Private Eye/Cyclops

A tougher crossword this time – that’s what it seemed to me. Solving began with a bang when 1A flew in and way over half the grid was filled on the first pass.  … Read more >>

Some relatively ‘topical’ subject matter from Cyclops this fortnight… …with a SCHEME of NEUROSCIENTISTS and an IOTA of NERVE AGENT leaving UPTOWN Salisbury needing a good DRY CLEAN! Did anybody TRESPASS on our … Read more >>

One of those Eye crossies that was over too soon. Only 5 left to go after the first pass and they were, as usual, up the “top end” – some of the first … Read more >>

I had this blog all set up…and then the Bank Holiday weekend just crept up on me… Hopefully it is all covered below…the usual mix of Cyclops-ean establishment targets and skoolboy-ish smuttery… Keep … Read more >>

A quick solve this time which is just as well as I am a bit under the weather (*) Special mention to the wordplay of 17A for giving me a chuckle, and the surface … Read more >>

A relatively quick/easy Cyclops, from a pure solving/timing perspective, but the usual level of quality in surface readings and sarcastic/satirical digs, as one would expect from Private Eye… …only one mention of the … Read more >>

I enjoyed solving this, sadly it didn’t last very long.  Not only are there only 23 clues due to the grid design, but most of the answers flew in. It was nearly a … Read more >>

Cyclops on top form this fortnight…surface readings, political/establishment targets, and the usual level of schoolboy smuttery… 10A is a great surface reading and an apposite anagram…and 14A hits the spot on many levels…is … Read more >>

This looked small after the gigantic Christmas grid. Thanks to Mike for a spectacluar blog for that last time. This one was a gentle start to the year, only 7 to go after … Read more >>

My fellow Cyclops blogger beermagnet kindly ‘took one for the team’ and allowed me to have the Xmas special this year, even though it fell on his shift. Much appreciated… This is the … Read more >>

To whom could Cyclops possibly be referring?…oh yes, there he is at 1A… An enjoyable, and not too taxing, solve this fortnight, or rather this week, as Private Eye seem to have squeezed … Read more >>

Unusually for Cyclops here was a puzzle with a bit of a hidden theme. Several financial terms crop up as answers.  Surely too many for coincidence.  Especially with the longest and central answer … Read more >>

It may just be a product of my febrile (50-year-old) teenage imagination, but this puzzle seems to be a bit of a homage to the late Hugh Hefner… There is a WATER BED … Read more >>

Several clues in this puzzle where I had an inkling of the answwer but could not justify it until understanding some surprisingly convoluted wordplay. For example 5A, which I tackled early on, POSTURE seemed … Read more >>

The usual mix of excellent surface readings, political targets at home and across the water, and a lower-than-usual reading on the Smut-ometer from Cyclops this fortnight… An impressive, if maybe sub-Araucarian and even sub-Paulesque, … Read more >>