The official bored-at-work cryptic crossword pass it on thread.

speaking of, quite enjoyed this lightly themed guardian a few weeks ago.

Think there was a recent one in which that ilx poster was the answer. Maybe was Independent.

Sulky quality encountered downtown? (9)

also:

Soft piece, tiny piece (8)

Cross-fills are: _A_T_C_E, which should make the solution pretty obvious, but I'm still not understanding the why.

P = Soft (music)
Article = Piece (journalism)

Wow, my brain totally did not go in either of those directions!

"Soft" clueing P is a common-ish crossword practice so I was looking for it.

Not getting this one either:

Landlord is a drag after the first (5)

struggling with that one, have you got any letters?

O_N_R, which seems obvious too, but I'm not getting the cluing.

The other, sulky, one is P_T_L_N_E which again is very apparent, but the cluing is perplexing me.

a drag = "downer", all letters after the first = "owner"

petulance dunno why yet

oh i see, it's to do with Petula Clark.

HAHA xpost:

If it somehow has something to do with Petula Clark my head will explode.

feel like it should be annoying me that, but in fact it's just making me find 'Petula' a really weird name. petula petula petula.

haha don't stare at it too long. i feel like that clue is slightly iffy, can only assume it's positing "Petula-nce" as a joke coinage

yeah, it's iffy whimsy, jocular adjective from 'petula' i think.

Sounds gynecological to me now. petula majora.

what was the clue

Sulky quality encountered downtown? (9)

lazy tbh

Yeah, Petula-nce is really horrible.

RE: "Is a drag" = downer, I've discovered I really suck at having to first think of a word and then drop letters off. I had one over the weekend:

Transported unwrapped sketch (5). The answer was ROUGH, and even after I got it through process of elimination, I didn't understand why. (BROUGHT minus B & T.) Maybe I'll get better in time, but those are my least favorite.

they are often tough i think because the clue is less tight, i couldn't get near downer/owner until you'd given me the letters.

my light is green, perhaps, when my insect is perfect (5)

i clean cut in order to instruct (9)

inculcate

ya i know

but we needed a kickstart dont u think

smart minge? i'm not being clear, it's a mixup (10)

lol i shouldn't set clues when i'm tired

Stammering?

what about that insect

counting on you guys tbh it was a crosaire i couldnt finish

I thought "amber"

Trying to think of insecty words featuring the letters "I go" but can only think of "imago", which might work with "perfect", but, err. Anyone got any straws to clutch at?

(like the thought of "I'm-a go" but assume it's a bit too modern and American - tiptoe around the racial elephant - for the Irish Times)

no that's it i think

not American: "my light is green" = "I'm a go"

so not "I'm-a" but "a go" = can go

i think that is it, though i don't think they're aiming for "i'm-a go", but "i'm a go"

oh, xpost

i got 'i'm a go' but didn't bother looking up 'imago' lol lazy

ah, I suppose that works (file under things nobody I know says)

hooray etc

Been burned by IMAGO before.

Did anyone do that Mersey Beat themed Guardian a few weeks ago?

do the grauniad most days but don't recall that one.

i quite liked

"Seat of empire (7)"

Ottoman!

From Sunday's Everyman:

Special peers, triumvirate reforming economic policy (11)

Perestroika, nice

Lots of possible avenues of enquiry with the way the clue is set, but the solution makes perfect sense. Very satisfying!

SPOILERS!

Sorry koogs, I was unusually (by my standards) quick to answer your clue...

(i meant 'perestroika'. i had the ....s.r.i.a but...)

aha sorry!

so, how is your knowledge of oil terminals? i think i prefer the cricket clues...

Volume so staggering around large oil terminal (6,3)

obvious anagram, but the answer's a proper noun meaning that it could be anything.