Lovely stuff as usual. Nothing too tricky or unexplained this time. Pleasant solve over a couple of pints. I noted I had 9 unsolved when starting pint number two.
| Across | |
|---|---|
| 8/16 | ERECTILE DYSFUNCTION (CURRENCY I DON’T FEEL IT’S – R[ight])* AInd: to go out. Def: Being unable to get hard. I spotted the wordplay but failed to get something out of the anagram fodder. Later saw the answer from the def after getting a few crossing letters. |
| 9 | RHUMBA R[ight] HUM (stink) B[ritish] A[merican] |
| 10 | THEBES THE (article) BSE* AInd: fiasco. First answer entered. |
| 11 | LARGESSE (ARSE LEGS)* AInd: flabby. Def: Charity. Who else would spot that anagram |
| 12 | SLIPKNOT PILS< (Drink knocked back) K[ennedy] NOT (No way!) |
| 15 | EFFIGY CD Appropriate with bonfire night nearby: The sort of guy extremists inflame? (6) |
| 20 | GOTHIC GOT (secured) HIC (Drunk’s outburst) |
| 21 | CRACKPOT CRACK (expert) POT (cannabis) |
| 23 | FLIP-FLOP F[emale] LIP (brink) F[emale] LOP (hack) |
| 25 | CO-HOST H[orlicks] O[xygen] inside COST (fee). What? Is Bruce Forsyth considered co-host to Tess Daly on Strictly? Ah. They are both described as co-hosts now. I like the way the definition could be taken as “Oxygen for Brucie?” rather than just “Brucie?”, especially with the question mark. |
| 27 | SORT OF O (sod all) inside FROST* AInd: rambles |
| 28 | SPOON-FED SPOON (make love quaintly) F (loudly) ED (Balls – Shadow Sec. State for Ed.) |
| Down | |
| 1 | ARMHOLE H[ard] inside MORALE* AInd: poor. The bowlderised half of what certain people can’t tell the difference between, and an elbow |
| 2 | SCAB Hidden in CameronS CABinet |
| 3 | WILSON String letters Inept Labour’s Slide inside NOW* AInd: perplexed. Ex-PM that was Alf GArnett’s bête noire |
| 4/26 | WELL HUNG WELL (I say!) HUN (Barbarian) G[ood] |
| 5 | PRURIENT PR (Small pair) URINE* AInd: preparation, T[ime] |
| 6 | DUKE OF YORK DD A pub and Andrew Windsor. Ref: This year’s story about Sarah Ferguson asking for a cool half-mill for an introduction to her ex-hubby Prince Andrew. Turned out who was asking was the fake sheik. |
| 7 | ABUSAGE USA G[rand] inside ABE (ex-president). Def: mispractice. Last in – not because the clue was tricky but it is an odd word. I suppose the -age suffix can be successfully stuck on many nouns |
| 13 | PSYCHOPATH (CHAPPY HOTS)* AInd: tormented. Def: sex maniac? I think the “?” is necessary here as not all psychopaths are sex maniacs (discuss) |
| 14 | TUNIC TU (you as an intimate Sarkozy would say) NIC[k] |
| 17 | FACELIFT FACE (mug) LIFT (up) I was fooled into trying to think of a south coast town that fitted the letters: Mug up the wrinkly’s resort? (8) |
| 18 | TOOLBOX TOOL (Cock) BOX (fight) |
| 19 | DOSSIER I (one) inside DOSSER (tramp) |
| 22 | ANCHOR (CAMERON + H[ague] – ME)* AInd: hopeless |
| 24 | PISS [peni]S inside SIP< |
Final Joke: I’ve heard that if you play a John Cage record backwards it contains a secret
message from Harpo Marx.
you say simple, I say AARRGHH!
It took me the best part of 2 weeks and I still had 7 clues to get.
And of course, when they’re explained, they’re bleedin’ obvious!
Well, I don’t say simple, but we managed it (apart from 18d) over a couple of days.
Though looking more carefully, I see I put CLARKSON in for 21a. Not sure why, except that it obviously matches the definition – ‘dope’.
I don’t usually do Cyclops, despite subscribing to the Eye, but was surprised to find it relatively tractable – easier than his cleaner-cut persona in the Grauniad.
The fnarr-fnarr aspect is a bit wearing, but I did like 8/16.