Eccles is now the regular Wednesday setter for Independent weekday puzzles.
Eccles usually produces crosswords without gimmicks or messages and this is the case today (unless I have missed something)
I liked the clue for ORTOLAN (2 down) but was slightly surprised to see a similar construction in the clue for SKEDADDLE (4 down) almost immediately after.
The definition for NARCOLEPSY (17 across) raised a smile.
The definition for DREADLOCKS (9 across) was also well disguised.
LUSTRAL (7 down) was a new word for me, and I had to check it in the dictionary before entering it, but the wordplay was clear
I will be following in the footsteps of other Independent bloggers when this puzzle is published as my wife and I will be walking the West Highland Way at the time. I’m not sure what broadband facilities I will find en route so I may not be able to read any of the comments immediately.
| Across | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No | Clue | Wordplay | Entry |
| 1 | Development of monster covered by heartless journalists (8) |
OGRE (monster) contained in (covered by) PRESS (journalists) excluding the central letter [heartless] E PR (OGRE) SS |
PROGRESS (an advance to something better or higher in development) |
| 5 | Scam of medium having sex change (6) |
MIDDLE (medium) with (M [male] replaced by F [female] [having sex change]) F IDDLE |
FIDDLE (fraud; scam) |
| 8 | Client oddly declined permit (3) |
LET (letters remaining in CLIENT when the odd letters 1,3 and 5 [C, I and N] are removed [oddly declined]) LET |
LET (permit) |
| 9 | Shock! Stalemate’s broken by rector (10) |
DEADLOCK’S (stalemate’s) containing (broken by) R (rector) D (R) EADLOCKS |
DREADLOCKS (shock [mass of thick hair]) |
| 10 | A loan taken by coach – it helps to plan ahead (8) |
(A + LEND [loan]) contained in (taken by) CAR (coach), as in railCAR or railway coach) C (A LEND) AR |
CALENDAR (table of facts about specific days; it helps to plan ahead) |
| 11 | European politician’s anger for the British? (6) |
E (European) + MP (Member of Parliament; politician) + IRE (anger) E MP IRE |
EMPIRE (reference to the former British EMPIRE) |
| 12 | Brother held by arm on kayak (4) |
MONK (hidden word in [held by] ARM ON KAYAK) MONK |
MONK (member of a religious order living together under vows, often addressed as Brother) |
| 14 | Advanced Dutch rocket must contain boron to be permitted (10) |
A (advanced) + D (Dutch) + (MISSILE [rocket] containing [must contain] B [chemical symbol for Boron]) A D MISSI (B) LE |
ADMISSIBLE (be permitted) |
| 17 | Shaking pony clears unwanted droppings off (10) |
Anagram of (shaking) PONY CLEARS NARCOLEPSY* |
NARCOLEPSY (condition marked by short attacks of irresistible drowsiness; unwanted droppings off [to sleep]) |
| 20 | Reputation of eastern half of South American country (4) |
SURINAME (small country on the north east coast of South America) excluding the four [half of eight] leftmost [westernmost] letters SURI, thereby leaving the eastern half spelling NAME) NAME |
NAME (reputation) |
| 23 | Starts eating like sloth? (4,2) |
DIGS IN (starts to eat) DIGS IN |
DIGS IN (I think this a reference to the claws of a sloth that allows it to DIG IN to branches of a tree and remain hanging motionless for a long time. Chambers tells me that DIG IN means work hard which is the opposite of one’s image of a sloth as a mammal or a person) |
| 24 | Confusion, as amateur repairs to cover tapestry put back (8) |
DIY (do it yourself; amateur repairs) containing (to cover) ARRAS (rich tapestry) reversed (put back) DI (SARRA<) Y |
DISARRAY (confusion) |
| 25 | Instrument GP described in full (5,5) |
GRAND (G is an abbreviation for GRAND) + PIANO (P is an abbreviation for PIANO) taken together the two abbreviations spell out (describe) GRAND PIANO in full GRAND PIANO |
GRAND PIANO (musical instrument) |
| 26 | Express disapproval of prohibition? No thanks! (3) |
TABOO (any recognized or general prohibition) excluding (no) TA (tanks) BOO |
BOO (express disapproval) |
| 27 | How best to attract ewe in pound? (4,2) |
BE A TUP (a TUP is a male sheep who will be attractive to a EWE [female sheep]) BE A T UP |
BEAT UP (whip or pound) |
| 28 | Lean, eating a little bit of late (8) |
RELY (depend; lean) containing (eating) CENT (a little bit [of money]) RE (CENT) LY |
RECENTLY (of late) |
| Down | |||
| 1 | Menial cop, possibly? (9) |
Anagram of (possibly) MENIAL COP POLICEMAN* |
POLICEMAN (lowest rank [menial?] in the POLICE force) |
| 2 | Bird found in North Poland with wings missing (7) |
NORTH excluding the outer letters (wings) NH + POLAND excluding the outer letters (wings) PD ORT OLAN |
ORTOLAN (bird, kind of bunting, common in Europe) |
| 3 | Papers seized by gang in part of Yorkshire (6) |
ID (identity papers) contained in (seized by) RING (gang) R (ID) ING |
RIDING (one of the three former divisions of Yorkshire) |
| 4 | Invited to walk in the sea completely topless? Leave quickly (9) |
ASKED (invited to) excluding the first letter (topless) A + PADDLE (walk in the sea) excluding the first letter (topless) P. Taken together the constituent parts are completely topless SKED ADDLE |
SKEDADDLE (run off hurriedly) |
| 5 | Angers girls, describes feminist’s bottom as ‘Fine pieces of meat‘ (7) |
FILLES (French [Angers is a town in France] for girls) containing (describes) T (last letter of {bottom} FEMINIST) FILLE (T) S |
FILLETS (pieces of meat often considered to be the best cut; fine pieces of meat) |
| 6 | Fraud gathering bit of data for Republican (9) |
RECEPTION (social function or gathering) with D (first letter of [bit of] DATA) replacing (for) R (Republican) D ECEPTION |
DECEPTION (fraud) |
| 7 | Desire sex really regularly (every five years) (7) |
LUST (have strong sexual desire) + RAL (letters 1, 3 and 5 [regularly] REALLY) LUST RAL |
LUSTRAL (a period of five years; also a ceremonial purification of the Roman people made every five years, after the taking of the census) |
| 13 | Stops using acid to get going (4-5) |
KICKS (stops using) + TART (acid) KICK-S TART |
KICK-START (get something going) |
| 15 | Move home, worried about mysterious driver (9) |
(IN [{at} home] + ATE [worried]) containing (about) STIG (reference THE STIG, unnamed and therefore mysterious driver from the television programme Top Gear)) IN (STIG) ATE |
INSTIGATE (initiate; set in motion; move) |
| 16 | Each person Earl starts to romance often will leave extremely keen to have kids (9) |
E (earl) + VERY (extremely) + BROODY (keen to have children) excluding (RO [first letters of [starts to] each of ROMANCE and OFTEN) E VERY BODY |
EVERYBODY (each person) |
| 18 | Quivering with delight dating lesbian nurses (7) |
ATINGLE (hidden word in [nurses] DATING LESBIAN) ATINGLE |
ATINGLE (quivering with delight) |
| 19 | Unionists supporting policy in a row (5,2) |
LINE (policy) + DUP (Democratic Unionist Party) As this is a down clue the letters DUP are supporting the letters in LINE LINE D UP |
LINED UP (in a row) |
| 21 | A Slav drinks drop of brandy in a tumbler (7) |
A + (CROAT ([inhabitant of CROATia; a country where a Slavonic language is spoken] containing [drinks] B [first letter of {a drop of}] BRANDY) A CRO (B) AT |
ACROBAT (tumbler) |
| 22 | Former Vice President is full of himself, being all over the place (6) |
GORE (reference Al GORE, former Vice President of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton) containing (full of) AL (Gore’s first name; himself) G (AL) ORE |
GALORE (in abundance; all over the place) |
You may kick yourself, Duncan, but 23a is DIG (like) + SIN (sloth, for example). Thanks all.
Another enjoyable Eccles crossword – thanks to him – my particular favourite was 22d
Thanks also to Duncan – enjoy the West Highland Way
Really getting to lke Eccles puzzles.
I was tricked by DIGS IN too, but thanks to Hovis @1,I see now it was such a good clue that I didn’t mind. Also missed the ‘Suriname’ reference at 20a and the parsing of SKEDADDLE. LUSTRAL is one I remembered from a previous encounter in crossword-land.
Liked the ‘Menial cop, possibly’ and Al Gore being full of himself.
Thanks to Eccles and Duncan – and to Hovis
Plenty to enjoy here and I learnt a new word in 7d.
Could pick many for favourite but I’ve narrowed it down to a top three of 23a (parsed it as Hovis did @1) plus 4&22d.
Many thanks to Eccles and to Duncan – hope the weather is being kind for your walk.
My favourite was 5D, a delightful red herring, and 22D is very clever. The NE corner took me a while to resolve but all perfectly clear eventually. Thanks to Eccles and Duncan.
Another enjoyable offering from Eccles. A bit of a hold-up with 7dn – we knew we were looking for the five year period but just couldn’t remember the word till we got some crossing letters.
Favourites were 5dn for its surface and 22ac for misdirection. 9ac was good, too.
Thanks, Eccles and Duncan.
Not sure that I would agree with Duncan that 2 and 4 down are too similar. 2 uses the actual words and 4 uses synonyms so I think the two compliment each other.
Also parsed 23a as Hovis and would have given it top spot but I think I shall give that prize to the beautifully hidden, very amusing 28 down.
Cheers, Duncan, for the usual fine blog, and enjoy the West Highland Way. 4d was a late change, so I just checked there were no other toplesses and not for other similar devices. I did notice too late that there were two covers though, but seem to have got away with it! Apologies for that.
Thanks to all the commenters, too. Hovis always manages to nail my intended parsings!