It feels a bit as if Cyclops was when he compiled this — the divine Mr Farage and his ‘party’ make three appearances.
For some reason, probably because my mind has been on other things, this Cyclops took me longer than usual.
| Across | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | EMOTION | Feeling the end of the formal shit E = the end of ‘the’; MOTION = formal word for shit |
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| 5 | SPIN-OFF | Political slant dropped, which is a benefit, incidentally SPIN = political slant; OFF = dropped |
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| 9 | IN STITCHES | Elected, does a bit of needling, having a laugh IN = elected; STITCHES = does a bit of needling |
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| 11/18 | HARD TIMES | Aroused by rich people’s paper: constant state endured by the poor HARD = aroused; TIMES = The Times (is it the rich people’s paper?) |
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| 12 | ETCETERA | Evangelical Tory leaders create chaos and the like ET = Evangelical Tory leaders; *(create), with ‘chaos’ as the anagram indicator. Definition: and the like |
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| 13 | PLEDGE | Word of Ukip’s right wing projection P = Ukip’s right-most letter; LEDGE = projection. Definition: word (as in ‘I give you my word’) |
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| 14 | REVAMP | New version of our version of Blair: a U-turning leader REV = Private Eye’s version of Blair (Vicar of Albion); A; PM, reversed = U-turning leader |
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| 16 | MOTOR | “Get a move on, bring back the cat!”: outdated impassioned cry by Right TOM (cat) reversed; O = outdated impassioned cry (poetic, as in “O for…!”); R = Right |
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| 20 | CHEERS | Camilla’s debut: she wilfully choked on the Queen’s toast C = Camilla’s debut; *(she) containing (choked on) ER = the Queen |
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| 22 | GAFFES | Movie-set boss right off big boobs GAFFE[r] = movie-set boss without R (right off); I don’t know how ‘big’ indicates S. Definition: boobs (blunders) |
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| 23 | EULOGISE | Nigel loses head, so embarrassed after EU praise EU; *(igel so), with ‘embarrassed’ as the anagram indicator. Definition: praise |
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| 26 | ARSE AROUND | Be a prat, presenting ears Cyclops style This might be a clue for EARS, Cyclops-style — *(arse), with ‘around’ as the anagram indicator |
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| 27 | PLAYPEN | Pressure on sex partner with snipped dick to make space for a little ’un P= pressure; LAY = sex partner; PEN[is] = snipped dick. Definition: space for a little ’un |
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| 28 | EYESORE | Brian’s carbuncle possibly makes organ tender EYE = organ; SORE = tender. Brian (Prince Charles) has described architectural plans to develop the National Gallery as representing ‘a carbuncle on the face of a friend’, or some such inanity. |
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| Down | |||
| 2 | MINSTREL | Player who got around let in Mrs Batty *(let in Mrs), with ‘batty’ as the anagram indicator (and reference to Nora Batty. An itinerant musician |
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| 3/7 | TO THE NTH DEGREE | Article stuck in end, together with a twist, as far as is possible THE = article; in *(end together), with ‘with a twist’ as the anagram indicator. Definition: as far as is possible |
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| 4 | ON THE UP | Not bothered by his eminence Nigel’s hollow party being in the ascendancy (not); HE = his eminence; U[ki]P = Nigel’s hollow party |
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| 6 | PISSPOT | Drink/drug used by peer PISS = drink; POT = drug. Used by one who pees. |
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| 8 | FARAGE | Romanian arrival starts to be accepted by gay offensive against English party leader RA = first letters (starts) of ‘Romanian arrival’; in FAG = gay (offensive); E = English |
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| 10/19 | HEADMASTERS MESSAGE | Our academical report of male on a date: snooty mum’s protecting daughter’s tail — shit time HE = of male; A; D = date; MATERS = snooty mum’s; but S is not daughter’s tail; MESS = shit; AGE = time. Please enlighten me if I’ve got the middle bit wrong A Message From The Headmaster |
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| 15 | ARTY FARTY | Maybe Tories, LibDems, having dumped leaders, get in female like Brian Sewell? [p]ARTY, twice; with F = female Brian Sewell |
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| 17 | PRISONER | Publicity given to misbehaving senior, as Archer was PR = publicity; *(senior) |
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| 20 | CALGARY | Stampede here to see Grant grabbing great head in LA CARY [Grant]; containing G = great, in LA |
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| 21 | MARVEL | Spectacle of old queen’s erection interrupting fancy meal VR (queen Victoria), reversed, with ‘erection’ as the reversal indicator; *(meal) |
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| 24/25 | GLOSS OVER | Put a spin on Clegg’s ultimate defeat (ancient history) G = Clegg’s ultimate letter; LOSS = defeat; OVER = ancient history (as a figure of speech)WHITE |
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Nothing too original in the way of jokes or amusing links, but here are one of each for you.
“Knock, knock.”
“Who’s there?”
“Grandad.”
“Oh, bugger. Cancel the funeral.”
And a comment on a recent news story, from Twitmericks:
A man from the States to his shock
Got stuck in a crack in a rock
Wedged tight in a cranny
Within a big fanny
He must’ve felt rather a cock.
26. I’m not sure how “around” can be the anagram indicator for [ears > arse] when it doesn’t appear in the clue. I presumed it was “presenting”, but then couldn’t equate “around” with “Cyclops style”. Last in for this reason.
Re. previous post – sorry, I get it now, clever clue!
Thanks jetdoc! Re 10/19 I also went down the snooty mum = mater route. But on reflection could the solution be snooty mum’s = ma’s and daughter’s tail = ters ??
Re 11/18 I suppose the Times (pre Murdochisation) was the ‘establishment’ paper encompassing those people swimming in the filthy lucre.
Hi Franko. That interpretation was my first go at 10/19, but I wasn’t convinced, so went for the MATER option instead. ‘tail’ to refer to a variable number of last letters seems pretty loose.
What’s wrong with “s” as daughter’s tail? It is part of the whole word, daughters’ tail would possibly have worked better but, for instance “elephant tail” would indicate a “t”, sneakily “elephant’s tail” could indicate “t” or “s”.
For some reason I have taken against clues of the ARSE AROUND type, no idea why, but this was one of the better efforts at using the idea.
For 10/19 I thought that the tail of daughter’S had to provide the ‘S. I was more concerned about where the final S in Gaffes came from in 22a.
Maybe Cyclops will explain. I could, at a (very big) push, maybe accept “daughters’ tail” for S, but definitely not “daughter’s tail”.
And, like Gazza, I can’t account for the S in 22a.
I have no problem with 26a — good clue.
From Wiki, For singulars, the modern possessive or genitive inflection is a survival from certain genitive inflections in Old English, and the apostrophe originally marked the loss of the old e (for example, lambes became lamb’s).
This means that daughter’s is a word, complete and whole. I don’t think it is at all illogical to say that its last letter is s. If it was written with the e as daughteres I don’t think it would be valid to say that indicated r, it would have to be rephrased somehow.
Sorry for banging on but I think it’s rather clever.
“This means that daughter’s is a word, complete and whole.” Or it means that daughter’s is a word six hundred years ago….
If you accept that “daughter’s” is a word in itself, then you would need some indication — like “tail of…” that the tail belonged to it. It would be like saying “aardvark tail” to indicate K.
Come on, Cyclops, over to you!
I sincerely hope none of you lot ever enjoyed an Araucaria who would use eg fishtail to indicate h 😉
If daughter’s isn’t one word please give a sentence, apart from a definition, that uses the ‘s bit on its own.
Oh dear, a couple of boobs from Cyclops, missed by my bloody checker – sorry, ‘my dear wife’).
22 GAFFES – the apostrophe after ‘boss’ disappeared at the review stage.
HEADMASTER’S MESSAGE – maybe, in a late hurried edit, I thought along the lines sidey suggests, but that’s not the sort of thing I’d like as a solver, so I’ll own up to a mistake.
BTW I usually delay reading comments on my puzzles for several days (many weeks in the case of Brummie ones)