Private Eye (Cyclops / 804) – Depleted Barrel

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The Barrel is Depleted –

– it doesn’t need Cormoran Strike to conclude Legless and Beer Spillage might be involved.
Then there’s the Censorship of whatever Verbal Blasphemy the Cheeky Ancestor is responsible for.  Maybe they were at the Barrel.
This all might be a ruse to disguise a much darker tale of someone who Carves Stripes of Pallid Flesh and Blood.  (Shudder)

Making up tales from answers in the Eye crossword could go viral.  But that’s another story…

Solving was bitty.  I started well with 15d giving several first letters but could only capitalise on Cheeky on first reading.   I feel I should have got 24 Blasphemy earlier.  Especially having the B.   I got the P after a quick Puke and then found the answer blindingly obvious even if the intricacies of the wordplay needed sorting out later.  It is still my favourite clue.  What a difference a crossing letter can make.
The rest of the answers slotted in moving anticlockwise around the grid leaving the usual 7 or 10 empty, mostly in the top half, to be revisited at the end.  The final few included 4/7 which had defeated my attempt at first look cold solve.

One small clueing gripe at 13.

Across
7 DEPLETED Diminished Pence allowed to get in the action (8)
P[ence] LET (allowed) inside DEED (action)
8 PAST IT Old state finally admits boob (4,2)
PA (state, Pennsylvania) [admit]S TIT (boob)
10 WALES The nation emits a lament for all to hear! (5)
Homophone “Wails” (emits a lament) HInd: for all to hear.  Last one in.
11 BLACKLIST What makes Balls tick? Bar! (9)
(BALLS TICK)* AInd: what makes.
12 BARREL Vat blunder in party U-turn (6)
ERR (blunder) inside LAB (party), all reversed (U-turn)
13 LEGLESS Pissed member brought before bar (7)
LEG (member) LESS (bar?)
This doesn’t work for me: To me “bar” means remove entirely, whereas “less” is just less or fewer of it.
16/17/18 FLESH AND BLOOD Family member – he’d nod off almost, playing with balls (5,3,5)
(HE’D NOD OF[f] + BALLS)* AInd: playing.
20 STRIPES Bars rubbish in deserted suburbs (7)
TRIPE (rubbish) inside S[uburb]S
22 BUMMER Beg US rock band to back pain-in-the-arse (6)
BUM (Beg) REM< (US rock band, to back)
24 BLASPHEMY Awfully shapely bum, but heartless – curses! (9)
(SHAPELY B[u]M)* AInd: awfully.
26 CARVE Tend to hold against hack (5)
V (against) inside CARE (tend)
27 CHEEKY Fresh as an arse? (6)
Double Definition
28 ANCESTOR Old family member canes erring politician (not bottom) (8)
(CANES)* AInd: erring, then TOR[y]
Down
1 SPILLAGE Leak takes a long time after second tablet (8)
S[econd] PILL (tablet) AGE (a long time)
2 CENSORSHIP Detection devices soundly fixed to joint, by which bits are cut out (10)
Homophone of “Sensors” (detection devices) HInd: soundly, then HIP (joint)
3 VERBAL Mouthy abuse from upset Labour minister cut short (6)
LAB REV. (Labour minister, cut short) all reversed (upset)
4/7 BACK DOWN Pull out hindquarters fluff (4,4)
BACK (hindquarters) DOWN (fluff)
5 STRIKE Second time, right, to have old president hit? (6)
S[econd] T[ime] R[ight] IKE (old president)
6 STATESIDE Where many Brits would have Trump stay in September, say party (9)
STATE (say) SIDE (party)
9 PALLID Breaking into house, Dicky turned weak (6)
ILL< (dicky, turned) inside PAD (house)
14 GOBSMACKED Overcome, try heroin in the sack (10)
GO (try), SMACK (heroin) in BED (the sack)
15 A FAST BUCK After a diet, resist making easy money (1,4,4)
A FAST (a diet) BUCK (resist).  First one in.
17 ANSWER Americans were hogging the solution (6)
Hidden inside americANS WERe
19 OVERRATE Judge in too good a light, so stuffed right inside (8)
R[ight] inside OVER-ATE (so stuffed)
21 READER Arse grabbing of French student (6)
DE (of, in French) inside REAR (arse)
22 BEYOND Done by screwing at a distance (6)
(DONE BY)* AInd: screwing.
23 BEER Drink‘s improved – non-drinker’s pissed off (4)
BE[tt]ER: BETTER (improved) – TT (non-drinker)
25 PUKE Sick of country being forced into exercise (4)
UK (country) inside PE (exercise)

Back to that tale …

In the back of beyond, Wales, the cheeky bartender poured a beer from a depleted barrel and gave it to the pallid stateside reader.
“Looking for an answer?” he smirked. “Careful. Truth here’s blasphemy. Don’t overrate it.”
She drank, fast. Then got verbal. “My ancestor disappeared here.”
He chuckled. “Flesh and blood vanish easy. Especially during a strike. You hadn’t heard? Censorship, maybe.”
She drank, faster, legless, and couldn’t help a little puke.
“Bummer, a spillage” he said.
She didn’t back down. “I’m not looking for a fast buck. Carve his name on the wall.”
Gobsmacked, he saw her eyes — Stripes of green, same as the man on the old blacklist.
“Guess you’re not past it after all.”

7 comments on “Private Eye (Cyclops / 804) – Depleted Barrel”

  2. Thanks for the blog and Tales from Cyclops . FLESH AND BLOOD a very neat clue , for once Balls was not Ed .
    Three US presidents in one puzzle , who would have thought that Eisenhower would one day be thought moderate and Nixon relatively honest ?

  4. Thanks beermagnet and Cyclops. I found this tougher than usual and for the first time in a good while I got one wrong.
    26a CURSES! I could only see one word that fitted, but it didn’t parse CURSE. CARVE seems so obvious now.
    I also initially struggled with LESS=BAR but concur with KVa @1 and take Greg @ 3 as an alternative. All the students bar/less Smith passed the exam.
    Intriguing story, beermagnet, this could be a new art form, as you say.

  5. 24a Awfully shapely bum, but heartless – curses! Blasphemy, snigger of the week.
    Thanks beermagnet and Cyclops.

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