Eccles is in challenging mood today, but fun as always.
The challenge comes from one or two unfamiliar words, and a few clues where I’m not totally convinced about the parsing (especially 17d): guessable but not obviously right. I liked the extended definition in 1a (if I’m right about the parsing), 23a as a neat combination of two contrasting geographical features, 4d for the misdirecting definition (especially next to “airspace”), and 5d for the bizarre contrast between fodder and solution. Thanks Eccles for the challenge.
Definitions are underlined; BOLD UPPERCASE indicates letters used in the wordplay; square brackets [ ] indicate omitted letters.
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | IMPRESSIONIST |
I could be Moses, in spirit? (13)
|
| Anagram (could be) of MOSES IN SPIRIT.
I wondered about “I” as an abbrevation for impressionist (artist?), but can’t find any support for that. I think this is an extended definition for impressionist = comic impersonator: someone who can “be” (or capture the spirit of) someone else, Moses for example. |
||
| 8 | BELL |
Great inventor born in 1847 lives! (4)
|
| BE (live, as a verb) + L L (live, as in live / neutral / earth electrical terminals) = three “lives”.
Alexander Graham Bell, who patented the first practical telephone. |
||
| 9 | CRINKLE-CUT |
Like some chips? Nick most of cutlery that’s free (7-3)
|
| Anagram (free) of NICK + CUTLER[y] (most of = all but the last letter).
Potato chips sliced with a wavy blade. (According to Wikipedia it’s not just for appearance: the increased surface area means crisper chips.) |
||
| 10 | ALMOND |
Nut found in salmon dish (6)
|
| Hidden answer (found in . . .) in [s]ALMON D[ish]. | ||
| 11 | ABERRANT |
Former president, Republican, stood for election, originally typecast as deviant (8)
|
| ABE (short for former US president Abraham Lincoln) + R (Republican) + RAN (stood as a candidate for election) + first letter (originally) of T[ypecast]. | ||
| 12 | LYME GRASS |
Reportedly whitewash pot for sand-loving plant (4,5)
|
| Homophone (reportedly) of LIME (whitewash), then GRASS (pot = slang for cannabis). | ||
| 14 | DENY |
Refuse to acknowledge study’s ending in ignominy (4)
|
| DEN (study = private room) + last letter (ending) of [ignomin]Y. | ||
| 15 | GAPE |
Stare in amazement as doctor interacts with hospital department (4)
|
| GP (general practitioner = doctor) overlapping (interacting) with AE (A&E = Accident and Emergency = hospital department). | ||
| 16 | MAGNITUDE |
Importance of mating due to be re-evaluated (9)
|
| Anagram (to be re-evaluated) of MATING DUE. | ||
| 20 | HEARTIER |
Eavesdrop on row that’s more substantial (8)
|
| HEAR (eavesdrop on) + TIER (row of seats). | ||
| 21 | STARCH |
Bother about church’s formality (6)
|
| RATS (bother! = an expression of annoyance) reversed (about), then CH (abbreviation for church).
Starch = formality in speech or in interactions with people. |
||
| 23 | SOUNDSCAPE |
Complete aural experience found in inlets with land jutting out (10)
|
| SOUNDS (inlets = indentations in a shoreline) + CAPE (headland = land jutting out). | ||
| 24 | DEEP |
Urinated on the counter, which is meaningful (4)
|
| PEED (urinated) reversed (on the counter = in the opposite direction). | ||
| 25 | GEOSCIENTISTS |
Workers on the ground: “Primarily, today’s education is cosseting kids” (13)
|
| Anagram of IS COSSETING + first letters (primarily) of T[oday’s] E[ducation]. I assume that “kids” must be the anagram indicator, perhaps in the sense of “teases” or “jokes” as a verb, but I’m not sure it works with the grammar of the surface. | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | IDEALLY |
In a perfect world, fish with friend (7)
|
| IDE (a freshwater fish popular with crossword setters) + ALLY (friend). | ||
| 2 | POLIO |
Disease control: nothing can take the place of church (5)
|
| POLI[ce] (as a verb = control), with O (zero = nothing) instead of CE (Church of England).
Short for poliomyelitis. |
||
| 3 | ENCODER |
Cryptographer once read about eliminating American (7)
|
| Anagram (about) of ONCE RE[a]D, without the A (American). | ||
| 4 | SPIRAL STAIRCASE |
Flight circling in airspace trials small buggy (6,9)
|
| Anagram (buggy = faulty, especially when describing computer software) of AIRSPACE TRIALS + S (small).
A flight of stairs in a circling shape. |
||
| 5 | ORKNEY |
Most of New York redevelopment is in less densely populated islands (6)
|
| Anagram (redevelopment) of NE[w] (most of = all but the last letter) + YORK.
Group of islands in northern Scotland; it’s fair to say they are much less densely populated than New York. |
||
| 6 | IN EARNEST |
One close to home, seriously (2,7)
|
| I (one in Roman numerals) + NEAR (close to) + NEST (home). | ||
| 7 | TRUANCY |
Regularly turn up with a new vacuous celebrity, resulting in repeated shirking (7)
|
| Alternate letters (regularly) of T[u]R[n] U[p] + A + N (new) + C[elebrit]Y (vacuous = emptied out). | ||
| 13 | ESPERANTO |
Intensely keen to strip around noon, and love exposing tongue (9)
|
| [d]ESPERAT[e] (intensely keen) without its outer letters (to strip), around N (noon), then O (zero = love in tennis scoring).
Tongue = language. |
||
| 15 | GEELONG |
My desire for Australian port (7)
|
| GEE (gee! = my! = an expression of surprise) + LONG (desire, as a verb).
Port city in the Australian state of Victoria. |
||
| 17 | NO SWEAT |
Women’s penetrating aroma before bit of a kip is not a problem (2,5)
|
| W (abbreviation for women’s) inserted into NOSE (a word for “aroma” used by wine experts or perfumers), before A T (bit of a kip? = I can’t see why).
UPDATE: in the currency of Laos, an AT is one-hundredth of a KIP. Thanks to Hovis and Andrew for their comments putting me right. |
||
| 18 | DUCHESS |
Start to don uniform in which one is looking for mate – a classy woman (7)
|
| Starting letters of D[on] U[niform], then CHESS (in which the aim is to achieve “mate” = a win).
A woman of the aristocratic classes. |
||
| 19 | AIR SAC |
Characters with current breathing apparatus (3,3)
|
| AIRS (characters, as in “an air of self-confidence”) + AC (alternating current = a form of electricity). | ||
| 22 | ANDES |
Europeans died falling in mountains (5)
|
| DANES (Europeans), with the D moving towards the end of the word (falling, because this is a down clue).
Mountain range in South America. |
I struggled with 17d as well but discovered that, as a monetary unit, a Kip = 100 at.
17d: The Kip is the currency of Laos, and the At or Att is 1/100th of a Kip. As there are currently 15,474 Kip to the GB Pound, I don’t suppose the At is of much practical use.
IMPRESSIONIST: Your parsing is convincing, Quirister!
Thanks to you and Eccles!
Hovis @1, Andrew @2: thanks! I should have looked further for possible meanings of “kip”, and/or remembered that obscure currency units are fair game for crosswords.
I’m not sure why but I missed Eccles’ previous offering two weeks ago, and I must try not to do that again as a month is too long without the unbridled enjoyment of one of his puzzles.
Although a couple of clues took some teasing out, I didn’t find this too difficult but it was great fun all the way.
Chosen from a plethora of excellent contenders, BELL was my favourite. A truly inventive clue!
Many thanks to Eccles and to Quirister.
I failed at 12A, despite assuming that the second word was GRASS. I got 25A and 4D very quickly, which was a great help. Excellent stuff as always. Thanks Eccles and Quirister.
Hard work for me, especially as I had trouble with the long answers at the top and bottom and down the middle. I was convinced AT for ‘bit of a kip’ at 17d was a boo-boo which shows how much I (don’t) know.
Very satisfying to get out, even if it was over a couple of sessions, with the not so innocuous BELL my last in.
Thanks to Eccles and Quirister
I think 1 across refers to Grandma Moses the American folk artist. Great puzzle though the bit of a kip was a step too far for me.
I liked PEED. Most of the rest was just too much hard work in the time available – my bad.
Thanks both.
Surely 1a is just a straightforward anagram of ‘moses in spirit’?
Had my own problems with the first part of the sand-loving plant, a bit of a kip and that wretched 24a but all eventually resolved.
Favourite was CRINKLE CUT which made me smile.
Thanks to Eccles and to Quirister for the review.
jane@10 Yes it’s an anagram, but there has to be a definition element. The question is whether it’s an impersonator or an artist.
Petert@11
Could it be a mix of both?
I don’t find (by googling) any impressionist (painter) Moses. If Grandma Moses was an impressionist, she should be the Moses being referred to (as mentioned by you @8).
I could be (Grandma?) Moses, the painter.
I could be some Moses in spirit (as an impersonator).
Does it work?
Or even…
I could be that impressionist GM Moses, but only as an impersonator. 🙂
KVa Yes. I was hoping that the actress who played Grandma Moses (named in honour of the painter) in The Beverley Hillbillies had been an impressionist, but alas not.
A bit of a struggle and we needed the Word Wizard for LYME GRASS. But it was all good stuff and we particularly liked BELL and SPIRAL STAIRCASE. Thanks, Eccles and Quirister.
me@9: DEEP. I liked DEEP….
Thanks Quirister, and all commenters. I was thinking of impersonator, really, if it matters. As for kids, Collins has one meaning as an intransitive verb: to behave or speak deceptively for fun, which I thought fitted the bill as an anagram indicator
Finally, and don’t do this if you are of a delicate disposition, crinkle-cut has one anagram that I decided very quickly not to use…
Thanks Quirister for explaining quite a lot plus Hovis and Andrew for the “At”: I spent a week or two in Laos a while ago but don’t recall coming across anything smaller than a double digit Kip note. Beer cost about 5p a pint I think. Anyway somehow I got it all out with considerable satisfaction and a smile at my good luck, thanks Eccles.
Eccles@17: That’s very naughty indeed. 🙂