Private Eye/Cyclops Crossword 371 – Easy does it

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I don’t note solving times but maybe I ought to start as I’m pretty sure I must’ve had a Personal Best for this one. Must’ve been about 15 minutes. There was nothing here to cause a hold-up. Last clue in, 14/27 Alistair Darling, I would have got with fewer crossing letters if I’d had to and I was quite surprised to find a complete grid.
Of course, looking back on it now (the next day) I realise this was one of the easiest Eye crosswords for some time.

Across
1 APPEAL PEA inside (LAP)* Anagrind: dancing
4 SCRAMBLE (MARBLES C[onservative])* Anagrind: lost. The “Be a crawler” definition nicely misled me to think of insects on the first pass
10 GOOLIES GOALIES swap A for O Favourite clue:
Footballers get nothing for a set of balls (7)
11 FLATTER L inside FATTER
12/25 BEDPAN CD that looks like a pretty straight definition
13 OPINION POLL O PINION (LOP)* [too]L Anagrind: off
14/27 ALISTAIR DARLING ([B]lair as it)* then favourite=darling Anagrind: developed.  Is Cyclops out of date? I thought Miliband was the favourite now
16 PISS-UP Leak, then UP from “afoot” as in “what’s up”
19 BO-PEEP PEE inside BOP
20 CHUTZPAH C[herie] HUT (ZAP)* H[ard] Interesting anagrind: Alien
23 MISCONSTRUE M IS CONS TRUE
26 ATISHOO (IS A HOOT)* Anagrind: broadcast
28 THE TROTS DD Ref Leon Trotsky and Trotskyites in general known as Trots
29 JERKIN JERK IN (no points for writing in merkin)
 
Down
1 ALGEBRA A (LEG)* BRA Anagrind: kinky
2 PROUD (OR)< inside PUD
3/24 A BIT OF THE OTHER (BAREFOOT HIT THE)* Anagrind: rocks.  A bit weak to have THE in the fodder as well as the answer
5 COFFIN Homophone COUGHING (Hawking) without the G (big money).   Hardly need the “missing big money” part of the clue in my opinion.
6/17 A PAIN IN THE ARSE (TRAINEESHIP A[l]AN)* Anagrind: buggered up
7 BOTTOMS UP BOTTOM SUP
8 EARFLAP (FEAR)* LAP Anagrind: about
9 ASPIRIN (IN PARIS)* Anagrind: screwing
15 IMPASSIVE I’M PASSIVE
18 CHARADE AD inside (ARCHE[r])* Anagrind: devious
19 BOMBAST BOMB AS T[ory]
21 HANDGUN (HUNG AND)* Anagrind: quartered
22 ESCORT CD
23 PRICK DD

6 comments on “Private Eye/Cyclops Crossword 371 – Easy does it”

  1. I agree with the difficulty. I always find there’s at least a couple of clues that are very tricky, but his range of difficulty certainly varies.

    I did wonder about when he must have compiled this puzzle for 14/27 to be politically correct. Then again, he did manage to get in one about Boris Johnson’s right hand man resigning very soon after, so maybe the crossword compilation date varies too :-).

  2. Impassive! I agree with the difficulty but I must have had a major brain-blockage as I failed to get 15d even with all the crossing letters… doh.

  3. Yep, I solved this in one short sitting too. On question, though, in 2d how do you get OR from “Gold”? Sounds like “ore”, but there’s nothing in the clue to indicate a homophone?

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