My turn to blog the annual treat of the Cyclops Christmas Special – but maybe I shouldn’t have got rid of my stack of 2019 issues so early!…
Recent Christmas specials have used various regular features from the magazine: 2018’s used ‘The Headmistress Writes’; 2017’s was ‘Dumb Britain’; 2016 was ‘Pseuds Corner’. And 2019 is no exception…the preamble states that:
“Clues marked * are inspired by ‘Blended Families‘ contributions on our Letters page, and have two parts:
1) a definition of a normal word & phrase
2) [in square brackets] an anagram of the names, either first or last, of two well-known people (some not so well known, perhaps).
The names, entered in the right order in the grid, will sound (sort of) like the answer to the definition.
The letter count applies to the grid entry.
Example: * Breakfast item? [CRAB FONDUE] (5,5)
Definition answer = Fried Bacon;
Grid entry = FREUD & BACON”
I had two minor problems with this – the first is that this particular Eye feature doesn’t really float my boat, so I rarely give them more than a brief glance. The second is that I had just the month before sent my entire stack of 2019 issues to my brother, who lives abroad, as our parents were visiting him…so I had hardly any reference material to work with!
(Note to self – either hang on to them until the end of the year, or take a punt as to which item(s) might feature next year, and take a scan copy before handing them on…)
Anyway, I was able to get them all (I hope) from crossers and the anagram fodder, but my examples/explanations might not be the same as in the original letters. Some pun-tastic fun was had along the way, and maybe I will read them with a bit more interest in the future…
Aside from the theme, there was a bumper crop of the usual Cyclops-ean political/Establishment targets and schoolboy smuttery in clue fodder and surface reads. I particularly enjoyed the ‘bovine bounder’ in 44A OVER THE MOON; the evasive politician giving us the RUNAROUND at 78A; the anagram of PERCY LASHES for CHESS PLAYER at 43A; the ‘love tackle’ needing careful manipulation in 46D ORIGAMI; and many more!…
I certainly whiled away a few pleasant hours over a few days of the Xmas break finishing this off. Many thanks to Cyclops, and a Happy New Cruciverbal Year to you all…
(Hopefully all is clear below, but it has been a bit of a marathon task – happy to clear up any mistakes spotted!)
| Across | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clue No | Solution | Clue | Definition (with occasional embellishments) / Logic/parsing |
|
| 15A | AGINCOURT | After a drink, make love, old style, leading to engagement (9) | engagement / A + GIN (drink) + COURT (make love, old style) |
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| 16A | OUTSHOT | Survived a duel, maybe, in Trout’s Hotel (7) | survived a duel, maybe / hidden word in ‘trOUTS HOTel’ |
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| 17A | EXPENSIVE | Almost vexed with penis enhancement, dear? (9) | dear? / anag, i.e. enhancement, of VEXE( |
|
| 18A | DIPLOMA | Look married, covered by iPad-processed certificate (7) | certificate / DIP_A (anag, i.e. processed, of IPAD), around LO (look!) + M (married) |
|
| 19A | INSEPARABLE | Intimate and fertile after penis operation (11) | intimate / INSEP (anag, i.e. operation, of PENIS) + ARABLE (fertile, of land) |
|
| 20A | RATCHET | Toothy thing responsible for crappy chatter (7) | toothy thing / anag, i.e. crappy, of CHATTER |
|
| 21A | BEYONCE CASTLE | * Fun for kids [OBSCENE, ETC, LAY] (7,6) | fun for kids / thematic homophone – BEYONCE (singer/artist) + CASTLE (e.g. Roy) could sound like BOUNCY CASTLE – fun for kids |
|
| 22A | CREW CUT | Not much up top, this bunch of sailors – ignore (4,3) | not much (hair) up top, this / CREW (bunch of sailors) + CUT (ignore) |
|
| 23A | NASAL | Nosy US agency at large (5) | nosy / NASA (US Space agency) + L (large) |
|
| 25A | SUGARED | Subjected to a firing on TV and all the sweeter for it? (7) | double defn? or ‘all the sweeter for it’ / double defn? When someone is fired by Alan Sugar on the TV show ‘The Apprentice’, they could be said to have been SUGARED?; and if something is SUGARED, it is all the sweeter for it! |
|
| 27A | MARITIME | Just like a seafarer to ruin sex – Cyclops is at end of patience (8) | just like a seafarer / MAR (ruin) + IT (euphemism for S.E.X) + IM (Cyclops is…) + E (end of patiencE) |
|
| 29A | ISLA WHITE | * Music festival venue [LEWIS A HIT] (4,5) | music festival venue / thematic homophone – ISLA (St Clair?) + WHITE (e.g. Jimmy, snooker player) could sound like the ISLE OF WHITE – a famous 60s/70s music festival venue |
|
| 32A | CARRIE OAKEY | * Party entertainment? [A KEY RIO RACE] (6,5) | party entertainment? / thematic homophone – CARRIE (horroe mocie character, or BoJo’s latest squeeze) + OAKEY (e.g. Phil, from the Human League) could sound like KARAOKE – party entertainment! |
|
| 34A | FAIR HAIR | Boris’s “topping” light musical? (4,4) | Boris’s topping / FAIR (light) + HAIR (musical) |
|
| 35A | OBTUSE | Love plastic tubes, being thick (6) | being thick / O (zero, love) + BTUSE (anag, i.e. plastic, of TUBES) |
|
| 38A | DO THE RIGHT THING | Act morally and slag off immigrants etc? (2,3,5,5) | act morally / if you slag off immigrants, etc., you are probably doing a right-wing thing… |
|
| 41A | RUNS DRY | Stands for election – “boring” – yields the last of the booze? (4,3) | yields the last of the booze / RUNS (stands for election) + DRY (boring) |
|
| 42A | AIM | & 49 & 13 I am sadly more pissed than is necessary to be overambitious (3,3,4) | to be overambitious / AIM (anag, i.e. sadly, if I AM) + TOO HIGH (more drunk, or pissed, than is necessary) |
|
| 43A | CHESS PLAYER | Percy lashes out – he might sacrifice a board member (5,6) | he might sacrifice a (chess)board member / anag, i.e. out, of PERCY LASHES |
|
| 44A | OVER THE MOON | Like the bovine bounder, very happy to have scored? (4,3,4) | double defn.? / in the nursery rhyme, the cow (bovine) jumped (bounded) OVER THE MOON; and a footballing interview cliché from the scorer of a winning goal is that they are usually OVER THE MOON |
|
| 49A | TOO | See 42ac. (3) | see 42A / see 42A |
|
| 51A | NEEDFUL | Eden shaking with flu, craving affection? (7) | craving affection? / anag, i.e. shaking, of EDEN with FLU |
|
| 53A | HEALTH SCREENING | Medical tests showing ex-PM infiltrated by Left before film show (6,9) | medical tests / HEA_TH (ex PM, Ted) around (infiltrated by) L (left) + SCREENING (film show) |
|
| 54A | OUTLET | Openly gay? A hindrance – escape (6) | escape / OUT (openly gay) + LET (a hindrance) |
|
| 55A | EMBALMED | Mabel pissed with the drink, like mummy (8) | like (Egyptian) mummy / EMBAL (anag, i.e. pissed, of MABEL) + MED (the Mediterranean Sea, or the drink) |
|
| 56A | BOATENG LAKE | * Ideal venue for a family row? [A BLOKE, A GENT] (7,4) | ideal venue for a family row (with oars!) / thematic homophone – BOATENG (Jerome, footballer, or Paul, UK politician) + LAKE (e.g. Greg, of Emerson, Lake & Palmer) could sound like BOATING LAKE – a place where a family would go to row – in a boat! |
|
| 59A | DESKBOUND | As an office worker casually bonked US Democrat? (9) | as an office worker / anag, i.e. casually, of BONKED + US + D (Democrat) |
|
| 61A | MAINSTAY | One isn’t about to cut ex-PM’s chief support (8) | chief support / MA_Y (ex PM, Theresa, remember her?!) around A (one) + INST (anag, i.e. about, of ISNT) |
|
| 62A | TBILISI | It is odd, welcoming old politician’s comeback – “capital!” (7) | capital! (of Georgia) / T_ISI (anag, i.e. odd, of IT IS) around BIL (Lib, Liberal, old politician, coming back) |
|
| 66A | POLLY | LibDem leader stuffs college parrot (5) | parrot / POL_Y (polytechnic, college) around (stuffed by) L (leading letter of Libdem) |
|
| 67A | AIR VENT | Room freshener locates focus of stink in cruddy tavern (3,4) | room freshener / A_R VENT (anag, i.e. cruddy, of TAVERN) around I (middle letter, or focus, of stInk) |
|
| 68A | WHOOPI CUSHING | * Infantile joke item [IS NO HIGH-UP COW] (6,7) | infantile joke item / thematic homophone – WHOOPI (Goldberg, US actor/ess) + CUSHING (Peter, UK horror film actor) could sound like WHOOPIE CUSHION – an infantile joke item |
|
| 71A | ARMLOCK | Hold member by hair (7) | (wrestling) hold / ARM (member, limb) + LOCK (hair) |
|
| 73A | LOADER BALLS | * Complete rubbish [BOLD, ALL EARS] (6,5) | complete rubbish / thematic homophone – LOADER (Peter, former English cricket umpire?) + BALLS (Ed, UK politician) could sound like a LOAD OF BALLS – complete rubbish |
|
| 74A | MICHAEL | Gove? Claim he’s pathetic (7) | Gove(‘s first name) / anag, i.e. pathetic, of CLAIM HE (NB. As a fellow Michael, I am a bit offended by the anagram/fodder, but it is Gove who is the target, so I guess it is fine by me!) |
|
| 76A | ENDURANCE | Prue powerless with canned bananas’ stickability (9) | stickability / anag, i.e. bananas, of ( |
|
| 77A | KAISERS | Ivanka is, er, sh*t, hosting rulers (7) | rulers (German emperors) / hidden word in, i.e. hosted by, ‘ivanKA IS ER Sh*t’ |
|
| 78A | RUNAROUND | Cheap car which an evasive politician will give you (9) | double defn.? / a cheap car could be a RUNAROUND, for local driving; and an evasive politician – is there any other kind?! – might give an interviewer the RUNAROUND |
|
| Down | ||||
| Clue No | Solution | Clue | Definition (with occasional embellishments) / Logic/parsing |
|
| 1D | HAND | & 72 Audio version of Atwood character created by a crafty person? (8) | created by a crafty person? / homophone, i.e. audio version – a Margaret Atwood character might be a HANDMAID, and something HAND MADE could have been made by a ‘craft’y person |
|
| 2D | PIMPLY | Spotted procurer, topless, cunning (6) | spotted / PIMP (procurer) + ( |
|
| 3D | SCHOONER | Large glass before taking leads from Corbyn hardliners? (8) | large glass / S_OONER (before) around (taking) CH (leading letters from ‘Corbyn Hardliners’) |
|
| 4D | PUT AN END TO | Stop making out with pendant, stupid! (3,2,3,2) | stop / anag, i.e. stupid, of OUT + PENDANT |
|
| 5D | ATTILA | Idiotic tit entering in the manner of fearsome leader (6) | fearsome leader (…the Hun) / A LA (in the manner of) around (entered by) TTI (anag, i.e. idiotic, of TIT) |
|
| 6D | TOPSY-TURVY | Chaotic Tory left wingers introducing syrupy TV fiasco (5-5) | chaotic / TO (left-most letters of TOry) + PSY-TURVY (anag, i.e. fiasco, of SYRUPY TV |
|
| 7D | STAPLE | Just a plebeian housing fix (6) | fix / hidden word in, i.e. housed by, ‘juST A PLEbian’ |
|
| 8D | SHORT CUMMINGS | * Defects [HMM, CORGI’S NUTS] (5,8) | defects / thematic homophone – SHORT (e.g. Claire, former UK Labour politician) + CUMMINGS (Dominic, Boris advisor/spawn of the devil, depending on your point of view) could sound like SHORTCOMINGS, or defects |
|
| 9D | STABBED | Cut sex? Misguided, bad bet (7) | cut / S (sex, abbreviation) + TABBED (anag, i.e. misguided, of BAD BET) |
|
| 10D | REPERCUSSION | About to go on drums etc, recoil (12) | recoil / RE (about, regarding) + PERCUSSION (drums, etc.) |
|
| 11D | SPIRITUAL | Purist Ali feigned having a religious air (9) | having a religious air / anag, i.e. feigned, of PURIST ALI |
|
| 12D | ONE TENTH | 10% backed No.10, restricted by the movement (3,5) | 0.1 / ON (no, or number, backed) + E_TH (anag, i.e. movement, of THE) around (restricting) TEN (10) |
|
| 13D | HIGH | See 42ac. (4) | see 42A / see 42A |
|
| 14D | REPTILE | Drunken peer, fired up inside – treacherous type (7) | treacherous type / REP_E (anag, i.e. drunken, of PEER) around TIL (lit, or fired, up, as this is a Down clue) |
|
| 21D | BASIC EDUCATION | Cocaine ad – but is about the three Rs? (5,9) | the three Rs? / anag, i.e. about, of COCAINE AD BUT IS |
|
| 24D | SATSUMA | Orange lot rounded up by day one (7) | orange / SAT (Saturday, day) + A (one), around (rounding up) SUM (total, or lot) |
|
| 26D | GAROTTE | Throttle balls in entrance (7) | throttle / GA_TE (entrance) around ROT (rubbish, balls!) |
|
| 27D | MAKE HAY | Force grass to seize an opportunity (4,3) | to seize an opportunity / MAKE (force) + HAY (grass) |
|
| 28D | TIFFIN | Barney gets elected, making a meal of it (6) | making a meal of it / TIFF (argument, or barney) + IN (elected) |
|
| 30D | CHER ROOT | * Light one up [ER COHORT] (4,4) | light one up / thematic homophone – CHER (US singer/actress) + ROOT (e.g. Joe, English cricket captain) could sound like CHEROOT – a cigar, so light one up! |
|
| 31D | HERMANN GOERING | Nazi rogering he-man is shattered round noon (7,7) | Nazi / HERMAN_ GOERING (anag, i.e. shattered, of ROGERING HEMAN) around N (noon) |
|
| 33D | IN ESSENCE | Where some Ruhr citizens live, subverting EC basically (2,7) | basically / IN ESSEN (where citizens in the Ruhr area in Germany might live!) + CE (reverse, or subversion, of EC!) |
|
| 36D | BOYLE DEGG | * Something for breakfast? [EDGY GLOBE] (5,4) | something for breakfast? / thematic homophone – BOYLE (Frankie, UK comedian; Susan, UK singer, or Robert – 17th century scientist) + DEGG (Jakki, UK model/actress, or Roland, WWII battalion commander?!) could sound like BOILED EGG – something for breakfast!) |
|
| 37D | EDITOR | Tired out, entertaining old hack (6) | hack (journalist) / EDIT_R (anag, i.e. out, of TIRED) around (entertaining) O (old) – a subversive reference to la Hislop, methinks?! |
|
| 39D | ILL-FED | Undernourished Dicky, Iron Lady’s No.3 (3-3) | under-nourished / ILL (dicky) + FE (iron) + D (third letter of laDy) |
|
| 40D | TERI LEAN | * Synthetic stuff [TEEN LIAR] (4,4) | synthetic stuff / thematic homophone – TERI (e.g. Hatcher, US actress?) + LEAN (e.g. David, film director) could sound like TERYLENE – synthetic stuff |
|
| 45D | ECSTASY | It should stimulate transport (7) | double defn.? / an ECSTASY tablet should stimulate; and ECSTASY can be described as transport, or rapture) |
|
| 46D | ORIGAMI | ‘Love tackle’: friend, that requires skilful manipulation (7) | (something) that requires skilful manipulation / O (zero, love) + RIG (tackle) + AMI (French for friend) |
|
| 47D | CHAMP AT THE BIT | Showing impatience, male gets into mucky bath – pathetic (5,2,3,3) | showing impatience (shurely just ‘show’?) / CHA_P AT THE BIT (anag, i.e. mucky, of BATH PATHETIC) around M (male) |
|
| 48D | HARDEN | A short way, being held by female, to get an erection? (6) | get an erection? / H_EN (female) around (holding) A + RD (road, abbreviated – short way) |
|
| 50D | OATMEAL | Some dreamboat, me – a likely porridge in the making! (7) | porridge in the making / hidden word in, ie some of, ‘dreambOAT ME A Likely’ |
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| 52D | FAMINE RELIEF | Uncertain if fireman Lee organised aid (6,6) | organised aid / anag, i.e. uncertain, of IF FIREMAN LEE |
|
| 56D | BOTTOMLESS | No arse is profound (10) | profound (deep) / if you have no arse, you might be BOTTOMLESS! |
|
| 57D | ENTICEMENT | Apprentice mentioned possessing “attraction” (10) | attraction / hidden word in, i.e. possessed by, ‘apprENTICE MENTioned’ |
|
| 58D | NOVAK KANE | * Anaesthetic [A VAN OK, KEN?] (5,4) | anaesthetic / thematic homophone – NOVAK (Djokovic, tennis player) + KANE (e.g. Harry, Spurs and England footballer) could sound like NOVOCAINE, an anaesthetic |
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| 60D | KEYBOARD | Crucial managerial group – its members get depressed (8) | its members get depressed / KEY (crucial) + BOARD (managerial group) |
|
| 63D | INSECURE | Issue a policy to get European Commission on board? That’s rather uncertain (8) | that’s rather uncertain / INS_URE (issue a policy) around (onboarding) EC (European Commission) |
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| 64D | SPLAYED | Sarah Palin starts changing Yale – daughter turned out (7) | turned out / SP (starting letters of Sara Palin) + LAYE (anag, i.e. changing, of YALE) + D (daughter) |
|
| 65D | WEI ANKA | * Prepare to sail off [I AWAKEN] (3,4) | prepare to sail off / final thematic homophone – WEI (e.g. Jingsheng, Chinese dissident) + ANKA (Paul, US musician) could sound like WEIGH ANCHOR – get ready to sail off! |
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| 68D | WEBBED | An element of internet shag: having skinny toes (6) | having skinny toes / WEB (an element of the internet) + BED (have sex with, shag) |
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| 69D | PASTRY | Liberal Party’s dough (6) | dough / anag, i.e. liberal, of PARTYS |
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| 70D | ICARUS | ‘Vicar’ uselessly protecting failed high flier (6) | failed high-flyer / hidden word in, i.e. protected by, ‘vICAR USelessly’ |
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| 72D | MADE | See 1dn. (4) | see 1D / see 1D |
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| 75D | LADY | Female screw locks up daughter (4) | female / LA_Y (have sex with, screw) around (locking up) D (daughter) |
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