Another fairly routine Eye puzzle this time.
Nothing hugely topical or interesting to call out.
Solving was easy enough for the first pass which ended with much more than half the grid filled: 9 to go.
Those were soon despatched too except for the last one 27a RECREANT – not a word I knew.
Two clues using wordplay “elected” for IN (2 and 8) was a surprise as I solved them consecutively since they are crossing
| Across | ||
|---|---|---|
| 8 | IN NEED | Elected, miss being poor? (2,4) IN (elected) NEED (miss) |
| 9 | PILFERER | Nick on Brenda’s ‘crook‘ (8) PILFER (Nick) ER (Brenda) Felt a bit short-changed by this clue. Any <verb> + ER = <person doing action> |
| 12 | MISGOVERN | Following May’s lead, Gove is adapting force, as bad leaders do (9) M[ay], (IS GOVE)* AInd: adapting (mildly), RN (force) |
| 13 | FIRST LADY | At the outset, roping in a Democrat as a questionable Trump supporter (5,4) A D[emocrat] inside FIRSTLY (at the outset) |
| 14 | DODGE | Pick-up ruse? (5) Double Definition. Dodge manufacture pick-up trucks |
| 16 | YES SIR | In Boris’s eyes, doing a U-turn is an emphatic assertion (3,3) Hidden reversed in boRIS’S EYes |
| 18 | CANOPY | Parrot swallows article cover (6) AN (article) inside COPY (parrot) |
| 21/5 | MAYOR OF LONDON | No favourite of Trump, normal food, NY variety, with zero filling (5,2,6) (NORMAL FOOD NY + O (zero) )* AInd: variety |
| 22 | SUNSTROKE | Tabloid hits Pat with “PHEW WHAT A SCORCHER!” consequence? (9) SUN (tabloid) STROKE (pat) |
| 24 | LIFE CYCLE | Cradle-to-grave biography: ‘Boris’s London Transport’ (4,5) LIFE (biography) CYCLE (as in the Hire bikes popularly, though incorrectly, known as Boris Bikes which I heartily recommend). For some reason I wrote in Life Story which caused some trouble later on. |
| 26 | BLAST | Frantic party puts one right off ex-PM by the way (5) BLA[ir] ST[reet] |
| 27 | RECREANT | Coward wrecking career with conservative body (8) (CAREER)* AInd: wrecking, NT (National Trust “conservative” body as in conservation) Last one in. I did not know this word |
| 28 | ATTIRE | Habit attributed to Trump sources: wrath! (6) A[ttributed] T[o] T[rump] IRE (wrath) |
| Down | ||
| 1 | GIRAFFE | Some neck on this gaffer, screwing around Cyclops! (7) (GAFFER)* AInd: screwing, around I (Cyclops). First one in (first read) |
| 2 | INSOBRIETY | Elected, yet Boris perversely exhibits a tosspot quality (10) IN (elected) (YET BORIS)* AInd: perversely |
| 3 | SEXTET | Musicians‘ testes crushed no end, with unknown insert (6) (TESTE[s] + X (unknown))* AInd: crushed |
| 4 | PIGSTY | Dump thousands of dollars in sorrow (6) GS (thousands of dollars) in PITY (sorrow) |
| 6/11/25 | ARSE ABOUT FACE | Contrary saboteur getting pissed in a squalid cafe (4,5,4) (SABOTEUR)* AInd: getting pissed, inside (A CAFE)* AInd: squalid |
| 7 | TRINKET | Ken, right tit mangled – “a mere trifle” (7) (KEN R[ight] TIT)* AInd: Mangled. |
| 10 | IMPAIR | Undermine politician after one broadcast (6) I MP AIR (broadcast) |
| 15 | DIPLOMATIC | Dim Capitol’s reinvented ‘opposite of Trump’? (10) (DIM CAPITOLS)* AInd: reinvented |
| 17 | STRICKEN | Hit with Trump’s openers, revolt on the outside (8) TR[ump] inside SICKEN (revolt) |
| 18 | CANNED | Pickled like a herring? (6) Double Definition |
| 19 | IMPLORE | Cyclops upset May with alternative role for press (7) I (Cyclops) PM< (ROLE)* AInd: alternative |
| 20 | LEFTIES | Maybe hardline Corbynites feel it’s wrong (7) (FEEL IT’S)* AInd: wrong |
| 22 | SECOND | A short time back (6) Double Definition |
| 23 | TO BITS | Old boy besieged by knockers – very much (2,4) OB (Old Boy) inside TITS (knockers, thrupenny bits maybe) |
one door closes
another door opens
(I think my house is haunted)
– Daniel Piper
More here: <link>
My experience of this was similar to Beermagnet’s and I would echo his comments at 9a (PILFERER), 24a LIFE CYCLE (not the endorsement of ‘Boris’ bikes, but I pencilled in LIFE STORY, wondering meanwhile about “London Transport”), 27a, RECREANT (didn’t know the word either) and 1d, GIRAFFE (write-in).
Didn’t pick up on the first def in 14a, DODGE: just thought it was a slang term i didn’t know for the ‘romantic’ meaning.
Liked 6/11/25, ARSE ABOUT FACE and 22d, SECOND.
I read the cycle as being the means of transport oft used by Boris when n London. But both work.
I too had story for a while but when the crossings didn’t cooperate, I deleted and started gain. The herring clue had me for a while too….I had it as a double definition but could only reach as far as soused and smoked and the crossings didn’t work with that either…or at least it caused trouble.
I got ‘first lady’ but missed the firstLY and was trying to see how ‘lay’ fitted around a Democrat.