Cyclops might have been caught a bit off guard by the announcement of the General Election, given setting lead times and the fortnightly publication cadence, but he seems to have hit one nail on the head…
Private Eye/Cyclops
Private Eye (Cyclops/ 779) Gargantuan Adversary
Cyclops is always our gargantuan adversary. But he is never a monster (except at Christmas). I found this harder than many recent Eye puzzles. I had to read all the way down to … Read more >>
Cyclops 778 – Republican Convict
Cyclops seems to be putting a prediction out there this fortnight…
Private Eye (Cyclops / 777) Subversive Brainwave
They’re fighting on the streets … … and there are enough subversive extremist factions in this puzzle stirring up trouble. Any despotic ruler in the territory is probably loving it, always best for … Read more >>
Cyclops 776 – Right-wing Jester
Cyclops is on tip-top form this fortnight, with some great surface reads and relatively topical material (given the constraints of setting lead times and a fortnightly publication, and a little Truss-ian serendipity)…
Cyclops 774 – Tacky Clickbait
A tale of two halves for your blogger, this fortnight…the bottom half seemed to fill up rather quickly, but the top half was a bit chewier…
Private Eye (Cyclops / 773) Eager Charlatan
You don’t have to leap on the mag and do the puzzle as soon as it pops through the letterbox. You have about a week to solve the puzzle so you can wait … Read more >>
Cyclops 772 – Easy-peasy Flip-flopping
There are two clue references to ‘ex-PM’s, but thankfully neither of them is a BoJo, and Cyclops bids ‘no Trumps’ as well…his New Year’s resolution seems to be holding!
Private Eye (Cyclops / 771) Poor Taste Alert
Not any more poor taste than usual, an Eye puzzle always deserves a trigger warning, but as that phrase appears in an answer column using it as the blog title was irresistible. And … Read more >>
Cyclops 770 – Indignant Nigel
I found this quite a gentle puzzle – maybe Cyclops is being kind to us at the start of the new year…
Private Eye (Cyclops / 769) Unnatural Euphoria
An enjoyable one from the Eye this issue. A big relief from the Xmas monster Quite a few anagrams in this puzzle but my word, there are a few absolute gems among them: … Read more >>
Cyclops 768 – 2023 Xmas Special
My turn to blog the cruciverbal marathon that is the Private Eye/Cyclops Christmas Special…about 2 and a 1/2 times as many clues/entries as usual, and exactly 2.5 times the Prize on offer!
Private Eye (Cyclops / 767) Overhasty Egomaniac
The overhasty egomaniac has been giving evidence at the Covid Inquiry this week. Amazing how he had a phone it was impossible to retrieve old messages from. But I’ll say not more about … Read more >>
Cyclops 766 – Populist Octopus
It is nearly 2024 and still Ronald T Dump pervades the headlines and the political landscape in America…and still provides Cyclops with wordplay for the letter T…