… again.
There is a central issue in this crossword.
Solving was almost a clean sweep.
I attempted but failed to cold solve the two down clues in the leftmost column: 1 and 19, but then got GHOUL at 9 to make a start and my pen hardly left the page while linked clues were solved all over the grid till there was only the one left. 23 MERRY needed a different way of thinking, it fell soon enough after a break
| Across | ||
|---|---|---|
| 9 | GHOUL | Clumsy oaf’s back round House – that’s the spirit (5) LUG< (clumsy oaf, back) around HO[use] |
| 10 | LEGWARMER | Member getting more passionate – hose! (9) LEG (member) WARMER (more passionate) |
| 11 | HANDBAG | Thatcher’s convenient weapon against dissent? Giving man the sack! (7) HAND (man) BAG (sack) |
| 12 | EXPIRES | Sex romps with rep, in which one bites the dust (7) (SEX REP + I (one))* AInd: romps with |
| 13 | ANCESTRY | Stock of misused canes – go! (8) (CANES)* AInd: misused, TRY (go) |
| 15 | TISSUE | Time to get kids snotrag substitute (6) T[ime] ISSUE (kids) |
| 18 | IRISH BORDER | Vexatious Brexit problem getting the people on edge (5,6) IRISH (the people) BORDER (edge) |
| 21 | RUDDER | Labour’s ultimate tit employed to keep on course (6) [labou]R UDDER (tit) |
| 22 | KNOCK OFF | Murder Nick – bang! (5,3) Triple Def. ! |
| 24 | THISTLE | Representative of a nation‘s shit organisation let off (7) (SHIT)* AInd: organisation, (LET)* AInd: off |
| 26 | STROBES | Stupid tosser gets in bastard as magazine proprietor (7) (TOSSER + B[astard])* AInd: Stupid. The Eye’s Proprietor is |
| 28 | CATAMARAN | Tom managed to take one back in the morning – crafty thing (9) CAT (tom) RAN (managed) around A and A.M.< (in the morning, back) |
| 29 | UNCUT | Not all Sun cuties escaping censorship (5) Hidden in sUN CUTies |
| Down | ||
| 1 | EGGHEAD | Outcome of a lay: top intellectual (7) EGG (outcome of a lay) HEAD (top) |
| 3 | PLEBISCITE | Referendum forlornly presented as ‘septic bile’ (10) (SEPTIC BILE)* AInd: forlornly presented |
| 4 | OLIGARCHY | Filthy rich? Go lay a clique of wealthy Russians? (9) (RICH GO LAY)* AInd: filthy |
| 5 | EGRET | Flier‘s inside leg re-taped (5) Hidden in lEG RETaped |
| 7 | IMPRESARIO | All but strike, with aggravated air, initially obnoxious producer (10) IMPRES[s] (strike, all but), (AIR)* AInd: aggravated, O[bnoxious] |
| 8 | DRESSER | Item of furniture not appropriate for a strip club (7) Cryptic Def. |
| 14 | CHILDBIRTH | Labour: often a painful, messy experience? (10) Double Def. (sort of) |
| 16 | INDECOROUS | Soon cried off having to carry Putin’s no.2 – undignified (10) (SOON CRIED + U)* AInd: off |
| 17 | COGNISANT | Informed about snog, I can’t (9) (SNOG I CAN’T)* AInd: about |
| 19 | PROTECT | Escort/call girl on ‘Private Eye time’ (7) PRO (call girl), TEC (private eye), T[ime] |
| 20 | OFF-SITE | Dicky to be an MP – initially ensconced away from any constructive activity? (3-4) OFF (dicky) SIT (to be an MP) E[nsconced) |
| 23 | MERRY | Precursor of Christmas: being pissed (5) Double Def. Last one in |
| 25/6 | TIME WARP | Write PM a circular: “Here’s how you can roll back the clock” (4,4) (WRITE PM A)* AInd: circular |
| 27/2 | BACK DOWN | Pull out posterior hair fluff (4,4) BACK (posterior) DOWN (hair fluff) |
Just saw a woman come out of a border shop.
Her bag of shopping split & there was milk & onions & bread all over the place.
A man walking by stopped.
They looked at the mess oozing off down the road & then at each other.
“Bit of a Brexit, there”, says he.
“Aye, ‘tis”, says she.
Joke courtesy of @BorderIrish on twitter.
Here he is at the negotiations
How it works
— The Irish Border (@BorderIrish) April 5, 2018
The Eye’s proprietor (as Cyclops well knows) is Strobes’ employer, Lord Gnome, who would not have been best pleased by the wording of the clue for 26ac.
John, you are correct.
I see now that I forgot to complete whatever it was I was going to say about that clue 26A.
I solved it as “Strobes” readily enough but when I came to write “The Eye’s Proprietor is …” I was struck by the Curse of Gnome and all thought of completing the sentence vanished. And is still nowhere to be found (such is the power of the curse).
As you say The Eye runs under the beneficent auspices of Lord Gnome, and E.Strobes is merely his humble and grateful lackey. This Wiki page explains fully https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recurring_in-jokes_in_Private_Eye#Stereotypical_and_exaggerated_personifications_of_people_and_organisations
I got stuck completely on ‘merry’ and failed to complete for the first time in ages. However, I thoroughly enjoyed the solve while on holiday. (might the holiday have messed with my capabilities, I wonder?). The bottom left corner was empty till near the end. I think I enjoyed ‘protect’ most of all.