It’s Private Eye. It’s Brummie. You get what you expect.
A middlingly difficult puzzle. Half in after the first pass and nothing that didn’t submit after a bunch of crossing letters were in.
| Across | ||
|---|---|---|
| 8 | APPLE JUICE | Drink epic julep to get pissed after one (5,5) A (one), (EPIC JULEP)* AInd: to get pissed |
| 10 | GONADAL | Encouragement to tennis player, having balls (7) GO! (Rafa) NADAL! |
| 11 | RADIANT | Bride-like, about to give relief during rave? (7) (AID (to give relief))* AInd: about, inside RANT (rave) |
| 13 | SPECIFICS | Particulars of loud electronic component splitting re-formed Spice Girls at last (9) F (loud) IC (electronic component – Integrated Circuit) inside (SPICE)* AInd: re-formed, and finally [girl]S |
| 14 | VODKA | Very old (dead?) Ford model – downfall of Putin’s Russia? (5) V[ery] O[ld] D[ead] KA (Ford model) |
| 16 | DOG TAG | Party takes Nigel’s middle name, the cur’s details (3,3) DO (Party) [ni]G|[el] TAG (name) |
| 17 | BADASS | Bloody-minded bastards making a move, rejecting Theresa’s lead, right? (6) (BASTARDS – T [heresa]- R[ight])* AInd: making a move |
| 20 | EAT ME | Cash machine points all round, giving instruction followed by Alice (3,2) ATM (cash machine) with E and E (points) around it |
| 21 | WIN FAVOUR | To get in with someone is unfair? Vow to get screwed! (3,6) (UNFAIR VOW)* AInd: screwed |
| 22 | PERUSER | Someone looking over super sexy Brenda (7) (SUPER)* AInd: sexy, ER (Brenda) |
| 24 | YIELDED | Foregone conclusion of Hillary: that is, directed to absorb Democrat lead (7) [hillar]Y IE (that is) then D[emocrat] inside LED (directed) |
| 25/6 | EXIT VISA | Leavers might need one, no longer getting sex by credit card (4,4) EX-IT (no longer getting sex) VISA (credit card) |
| 26 | CHARDONNAY | A Corbyn hand book released about booze (10) (A COR[b]YN HAND)* AInd: about |
| Down | ||
| 1 | WAGGISH | Risible as a footballer’s mate (7) Double Def. one a pun on WAG as in comic/fool and WAG as in [typically footballer’s] “Wives and Girlfriends” partner First clue read but Last one In |
| 2 | OPEN REVOLT | Fixed poll (Labour leader excluded), or event showing state of anti-Corbyn MPs? (4,6) (POL[l] OR EVENT)* AInd: fixed |
| 3 | HEADMISTRESS | Our Theresa got round Gove’s last illicit partner (12) HAD (got) around [gov]E, MISTRESS (illicit partner). T May has succeeded D Cameron as Head of Private Eye’s parody school page, currently “St Theresa’s Independent State Grammar School for Girls (and Boys) (formerly the Cameron Free School – formerly formerly the Coalition Academy)” |
| 4 | BULLYING | Endless rubbish and mendacity – Tory and Labour style intimidation (8) BUL[l] (rubbish, endless) LYING (mendacity) |
| 5 | ICARUS | Sun victim: independent coach (American) (6) I[ndependent] CAR (coach) US (American) |
| 7 | FLOTSAM | Rubbish female (with piles) one married (7) F[emale] LOTS (piles) A (one) M[arried] |
| 12 | DAVID CAMERON | Camp follower approached “right-on” casualty of Brexit (5,7) DAVID (Ref. Camp David, site of US Presidential conferences) CAME (approached) R[ight] ON |
| 15 | DESPONDENT | Wretched Donald’s top – cor! right away reporter’s down (10) D[onald] (CORRESPONDENT – COR – R[ight]) = ESPONDENT |
| 17 | BONEYARD | Cemetery bang in US police dept (8) BONE (Bang, in US – have sex in an American idiom) YARD (Police Dept) |
| 18/9 | PEOPLE’S WILL | Tabloid hogwash, as manifested by Brexit vote (7,4) PEOPLE SWILL |
| 19 | FRIDAYS | “Stephen shock” broadcast a number of occasions in the month (7) Homophone: “[Stephen] FRY DAZE (shock)” |
| 21 | WORTHY | Bust-up about your out-of-date big shot (6) ROW< THY |
| 23 | RUIN | Head of bank having done a bunk, bear financial crisis (4) [b]RUIN |
Minimal blog due to restricted access to home computers, consequence of infestation of teenagers.
Normal service will be resumed in 5 or 6 years
I think that ‘to give relief’ is a reversal (about) rather than an anagram in 11a, otherwise it would be a dreaded indirect anagram.
I guess it depends which ‘a’ is considered part of ‘aid’….. so both parsings work.
I was back to my two-stage solvings this time….. big number sorted quickly in one first pass. Then stymied….. followed by the remainder dropping in quickly after a sleep!
You are both correct of course. I remember that the answer to 11A seemed very clear when I solved it. When I came to write the blog I saw R(ADI)ANT rather than RA(DIA)NT and didn’t think in the same way at all. I really must write the blog at the same time as solving.
And Winsor. That happens so often – it is wonderful what a bit of sleep can do.