Cyclops 558: Body talk

by

It’s Friday and I am trying to get this finished and scheduled in preparation for the York Sloggers & Betters weekend, so I don’t miss the Sunday session like I did last year. By the time you see it, the hangovers will have kicked in. If you are one of the people who attended, it was (I hope) lovely to see you. I haven’t added a picture of the completed grid yet; I will do so on Monday morning.

This was a much quicker solve than the last one I blogged. It seems quite heavily populated with body parts and body fluids. Best clue for me was 19a, for its wordplay.

Across
1 KEPT UP Exercise, covered in messy puke, as one’s erection benefited?
PT = exercise (physical training); in *(puke). I wasn’t quite sure how much of this to include in the definition.
5 CAPRICE Fancy Bill being all over Kate, copping one?
CA = AC (=account, bill) reversed (‘all over’); Katie PRICE — never, as far as I can see, referred to as ‘Kate’
10 GET THE CHOP Suffer Charles’s fate, maybe — “Find oneself redundant”
Double definition — meet the same end as Charles I; lose one’s job
12 THERMAL UK postal service has one letter opener? That’s uplifting!
THE R[oyal] MA[i]L
I wrote this in pretty much without thinking, but now I find it difficult to parse the wordplay precisely — how does ‘one letter opener’ indicate that ‘I’ is missing? Or if ‘one letter opener’ indicates IL, on THE RM, where does the A come from?
OK, so Peter M’s parsing (see below) works. Chambers does give Royal Mail for RM, I see. I tend to assume that ’one’ indicates I (as in The Times).
13 EVELYN Not right, always left, 8’s right wing pair — name
EVE = EVE[r=] (‘always’ without R); L = left; YN = rightmost letters of Corbyn
14/26 LIFE PEER “The Honourable” jailbird taking piss
PEE = piss; in LIFER = jailbird
16 TROT OUT Extreme left-winger declared gay, put on show without much thought
TROT = extreme left-winger; OUT = declared gay
19 EXCERPT Tip of todger stuck in but that’s not the whole story
R= tip of todger; in EXCEPT = but
I like this clue for the way it uses ‘but’ — as a key part of the wordplay rather than just a link word.
22 RECTUM Arsehole, pissed etc, covered in booze
*(etc), with ‘pissed’ as the anagram indicator; in RUM = booze
24 PIERCES “Cripes, awful to restrict ultimate in Conservative cuts”
*(cripes); containing E = last letter of ‘Conservative’. I don’t quite think of ‘pierce’ and ‘cut’ as synonyms, but it is OK
27 CORRECTION Phwoar! Top removed from stiffy as chastisement
COR = Phwoar!; [e]RECTION = stiffy, with its top removed
28 EYELASH Organ tie that’s moved in a blink
EYE = organ; LASH = tie
29 TAHITI Island fool covers ejaculation with iodine
AH = ejaculation; in TIT = fool; I = iodine
Down
2 ELECTRIC Vote in Tim almost? Thrilling!
ELECT = vote in; Tim RIC[e]
3 TITLE Silly sort with large ears, initially sought by party donors?
TIT = silly sort; with LE = the outside letters (‘ears’) of ‘large’.
Actually, Simon S’s parsing (see below) fits the wordplay better. Pity, because I like the idea of ‘ears’ for outside letters.
4 PNEUMATIC Like Jordan’s explosive impact round north Brussels
*(impact); containing N = north, EU = Brussels (an example of synecdoche)
Katie Price again…
6 APPLE Fruity thing taking two pees, covered in piss
PP = two pees; in ALE = piss (well, sort of…)
7 REFLECTOR Rolf, erect, adjusted telescope
*(Rolf erect)
9 CHILCOT REPORT Coolness not ended before bed … having bang, it’s taking ages to come
CHIL[l] = coolness not ended; COT = bed; REPORT = bang
15/20 ELECTORAL ROLL List of those allowed to make crosses — 21,8 has been on one, you might say
Two meanings of ‘roll’ — a list; ‘on a roll’= on a winning streak
17 ON THE LEFT 21,8’s position regarding stealing around Labour’s elite initially
ON = regarding; THEFT = stealing; LE = first letters of ‘Labour’s elite’
18 GLASNOST Putin’s honest, straightforward policy — free gals? No way!
*(gals); NO; ST = street = way
21/8 JEREMY CORBYN Jumped up politician responsible for leaders from Boris Johnson: “Cry Enemy!” or “Revolting!”
*(BJ cry enemy or), with “Revolting!” as the anagram indicator
23 MUCUS Copper getting stuck in, raised total bodily fluid
CU = copper; in SUM, reversed = raised total
25/11 CATCH FIRE Conservative leader: “Archer fit to be restored” Not right — become inflamed
C = Conservative leader; *(acherfit), i.e. ‘Archer fit’ minus R

Here are a couple of links which you may not have seen:

Tory children’s books

Just put it on my bill

And a picture:

Tadpoles

7 comments on “Cyclops 558: Body talk”

  2. Thanks Cyclops and jetdoc

    I parsed 3D as L(arge) E(ars) [initially]: if it is “L(arg)E ears” then “initislly” serves no purpose.

  4. OK, Jan. I’m not sure I like this in the clue, though. If or when I can find time, I will ask the resident editor if he would allow it in one of his.

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