENTRE*
25 S SUSS SS + (S + S) about U
28 M MAHDI MA + H(ated) + DIM
30 A KLAXONS A + K + LAX + ON + S
31 R IDOL RID + O + L
34   ORD WORD – W; “it” (the answer) is a word
35 X TOURIE OUR in EXIT <
36 I TAIVERED (AVERTED + I + I)*
37   MONKEY Monkey Business; see 19dn
38 S AKEES SAKE + (z)ES(t)
Down
1   CRACKERS CRACK + ERSE – E
2 T RANSOME TRANSOM + E
3 E ARIOT EAT about RIO
4   RIMU RIM + U
5 T HELD UP HELD + TUP
6 E BABACO BABA + CO + E(xpand)
7 N STEPT (SPENT + T)*
8 D DEENA DEED + N(ot) + A(pplauded)
9 A ERF FARE*
11 N SKA N + S + KA
17 C ORTS (COST + R)*
18 E IDEA (I + A) about DEE
19   BUSINESS SUB < + IN + ESS
21 G REDLINE REDE about LING
23 R RUN DRY RUN + RD + RY
24 O OYSTER STORE* about YO
26 U SARIN SIN about (AU + R(obbery))
27 C BOREE BEE about ORC
29   HORSE Horse Feathers; see 10ac
30 H KAT HK + À + T
32   DUCK Duck Soup; see 14ac
33 O TAO A in TOO
Back to 2008 menu