Another bit o’ fun from Cyclops.
I’ll say more here if I get a chance to login
Solving order: 19 24 10 3/28 5 27 30 20 15/13 17 16 4 11 6 8 2
First pass 15 in 13 to go
12 22 23 21 18 25
30 was wrong EYETOOTH – I had hurriedly written in DOGTOOTH. Later I realised the grid was overrun by dogs.
1/26 9 7a 7d
| Across | ||
|---|---|---|
| 7 | SMOULDER | Small sculptor’s Burn with Suppressed Lust (8) S[mall] MOULDER (sculptor) |
| 8 | CUCKOO | Stupid intrusive time announcer (6) Double Def. Firstly from being slightly bonkers, secondly as a cuckoo clock. (Maybe time announcer inside the house – season announcer outside.) |
| 9 | CEDAR | Balls squeezed by Bentley? Getting wood! (5) ED (Balls, Ref. Ed Balls, not seen for a while) inside (squeezed by) CAR (Bentley) |
| 10 | FACE-CREAM | Farce: came explosively (good for the skin?) (4-5) (FARCE CAME)* AInd: explosively. |
| 12 | RELOCATED | Moved to declare “bollocks”? (9) (TO DECLARE)* AInd: bollocks. |
| 15/13 | DAVID LAMMY | Minister: crazy lady, mad with MI5 (5,5) (LADY MAD + MIV (V from 5))* AInd: crazy. Still a minister, but now also Deputy PM! How long will this last? |
| 17 | MACHIAVELLI | Intriguer Henry, caught by Camilla, “I’ve screwed around” (11) H[enry] inside (caught by) (CAMILLA I’VE)* AInd: screwed around. |
| 21 | LOYAL | Kate, say, changed political sides initially? True (5) ROYAL (Kate, say, (Kate is a top “royal”. She is Princess of Wales)) swap R for L (changed political sides |
| 22 | TURBULENT | Raging: “Endless shit, endless twaddle, little entertainment!” (9) TUR[d] (endless shit) BUL[l] (endless twaddle) ENT[ertainment] |
| 24 | DOG EAT DOG | Ruthless competition when boxer put away another boxer? (3,3,3) Doble Def. with the second being overly-literal. “Boxer” as in the dog; “Put away” as in eat |
| 27 | PUKKA | Crap UK karaoke hosts “genuine” (5) Hidden in craP UK KAraoke |
| 29 | ENMESH | She’s about to embrace ‘new’ Cyclops? “Get knotted!” (6) (SHE)* AInd: about, to make E…SH, around (to embrace) N[ew] ME (cyclops) |
| 30 | EYETOOTH | Canine‘s organ too too hard initially (8) EYE (organ) TOO T[oo] H[ard] |
| Down | ||
| 1/26 | GOOD GUYS | Slush fund ultimately takes the piss out of the police? (4,4) GOO (slush) [fun]D GUYS (takes the piss out of) |
| 2 | CLERIC | Minister left with rising anger when pressed by Conservatives (6) L[eft] IRE< (anger, rising) inside C and C (Conservatives) |
| 3/28 | REEF KNOT | Loopy thing awfully keen to nick fellow in balls (4,4) (KEEN)* AInd: awfully, to make EE…KN, around (to nick) F[ellow], all inside ROT (balls) |
| 4 | SUICIDAL | Despairing American-backed island police force needs a lift initially (8) US< (American, backed) I[sland] CID (police force) A L[ift] |
| 5 | SKYE | Isle‘s broadcaster on ecstasy (4) SKY (broadcaster) E[cstasy] |
| 6 | COMMODE | It facilitates motion without shifting (7) Cryptic Def. Ref. that sort of motion. The piece of furniture that is a godsend when movement is painful and incontinence painfully real. |
| 7 | SECURE | Get tight (6) Double Def. that could be read many different ways – needed all checking letters to help. First one read but Last one in as is often the case. |
| 11 | CADAVER | No life in this rogue state (7) CAD (rogue) AVER (state) |
| 14 | TWISTED | Bent, did a granddad dance? (7) Double Def. one referencing the dance craze of the sixties which is now only known by people in the “grand” generation as it’s 60 years ago |
| 16 | VOICE | Utter failing to crush ball (5) VICE (failing) around (to crush) O (ball) |
| 18 | COLLAPSE | Officers must cover genital area by end of the Fall (8) COLS (officers, Colonels) around (must cover) LAP (genital area) [th]E |
| 19 | BLADDER | Deflated by peer, this baron takes steps (7) B[aron] LADDER (steps). First one in |
| 20 | ATTACH | Cutting end off diplomat’s tie (6) ATTACH[e] |
| 23 | UPPITY | Excited fellow feeling arrogant (6) UP (excited) PITY (fellow feeling) |
| 25 | GAME | Quite ready for a romp? (4) Double Def: ready for a game, and a game |
Shopping at the supermarket, got to the till.
There was a youngster ready to help bag my stuff.
He asked if I wanted paper or plastic.
I said “I don’t mind – you decide for me.”
He said “You have to pick …”
“… baggers can’t be choosers.”
baggers can’t be choosers! Good one! 🙂
GAME
Def 1: Quite ready ( as in ‘I am game’).
Is that what the blogger meant?
Thanks Cyclops and beermagnet.
Unfamiliar with take the piss out of-guys
@Gordon F : To guy as a verb: (transitive) To make fun of, to ridicule with wit or innuendo.
For some reason I associate that meaning with regency plays.
@KVa : I probably didn’t need to underscore the “for”. I was thinking “Quite ready for another session” = “I’m up for another session”
Thanks beermagnet and Cyclops. Like Gordon F @ 2, I hadn’t heard of GUYS = taking the mickey.
I marked 19d, 20d and 23d as favourites for a variety of reasons, but all-around good stuff.
Too hard for me this time.
Clue of the fortnight 19d Bladder. It defeated me but a LOL when I read the blog, thanks beermagnet.
Thanks to Cyclops too.
Slightly harder than usual. I also had to backtrack having entered “dogtooth”.