Cyclops’ cryptic spray gun has some less-than-regular targets this fortnight…as well as some classic clueing smuttery…
…and Cyclops uses himself three times for parsing fodder – I’M, MI (I’M backwards) and C (first letter).
The buxom Dolly Parton puts in an appearance, ironically used to get us to ‘FLAT’ at 12A 21A, and Vlad the Im-Putin-eer Joseph Stalin performs yet another political PURGE at 5D. Asil NADIR – nominative determinism, if ever there was any – pops up at 25D. Brenda and Bush make appearances, and for probably the first time in ages, there is no Boris or Trump…are they yesterday’s men already?!
There is a pre-emptive puff for the Eye’s upcoming 60th anniversary at 11A; and some fairly eye-watering Cyclops-ean surface reads at 6A, 1A and 18D, plus the evocative image of a ‘tart’s bra’ stuffed with ice and cocaine at 20D.
Lastly, after the SCRUMMAGE involving some ‘groping’ in Cyclops 710, we have a ‘second row’ with an erection at 7D in STIFF – did Cyclops maybe enjoy his ‘contact’ rugby too much? I think we should be told! Treble cold showers all round…
All good stuff, and a pleasant diversion from the daily grind…many thanks to Cyclops, and I hope all is clear below…
| Across | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clue No | Solution | Clue | Definition (with occasional embellishments) / Logic/parsing |
|
| 1A | FLAGSHIP | Standard sex joint, pre-eminent one (8) | pre-eminent one(/thing) / FLAG (standard) + S (sex, abbrev.) + HIP (joint) |
|
| 6A | INSERT | Still holding end of penis, stick something inside (6) | stick something inside / IN_ERT (still) around (holding) S (end letter of peniS) |
|
| 9A | AGEISM | Discrimination against people getting on with a bit of frottage is mean (6) | discrimination against people getting on (a bit) / hidden word, i.e. a bit of, in ‘frottAGE IS Mean’ |
|
| 10A | REPRIEVE | Peer: “I’ve moved to right of Labour finally” (let off the hook) (8) | let off the hook / R (final letter of labour) + EPRIEVE (anag, i.e. moved, of PEER IVE) |
|
| 11A | PRIVATE EYE | Soldier needs to watch sixty-year old organ (7,3) | sixty-year old organ / PRIVATE (soldier) + EYE (to watch) |
|
| 12A | FALL | & 21 Slump, unlike Dolly Parton, and fail miserably (4,4) | fail miserably / FALL (slump) + FLAT (unlike Dolly Parton, who is anything but flat-chested!) |
|
| 13A | TURNIPS | Stupid people rip nuts off (7) | stupid people / anag, i.e. off, of RIP NUTS |
|
| 15A | PYRAMID | Starts to pat your rear in the middle of a massive erection (7) | a massive erection! / PYR (starting letters of Pat Your Rear) + AMID (in the middle of) |
|
| 17A | SWEETEN | Sent mad, containing short temper (7) | temper / S_TEN (anag, i.e. mad, of SENT) around (containing) WEE (short, small) |
|
| 19A | LASTING | City swindle still going on (7) | still going on / LA (Los Angeles, city) + STING (swindle) |
|
| 21A | FLAT | See 12ac. (4) | see 12A / see 12A |
|
| 23A | MISCELLANY | Cyclops is back – needs small monastic space, no matter what variety (10) | variety / MI (I’m, or Cyclops is, back) + S (small) + CELL (monastic space) + ANY (no matter what) |
|
| 26A | COMPOSER | Company male, one with attitude, who knows the score (8) | (someone) who knows the score / CO (Company) + M (male) + POSER (one with attitude) |
|
| 27A | BLEEDS | Is bloody ‘battle capital’ a UK city? (6) | is bloody / B (capital letter of Battle) + LEEDS (a UK city) |
|
| 28A | MEDDLE | Butt in dread peril ultimately? Deem otherwise (6) | butt in / MED_E (anag, i.e. otherwise, of DEEM) around DL (ultimate letters of dreaD periL) |
|
| 29A | BACKYARD | Pissed Kay, taking lead from Cyclops, gate-crashing poet’s home territory (8) | home territory / BA_RD (poet) around (gate-crashed by) C (leading letter from Cyclops) + KYA (anag, i.e. pissed, of KAY) |
|
| Down | ||||
| Clue No | Solution | Clue | Definition (with occasional embellishments) / Logic/parsing |
|
| 2D | LAGER | As Brenda knocked back the drink (5) | drink / Brenda (Queen Elizabeth, to the Eye) is REGAL, which, ‘knocked back’, equals LAGER! |
|
| 3D | GRIEVANCE | Vicar with gene mutation complaint (9) | complaint / anag, i.e. mutation, of VICAR + GENE |
|
| 4D | HAM IT UP | Act badly, being high after joint and sex (3,2,2) | act badly / HAM (joint) + IT (euphemism, sexual relations) + UP (high) |
|
| 5D | PURGE | To act like a certain Moscow-based leader, put pressure on press (5) | to act like a certain Moscow-based leader / P (pressure) + URGE (press) |
|
| 6D | IMPIETY | Cyclops is against sanctimonious, English gutless politician’s irreverence (7) | irreverence / IM (Cyclops is) + PI (sanctimonious) + E (English) + TY (T |
|
| 7D | STIFF | Having an erection in second row (5) | having an erection / S (second) + TIFF (row) |
|
| 8D | REVULSION | Sun lover perversely welcoming one’s disgust (9) | disgust / REVULS_ON (anag, i.e. perversely, of SUN LOVER) around (welcoming) I (one) |
|
| 14D | UNWELCOME | Far from desirable Dicky gets end away – now, now! (9) | far from desirable / UNWEL( |
|
| 16D | ARTILLERY | Big guns getting more seedy in affectedly creative surroundings (9) | big guns / ART_Y (creative0 around (surrounding) ILLER (more seedy) |
|
| 18D | EN MASSE | Sulphur involved with enemas as a whole (2,5) | as a whole / anag, i.e. involved, of ENEMAS + S (Sulphur) |
|
| 20D | ACERBIC | Tart’s bra stuffed with ice and cocaine (7) | tart / ACERBI (anag, i.e. stuffed, of BRA + ICE) + C (cocaine) |
|
| 22D | TEPID | Weight-loss regime given up, being soft-hearted and half-hearted (5) | half-hearted / TE_ID (diet, weight-loss regime, given up) around P (piano, soft, in the middle, i.e. soft-hearted) |
|
| 24D | SCRUB | Cancel Bush? (5) | double defn. / to cancel can be to SCRUB; and a bush or stunted tree can be SCRUB |
|
| 25D | NADIR | Within reason, a director’s bottom (5) | bottom / hidden word in, i.e within, ‘reasoN A DIRector’ |
|
I found this quite a tough one…and all the more enjoyable for that once it was finished. It took three sessions and the top half came quite quickly followed by bottom right and a final rush for the other corner.
I loved FALL FLAT even if it took me a long while to move away from FALL BACK (which also fits!!!).
I liked the structuring of COMPOSER and MISCELLANY.
Struggled a little to begin with, not least because I was trying to work in Peter or Vernon for 29A till I had some crossing letters and realised I was thinking a little too deeply. Did like FALL FLAT too, and PRIVATE EYE, once I’d got it pushed me into finishing off the top left corner. Was also looking for the Trump clue that wasn’t there.
Thanks for the blog, not my favourite this time. I prefer the more political clues to the schoolboy humour. Still a lot of skilful constructions, MISCELLANY was my favourite. I think PURGE might refer to STALIN.
No doubt about Stalin’s purge. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Purge
Roz and lemming at #3/#4…of course it was Stalin…history was never my strongest subject!…I think it was the surface read involving suppressing the press that made me think of the current incumbent…
Thanks mc_rapper67, I had a very similar experience to Winsor even down to the SW corner being tricky because for some reason I had blind spots on TEPID and MEDDLE. Happy to confirm that any stiffness I experienced in the second row was down to aching muscles probably caused by not warming up properly (and not hydrating properly afterwards)! The surface of PURGE and my own limited history knowledge meant I too thought of the current incumbent’s attempts to silence any sort of opposition, but clearly Stalin remains the chief wrong’un, thanks for the link to details of the full horror lemming@4. Anyway I enjoyed HAM IT UP as well as those previously mentioned.
Thanks mc_rapper67 and Cyclops, it was an enjoyable crossword. A tough but fair solve! I assumed Putin as well re 5d. I had a bit of a blindspot when doing 29a. I had all the crossing letters but it took me a while to suss it out despite it seeming relatively straightforward in retrospect.
A nice nod to the Frottagiste Liberation Front in 9ac, AGEISM — c’mon! they’re just “getting on” with it!
24dn, SCRUB, was a novel reference to ‘cancel culture’ and an excellent dd. Very neat.
Having a go at Putin fits well with the Eye’s editorial line, so that’s what I thought of as well, but with some puzzlement. I did get a couple hits on Google with ‘Putin purge’, though one was actually a report of him saying they should not have Stalin-style purges.
I once got an erection in the second row of a cinema.
I Am sure the purges are all Stalin’s as he is well known for them.
I had a lot of fun reading answer pairs, both across and down as they often make some sort of sense – like 5 & 24d, then 7 & 16d. Not to mention that supermarket staple 13 & 15a. Then there is the upcoming celebration at 4 & 15d.
Thanks to both for the enjoyment and elucidation.