I got one wrong. And I even sent in my entry for the prize competition with it wrong.
So I’m expecting my entry to be picked from the gazillions – and then rejected. And then it’ll be another 400 years before I’m picked again, on average. So I’ll just have to console myself with another pint.
| Across | |
|---|---|
| 4/13 | COPPING A FEEL COP (bobby) PIN then FEE inside GAL Yet again a straightforward clue to begin, so I managed to get the “first clue read, first answer entered” flying start |
| 7 | SOLIDUS (SAD LOUIS – A)* AInd: cracked. Def: “/” (a slash) Wikipedia says there’s a difference between a “Solidus” and a “Slash” – punctuationally, I mean. First I’d heard of it. |
| 10 | STAND DD |
| 11 | LOINCLOTH (COOL THIN [hese]L[tine])* AInd: wound round |
| 12 | BEHEMOTH (ME,HE)< inside BOTH |
| 15 | LOURDES (SOD RULE)* AInd: Drunken. |
| 17 | PREPLAN (LAP)* AInd: dancing, inside PEN (cage – penitentiary) with R[ight] inside |
| 21 | HEADCASE HEAD (male with promotion) CASE (suit – in the legal sense) |
| 24 | RAVING MAD (VAGINA MR D[ay])* AInd: Jogging |
| 25 | AZTEC A Z (one, just one indication of snoring) (ETC)* AInd: getting screwed. Def: Old Indian. I must admit I got this wrong having written in ATTIC from “Old” and A-T-C [b]rushing over the wordplay, and didn’t see this till doing the blog |
| 26 | PARVENU (A PERV)* AInd: iffy, UN< |
| 27/19 | TABLOID PRESS I (one) inside (OLD BAT)* AInd: terrible, PRESS (iron) |
| Down | |
| 1 | DIDDLE PIDDLE replace P[arking] with D[emocrat] Def: scam |
| 2 | ISAIAH IS (Breathes) A1 (first class) A H[ot] Tricky wordplay here |
| 3 | BLOCKADE LOCK (a catch) inside BADE (told) |
| 4 | CASK C[onservative] ASK (question) |
| 5 | PLATEAU P[aisley] ATE (consumed) U[nionists] with [mora]L inside |
| 6/21 | GALLOWS HUMOUR CD An appropriate answer for the long drop in this grid. I declare this Crypic Def my favourite of the puzzle: Grim style of a comedian about to be suspended? (7,6) |
| 8 | DRONE DR (Doctor) ON E (regularly taking drugs) Def: buzz. Last in – I was fooled by “regularly” into looking for alternating letter wordplay. I liked the def because that’s all Drones do apart from mate, like Bertie Wooster, that’s why he joined the Drones Club |
| 9 | ST HELENA (SEAN THE L[eft])* AInd: pissed. |
| 14 | CLAPTRAP CLAP (put your hands together) PART< (role reversed) |
| 16 | DISINTER DI (Brian’s ex) (ISN’T)* AInd: daft, ER (Brenda). The tastelessness of the royalty-based wordplay nearly gained the top clue gong: “To dig up Brian’s ex isn’t daft,” Brenda (8) |
| 17 | PLAUDIT (TIP DUAL)* AInd: screwing |
| 18 | LESOTHO SOT (piss artist) inside (HOLE)* AInd: awful |
| 20 | ELVER L[ength] inside EVER (continually) |
| 22 | CRABBY DD |
| 23 | SCUD DD |
I’m very keen on natural food, but I wonder if it does me any good – turns out most people die of natural causes.
Pretty simple one, I thought. But the setter is stretching the definition of a homonym beyond breaking point with BREATHES = IS !
I know what you mean CC, I had a sharp intake of i when I saw it.
Yes, for me half the fun in the Eye crossword is being able to spot what the answers should be (ISAIAH was pretty obvious), and then trying to understand the clues !