Independent 10,083 by Eccles

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Just seeing that we had an Eccles to blog today raised a smile and the solve didn’t disappoint.

There were a few that took us longer to parse than they should have done, especially 18ac. We didn’t bother to check PITCH in Chambers for 10ac but quickly realised our error when we solved 8d shortly afterwards.

Thanks Eccles – keep them coming!

completed grid

Across

1 Collection prior to wedding of Jeanne Lorioz? (6,6)
BOTTOM DRAWER
We didn’t know it but apparently Jeanne Lorioz is well known for drawing people with rather large posteriors.

9 Some words in case information is blocked by bit of technology I possess (9)
GENITIVES
GEN (information) + IS around or ‘blocked by’ T (first letter or ‘bit’ of technology) and I’VE (I possess)

10 Quiet desire to empty bowels (5)
PURGE
P (quiet) URGE (desire) – not PITCH as we first thought!

11 Upper-class idiot was at the front (6)
TITLED
TIT (idiot) LED (was at the front)

12 Vanity projects of English resulted in tears (3,5)
EGO TRIPS
E (English) GOT (resulted in) RIPS (tears)

13 Awful upset when pound replaces yen (6)
DISMAL
DISMAy (upset) with L (pound) replacing Y (yen)

15 Resolute competitor ignoring time limits (8)
CONSTANT
CONteSTANT (competitor) without T and E (first and last letter or ‘limits’ of time)

18 Without giving anything in return, take bust of leader (8)
FREELOAD
An anagram of OF LEADER – anagrind is ‘bust’. This was our LOI and took us ages to parse.

19 Grand expression of contempt over politicians? (6)
GREENS
G (grand) and SNEER (expression of contempt) reversed or ‘over’

21 Sick criminal possesses impressive climbing tools (3,5)
ICE PICKS
An anagram of SICK – anagrind is ‘criminal’ around or ‘possessing’ EPIC (impressive)

23 Brief is not in bed with partner (6)
UPDATE
UP (not in bed) DATE (partner)

26 Difficult to conceal source of oil supply (5)
HOARD
HARD (difficult) around or ‘concealing’ O (first letter or ‘source’ of oil)

27 Candidate from Spanish city nearly receiving pesetas (9)
APPLICANT
ALICANTe (Spanish city without the last letter or ‘nearly’) around or ‘receiving’ PP (pesetas)

28 Copenhagen dancer has this covert plan (6,6)
HIDDEN AGENDA
This is a play on the fact that CopenhAGEN DAncer has AGENDA ‘HIDDEN’ in the clue

Down

1 Intolerant former kids’ TV favourite accepts nothing (7)
BIGOTED
BIG TED (former kid’s TV favourite) around or ‘accepting’ O (nothing). Our son loved this character on Playschool.

2 Principle of European red wine bottles (5)
TENET
E (European – as used in E number) in or ‘bottled by’ TENT (a Spanish red wine)

3 Where a coat may be hung immediately (2,3,4)
ON THE NAIL
Double definition

4 So-called pacifist used wooden club to despatch rook (4)
DOVE
DrOVE (used wooden club – in golf) without or ‘despatching’ R (rook)

5 One transferring property is hard worker with injured groin (8)
ASSIGNOR
We think this is linked to the fact that if you ‘work your ASS off’ you are a ‘hard worker’ plus an anagram of GROIN – anagrind is ‘injured’

6 At last, income tax raised, which entertains Papa; he has emigrated (5)
EXPAT
E (last letter of income) plus TAX (duty) reversed or ‘raised’ around or ‘entertaining’ P (Papa in the phonetic alphabet)

7 Furious about apparatus in water (8)
IRRIGATE
IRATE (furious) about RIG (apparatus)

8 Bidets out of place in single-room accommodation (6)
BEDSIT
An anagram of BIDETS – anagrind is ‘out of place’

14 Overdue money in Albania is returned, and is pinched (8)
SKELETAL
LATE (overdue) LEKS (money in Albania) all reversed or ‘returned’

16 Getting rid of Tory leader instead of Conservative stalwart (9)
STRAPPING
ScRAPPING (getting rid of) with T (first letter or ‘leader’ of Tory) instead of C (conservative)

17 Queen leaves bribe for tennis side (8)
BACKHAND
BACKHANDer (bribe) with ER (Queen) leaving

18 Start of female prerogative (6)
FRIGHT
F (female) RIGHT (prerogative)

20 Ranges of new carpets (7)
SPECTRA
An anagram of CARPETS – anagrind is ‘new’

22 Primate spin-dries clothes (5)
INDRI
Hidden or ‘clothed’ in spIN DRIes

24 Opposed to holy man being deported once more (5)
AGAIN
AGAINst (opposed to) without or ‘deporting’ ST (holy man)

25 Free love enclosure (4)
OPEN
O (love) PEN (enclosure)

17 comments on “Independent 10,083 by Eccles”

  1. Thanks B&J. In 5d I thought the reference was to an ass (=donkey) being a proverbially hard worker (as in “doing the donkey work”), though on checking I can’t see any justification for this in Chambers.

  2. I did like BOTTOM DRAWER but I have yet to see this wine called TENT-it seems to be a crossword-filler-has anyone ever btasted it?

    Thanks Eccles and BJ

  5. I much prefer the “ass” = “donkey” = “hard worker” theory for 5d. In the UK we don’t spell what we work off like that.  Another creeping Americanism.

    This was great fun though with 28a my favourite and 1a & 18d also on the podium.

    Many thanks to Eccles and B&J.

     

  6. Lovely stuff, thank you Eccles and B&J

    My across favourite was the clever 28a and my down favourite 1d – the boss and I spent a while reminiscing about Big Ted and Play School 🙂 which is obviously a better thing to do than start work!

  7. Thoroughly enjoyed this, persevered without any cheats, my LOI also FREELOADER – must have been a more cleverly disguised anagrind than it appears in hindsight!

    I have come accross TENT before, maybe in the excellent Patrick O’Brian Aubrey/Maturin books or similar. Had always assumed it was an English corruption of (vino) tinto.

    Thanks to Eccles and B&J

  9. Thanks Eccles, very entertaining stuff.

    Thanks BJ; I also assumed the hard worker was an ass. 1A seems to be a known clue, although I didn’t know the reference. I loved HIDDEN AGENDA, EGOTRIPS and EXPAT.

    Strictly, shouldn’t one use Tory’s leader?

  10. I didn’t know the artist but, once I found her, 1a got a podium place alongside the clever 28a.

    Thumbs down for 10a – Andy would expect that from me!

    A great puzzle, Eccles, thanks to you for that and to B&J for the blog.

     

  11. Don’t see how there can be any argument about the first three letters of 5D being ASS = beast of burden.

    Still waiting for an answer to @2copmus’s question – has anybody here actually tasted (or seen a bottle of) tent?

    Enjoyable crossword, FREELOAD my LOI, most ingenious wordplay.

    Thanks to Eccles and Bertandjoyce.

  12. With respect to TENT, it’s in Chambers, Oxford and Collins, although the latter says it’s obsolete. Oxford says: A deep red sweet wine chiefly from Spain, used especially as sacramental wine. Perhaps one has to look in churches!

  13. A lot of rather obvious definitions made much of the clever wordplay somewhat redundant, which was a shame.

  14. Much fun as always, thanks Eccles. I paricularly liked BOTTOM DRAWER, EGO TRIPS, ICE PICKS and SPECTRA.

    I know nothing about old kid’s tv programs and I had to google the artist whose paintings looked familiar.

    For 9a I ran on trust, the parsing looked like hard work.

    I was determined for too long to use MATE in 23a.

    Many thanks, also thanks to B&J as always.

  15. I wasn’t going to elaborate on my mistake, but Dutch @14 has given me heart: I went one further and entered a tentative UPMATE on the offchance that it was a real word.  Felt even stupider than usual!

    Marked out highlights of EGO TRIPS, CONSTANT, HIDDEN AGENDA and the intersecting OPEN, plus BIGOTED and SPECTRA.  (STRAPPING made me laugh too, but mainly for silly reasons; no need to go into them here.)  Lots of fun all round.

    Many thanks Eccles and Bertandjoyce.

  17. Thanks to B&J, and all who commented. I was thinking of ass as donkey, as in beast of burden.  I have never tasted tent, I have to admit. Robi – yes, but I think it is generally accepted that ‘School Head’ can be written ‘Head of School’, constructions like that are OK. Jane, you may want to avert your eyes for a clue in my next puzzle in a couple of weeks (and again, possibly, in about 6 puzzles time). Mr Crabtree, fair comment, but it is a balance. Sometimes it’s for surface, sometimes (as in 1a) because the other part is slightly obscure, but more often it’s because I haven’t thought of anything cleverer.  If everything was trickier, it wouldn’t be a Wednesday puzzle, though.

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