Not any more poor taste than usual, an Eye puzzle always deserves a trigger warning, but as that phrase appears in an answer column using it as the blog title was irresistible.
And it is the usual Cyclops fare, with a fan covering Double-D, members being unzipped, ending with an illegal position.
Solving was not fast, but nothing that caused lengthy bafflement. Last one in was 24d for no obvious reason.
| Across | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1 | ADDICT | Perform, covering double-D with one fan (6) ACT (Perform) around (covering) DD + I (double-D with one) |
| 4 | UNZIPPED | International body moved fast, prepared to expose member? (8) UN (International body) ZIPPED (moved fast) |
| 9 | DISMISSED | Exited, clutching small girl – let go! (9) DIED (Exited) around (clutching) S[mall] MISS (girl) |
| 11 | GHOUL | Pull back having imbibed house spirit (5) LUG< (pull, back) around (having imbibed) HO (house) I tried to justify GENIE first |
| 12 | CLOWN | Start to come down on Braverman, finally – buffoon! (5) C[ome] LOW (down) [braverma]N |
| 13 | APRON | Expert in a new type of personal protection (5) PRO (expert) inside A N[ew] |
| 14/25 | TAX CUT | Vote-seeking measure? Try getting chop! (3,3) TAX (try) CUT (chop) |
| 15/18 | THE MIDDLE EAST | Those people at possibly deadliest world trouble spot (3,6,4) THEM (Those people) then (DEADLIEST)* AInd: possibly. |
| 20/28 | NEWS FLASH | The latest intrusion experienced by listeners? (9) Cryptic Def. Intrusion because some other program is interrupted. Why listeners and not e.g. viewers? Clue still works. Edit: I now agree that the clue can be considered a Doubble Def., I had not considered a pause after “latest”, so underlining added. |
| 22 | MISGOVERN | What a bad administration would do with minister almost overwhelmed by miners’ action (9) GOV (minister almost) inside (overwhelmed by) (MINERS)* AInd: action. |
| 26 | NEVER | New woman joining right? I’m amazed! (5) N[ew] EVE (woman) R[ight] Def. as in an exclamation of disbelief |
| 30 | EXACT | Nice to get money by force? (5) Double Def. |
| 31 | MUDDINESS | Undid pants – in trouble for lack of clarity (9) (UNDID)* AInd: pants, inside MESS (trouble) |
| 32 | MINORITY | Car circles round right heartless Tory? That’s not the half of it (8) MINI (car) around (circles) O (round) R[ight], then T[or]Y A very precise definition there |
| 33 | SEXTON | Church official, gender not resolved (6) SEX (gender) NOT* AInd: resolved. I’m calling this an anagram because though NOT is reversed “resolve” is much more of an anagrind than a revind |
| Down | ||
| 1 | AUDACITY | One on CIA duty hit bottle (8) A (one) (CIA DUTY)* AInd: hit. When I had a few crossing letters this had me thinking of words ending –DICATE |
| 2 | DISCO | Party outside one’s Conservative Club (5) DO (Party) around (outside) I’S C[onservative] |
| 3 | CHIANTI | Vital energy versus drink (7) CHI (Vital energy) ANTI (versus) |
| 5 | NADIR | Low point is Newcastle etc. getting ditched by Dorries, right? (5) NE (Newcastle etc.) removed from (getting ditched by) NADINE (Dorries) then R[ight] |
| 6 | INGENUE | Innocent of having accepted dope, you exhale finally (7) IN (accepted) GEN (dope) U (you) [exhal]E |
| 7 | POOR TASTE | Unseemly being in this shit – right awful state (4,5) POO (shit) R[ight] (STATE)* AInd: awful. |
| 8 | DE LUXE | Choice of improvised duel with former lover on the rebound (2,4) (DUEL)* AInd: improvised, EX< (former lover, on the rebound) |
| 10 | STARDOM | Celebrity arses about with Raab in familiar fashion? (7) RATS< (arses, about) DOM (Raab, familiarly) |
| 16 | EYESTRAIN | Say entire fiasco is an early sign of a regular tosser? (9) (SAY ENTIRE)* AInd: fiasco. |
| 17 | ENSURED | Made certain condemned leader goes (7) [c]ENSURED |
| 19 | UNCHOSEN | Rubbished NHS on cue, so not elected (8) (NHS ON CUE)* AInd: rubbished. |
| 21 | SENATOR | Rock star and neo-politician (7) (STAR + NEO)* AInd: rock. |
| 23 | OFFSIDE | Seedy party’s illegal position (7) OFF (seedy) SIDE (party) |
| 24 | SCREAM | Cry “Quit protecting aide’s back!” (6) SCRAM (Quit) around (protecting) [aid]E |
| 27 | VOMIT | Bring up Vennell’s inception? Leave it out! (5) V[ennell] OMIT (Leave it out). The dis-honourable Paula making an appearance |
| 29 | ALERT | Watchful royal consort releases book (5) AL[b]ERT; ALBERT (royal consort) remove (releases) B[ook] |
The more I hear about inverse proportionality, the less I like it.
Thanks beermagnet and Cyclops. My faves were 15a and 29a
I like the closing gag re proportiona
Ty
Re @1 I dropped the phone while composing the message. I marked 20/28 as a double definition because
the latest =news flash
Intrusion etc….=news flash
I enjoyed he closing gag in your blog.
Thanks for the blog, a good set of clever clues .
Agree with Franko@2 for NEWS FLASH , a pause after latest. I actually prefer listeners , I am far more likely to get a news flash on the radio.
ADDICT I am surprised at double-D in the clue, something like “large bust” would make us think for ourselves.
Great ending line, I will steal that to use with my students.
Thanks for the blog. I missed sexton/Albert, but in reflection they are perfectly gettable. Must try harder!
I had eyestrain/exact as possibles, but didn’t write them in as I couldn’t justify the definition. On reading the blog (despite not being explained here) the penny has finally dropped on “it makes you go blind” so eyestrain as an “early sign” makes sense!
I’m still unsure on exact=nice, but thesaurus.com does give nice as a weak match for exact in the sense of accurate/precise, so I’ll take it as ignorance on my part.
Now you pointed it out I agree with you Franko about NEWSFLASH, so I editted the blog a bit.
“Nice” is equivalent to “exact” through the shades of meaning via scrupulous or fastidious.
In computing there is a “Nice value” that is used in Unix operating systems, which is a kind or process priority. No-one seems to worry too much about it these days, but the thing we were taught to remember was that niceness is inherited. Doesn’t necessarily work for people though
Lovely puzzle and blog. For 6D I read the clue as the U coming from the end of YOU and not the bloody texting shortcut!
33ac, SEXTON: “revind”. Nice one. Haven’t seen that used before.
6dn, INGENUE: is U from “you” directly, or does”finally” apply to two words?
7d, POOR TASTE: isn’t “being in this” part of the def?
30ac, NICE: I think ‘exact’ was the original meaning, before it came to mean something vaguely positive. That what I was taught at school, anyway.
INGENUE I agree with Winsor @7 yoU exhalE finally. Do people really use U=you in texts? Part of the world I am glad to ignore .
SEXTON I agree for the anagram, always seems a bit strange when just reversed but still a different mix of the letters .
NICE is a very old word and has been through many meanings, originally foolish or ignorant, as Tony@8 says it meant exact or particular for a very long time and still does in some uses – to a nicety .
Roz@9, nicely put!
@Roz.- I c u don’t subscribe to text grammar!!! me 2!!!!
With 5d, I couldn’t decide whether NE was from the postcode for Newcastle and its surrounding area, or for N(ewcastle) E(tc)
For 6d, why is GEN the answer for dope?
Click Rick @12. Re 5d, Newcastle etc refers to the North East region so NE can be used as an abbreviation.
Re 6d, both Dope and Gen can mean information. For example, getting the dope on something/someone meaning finding information about.
Thanks beermagnet @6