A much more challenging Cyclops than I have blogged of late, and perhaps more enjoyable for it.
I will give 17d my accolade for clue of the fortnight, for its clever and misleading wordplay and surface reading. 3d also gets a mention.
| Across | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | PLAINEST | Embraced by pain in the neck, subjected to a shagging — most ugly LAIN = subjected to a shagging; in PEST = pain in the neck |
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| 11 | OPERA GOER | Agree poor exploited taxpayer has to subsidise his entertainment? *(agree poor), with ‘exploited’ as the anagram indicator |
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| 12 | MOTEL | Lords chief after spot that’s a possible illicit sex venue L = Lords chief; after MOTE = spot, as in Matthew 7:5 |
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| 13 | SUCCOUR | Relief from oral sex exponent audibly expressed? Sounds like “sucker” |
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| 14 | INSIPID | Unsavoury Cyclops on date after hot drink IN = hot (in fashion); SIP = drink; I = Cyclops; D = date |
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| 19/16 | FREEDOM OF INFORMATION | Release on rejected Foreign Office lined up to be diluted by Cameron & co? FREEDOM = release; OF = rejected Foreign Office (FO); IN FORMATION = lined up This held me up for a while, because I could see FREE for ‘release’, but not FREEDOM. |
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| 21 | SUBPLOT | Not the main narrative of political party intervening in bust enhancement PLO = political party; in *(bust) |
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| 23 | LUNGE | Poor Nigel, independence lost for socially acceptable thrust Anagram of ‘Nigel’, with U (socially acceptable) replacing I = independence |
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| 25 | EYES RIGHT | We’re just producing an ejaculation on the parade ground EYES = [Private] Eye is = we’re; RIGHT = just |
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| 26 | OBSERVER | Stink about tennis player’s rag? OB = BO (body odour) reversed; SERVER = tennis player. The Sunday newspaper |
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| 27 | BUSTLE | Which will make your bum look big and tits depleted in the middle BUST = tits; LE = middle letters of depLEted Bustle |
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| Down | |||
| 1 | ACROSS | Not the way you should enter this controversial broadcaster after a cold A; C = cold; Jonathan ROSS. Not the way to enter a Down answer |
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| 2 | LICENCE FEE | Stimulating nice feel outside the church is what keeps a broadcaster going *(nice feel); outside CE = Church of England |
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| 3 | PICAROON | Old rogue Blair as depicted in the Eye, losing head, in the shit, finished by Brown, ultimately [V]ICAR = Tony Blair, the Vicar of St Albion, minus the first letter; in POO = shit; N = last letter (‘ultimately’) of Brown |
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| 4 | ALTRUISM | What’s vice to Bill? The bloody obvious failure to be self-serving AL [Gore] = Vice-President to Bill Clinton; TRUISM = the bloody obvious Another one that took me a while to get |
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| 5/6 | LITMUS TEST | Lest, um, juggling with tits is a critical indication *(lest um tits) |
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| 7 | STOLID | Indifferent Boris finally informed about one S = Boris finally; TOLD = informed; containing I = one |
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| 15 | PROFLIGATE | Corrupt Rolf “wrongly” in goal, primarily accommodated by Crown *(rolf); I = in; G = goal (in football scores); all in PATE = crown (head) |
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| 17 | OHMMETER | Instrument of ejaculation m-made contact with Brenda OH = ejaculation (“Oh!”); M; MET = made contact; ER = Brenda (the Queen) The penultimate answer, for me — this clue took a bit of teasing out. How to use an ohmmeter |
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| 18 | TIBERIUS | Unite, Boris nuts! No deserting the ill-suited leader Anagram of ‘unite Boris’ without NO It appears that Tiberius wasn’t much good at being Emperor of Rome. |
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| 19/10/24 | FOLLOW YOUR NOSE | Instinctively go off Labour’s right wing (so few?), loony left having infiltrated Anagram (with ‘off’ as the indicator) of OUR (Labour’s right wing) SO FEW LOONY L I got this from the checking letters then worked backwards to the anagram. |
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| 20 | DREARY | Lifeless organ, shrivelled all over EAR = organ; in DRY = shrivelled |
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| 21/8 | SUEZ CRISIS | God-backed catastrophe which led to downfall of Tory leader ZEUS = god, reversed; CRISIS = catastrophe The Suez Crisis led to the downfall of Anthony Eden. |
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| 22 | TATLER | Glossy crap with Yvette’s end splitting political factions TAT = crap; E = Yvette’s end; between L and R = political factions The last one I got, even with all the checking letters, because I had forgotten about the existence of The Tatler. Having looked at the website, I see no good reason not to forget about it again. |
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white
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I’m a bit short of jokes or amusing images this week, so here’s a selection of Twop Twips from Twitter:
STOP SINGING the national anthem now to save embarrassment for when Charles takes the throne.
GET A FREE colonic irrigation by setting a small fire up your arse and then calling the fire brigade.
CONVINCE people you understand rugby by cheering when the posh bloke drinking Guinness cheers.
NOT MUCH going on in your life? Feeling a bit needy? Simply tag yourself ‘at A&E’ on Facebook, then never say why.
GRADUALLY CURE your claustrophobia by adding a new coat of plaster to your living room every week.
CONVINCE people you were once in Hale and Pace by not appearing on television for 25 years.
DAVID. Best refrain from calling Sam ‘Babe’ from now on eh?
CREATE a realistic alternative to a Ukip conference by dropping some acid and riding a ghost train with Jim Davidson.
Just a word of thanks jetdoc. Couldn’t see 4d for some reason.
Thank you for the explanations jetdoc. I found this really tough and could only complete about 25%. Mind you I’m kicking myself for some of the ones I missed. I feel profligate is a bit of a stretch for corrupt in 15d although I had slotted it in.
I’m not sure how to rate them for hardness. They all get finished, though I’m often slow to get into solving mode, maybe because it’s the only one I do now. Perhaps by resort to external aids? I usually manage without, though I did use a thesaurus for this one, for both Picaroon and the last clue solved, 14ac. And that I only got via a sort of semantic knight’s move Unsavoury->Unpalatable->Insipid.
Following your kind reference to Tatler I spent some time looking there for a crossword. None found, though they don’t let you see much of the print version. But, browsing the Tatlerpedia List of the People Who Really Matter, I did find the PE editor, in at #387: “compellingly switched-on with an unexpectedly sexy gnome-like quality.” Sorry, but nowt found under Cyclops.