Cyclops 450: The Empire does not strike back

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As usual when I blog a Cyclops, I was held up by the wordplay of just one clue — in this case, 2/11d. Otherwise, all pretty straightforward. And I am on time this week, praise be!

Across
8 HELL-BENT Where Nick’s at home: twisted, determined
HELL = Where (Old) Nick’s at home; BENT = twisted
9 EALING London area hospital abandoning restorative care
[h]EALING — H (hospital) abandons ‘healing’
10/23 THE MURDOCH EMPIRE Subject: nabbing rich, proud bastard protecting those coarse people in disgraced organisation
THEME = subject; *(rich proud); ’EM = those coarse people. Readers of Private Eye may just have noticed some (entirely justified) gloating on this subject recently.
12 TO LET House might be when John lets one go
‘John’ can mean ‘toilet’; remove the I (one)
14 PULLOVER Succeed in getting sexual partner before balls woolly
PULL = succeed in getting sexual partner; OVER = six balls (deliveries) in cricket. Definition = woolly
15 PRIVACY One has to get domestic appliance in to listen in, which is not considered by phone hackers
I = one; VAC = domestic appliance; in PRY = to listen in
17 ARMPITS Where upper members start causing a stir, roughly holding back Cameron
*(a stir); holding PM reversed. Armpits are the starting point of upper limbs.
20 OBSTACLE Round entrance to Balmoral Castle’s naff bar
O = round; B = entrance to Balmoral; *(castle) = Castle’s naff. Definition: bar
22 PURSE Kitty does what Kitty does, being on ’E’ (not right)
Kitty is the definition. PU[r]Rs is what kitty (a cat) does, without R (right); E
25 UTTER TRIPE Say an LSD session is associated with end of “blue balls”
UTTER = say; TRIP = an LSD session; E = end of blue. Definition: balls
27 BASALT Pisspoor Balls left out — ta, Rock!
Anagram of Balls without L (left) plus TA. ‘Pisspoor’ as an anagram indicator is not allowed by most editors.
28 INSECURE Dicky’s to issue policy, accommodating right and left Conservative wings
INSURE = to issue policy; EC = right and left Conservative wings. Definition: dicky.
Down
1 RED HOT Hard after Ed Balls on the outside, almost certain to win
H = hard; after ED; with ROT = balls, on the outside
2/11 PLUM DUFF Sweet in drag, Joanna’s top half (large bra cup)
LUM = Joanna Lumley’s top half; D = large bra cup; in PUFF = drag (on a cigarette). This took me ages to parse, because I had decided that FF was the large bra cup and I couldn’t work out how to get the PDU.
3 NEUROTIC Between Brown’s end and Cameron’s debut, it’s shitty after currency unstable
N = Brown’s end; C = Cameron’s debut: TI = it’s shitty (the only anagram of ‘it’); after EURO = currency. Definition: unstable
4 STROPPY Bolshie, Sweeney Todd-style?
A barber, like Sweeney Todd, might us a strop.
5 LETHAL All the crap could be the death of you
*(all the)
6 CLODHOPPER Prick welcoming Labour’s leader before party reverse, remains a prick
CHOPPER = prick, in the penile sense; L = Labour’s leader; OD = do (party) reversed. Chambers gives ‘a countryman; a peasant; a clumsy dolt’.
7 IN EFFECT As it turns out, Tories’ leader nice? Eff-off!
*(T nice eff)
13 LAVATORIAL John’s sort of humour
Double definition
16 REBUTTAL Arse in palpable denial
BUTT = arse; in REAL = palpable
18 REPHRASE Put another way, “runs” applied to one in grip of herpes complex
R = runs; A = one; in *(herpes). Definition: put another way
19 CERTAIN “Murderer” embraces extreme Right Tories, without doubt
CAIN = the first documented murderer; ERT = extreme Right Tories
21 CRUSTY Blubber surrounding tits? Get rid of top 25% — very well done!
CRY = blubber; surrounding [b]UST = ‘tits’ without the first letter. Something overcooked (very well done) could be crusty.
26/24 ROCK STAR Cliff arses around for Mercury?
ROCK = cliff; ‘rats’ reversed = arses around. Freddy Mercury

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