Sorry for lateness again, folks — we didn’t realise quite how time-consuming and disruptive to work a puppy can be. A Cyclops that had me, as a non-motorist, turning to the reference books to confirm a couple of answers. 5d was pretty obvious from the anagram, though. Otherwise, 23d held me up a bit, largely because I think I usually spell it ‘syphon’.
I haven’t yet had time to double-check this for typos etc, which may be apparent. I will edit as necessary.
| Across | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 7/15 | TELEVISION DEBATES | Box bed seat conversion, which electioneering Cameron is wary of TELEVISION = box; *(bed seat) David Cameron has shown some reluctance to take part, though I actually agree with him that the Greens and SNP should be included. |
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| 9/1 | HIGH STANDARD | Pissed on flag, approaching the top level HIGH = pissed; STANDARD = flag |
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| 11/26 | NOTHING LEFT | After big knock — being rejected — ‘hot’ Nigel staggers on feet, completely finished TON = century in cricket = ‘big knock’, reversed; H = hot; *(Nigel); FT = feet |
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| 12 | SPEAKER | Mouthpiece, second to come before Brenda S = second; PEAK = come (climax); ER = Brenda (the Queen, in Private Eye) |
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| 13 | ADDLE | Become rotten piss-covered academic DD = Doctor of Divinity = academic; in ALE = piss (depends where you drink, I suppose) |
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| 14 | SANCTIONS | “Bad actions by Poles” which Putin intends to tough out *(actions); NS = poles (north and south) |
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| 18 | ESSENCE | Extremely Conservative after European city spirit CE = ‘extreme’ letters of ‘Conservative’; after Essen |
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| 20 | CAMERA-SHY | Not what you’d call Boris, working to abandon the PM, Cinders-like CAMER[on] = PM minus ‘working’; ASHY = like cinders |
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| 22 | ENSUE | Issue of Eye nearly starts petition EN = first letters of ‘Eye nearly’; SUE = petition. The surface reading seemed to indicate that ‘petition’ would be the definition here. |
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| 24 | WELFARE | Gnome slips into kinky wear for benefit ELF = gnome; in *(wear) |
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| 25 | SHOT-PUT | Throw weight about, being s-sexy lay S; HOT = sexy; PUT = lay |
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| 27 | ESCAPE ROAD | Opportunity for a deflection to the left to avoid a catastrophic career? Cryptic definition, and not a term I knew — it’s ‘a short track leading off a road on a steep hill, sharp bend, etc, for vehicles going out of control’ |
|
| Down | |||
| 2 | ELATED | Balls covering behind when high? ED [Balls]; ‘covering’ LATE = behind |
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| 3 | V-SIGNS | Gestures very good to crack crimes V = very; G = good; in SINS = crimes |
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| 4 | NONSENSE | Balls’ complete absence of vision, say? NON SENSE, vision being an example (‘say’) of sense. Ed Balls is a gift to a satirical crossword setter! |
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| 5 | KICKDOWN | Doctors know dick can produce a change of gear *(know dick), with ‘doctors’ as the anagram indicator. Another one I had to look up — apparently, it is ‘a downshift in an automatic transmission triggered when the driver pushes the accelerator to the floor’ |
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| 6 | SHORTS | Takes the line of least resistance — which is pants Double definition — what an electric current will do, given the opportunity; short trousers |
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| 8 | VEILED THREAT | Live broadcast with Miliband (“Mad Hatter”) , a devious menace? *(live); ED [Miliband]; *(hatter) |
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| 10 | TESTOSTERONE | Blair familiarly crushing fancy rosettes as an alpha male sort of thing TONE = informal way of addressing Tony Blair (I’d be less polite); around *(rosettes) Testosterone |
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| 16 | BUMFLUFF | Youth’s down: arse cock-up BUM = arse; FLUFF = cock-up Bumfluff |
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| 17 | SUSPENSE | Indecision of America: power bound by feeling US = America; P = power; in SENSE = feeling |
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| 19 | EVENTIDE | At the end of day, the first woman president, losing head and reserve, screwed up EVE = first woman; *(ident) — anagram (screwed up) of ‘president’ minus its first letter (head) and ‘res’ (reserve) |
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| 20 | COWELL | One always chasing talent: “Love wife to be put in nun’s place” O = love; W = wife; in CELL = nun’s place I have managed to avoid ever seeing this man on TV, and don’t wish to look him up on the internet. |
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| 21 | YES MAN | Brown-noser’s affirmative piece YES = affirmative; MAN = [chess] piece |
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| 23 | SIPHON | Drink, dear? Here’s a means of passing water SIP = drink; HON = dear Looks like this has been wrongly defined in many reference works; Wikipedia is not among them (and — amazingly, with its reputation for scientific inaccuracy — neither is Chambers |
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One for the IT specialists:
What goes “pieces of seven, pieces of seven!”?
A parroty error.
And my favourite cartoon of the fortnight:
And finally, in case you’re looking for a new game that all the family can play, I leave you, without further comment, with (a slightly blurry screen rendition of a clear scan of) this letter to New Scientist’s The Last Word page:
I see the OED online have amended their entry for siphon:
The way the action of the siphon is explained has varied. A common explanation is that atmospheric pressure acts on the liquid in the upper container to push it into the tube as gravity pulls downwards the liquid in the lower length of tubing (so that a vacuum would otherwise form in the space vacated). Recently the rise of the liquid in the ‘up’ tube has been attributed to the cohesiveness or tensile strength of the moving liquid rather than to atmospheric pressure: the falling liquid in the ‘down’ arm in effect drags or pulls that in the ‘up’ arm.
They still seem to be of the impression that vacuums suck.
A couple of typos I hope you don’t mind me mentioning, I have added in bold:
17. US = America; P = power; in SENSE = feeling
19. Eve = first woman; *(ident) — anagram (screwed up) of ‘president’ minus its first letter (head) and ‘res’ (reserve)
Thanks, Will. I could have sworn I typed those in the first place!