We had a smile on our face when we realised we had another Eccles to solve and blog.
We are hoping that we may see Eccles among other setters, bloggers and solvers at the Leicester S & B on 4th May (see Eileen’s post under ‘Announcements’ on the home page)
There was much to enjoy during the solve. No unusual words and lots of lovely and amusing surfaces throughout which we always appreciate.
Thanks Eccles.
Across
1 Tango with nudist surprisingly very good (11)
OUTSTANDING
An anagram of TANGO and NUDIST – anagrind is ‘surprisingly’
7 Lubricant left following Love Island (3)
OIL
L (left) after O (love) I (island)
9 International footballer finally stops John Stones (5)
CAIRN
I (International) R (last or ‘final’ letter of footballer) inside or ‘stopping’ CAN (John – as in toilet)
10 Heading west, spotted cat about to be ignored by antelope in desert (9)
WASTELAND
SAW (spotted) reversed or ‘heading west’ + caT without or ‘ignoring’ ca (about) + ELAND (antelope)
11 Dispose of language of France (6,3)
POLISH OFF
POLISH (language) OF F (France)
12 Pester the Spanish to return instrument (5)
BUGLE
BUG (pester) EL (Spanish for ‘the’ – reversed or ‘returning’)
13 Target revolutionary characters from Mani peninsula (7)
NINEPIN
Hidden and reversed or ‘revolutionary’ in MaNI PENINsula
15 Bishop leaves money for study (4)
READ
bREAD (money) without B (Bishop)
18 Spa town hit hard (4)
BATH
BAT (hit) H (hard)
20 Composed by Gershwin: Islands in the Stream? (7)
MADEIRA
MADE (composed) IRA (as in Ira Gershwin). We thought Madeira was just one island but it seems not. The stream refers to the Gulf Stream.
23 Cast or harness for broken arm (5)
SLING
Double definition
24 ‘Feeling is feeling’, male admitted (9)
SENTIMENT
SENTIENT (feeling) around or ‘admitting’ M (male)
26 Favourable introduction to Austin Powers’ gallivanting (9)
APPROVING
A (first letter or ‘introduction’ to Austin) PP (powers) ROVING (gallivanting)
27 Around 0.5d = $0.10n (n>1) (5)
DIMES
You have to think of 0.5d as SEMI D reversed or ‘around’. $0.10 is a DIME so if there are more than one with N being greater than 1, you have the plural DIMES!
28 Leather covers put away (3)
EAT
Hidden or ‘covered’ in lEATher
29 Badly need air-drop to be determined beforehand (11)
PREORDAINED
An anagram of NEED AIR DROP – anagrid is ‘badly’
Down
1 One in 100 has competition with worker after 1st of October (8)
OCCUPANT
C (100) CUP (competition) with ANT (worker) all after O (first letter of October). Some good misdirections here.
2 Inconsequential affair involving three people? (8)
TRIFLING
TRI FLING – a play on a ‘fling’ or an affair between three people
3 Bombs military vehicles (5)
TANKS
Double definition
4 Mathematical genius cuddling wife in Basildon, perhaps … (3,4)
NEW TOWN
NEWTON (mathematical genius) around or ‘cuddling’ W (wife)
5 … to the extent stylish couch warps at the centre (7)
INSOFAR
IN (stylish) SOFA (couch) R(central letter of warps)
6 Sage Derby mixed up with garbage, oddly (9)
GREYBEARD
An anagram of DERBY and the odd letters of GaRbAgE. We weren’t so sure that a GREYBEARD was synonymous with SAGE but it checks with an on-line Thesaurus.
7 Nothing sounded English in Mandarin? (6)
ORANGE
O (nothing) RANG (sounded) E (English)
8 Large snake is something that can send you in the opposite direction? (6)
LADDER
L (large) ADDER (snake). We have just started playing Snakes and Ladders again after many years – we bought our young grandson a Gruffalo version which he loves.
14 Child welfare agency to reimburse about 50 grand, initially recompensing overworked, underpaid parents (9)
PLAYGROUP
PAY (reimburse) around L (50) + G (grand) and first or ‘initial’ letters of Recompensing Overworked Underpaid Parents
16 Official policies on staff (8)
LINESMAN
LINES (policies) MAN (staff)
17 Admitted ‘Roll with it’ upset square journalist (8)
BAPTISED
BAP (roll) + IT reversed or ‘upset’ + S (square) + ED (journalist)
19 Unkind prostitute’s device for getting leg over? (7)
HOSTILE
HO (prostitute) STILE (device for getting leg over)
20 Trough enthrals area supervisor (7)
MANAGER
MANGER (trough) around or ‘enthralling’ A (area)
21 Meat fried in breadcrumbs? Look out! Run away! (6)
ESCAPE
ESCAloPE (meat fried in breadcrumbs) without LO (look)
22 Pathetic leading idiot overthrown (6)
TINPOT
A reversal or ‘overthrowing’ of TOP (leading) NIT (idiot)
25 Home help lifted nation (5)
INDIA
IN (home) and AID (help) reversed or ‘lifted’
Perhaps it’s just me having a bad week but I felt the same about this puzzle as I did yesterday’s when I wrote: “I normally enjoy Phi’s puzzles a lot but I didn’t like this one as much as I usually do”. Today, for Phi read Eccles. These is a lot to like here but it seemed to me to be to be lacking Eccles’ usual sparkle.
14d is rather long-winded, 27a is very unusual and intellectually clever but doesn’t really do it for me , and 19d contains one of my regular bugbears in British crosswords – an unindicated Americanism.
On the plus side, I really liked 1a, 9a, 20a, 1d (great definition!) & 2d.
As a final thought, 16ds are rapidly becoming an endangered species with the nomenclature having been switched to assistant referees, line judges, touch judges, etc. The only sport I could think of which I believe still uses the term 16d is ice hockey, but no doubt there are others.
Many thanks to Eccles and to B&J.
My views on this puzzle reflect those of B&J rather than the Rabbit – and a quick check reveals that 19d isn’t originally an Americanism
Thanks to Eccles and B&J – sorry I won’t be joining you in Leicester, not just because of the travel costs but also because my ‘crossword’ pocket money will be used for another occasion in May
Despite not having had any pancakes yesterday (and not being religious) I’ve decided to “do Lent”.
Day one, and it appears I’ve fallen off the wagon at London St Pancake with this sweet Eccles treat.
My long list of likes includes OIL, POLISH OFF, SENTIMENT, APPROVING, DIMES, OCCUPANT, TRIFLING and BAPTISED.
Thanks to our setter for a puzzle good enough to EAT, and to Bertandjoyce. Sadly, it doesn’t look like I’ll be able to make the S&B this year 🙁 (although my disappointment at the diary clash was tempered a little by looking at the train fares!).
Something of a mixed bag for me with a few that I really didn’t like – 9&27a plus 19d – but a bit of sparkle to be found in the likes of 20a & 2d.
On balance, my feelings are along the same lines as those expressed by RD – not quite up to the standard our setter has previously shown.
Thanks to Eccles and to B&J for the blog.
I really enjoyed this, with ticks going to APPROVING, DIMES, TRIFLING, ORANGE, CAIRN [BTW John Stones really is a Man. City and England footballer] and HOSTILE. Oops, three of my likes are Jane @4’s not likes.
I guess you can’t please all the punters all of the time.
Thanks Eccles and BJ.
I’m warming to Eccles puzzles. Needed check button for DIMES-a very Qaos type clue.
Thanks all.
No complaints from me about this, though I couldn’t quite see how DIMES worked – thanks for explaining it. My favourites were the surface for TINPOT and as pointed out by Rabbit Dave @1, the not so obvious ‘One in’ definition for 1d.
Thanks to Eccles and to B&J.
We’re with the ‘enjoyed it’ brigade. We liked IN SO FAR, WASTELAND and GREYBEARD – the latter two for the need to lift and separate ‘spotted cat’ (hands up anyone who first thought of ‘leopard’) and ‘Sage Derby’. As for DIMES, we thought it was brilliant!
Btw has anyone else noticed the wrong number for the puzzle – should be 10107?
Thanks, Eccles and B&J
allan_c @8
Thanks for the heads-up, number now corrected.
Gaufrid @9
It was wrong on the Indy website – at least it was when I downloaded the puzzle this morning.
Cheers B&J, and to all who commented.
I noticed this was a third appearance of Love Island recently, with Italicus and Dalibor also being fans.
For the last couple of Midlands S&B events I’ve turned up in the evening after many people have left, and that may well have to be the case again – hopefully not too late, as they are really enjoyable events.