My copy of Private Eye tends to come in later than most so i am playing catch up and trying to resist dipping into the Forum, However the lower right hand is giving me problems and if some decent soul could let me have the answer to 16a - Hackneyed coverage of presidential debut "fix" (6). I have---p-e and also 17d which is One who licks end of shit Danish bacon (8)
16 Staple, fix. Stale, hackneyed... with P, Presidential debut, first letter.
17 Thrasher, one who licks, beats, etc. The T and H are from the end of 'shit' and 'Danish', rasher is the bacon.
I thought of CHIDES as hides means is elusive, but cannot see anything meaning cheat. I know church is usually C....E, but this does not quite fit. Any hints would be appreciated, as this is my last one.
Thanks,
I realise there is another possibility for 15a which is CHISEL. I understand this is a usage which is informal and North American meaning cheat, so it would be CH-IS-EL. Rather far fetched I know but it could be right.
Hally, Chisel seems absolutely fine to me. It's a slang word, meaning to cheat and it's hidden in the clue. My Chambers doesn't mention North American, but I'm not sure if that would be relevant. You're maybe overthinking things!
8 Bloke, arse that would lead you to the sewer? (7) ??N?O??
5 Cheerleader's skirt half concealed by belly – a shock (6) ???U?A
14 Capitol, mid riots – not how Trump comes across (10) D?P???A???