Apologies for lateness.
Cyclops on good form this week, with some amusing and at times deceptively salacious wordplay, and several references to the discovery of horsemeat in many ‘beef’ products. I think 23/9/1 has to be my favourite, though.
| Across | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | ALMA MATER | Gordonstoun for Charles: “big battle with mama“ Battle of Alma; MATER = Mother Gordonstoun School, attended by Prince Charles |
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| 11/5 | HORSE TRADING | Driving a hard bargain, apparently supermarkets’ business now? Hard bargaining; a reference to the horsemeat scandal, horsemeat being what supermarkets apparently sell now |
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| 12 | REDUNDANT | ’Superfluous’ Brown interrupting Miliband during tirade? DUN = brown; in ED Miliband; all in RANT = tirade |
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| 14 | NIGELLA | Issue raised by one-time minister Cook on the box Crafty double definition — Nigella Lawson, TV cook, is the daughter of (‘issue raised by’) former Chancellor of the Exchequer Nigel Lawson |
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| 15 | ENSIGN | Standard aspect of Queen’s ignorance Hidden in ‘Queen’s ignorance’ Ensign |
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| 17 | STREAK | Smear right inside rump? R = right; inside STEAK = rump (example of) |
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| 21 | EXTINCT | Next IT development swamps Conservative, quite the dinosaur C = Conservative; in *(Next IT) |
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| 23/9/1 | COME OUT IN THE WASH | Say you’re a gay somewhere off eastern England, would the stain thus disappear? COME OUT = Say you’re a gay; in the Wash, the square-mouthed bay and estuary on the northwest margin of East Anglia on the east coast of England, where Norfolk meets Lincolnshire |
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| 25 | TUMESCENT | Getting a hard-on makes gut start to erupt and whiff TUM = gut; E = start to erupt; SCENT = whiff |
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| 26 | MACAW | Bright bird holding Bill between jaws AC = Bill; in MAW (mouth) = between jaws Bright bird |
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| 28 | RHYME | Jingle right by Fanny’s entrance almost R = right; HYME[n] = Fanny’s entrance almost (hymen = a membrane that surrounds or partially covers the external vaginal opening) |
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| 29 | DYSPEPSIA | Stomach trouble from days getting pissed, imbibing drink *(days) = days getting pissed; containing (imbibing) PEPSI = drink (which is a matter of opinion) |
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| Down | |||
| 2 | SMARTASS | Pain meets Yankee bastard know-all SMART = Pain; ASS = Yankee bastard |
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| 3 | IMPEND | Loom has one political figure on arse I = one; MP = political figure; END = arse |
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| 4 | STIR FRY | A ‘dish’ can when mounting Stephen? STIR = can (both words for prison); Stephen FRY. Definition: dish |
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| 6 | MIDNIGHT | At the end of the day it amounts to hiding corruption in market extremes *(hiding), with ‘corruption’ as the anagram indicator; in MT = ‘extremes’ of MarkeT |
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| 7 | MEAT MARKET | Where to pick up someone for sex — hopefully with no trace of stallion? Another double definition of sorts, with another horsemeat reference — the Dictionary of Slang gives this as ‘A place or event where the objective of a sizeable number of those frequenting is to find sexual partners. Often used with regard to nightclubs’; also a place where one hopes the meat has no trace of horse |
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| 10 | TRAWL | Hunt, Tory, oddly boring thing TR = Tory, oddly; AWL = boring thing. Definition: hunt |
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| 13 | BEEFEATERS | Can they be sure they really are? — er, safe bet processed contains substitute, ultimately *(er safe bet); containing E = substitute, ultimately. Yet another horsemeat reference. |
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| 16 | GANGSTER | Kray type, Reg, bent and full of dread *(Reg), with ‘bent’ as the anagram indicator; ANGST = dread The Kray twins |
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| 18 | EXORCIST | Trio messed with sex, catching cold: no spirit once one has performed? *(trio sex C). Once an exorcist has performed, the ghost should have gone. |
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| 19 | ATTENDS | Is present name bestowed on duke in naff taste? N = name; D = duke; in *(taste). Definition: is present |
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| 20 | ECSTASY | It stimulates transport Double definition: the drug ecstasy (MDMA) is a stimulant; both ‘ecstasy’ and ‘transport’ can mean ‘a trance or trance-like state in which a person transcends normal consciousness’. |
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| 22 | TOMMY | Privates’ “handle“, small length, covered with trifle MM = millimetre (small length); in TOY = trifle. Tommy is a slang name (handle) for a common soldier in the British Army. |
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| 24 | MEMBER | Cyclops awardee, right dick? ME = Cyclops; MBE = awardee; R= right. Definition: dick |
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| 12/13a | WEAK BLADDER | Edward besotted with Blake’s “wee problem“ *(Edward Blake) |
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Here’s one from Facebook for you:
Thanks jetdoc. A pleasant diversion.
Thank you. Smartass took longer than it ought before I realised it was an American spelling. I seem to have forgotten all about “Kicks ass” in #313.
Nice puzzle, and thanks for the blog, jetdoc, to explain the witty NIGELLA.
Slowed down a bit by 9 (IN THE) being enumerated as (5), but got there in the end.