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

With a clue like that the thing to do is focus on the definition. It can only be 'shabby' or 'bridle path'. A little research might have led you to Rotten Row, which you then have to retrofit around the other stuff.

For what it's worth I'd say Frankie Dettori is perhaps the most famous jockey in the UK and probably the only one that a lot of people (i.e. non horse racing fans) could name (myself included). The only other contender I can think of might be Lester Piggott. I'd never get a clue like that though.

My biggest problem is that it's a vague definition by one example. "Italian rider" doesn't denote "Dettori" any more than "New York slugger" would lead me to "Ruth" vs. say "A-Rod." Maybe it'd be more likely to a non-American? I do think the setter needed "ROTTE" to make the answer work and, as anagram says, retrofit the jockey in there.

Sorry all, I'm not *that* salty about it, but I was so close to completing a very difficult puzzle.

Rapper has blood transfusion for heart related thing (6)

lol

American here. So the bits and pieces clue "Brussels" = EU?

Yep, it's where the EU headquarters is.

Yeah, but that's sorta like "Washington" = USA. Just hadn't seen it before, filing with my knowledge of RA, AB and TT.

I guess it's referring to the governmental not geographical entity, which makes a bit more sense synecdoche-wise. Probably inspired by endless references to bonkers brussels bureaucrats in the tabloids.

I also had never seen "uppers" for broke either, but I think I learn a new British slang term every couple of days.

i'm brassic mate, i'm skint, i'm on me uppers. i can't even qualify for my pension.

Okay, brassic just blew my mind.

it threw me a bit the first few times i heard it irl. you're what?

Most posh wine shops getting into alcohol-free (8)

TOFFIEST. I actually got this one with a little guessing, but it cracked me up because both parts of the clue, plus the answer, are three things that an American who has never encountered a cryptic crossword would be flabbergasted by.

(narrator) I was still flabbergasted.

That is funny, but I although I could work out what “toffiest” means I’ve never heard it used. For that matter, I’ve never heard anyone say “toffy” meaning posh (or manifesting as posh). Toff, by all means.

https://ih1.redbubble.net/image.3906317085.6465/st,small,507x507-pad,600x600,f8f8f8.jpg

Doing cryptics every few days I encounter a new slang term I’ve never heard before. Today it’s budgie smuggler.

Pretty much universally understood here in Australia, expressions like this are what we have instead of culture (with apologies to our First Peoples)

Lots of them in this week’s Quiptic: clobber, beanfeast, browned off, as well as discovering that spaghetti on toast is a thing.

I would imagine it's mostly done with tinned spaghetti, similar to beans on toast (obviously i am far too well bred to have ever had such a thing myself).

That’s it exactly, looks particularly nauseating with SpaghettiOs.