Erm.. I haven’t got much to say about this one. It was standard Eye/Cyclops stuff with nothing to greatly complain about, but also also not much to praise – merely workmanlike. Oh Gawd – have I become a critic now? Let’s get on with the detail:
| Across | |
|---|---|
| 9 | ULURU This is pretty much a General Knowledge clue |
| 10 | FAIRY TALE (A LEFTY)* around AIR. “Lord” Archer is the Eye’s standard fibber. |
| 11 | PRESS-STUD Hacks=PRESS ; Sex machine=STUD; I think I have press-studs on my anorak |
| 12 | PILOT PILOT[I] Piloti is the Eye correspondent for the column about the built environment, “Nooks and Corners” |
| 13/14 | ROTTEN BOROUGHS ROTTEN (awful) B.O. (personal stink) ROUGHS (yobs) Another intra-Eye reference, “Rotten Boroughs” is the section in the Eye where local Council shenanigens appears – sometimes the fraudulent and criminal behaviour exposed there is breathtaking. |
| 16 | UTTERLY UTTER L[a]Y |
| 18 | SHIATSU SHI(A)T (US)< |
| 20 | HEADCASE HEAD (crown) CASE (cabinet) |
| 22 | SEX MAD EX M inside SAD |
| 24 | ROYAL ([M]ayor)< L[ord] |
| 25 | CHATLINES LINE (strip) inside CHATS (birds) I think. I’m not sure about this, here’s the full clue – tell me if I’m wrong: Birds strip inside; they allow caller to have group intercourse (9) |
| 28 | DUNGAREES DUN then (ARSE)* around E[lasticated] |
| 29 | GUCCI First letters of G[ordon] U[seless] C[rud] C[ameron] I[nitially] – I found this clue too contrived |
| Down | |
| 1/27 | JUMP SUIT Shag=JUMP; Clubs=SUIT |
| 2 | RUPERT PAPER without PA (Press Association) inside RUT (depression) R Murdoch mentioned without refering to him as the Dirty Digger – that must be a first |
| 3 | BUM STEER B[rown] UM=er STEER=guide First I got in a trickier crossy than normal to get started in. |
| 4 | E-FIT I inside EFT Looks like Ken now has more time to carefor his newts |
| 5 | BIRDHOUSE BIRD (A lark maybe) HOUSE (MP’s place) |
| 6 | NYMPHO (M PHONY)* cross-ref to 22A sex-mad |
| 7 | GASLIGHT GAS (talk) Light (fair) Ref “Fanny by Gaslight” 40s Film more famous for its suggestive name than anything else: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0036814/ |
| 8 | DEATH SQUAD (QUASHED DAT[a])* I thought this was a quite well disguised anagram in a grid with very few: Means of having political opponents eliminated, quashed: data endlessly lost (5,5) |
| 13 | ROUGH TRADE Unhealthy=ROUGH; business=TRADE. Queen used in the non-Brenda sense here |
| 15 | EYE SOCKET Organ=EYE; Electical source=SOCKET |
| 17 | TOADYING (ADO)* inside TYING |
| 19 | IDEOLOGY ID=”The same”(?) (GOOLEY)* Is it OK to use “the same ” to imply ID? I know what he means, but … |
| 21 | COLLAR C (100) then [D]OLLAR[S] |
| 23 | MONICA MO (AC IN)< (no comment) |
| 26 | ARSE DD in the Eye Crossy sense: =Seat, and also the source of many a politico’s views. Full clue: Seat, source of many a politician’s speech (4) |
I’m never sure about ID for “the same”. Seems to be accepted use though. And I thought argon was Ar not A…
Don’t understand “chatlines” either. All guessable though.
Sorry, not much help.
You’re right Pogel, Argon is definitely Ar, and now I look at my copy of the mag again I see I had scribbled “SHARITSU?” next to the clue, so I missed the chance of giving Mr One-Eye a ticking off for getting the science wrong, damn. I suggest he turns to the expert in these matters: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmwlzwGMMwc