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This was certainly a topping crossword …
…there were a variety of tops in it: Jersey, Poncho, Kimono.
I must’ve been “on song” solving this, one lunchtime, as I had solved all but 4 on the “first pass”. The trickier stuff was in the top left corner I found.
The long answer referenced Boswell’s masterpiece which gives me an opportunity to recommend a visit to Dr Johnson’s House, a hidden gem.
| Across | ||
|---|---|---|
| 6 | ALPHABET | Boozer recruited by a political party (alien set of characters) (8) PH (Boozer – Public House) inside A LAB (a political party) ET (alien) |
| 7 | ABACUS | Bill in middle of a 69, say? You could count on it (6) AC (bill) inside A BUS (69, say) This 69 will take you from Walthamstow to Canning Town instead of, err, to heaven and back, but at least it’s a 24 hour service. |
| 11 | SCOFF | Eat and go pooh (5) Double Def. – pooh as in pooh pooh |
| 12 | SHORTLIST | Clare has inclination to put a candidate in the running (9) SHORT (Ref Clare Short) LIST (inclination) |
| 13 | UNGODLY | Only dug nuts like Dawkins? (7) (ONLY DUG)* AInd: nuts. |
| 15 | CONTROL | Restraint is excellent when restraining naff Tory reactionary leaders (7) N[aff] T[ory] R[eactionary] inside COOL (excellent – as in Bill & Ted’s Ex-cel-lent Adventure) |
| 21 | DISTAFF | Wills’ parent getting some stick, describing Kate’s side? (7) DI (Wills’ parent) STAFF (stick) |
| 22 | KNESSET | Parliament wants Ken’s broadcast fixed (7) (KEN’S)* AInd: broadcast, SET (fixed) |
| 23 | BOARDROOM | Business fat cats here beam at latitude? (9) BOARD (beam) ROOM (latitude) |
| 25 | PRISM | Rip nuts with S&M, which makes you really see the light (5) (RIP S M)* AInd: nuts |
| 26 | ENLACE | Intertwine tops of erotic naked limbs, hotshot! (6) E[rotic] N[aked] L[imbs] ACE (hotshot) |
| 27 | IN PUBLIC | When others are around trendy bar, there’s no end of arses (2,6) IN (trendy) PUB (bar) LIC[e] (no end of arses) Does arses = lice? |
| Down | ||
| 1 | PASS OUT | To make it as an officer, try to look sexy holding bottom? (4,3) POUT (try to look sexy) around ASS (bottom) |
| 2 | UP FOR GRABS | Available and quite amenable to gropes (2,3,5) Double Def. one mildly prurient |
| 3/24 | NAFF ALL | Not a thing to be put up addict on trip (4,3) FAN< (addict, put up) FALL (trip) |
| 4 | JERSEY | Casual habit? Dependency (6) Double Def. Last answered. It took a while to think of that kind of Dependency, especially with the hidden capitalisation |
| 5 | ABSTINENCE | Not having sex muscles can – consequently lacks aspiration (10) ABS (muscles) TIN (can) [h]ENCE (consequently without its H) |
| 8 | CBI | Business organisation supplying cocaine (undiscriminating, sex-wise) (3) C[ocaine] BI (-sexual) |
| 9 | SETTLE | Pay up? Beneath a front-bencher? (6) Double Def |
| 10 | PONCHO | Blanket coverage of ‘New Conservative’ Henry in the shit? (6) N[ew] C[onservative] H[enry] inside POO |
| 14 | DRUG ADDICT | One with habit of tossing turd over – I say! – penis, almost (4,6) Gad! (I say!) DIC[k] (penis almost) all inside TURD< |
| 16 | RIOT SHIELD | Idle shit or bollocks behind which police hide (4,6) (IDLE SHIT OR)* AInd: bollocks |
| 18/17 | LIFE OF SAMUEL JOHNSON | “Foul Females I Jiggered”, Boris’s literary tour de force? (4,2,6,7) (FOUL FEMALES I)* AInd: jiggered, JOHNSON (Boris) |
| 19 | EDIBLE | OK for a consumer hack spewing bile (6) ED (hack) BILE* AInd: spewing |
| 20 | STOMACH | Bear getting hots badly when hugging Bud (7) MAC (bud) inside HOTS* AInd: badly |
| 22 | KIMONO | Familiar UK spy putting on Yoko’s robe? (6) KIM (Familiar UK spy, Ref Kim Philby) ONO (Yoko) |
| 25 | PLUG | Bung, brute of a thing, Labour’s no. 1 accepted (4) L[abour] inside PUG |
Two drunks on a train
Drunk 1: “Are we in Wembley?”
Drunk 2: “No, were on Thurshday”
Drunk 1: “So am I, letsh have a drink”
Cyclops interviewed – see latest blog addition here.
23A’s ROOM = latitude. That was a toughie.
Oh, and 20D should be “MAC (bud)…”
Thanks John. Corrected (together with unexpected layout)
All was well until 18d/17a. ??f? o? ?a?u?? ?o?n?o? -what on earth?
Eventually guessed johnson so that left ??f? o? ?a?u?? johnson. Still no idea except that o? must be on, of or. Eventually twigged that I needed an anagram of “foul females I” and after much writing down and swapping letters came up with life of samuel johnson.
Googled that and to my surprise it was a real book.
Funnily enough a colleague had exactly the same experience and also hadn’t heard of it.
That last clue must have taken over 30 minutes!
23D Bear = Kodiak = CAMera + shots
7A I say = Cus(s) a 69, juxta positioned arses A A during 69 sexual act? +(B)ill
27A In PUB, LICk (from arseLICkers)
Do I need to get out more?