Solving time : 3 pints
Blogging time: 1 pint (just to make up the half, like)
Currently drinking: Marston’s Pedigree
| Across | |
|---|---|
| 1 | BUSH BABY Yo Pres! Did Telly Savalas ever meet GWB or his pa? |
| 5 | FETISH (HE’S FIT)* Nice anagram |
| 11 | RE-ELECTED (LET DECREE)* Hold on – was he elected the first time? Full clue: Brown would like to be let off with decree (2-7) |
| 12 | RUTLAND RUT LAND Does “Get off!” give “land”? Get down might |
| 14 | PLACEBO PLACE B.O. We’ve seen BO occasionally in the Eye Crossy (and lucky if you only see it given the current weather, espec. on the tube) |
| 15 | GAGGING FOR IT DD I think. Not sure about the first definition or wordplay: “Supporting computers, etc.” I suppose computers is I.T. but “supporting” is a bit loose for “gagging for”. What am I missing? |
| 18 | GLUE SNIFFING CD |
| 21 | ORGANIC ORGAN [b]IC Sweet clue: Penis possibly extended by capless biro – it’s grown, naturally (7) |
| 23 | TANGIER [b]ANG (shag without boyfriend’s head) inside TIER (line) Tricky clue this: African place forms line, pressing to shag boyfriend’s head off (7) |
| 24 | SKEW-WHIFF S KEW WHIFF |
| 26 | IRONY IRON [tor]Y “Like coppery only with iron” (c) 1917 Pte Baldrick |
| 27 | SEPOYS (YES-S PO)* Hmm, my spillchucker wants to change this to “sexpots” |
| 28 | EYELINER EYE LINER |
| Down | |
| 1 | BICARB BIC (BRA)* |
| 2 | SNOTTY DD or one straight def. Take your pick |
| 3 | BETRAYALS (YATES LAB R)* Rather obvious anagram indicator I thought – “Dicky”. It might mislead if there existed someone well-known as “Dicky Yates” but I can’t find one |
| 4/25 | BARFLY BARF L[a]Y This had me scratching my head for a while. I only cracked it after considering how words that extend over two lights always seem to be real (in this case for instance 3-letter) words in their own right, despite the whole is one word letter count (6) |
| 6 | ENEMA E (AMEN)< |
| 7 | IN THEORY (TORY IN EH)* (Another really obvious anag indic) |
| 8 | HIDEOUT HIDE OUT Favourite clue award here. Dennis Skinner may be known as a number of things, top parliamentary attendee, (affectionately) “The Beast of Bolsover”, but he’s not known publicly as “Den”. If I’d realised that I might have got it sooner: Den Skinner’s thing (openly gay) (7) |
| 9 | KEEPING FIT (PEE)< inside KING; FIT |
| 13 | DOG BISCUIT CD |
| 16/10 | FINANCIAL CLOUT FIN (CALCULATION)* |
| 17 | DUNG-HEAP DUN; HE inside GAP |
| 18 | GROUSES G (force) ROUSES (knocks up) This had me convinced for a long time there was a reverse in the wordplay. Tricky: Force knocks up bitches (7) |
| 19 | DISOWN DI’S OWN |
| 20 | PRAYER R inside PAYER |
| 22 | NEWLY NELLY change an L to a W Is it really old-fashioned to be called a Nelly? About the same as “berk” I would’ve thought. (Later after consulting dictionary) Blimey. I had no idea it not only means “twit”, or “foolish person” as the Chambers entry would have it, but is also, and perhaps primarily, rhyming slang “Used as a disparaging term for an effeminate homosexual man” from Nelly Duff / Puff. Though thankfully, “Not on your Nelly” (which is how I’m wont to use the word) gets its own separate entry where Nelly = “life”. Here endeth today’s slang lesson. |
Re. 15a: Supporting computers, etc. like a comic desperate for a one-night stand?
Definition is “desperate for a one-night stand”
“Supporting” = for
“computers etc.” = IT
“like a comic” = gagging
Don’t understand the order though; “for it” appears to come before “gagging”. Suppose it’s how a comic might be for IT.
For 12a, I thought it parsed like this:
“English place to engage in beastly sex? Get off!”
English place = Rutland, obviously – and to make Rutland into rut (“engage in beastly sex”), you have to get rid of “land”, which could also be used as a synonym for “get”, hence “get off”.
Thanks for the above comments. You are both clearly correct.