Cyclops, I think, was gearing up for the Christmas special at this point — this one was a very straightforward solve, and a lot less of a challenge for me as a blogger than the one Beermagnet is facing.
I couldn’t think of a title this week, so have defaulted to a Christmas wish.
| Across | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | CLOCHE | Not much on top, so Chloe’s bust needing carbon implant *(chloe C). A cloche hat is a fitted, bell-shaped hat. I think I would find one rather a lot up top. |
|
| 9 | ENCROACH | Invade drug-user’s butt, far side of NEC complex ROACH = drug-user’s butt (the rolled-up cardboard in a joint); after *(NEC) |
|
| 10 | MAKE WORSE | We messed with a smoker to be aggravating *(we a smoker) |
|
| 12 | OTHER | Distinctive old lady removing top [M]OTHER, i.e. Mother, without her first letter. |
|
| 13 | IDAHO | State aid is wasted on House *(aid); on HO = house |
|
| 15 | SPLIT ENDS | Rent arses — result, unwelcome state of shock SPLIT = rent (torn); ENDS = arses. Not the state you want your hair (shock) to be in. I spent a bit of time looking for an anagram of ‘rent arses’ here. |
|
| 16 | DETENTE | An aspect of bidet: enterprising easing of tension Hidden in ‘bidet: enterprising’ |
|
| 17 | GAROTTE | Balls framed by billionaire, not quite a means of finishing off somebody ROT = balls; in [Bill] GATE[s] |
|
| 19 | MACMILLAN | PM no longer wants Camilla to get involved in empty motion *(Camilla); in MN = outside letters of ‘motion’. Harold Macmillan |
|
| 21 | NINTH | Pretty poor race position — an element of Cameron in that Hidden in ‘Cameron in that’ |
|
| 23 | LAIRD | Landowner getting bonked outside castle, gamely LAID + bonked; outside R = rook, the chess piece also known the castle. |
|
| 24 | REED PIPES | Plastic ’pee spider’ essential for the operation of one’s organ *(pee spider) Reed pipe |
|
| 26 | STAGNANT | Foul and smelly men only concern, ultimately, a TV frontman STAG = men only; N = concern, ultimately; ANT = TV frontman, half of Ant & Dec |
|
| 27 | ALASKA | Part of the USA’s grievous cry before a royal makes half an appearance ALAS = grievous cry; KA = half of Kate, Duchess of Cambridge |
|
| Down | |||
| 1 | SCAMPI | Dish is getting erection, hugging like an old luvvie? IS, reversed (in a Down clue, ‘getting an erection)’; in (‘hugging’) CAMP = like an old luvvie |
|
| 3 | SHOWDOWN | Now who’s gone berserk about Dave’s main confrontation? D = Dave’s main [letter]; in *(now whos) |
|
| 4/2 | INTELLIGENCE WORK | Towel in, Nick, er, dallies with Left — e.g. espionage *(towel in Nick er L eg) |
|
| 5 | DRY OUT | Boring sexual nature having been revealed, keep away from booze DRY = boring; OUT = sexual nature having been revealed |
|
| 6/25 | WASHINGTON POST | Daily Mail going after George? George WASHINGTON; POST = mail |
|
| 7 | PHARISEE | Eire has reformed, after parking religious party member P = parking; *(eire has) Pharisees |
|
| 11 | RUSSELL BRAND | Loud-mouth ’revolutionary’ Ken, possibly needs logo [Ken] RUSSELL;BRAND = logo. I think he gets quite enough publicity without my adding a link here. |
|
| 14 | ANTICLIMAX | As they say oop north, relative orgasm is not up to expectations ANTI = the way I and many others pronounce ‘auntie’, a relative (whereas no-one actually says ‘oop’); CLIMAX = orgasm |
|
| 16 | DEMOLISH | Oldie’s at sea with HMS Vanquish *(Oldie HMS) Reference to The Oldie magazine |
|
| 18 | RING-PULL | A lager lout’s uplifting access to booze? Basically, a definition-only clue — what opens a can of lager |
|
| 20 | INDENT | Elected Nick? Depression! IN = elected; DENT = nick (Hmm… pushing it a bit, I thought — to me, a nick is a small cut, rather than a hollow caused by a blow; however, I see that Chambers also gives ‘notch’ as an obsolete meaning of ‘dent’, as well as a meaning of ‘nick’.) |
|
| 22 | HUSSAR | Regimental man — hard for one when Russia is corrupted Anagram of RUSSIA, with H instead of I |
|
Here’s wishing you all Happy Christmas and Happy Solving for 2015 from me and from the Enigmatic one.
Hoping to see some of you at more social events next year.
… and here’s this week’s selection of humorous images:
I’m more comfortable with nick/dent in 20ac as verbs, I think – if you nick someone’s car (and not in a TWOCing way) I think it would probably leave a bit of a dent. 8’s definition puzzled me for a bit.
Re the Christmas one – I don’t know if this is unsporting, but I notice that the Private Eye website seems to have a pretty comprehensive, if probably unintentional, list of previous lookalikes, at http://www.private-eye.co.uk/pictures/lookalikes/big/ , if that provides aid and succour to any baffled solvers.
Also re: Christmas Crossword. There seems to be some wrong letters in the list below the grid. Anybody else notice that?
Happy Christmas, and thanks for the fortnightly solutions!
Re John King, 24 Dec: I count 66 non-intersecting entries, but only 60 letters in the list given in both the print and online crossword. I think that the letters from 16 across have been omitted. Also, 71d/47d should be 72d/47d.
I have now had a look at the Across Lite version of the crossword (from the Eye website) and find it has a note attached to it with all of the missing letters:
AAAAACCCDDDDEEEEEEEFFGHHHIIIIIIIIKLLLLLMNOOOOPPRRRRRRSSTTTUUUUWYYZ
> Re the Christmas one – I don’t know if this is unsporting, but I notice that the
> Private Eye website seems to have a pretty comprehensive, if probably unintentional,
> list of previous lookalikes,…
I’m glad to find that they’re not all there. I do welcome the ways
the Christmas puzzle finds of giving an advantage to regular readers.