Private Eye/Cyclops 350 – Brothers and mothers

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This issue brought us the usual fare in the style we come to expect from our optically-challenged friend.

Across
7 NEIGHBOURS – (IGNORE BUSH)* I liked “soft” as the anagrind
8 GSOH – G(OS<)H  Golly Gosh
11 OASIS – I take it Cyclops has no time for the Mancunian brothers …
12 KRAY TWINS – (TIRY WANKS)* TIRY from “Tory (one for love)” … whereas these east-end hard men get away with only being described as “villains”
13 YUMMY MUMMIES – DD I can’t be the only person that finds this phrase particularly disrespectfully obscene, almost predatory
17 OUTBACK – DD I stupidly stratched in OUTSIDE at first. Outback is more correct as most pubs insist that our yellow-fingered leper class stay out of sight rather than cluttering up the entrance and putting off new punters with a wall of fug.
19 DESERVE – DES Lynam (n)ERVE “cheek going topless”
20 AMERICANISED – (CIA’s remained)* Nice anagram but the definition gave it away quite easily
23 BRAZIL NUT – You certainly need crackers for these. I briefly wondered if other 6-letter “lands” have eponymous nuts but my pencilled in Brazil fitted all that followed.
25 DODGE – DD with surprisingly misleading clue surface
26 SAKE – S.A.E. “used to mail back” about K “end of dicK. Use of “back” in a clue often misdirects me to consider a reversal when it isn’t.”
27 NO-NONSENSE – I don’t understand the theatre reference here. Full clue:
“Theatre-balls” is eminently sensible (2-8)
Fgbp points out that “Theatre” refers to Japanese NO(h) Theatre
 
Down
1 UNHOLY ROW – I think this is a single cryptic definition. There probably isn’t but this clue feels like there’s more to it. Full clue:
One of the Church’s distinctly non-Christian internal wrangles? (6,3)
2 FIRST MATE – First “No. 1” MATE(s) “Condoms when end removed”
You’ve got to hand it to Beardy for that brand name. It’s become synonymous with the merchandise within a few years.
3 CHESTY – DD. Hawking as in spitting, not the Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge. We had this ploy recently didn’t we?
4 COCKSUCKER – SUCK “Hoover” in COCKER “Dog”. Looks like Cyclops has been hobnobbing with the screenwriters of Deadwood again.
5 ORCA – OR (AC<) The Killer whale
6 THIS – (SHIT)* This over ‘ere not that over there. The anagram seems very familiar
10 STRESS – Is “20% of Semen” for S stretching it a bit? Makes a change from “leading” or “initial” I suppose.
14 MEDICATION – (COMEDIAN)* around IT “sex”
15/23 PRESIDENT BUSH – CD I had to have most of the crossing letters before I saw this
16 BEADY EYES – E(rection)-Yes
18 ARMPIT – “Member” ARM ; “mine” PIT
21 NUDIST – (NUTS)* around DI “Car crash victim”
22/9 JACK SHIT – JACK (Straw) SHI(f)T It took me a while to see the construction here.
24 NOOK – (Brow)N; “round” O; “authorise” OK. Nice surface.

2 comments on “Private Eye/Cyclops 350 – Brothers and mothers”

  1. Re NO-NONSENSE: NO(H) is a form of Japanese theatre. I seem to remember this cropping up several times a month in the DT crossword when I used to do it – one of those “crossword words” !

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