Oops, I hit ‘Publish’ before rescheduling this for midnight! I hope no one is discombobulated by the earliness.
Sorry about the lack of a witty title, but I just can’t think of anything.
A pretty quick solve for me, this week. 3d held me up for the longest, because of course I was reading more into it than is actually there. Several other clues (e.g. 19d, 21d) sound a lot ruder than they really are.
Clue of the week has to be 14d, for the apt anagram.
| Across | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | INCUMBENT | Trendy copper (male), crooked current holder of office IN = Trendy; CU = copper; M = male; BENT = crooked |
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| 10 | HIPPO | Hello! gets pop makeover for big-gobbed, bulky thing HI = Hello; *(pop) |
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| 11 | SOMALIA | From where pirates sail off with Obama (airline dismissed) *(sail Oma) — BA (British Airways) is removed from ‘Obama’ before anagramming Piracy in Somalia |
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| 12 | AFFRONT | Indignity of a large cup size bust? An F cup, in a bra, is a large one, so a large cup size bust could be ‘a F front’ |
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| 13/8 | POTTY-MOUTHED | Talking dirty: “nuts articulated soundlessly” POTTY = nuts; MOUTHED = articulated soundlessly |
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| 15 | DIGESTIVE | Sweet thing ecstasy-taking gits forced to enter sleazy club IGST = *(gits), or ‘gits forced; E = ecstasy; in DIVE = sleazy club Digestive biscuits |
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| 16 | RECESS | The rest of MPs’ nooky place Double definition: Parliamentary recess; a nook |
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| 18 | TORRID | Fiery politician gets end away — free! TOR[y] = politician without end; RID = free |
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| 22 | SCEPTICAL | Dubious Cher oddly involved in plastic surgery CE = odd letters of ‘Cher’; *(plastic) |
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| 26 | REACTOR | On the subject of luvvie: needs to be kept stable Actors are luvvies in Eye-speak; reactors need to be kept stable |
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| 27 | QUARTER | Couple of pints gets Brenda cut up QUART = 2 pints; ER = Brenda (the Queen) |
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| 29 | BRASH | Tacky underwear’s hot BRAS = underwear; H = hot |
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| 30 | CHISELLER | Church is onto “gravitation-shedding” Uri’s cheat CH = Church; IS; [g]ELLER (losing G for ‘gravitation’). Definition: cheat Uri Geller |
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| Down | |||
| 1 | PISS-UPS | But they’re usually much more than a wee imbibing of drink Play on the word ‘wee’ = PISS |
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| 2 | SCUM | “Filthy peasants” in Ceausescu mansion Hidden in ‘Ceausescu mansion’ |
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| 3 | EMPLOYEE | In former times a hand job performer Double definition: ‘hand’ is an old word for ‘worker’; job performer |
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| 4 | SEX AID | It helps some people come out with ideas about Times *(ideas), with ‘out’ as the anagram indicator (I’m not sure how the ‘with’ fits, except to improve the surface reading); X = times. Definition: ‘It helps some people come’ |
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| 5/28 | STRAIGHT TALK | Doubly unlikely from a prevaricating, openly gay politician? A prevaricating politician is unlikely to talk straight (directly); an openly gay one is unlikely to talk straight (heterosexually) |
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| 6 | SHAFTS | Shags keep quiet behind ship’s prow SH = keep quiet; AFT = behind; S = ship’s prow |
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| 7 | OPPOSITION | Work situation required for Miliband’s lot OP = Work; POSITION = situation. I wish Miliband’s lot would do a bit of effective opposing. |
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| 14 | THERESA MAY | “Heat, my arse!” snapped the politician who was disadvantaged by borderline ignorance? Excellent to know that Theresa May is an anagram of ‘Heat my arse’! The clue refers to this story |
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| 17 | SACK RACE | Booze nation’s sports event just for a laugh SACK = booze (the old name of various dry white wines from Spain and the Canaries); RACE = nation |
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| 19 | RELEASED | Balls, after energy-packed laser treatment, hanging free? *(e laser); ED [Balls] |
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| 20 | ASCRIBE | Put blame on “alcoholic leader”: hack A = alcoholic leader”; SCRIBE = hack (journalist) |
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| 21 | SHARERS | They’re not selfish, people who ’do’ sheep, possibly dropping ecstasy SH[e]ARERS, shearers being people who ’do’ sheep, E being ecstasy |
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| 23 | TETCHY | Stroppy City pissed with the Independent withdrawing *(Cty the), with I (independent) removed before anagramming |
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| 24/25 | LIQUID LUNCH | £51 meal: the boozy hack’s daily indulgence? LI = 51; QUID = £; LUNCH = meal. The liquid lunch is rather less acceptable these days. |
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Faute de mieux, here’s a Tommy Cooper joke, relayed to me by my spouse this very morning: I arrived home to find my wife (OK ‘the missus’) in tears. I said: “Whatever’s the matter?”. She replied: ‘I made you a steak and kidney pie, but the dog’s eaten it.” I said: “Don’t worry — I’ll get you another dog.”
Thanks jetdoc. Lovely surfaces from Cyclops as usual.
The Eye seems to have gained or lost a week. Or has my calendar gone wrong?
I do hope I have got the schedule right, Sidey! The Christmas special slightly shifted the two-week intervals, I think. The submission date for this one was Friday 3 Feb.
uris cheat is an anagram of eucharist which I had originally only to remove when liquid lunch went in. great crossword and fun to do. There are really too many good clues to single any out.