I also had the pleasure/honour of blogging the last ‘milestone’ Cyclops – no. 600 – nearly four years, or ‘a Trump’, ago. My how time flies…and congratulations to Cyclops for extending his longevity even further!
My initial thought, on seeing the grid, was that we would have a ‘Nina’ with S E V E N H along the top unchecked cells, and U N D R E D along the bottom. Good job I didn’t start inking those in, as it turned out not to be the case!…
Instead, CYCLOPS made a CAMEO appearance at 7A, and the occasion was marked with the appearance of SEVEN(TH), HUNDRED, and CROSSWORD in various places around the grid. (Have I missed any more?)
There was a nod to recent lobbying scandals, with ‘dodgy Conservatives’ giving ACCESS at 1D, and the gun law debates in the US with HANDGUN giving Americans protection at 9A.
11A is a classic Cyclops-ean surface read – i.e. a little risqué – although I had to check the spelling. I thought that with 2 Ns BANNISTER referred to the athlete Roger, but Chambers gives it with both one and two Ns: the thing that kids love to slide down – watching out for splinters and any fancy ornamentation at the end!
There was one clue (24A) I couldn’t fully justify/parse, and am not sure I have submitted/blogged the right solution. I plumped for OUTCOME (defn. = result?), over OUTVOTE, OUTDONE, OUTGONE…but then can’t quite disassemble the clue – unless I have missed something particularly FIENDish? I’m sure the comments below will assist…if not, then the correct answer will be in the next issue…
I have one minor quibble – MORSE CODE appeared very recently, in Cyclops 698, with the same anagram fodder (SOME CREDO), albeit different indicator and definition. Maybe a little laziness or oversight from Cyclops, and should really have been picked up by the editor?
Congratulations again to Cyclops on the milestone…just another 12 years-or-so and you will be into the 1000s!
| Across | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clue No | Solution | Clue | Definition (with occasional embellishments) / Logic/parsing |
|
| 7A | CYCLOPS | One who sets young Conservative loutish leaders breaking the law (7) | one who sets (specifically, this puzzle!) / C_OPS (the law) around (broken into by) YCL (leading letters of ‘Young Conservative Loutish’) |
|
| 9A | HANDGUN | Mitt (“good ‘un!”) offers protection for many Americans (7) | (something that) offers ‘protection’ for many Americans / HAND (mitt) + G (good) + UN |
|
| 10A | FIEND | China expels Republican ‘devil’ (5) | devil / F( |
|
| 11A | BANNISTER | Tennis bra snapped – slid down in childish play (9) | (something) slid down in childish play / anag, i.e. snapped, of TENNIS BRA! |
|
| 12A | EASY CHAIR | Failing to tax office furniture (4,5) | (item of) furniture / EASY (failing to tax or exert) + CHAIR (office, position) |
|
| 14A | TITHE | Tax perverted sex article (5) | tax / TI (‘it’, S-E-X, perverted – reversed, or anagrammed?) + THE (definite article) |
|
| 15A | SEVENTH | A certain position, in which she playfully grabs orifice (7) | a certain position (the one after sixth) / SE_H (anag, i.e. playfully, of SHE) around (grabbing) VENT (orifice) |
|
| 17A | HUNDRED | A large figure under-performing in high definition (7) | a large figure / H_D (High Definition) around UNDRE (anag, i.e. performing, of UNDER) |
|
| 19A | MORSE | & 23dn. Cry for help expressed in this version of some credo? (5,4) | cry for help (i.e. SOS, can be) expressed in this / anag, i.e. version of, of SOME CREDO |
|
| 20A | SPARTACUS | Our bolshie Dave joins with Bill (Private Eye), whom many fellow rebels claimed to be (9) | whom many fellow rebels claimed to be! / SPART (Dave Spart, bolshie Eye character) + AC (account, bill) + US (Private Eye) |
|
| 22A | CROSSWORD | What are you doing, Balls? (9) | what are you doing? / (depending on punctuation, could be a double defn?) ‘balls!’ as an interjection could be a CROSS WORD |
|
| 23A | CAMEO | Small dramatic role “was orgasmic, love!” (5) | small dramatic role / CAME (was orgasmic) + O (love, zero) |
|
| 24A | OUTCOME | Trump’s position regarding White House: “Expose result” (7) | result? / OUT (Trump’s position, regarding the White House?) + COME (expose?) |
|
| 25A | REDPOLL | Bird’s looking angry with ballot (7) | bird / RED (looking angry) + POLL (ballot) |
|
| Down | ||||
| Clue No | Solution | Clue | Definition (with occasional embellishments) / Logic/parsing |
|
| 1D | ACCESS | Admission, in case dodgy Conservative succeeded (6) | admission / ACCES (AC_ES, anag, i.e. dodgy, of CASE, around C – Conservative) + S (succeeded) |
|
| 2D | COLD | See 21dn. (4) | see 21D / see 21D |
|
| 3D | SHINER | The Sun’s Eye-bashing evidence? (6) | double defn. / the sun (not capitalised) is something that shines (occasionally, in the UK!), so a SHINER; and a black-eye, or evidence of ‘eye-bashing’, can be a SHINER |
|
| 4D | INDISTINCT | Obscure charge involving U-turning idiots (10) | obscure / INDI_CT (charge) around (involving) STIN (nits, or idiots, U-turning) |
|
| 5D | AGITATOR | Activist got at IRA’s duplicity (8) | activist / anag, i.e. duplicity, of GOT AT IRA |
|
| 6D | UNTRUE | Nut-cracking the French way isn’t right (6) | isn’t right / UNT (anag, i.e. cracking, of NUT) + RUE (French for road, or way) |
|
| 7D | COFFERS | Sound of heavy smokers’ chests? (7) | chests / homophone – heavy smokers tend to be COUGHERS! |
|
| 8D | SABBATH | Bah! Bats variant for a day (7) | a day / anag, i.e. variant, of BAH BATS |
|
| 13D | CONFESSION | Prisoner fines so wrong – may be given to priest (10) | (something that) may be given to priest / CON (convict, prisoner) + FESSION (anag, i.e. wrong, of FINES SO) |
|
| 16D | VERMOUTH | Voter, um, is turned with hard drink (8) | drink / VERMOUT (anag, i.e. is turned, of VOTER UM) + H (hard) |
|
| 17D | HOARDER | Collector sporting more impressive erection (oxygen-enriched) (7) | collector / H_ARDER (sporting a more impressive erection) around (enriched by) O (oxygen) |
|
| 18D | DESPOIL | Ruin poor oldies parking at the centre (7) | ruin / DES_OIL (anag, i.e. poor, of OLDIES) with P (parking) at its centre |
|
| 19D | MACRON | President Biden ultimately follows Marco about (6) | (French) president / MACRO (anag, i.e. about, of MARCO) + N (ultimate letter of bideN) |
|
| 20D | SHOWER | One revealing broadcaster takes heroin (6) | one revealing / S_OWER (broadcaster, e.g. of seeds) around (taking) H (heroin) |
|
| 21D | COMMON | & 2 Ailment making you green and frigid (6,4) | ailment / COMMON (green, as in village green) + COLD (frigid) |
|
| 23D | CODE | See 19ac. (4) | see 19A / see 19A |
|
I opted for OUTVOTE at 24A. It’s a plausible summary of “Trump’s position regarding White House”, and it parses as OUT (to expose) plus VOTE (the result of an election).
Hmm I also wondered about OUTCOME and was looking forward to this blog to clear it up for me 🙂
Tony
I too wrote in OUTCOME parsed same as mc, and also unhappy with Expose = Come.
For the answer to be defined by “Trump’s position regarding White House” surely it would be a past tense.
This one will keep us guessing a while longer yet.
having reviewed the comments, I , who had OUTCOME ,now concur with John E. But I’m not hugely comfortable. This will cause Cyclops no end of angst of course!!!!
I liked Mitt and China as wonderful diverters from the answers. I was tickled by CYCLOPS, EASY CHAIR, UNTRUE and COFFERS.
I’d got all bar 4D after 40 minutes so feel I am approaching the big boys on here occasionally. INDISTINCT was the loi and even after I got it, parsing took longer…..mostly coz I got hiung up on TITS rather than NITS!!!!
I’m not convinced by MORSE CODE……..it’s a code that can be used to sewnd a cry for help…but it’s not a cry for help in itself. I would, however, have been enthralled if Cyclops had engineered the grid so that the answer could be “…—…”!!!!
I missed the ”seven hundred’ link but this might explain why SABBATH (the seventh day) was included. I thought the clue was much easier than that expected in this puzzle.
I plumped for OUTDONE. Expose+ finished (which could mean result(?) = Trumped
I remain unsure
24A definitely prompted a lot of discussions on the forums out there. I also went for OUTDONE – as with @Iain – OUT (Expose) + DONE (result) with OUTDONE meaning defeated or bested which is what Trump was with the White House, but it’s not clear. A little too ambiguous for Cyclops.
Thanks for the various comments – 24A was obviously going to generate some discussion! Apologies to Tony at #2 that we don’t seem to have a consensus…
I am now (too late maybe!) leaning more towards OUTDONE, as per Iain and Columbo78 – it has the past-tense that OUTVOTE doesn’t have… We shall see on Wednesday, or whenever the UK postal service manages to get my subscription copy delivered!
Winsor at #4 – I see your point that there is more to Morse code than just SOS (although for the vast majority of people – me included – that is probably the only Morse usage they would know). The clue definition does state that the cry for help can be ‘expressed in this’, so it doesn’t necessarily imply exclusivity there? My grumble there was more with the reuse of the anagram fodder from puzzle 698…
Thanks mc_rapper67 and congratulations to Cyclops on 700. I ‘elected’ for OUTVOTE marginally over OUTCOME but can see that OUTDONE may be a stronger candidate after Iain and and Columbo78’s posts. I marked 7a and 21/2 as my favourites
If 24A does turn out to be a clue for OUTDONE, it could be greatly improved by adding ! after result.
A long shot….but might it be that ‘expose; is simply an indicator of the answer as in ‘gives’, ‘provides’, ‘finds;’?
I am trying to rationalise ‘expose’ as ‘come’…to expose can mean to ‘show up’; and to come/arrive can also mean to ‘show up’?…the same two words, but the two phrases have very different meanings…rather indirect…
‘One more sleep’ to go until we find out the correct answer – although we won’t know the definitive/intended parsing unless Cyclops drops in and puts us out of our misery!
I had been assuming that “expose” referred to the “out” part of the answer.
It’s all clutching at straws for me. I suspect I have got it wrong so no name in the mag for me……a bucket list item!!!!
I’m appalled that Cyclops hasn’t dropped in….especially since I stated he had made me uncomfortable!!!
Question should be asked in parliament!!!!
Indeed, Barry Purcell at #12 – a valid premise, that puts you firmly in the Iain and Columbo78 camp!
We will find out the OUTCOME tomorrow – will my initial parsing be vindicated, or will it be OUTDONE, or OUTVOTE(D) by an alternative set of facts?!?…
We will probably be told it never happened – it was all a dream
Congratulations Cyclops on number 700. I have attempted, and enjoyed, a decent number of them.
My attempts at 24a started with OUTPOLL (as I had not done the down clues) and eventually settled on OUTCOME. But I can see the argument for OUTDONE. Chalk me up as another confused.
Thanks for the blog mc.
And the results have landed on the doormat…the Eye jury has come down in favour of…OUTCOME!
So that will have whittled down the number of candidates for the prize this fortnight – John E, Iain and Columbo78 are struck off – but I am afraid, Winsor, unless your real name is ‘John Norton’ you will have to wait at least another two weeks to tick this particular item off your bucket list…(;+<)
Thanks for the news mc_r…..but we are now left with no explanation of how come=expose. Unless my feeble explanation is it. but as I said, that was clutching at a straw.
Dear Lord Gnome — if the only way of submitting crossword entries is by email, you would do well to avoid clues like 24A that are bound to attract multiple entries. My own initial entry was in fact a correct one, but I was so dissatisfied with the clueing for OUTCOME that I sent in another entry with OUTVOTE a day later because it is such a good 3,4 solution.
12ac, EASY CHAIR was the one that sat unsolved for days … mostly because I had put COFFINS in for 7dn instead of COFFERS (sort of works, I think — smokers do a lot of coughin’, but that would have meant “sound of” was doing double duty). Even after I corrected that and was sure it must be EASY CHAIR (furniture!), I still couldn’t parse it for some reason, so thanks, mc, for showing how straightforward it really was.
In 24ac, I understood OUTCOME to be a description of Trump’s situation vis-a-vis the White House, in that he has come out of (office) there. Sort of archaic usage, like ‘outwith’. “Expose” is a link from wordplay to the definition, an instruction to the solver to show (expose) the solution. (@beermagnet, ‘come’ is a past participle). Looks like I’m in with a chance for the prize this week …
In 29ac, note the question mark, implying ‘for instance’, as “balls” is just an example of a cross word (definition-by-example).
CAMEO amused me. My inner schoolboy also sniggered at 17dn, HOARDER.
Tony Collman at #20 – I didn’t mention it in the blog, but I also had to Tippex out the ‘IN’ of COFFINS to make it COFFERS! Great minds think alike…
Barring any definitive pronouncement from the oracle, I think we should all move on from the OUTCOME of 24A and concentrate on puzzle 701…should have arrived on people’s doorsteps by now, and will be online late morning (UK time) tomorrow…
mc, yes, I’m sorry to have come late to the party with the correct parsing of OUTCOME. Just been very busy this week. I will probably get to 701 tomorrow afternoon sometime.
Btw, I forgot to mention, I completely missed the significance of SEVENTH and HUNDRED, although the TH does seem to have gone for a walk, so I’ll blame my oversight on that :-). (Actually I never spot stuff like that. Nina could come and do something to me that belongs in a Cyclops clue and I wouldn’t even notice it, I’m sure.)
Very late thanks mc_rapper67, I was outdone by OUTCOME and thanks TonyCollman@20 for that explanation as I had really struggled to justify any solution there. I also liked the clue for CAMEO but wondered if Cyclops considered squeezing in “COMPO” there to fit the Nina? Anyway congratulations to Cyclops, SPARTACUS worth the entry fee alone and hope for many more to come.