A particularly enjoyable offering in this issue. Not terribly hard, but with some cracking clues with the kind of surface readings we hope to see, for a laugh.
| Across | |
|---|---|
| 9 | OFF-DAYS (DAFFY O (duck))* AInd: screwing; S[econds] |
| 10 | NOVELLA (ON)< “on turning over”, ELLA (girl), between which V[aseline] “inserted” The definition “Volume” initially had me thinking of volumetric measures (gallons, litres, etc.) and various 3D shapes. Brownie points for rude surface reading |
| 11 | LOINCLOTH (COLIN [powel]L)* AInd moving; (TO)< ; [bus]H |
| 12 | RITZY R[and]Y “squeezing” the following inside: ZIT with Z moved to the end. One of the first answers I got purely from the wordplay which was clear if somewhat mechanical, I just needed to realise that Ritzy really means Posh, it feels more like Glitzy to me. |
| 13/15 | TEARS A STRIP OFF TEARS (drops) A (one) STRIP OFF (to get naked) Def. Bollocks, as for example when the Sergeant tears a strip off the useless new recruit |
| 17 | RABBI RABBI[t] Talk in the Chas’n’Dave sense |
| 19 | DUMBO DUMB (mum) O (ring) |
| 22/6 | LEG-OVER E.G. (say) inside LOVER (beau) |
| 23 | MONEYLENDER MONEY (ready) L[abour] ENDER (one who’s finished) |
| 25/8 | FIRST LADY Two Defs. Whether any, either or both of them are cryptic is open to interpretation. |
| 27 | CATACOMBS A COMB (a toothy thing) inside (recruited by) CATS I loved this clue – favourite clue award for the month: A toothy thing recruited by whips, remains underground here (9) The surface reading conjures a vignette of a Gollum-like creature-from-hell (probably genetically engineered) sitting in its subterranean cell controlled by a “power behind the throne” Urquhart-look-a-like Government Chief Whip for use on recalcitrant MPs when they stray from the party line. “If only it were true”, thinks Nick Brown. |
| 28 | CHARLIE C[onservative] (HAILER)* AInd: broadcast |
| 29 | COLOGNE C[rapper] (LOO)* AInd exploited; G[ood] N[orth] E[astern] |
| Down | |
| 1/24 | COLLATERAL DAMAGE DD whose surface reading is a cynical single def. This was the first answer written in, in approximately 2.5 secs, i.e. I found this very obvious to the extent that I wondered why there was a question mark at the end of the second def. till I re-read the clue and realised the meaning of the surface reading. A case of deconstructing the clue before understanding the whole: “Blasted civilians, getting in the way of US war aims,” according to Pentagon? (10,6) |
| 2 | AFRICA Tricky (C[linton] AF[f]AIR)* AInd: rocked; “Clinton’s first”, “affair female abandoned” |
| 3 | NARCISSISM (CAN SIR)* AInd: dicky; (MISS)* AInd: out |
| 4 | ESPOUSE ES (drugs) POSE (sit) around U[niversity] |
| 5 | IN SHORT IN SHORT[s] Shorts being USAian (thus Obama’s) for underpants |
| 7 | PLATFORM PAT (hit) around (externally) L[eft], (FROM)* AInd: reeling |
| 14 | PADDED CELL CD and a very nice one: The soft option for violent inmates? (6,4) |
| 16 | FLOURISHED (F[inancier] SHOULDER I)* AInd: ran riot |
| 18 | BIG BREAK BIG (Lofty) BREAK (crack) |
| 20 | KNOCKER DD indeed classic Eye crossy DD: Critic’s a tit (7) |
| 21 | MYSTICS MY (Cyclops’s) “sticks” (jams) HInd: said |
| 25 | FACT F ACT (legislation) |
| 26 | TALC Hidden in: full fronTAL Camilla |