An enjoyable Cyclops solve – some politics, some smut, some more politics and then a bit more smut…
Trump gets four mentions in the clues – although two are just to get to T as his first letter…May only warrants one mention…and not a Brexit reference in sight!…
There is a topical-ish (given the two-week publication schedule and the time it must take to set these puzzles) reference at 13A to Ronald T. Dump trying to swing the SUPREME COURT his way with his nomination of that FRISKY SEMI-RIGID guy who got all embarrassed about his high-school yearbook when a STUDENT. And a less topical (but laugh-out-loud and my LOI) reference to STORMY Daniels (Trump payee!) at 25A.
8D’s reference to Theresa May’s time as HOME SECRETARY maybe hints at her current state of mind – disheartened and pissed off with ‘core’ ministers (Johnson & Johnson spring to mind…?1)
Otherwise, some standard Cyclops fare – ‘Balls’, ‘members’ and ‘tackle’ all innuendo-ising their way into clues, and the surface reading of 13D spares no blushes!…
I happened to be sat on the train last week next to man who seemed interested in my cruciverbal activities. A semi-retired ‘management consultancy bull-shitter’, as he described himself, and seemingly fairly strait-laced with his stories of trying to persuade roomfuls of e.g. Nokia salesmen of the benefits of the Times crossword…he then surprised me with the statement that ‘my favourite is the Private Eye crossword…lots of fun…sticking a finger up…’ Quite a revelation, and an endorsement!…
| Across | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clue No | Solution | Clue | Definition (with occasional embellishments) / Logic/parsing |
|
| 1A | THRUSH | See 22ac. (6) | See 22A / See 22A |
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| 4A | THE BEST | Historic city Trump “started” – “none better” (3,4) | none better / THE_BES (historic city) + T (starting letter of Trump) |
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| 9A | TINSELTOWN | Hollywood lets in rotten borough? (10) | Hollywood / TINSEL (anag, i.e. rotten, of LETS IN) + TOWN (borough) |
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| 10A | IDLE | & 5 A feature of unemployment: Danish-led fiasco (4,5) | a feature of unemployment / anag, i.e. fiasco, of DANISH LED |
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| 11A | WHITE TIE | Pure truss that’s brought out on formal occasions (5,3) | (clothing) that’s brought out on formal occasions / WHITE (pure) + TIE (truss, tie up) |
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| 12A | SEDATE | Balls wedged in gorge – relax! (6) | relax / S_ATE (gorge) around (wedged in by) ED (Ed Balls, former UK politician) |
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| 13A | SUPREME COURT | Trump would like to control this ‘liberal’ computer user (7,5) | Trump would like to control this (institution) / anag, i.e. liberal, of COMPUTER USER |
|
| 16A | COMMON GROUND | Public land pulverized – shared by Donald and Kim? (6,6) | (fantasy place?) shared by Donald (Trump) and Kim (Jong-un) / COMMON (public land) + GROUND (pulverised) |
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| 18A | SNORTS | Types welcoming Corbyn’s end getting drinks (6) | drinks / S_ORTS (types) around (welcoming) N (end letter of corbyN) |
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| 20A | TAPESTRY | Hanging Seal at second attempt (8) | (cloth wall-)hanging / TAPE (seal up) + S (second) + TRY (attempt) |
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| 22A | SONG | & 1 Vociferous flier shows strain, having infection (4,6) | vociferous flier (bird) / SONG (strain, air, tune) + THRUSH (infection) |
|
| 23A | STREETWISE | US right wing tweeter is sadly familiar with our ways? (10) | familiar with our ways / anag, i.e. sadly, of S (rightmost letter, or wing, of uS) + TWEETER IS |
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| 24A | STUDENT | Trainee Casanova on Net, getting floppy (7) | trainee / STUD (Casanova, lover) + ENT (anag, i.e. getting floppy, of NET) |
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| 25A | STORMY | Trump payee, far from calm (6) | double defn. / LOI! – STORMY Daniels was a ‘Trump payee’ (via Michael Cohen); and if something is STORMY it is ‘far from calm’ |
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| Down | ||||
| Clue No | Solution | Clue | Definition (with occasional embellishments) / Logic/parsing |
|
| 1D | THIGHS | Members at their thickest, linking Trump’s inauguration with really good times (6) | Members (legs) at their thickest / T (first letter, or inauguration, of Trump) + HIGHS (realy good times) |
|
| 2D | RESET | Return to original state, taking drug in break (5) | return to original state / RES_T (break) around (taking in) E (Ecstasy tablet, drug) |
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| 3D | SPLIT OPEN | What battle-axes do to nipples, sadly (5,4) | what battle-axes do (but hopefully not to nipples!) / anag, i.e. sadly, of TO NIPPLES |
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| 5D | HANDS | See 10ac. (5) | See 10A / See 10A |
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| 6D | BLINDFOLD | Pissed female getting on Eye cover (9) | eye cover / BLIND (pissed, blind drunk) + F (female) + OLD (getting on) |
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| 7D | SOLITARY | Very turned on by Ray’s cooked sole (8) | sole / SO (very) + LIT (turned on) + ARY (anag, i.e. cooked, of RAY) |
|
| 8D | HOME SECRETARY | Theresa May disheartened and pissed with core minister (4,9) | (UK government) minister / anag, i.e. pissed, of THERESA + M(a)Y (disheartened) + CORE |
|
| 13D | SEMI-RIGID | Not fully tumescent from house massage one had (4-5) | not fully tumescent / SEMI (house, semi-detached) + RIG (massage, fix, as in data) + I (one) + D (contraction of had, as in ‘d) |
|
| 14D | EQUIPMENT | Joke’s on men cutting tips from reproductive act tackle (9) | tackle / E_T (tips, or last letters, of reproductivE + acT) around (cut by) QUIP (joke) + MEN |
|
| 15D | POINT OUT | Look sexy, grabbing on it, waggling for show (5,3) | show / P_OUT (look sexy) around OINT (anag, i.e. waggling, of ON IT) |
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| 17D | FRISKY | Sexually active? There’s danger engaging in extremes of fantasy (6) | sexually active / F_Y (extreme letters of FantasY) around (engaged in by) RISK (danger) |
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| 19D | SUSAN | Girl from South America – Republican’s ‘tail’ (5) | girl(‘s name) / S (South) + USA (America) + N (last letter, or tail, of republicaN) |
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| 21D | SEWER | Filthy place, son, jug (5) | filthy place / S (son) + EWER (jug) |
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Thank you, mc!!! I enjoyed this one very much. it took a little longer than recently and gave more satisfaction for that. Last in was ‘Solitary’ and what a struggle it was to get there…..even faced with the obvious answer the parsing took some time. I never got the ID from rigid and am happy to have it explained here. Got to admit , though, that ‘I’d’ for me is ‘I would’ and not ‘I had’. But that is my failing, I fear.
I found this a little more difficult than recently, too (after saying last time that I usually knock them off in a single sitting!)
SUPREME COURT/COMPUTER USER: great anagram!
@Winsor, isn’t it both? e.g.”I’d [I had] already written in ‘RIGID’ when I realised what the parsing was.”
True Tony!!! Except “I’d written in RIGID and never what realised the parsing was.”!!!! (Till yesterday!).