Eccles has provided today’s mid-week challenge, and for me at least, it really was a challenge.
I found this to be a fairly easy puzzle to start, but a very difficult one to finish, pushing it towards the harder end of the Indy difficulty spectrum overall. Perhaps the main reason for this were some of the more abstruse entries, e.g. at 2, 8, 12, 16 … I think that I am fairly satisfied with my parsing, but I would appreciate confirmation of my reading of “lives=ll” at 7D.
My favourite clues today were 27, for the misdirection around “Nice” and 18, for the misdirection around “grave”; 6A and 25, both for smoothness of surface; and 22, for sheer originality, when the penny finally dropped.
*(…) indicates an anagram; definitions are italicised; // separates definitions in multiple-definition clues
| Across | ||
| 06 | ICE BEER | Decorator presses buzzer to get drink
BEE (=buzzer, i.e. buzzing insect) in ICER (=decorator, of cake) |
| 07 | HOEDOWN | When do old cooks dance?
*(WHEN DO + O (=old, as in Old Testament)); “cooks” is anagram indicator |
| 09 | DREAD | Fear breaking cardreader
Hidden (“breaking”) in “carDREADer” |
| 10 | POLYNESIA | Seat of learning regularly infers vicar is in Pacific Islands
POLY (=seat of learning, i.e. polytechnic) + <i>N<f>E<r>S <v>I<c>A<r>; “regularly” means alternate letters only are used |
| 11 | GUMBALL | Chew this stew briefly, the whole lot
GUMB<o> (=stew, made with okra; “briefly” means last letter is dropped) + ALL (=the whole lot); in the US, a gumball is a round piece of chewing gum |
| 13 | SUBDUE | Check retrograde public transport’s expected to arrive
SUB (BUS=public transport; “retrograde”, backward, indicates reversal) + DUE (=expected to arrive); to check is to subdue, restrain |
| 15 | SHOT IN THE DARK | Thinkers had to wildly guess
*(THINKERS HAD TO); “wildly” is anagram indicator |
| 19 | IAMBIC | Claim made by writer of verse with asymmetric feet
Cryptically, “I am (a) bic” could be a claim made by writer (=writing implement)! |
| 20 | COMEDIC | One of several doctors is funny
A co-medic is one of several doctors! |
| 23 | INTRICATE | With three copies, Penny left one out, which is complex
IN TRI<pli>CATE (=with three copies); “Penny (=p, in money) + left (=L) + one (=I) out” means letters “pli” are dropped |
| 24 | MIDGE | Biting insect found in central Georgia
Mid- (=central) + GE (=Georgia, in IVR) |
| 26 | SELLERS | Vendors of storage facilities that can be picked up
Homophone (“that can be picked up”) of “cellars (=storage facilities)” |
| 27 | PEASANT | Rustic labourer originally thrown out of Nice
P<l>EASANT (=nice, agreeable – not the resort in the South of France!); “labourer originally (=first letter) thrown out” means letter l” is dropped; a rustic is a peasant, countryman |
| Down | ||
| 01 | BEDE | Plot to get drug for monk
BED (=plot, in garden) + E (=drug, i.e. Ecstasy): the reference is to the Venerable Bede, English monk and scholar (673-735) |
| 02 | HENDRA | Deadly virus hard to shift around centre of Vienna
<vi>EN<na> (“centre of”’ means middle letters only) in *(HARD); “to shift” is anagram indicator; the deadly Hendra virus, which affects horses, is carried by bats |
| 03 | PROPYLENE | Support my clue Angel oddly rejected for “flammable gas”
PROP (=support, hold up) + <m>Y <c>L<u>E <a>N<g>E<l> (“oddly rejected” means that all odd letters are dropped) |
| 04 | BEAN CURD | Spooner’s enthusiastic girlfriend makes vegetarian food
Spoonerism of “keen (=enthusiastic) bird (=girlfriend)” |
| 05 | CONSIDERED | Conservative Party left-winger taken into account
CON (=Conservative) + SIDE (=party, team) + RED (=left-winger) |
| 06 | INDIGO | The neighbour of Violet Jones, the architect, collects diamonds
D (=diamonds, in cards) in INIGO (=Jones, the architect); indigo is the neighbour of violet in the colour spectrum |
| 07 | HELL | He lives in torment
HE + LL (=lives, i.e. 2 x l=life, as in IRL=in real life, on social media) |
| 08 | NIAMEY | Leading revolutionary has brief look at African capital
NIAM (MAIN=leading, principal; “revolutionary” indicates reversal) + EY<e> (=(to) look; “brief” means last letter is dropped); Niamey is the capital of Niger |
| 12 | MEHEMET ALI | Formerly a world leader, uninspiring English perhaps lead Italy
MEH (=uninspiring, mediocre) + E (=English) + METAL (=perhaps lead, i.e. Pb) + I (=Italy, in IVR); Mehemet Ali (1760-1849) was an Ottoman officer and Egyptian governor, considered the founder of modern Egypt |
| 14 | THE CREEPS | What sleazeball can give people? Respect, he snarled
*(RESPECT HE); “snarled (up)”, tangled is anagram indicator |
| 16 | TOILINET | Work in film, making quilting fabric
TOIL (=work) + IN + E.T. (=film, directed by Steven Spielberg); toilinet is a quilting fabric used in waistcoats that is a mixture of wool and cotton or silk |
| 17 | DIGITS | Perhaps “Fingers” is contemptible figure in underworld
GIT (=contemptible figure, bastard) in DIS (=underworld); in anatomy, our fingers and toes are digits |
| 18 | ACCENT | Coin found under a Catholic’s grave?
A + C (=Catholic, as in RC) + CENT (=coin); in language, a grave is an example of an accent |
| 21 | MUMBAI | Farewell heard when mother leaves for Indian city
Homophone (“heard”) of “Mum, bye! (=farewell when mother leaves)” |
| 22 | CANS | Gets rid of Tintin?
CANS (=tin + tin, i.e. 2 metal containers!); in the US, to can is to get rid of a employee, sack, fire |
| 25 | DEAN | University official made Anderson shelters
Hidden (“shelters”) in “maDE ANderson” |
This seemed to be a bit of strange mixture from one of my favourite setters. Most of it was the usual typically enjoyable challenge, although personally I was not enamoured by 11a which uses an American stew to clue American chewing gum!
HENDRA was a new word for me, but readily derived from the wordplay and checking letters. Eccles also packed in three of what were for me obscurities in quick succession in the downs: NIAMEY, MEHEMET ALI and TOILINET, which were less sympathetically clued.
I had the customary plethora of ticks with IAMBIC, INTRICATE, MIDGE, BEDE, BEAN CURD, HELL & CANS my top picks.
Many thanks to Eccles and to RR. Yes, RR, I took “lives” in 7d to be LL too.
Thanks Eccles and RR!
Liked IAMBIC, COMEDIC, MIDGE and CANS.
HELL
Collins has L for ‘live’. So 2xlive.
I agree about the unusual number of unusual words, and as far as I can see they weren’t in the surface of a Nina. I got HENDRA, but don’t agree with RD about it being readily derived – I toyed with RENDHA for a while, which is justifiable in wordplay and could have been some type of virus. I wonder if anyone came unstuck there. NIAMEY, MEHEMET ALI, and TOILINET, in contrast, went in fairly nicely, although all NHO.
Never seen ‘L’ for ‘live’ before, but why not!
I particularly liked PEASANT, MEHEMET ALI, BEDE, and MIDGE.
Thanks RR and Eccles.
Thanks Eccles and RR
The most common appearance of L = LIVE is on the wiring diagram for a plug.
Goodness, Eccles has come up with some tricky ones today as noted by RR and RD. I wondered if the ALI was going to be the boxer for a while and also suspected the capital was going to be a currency. I did assume L – live in the neat HELL but, rather than internet-speak, though of the live/neutral/earth wiring in a plug. It hasn’t made it to Chambers but I’d deem that as acceptable. I did wonder how RD would react to GUMBALL which is another missing from Chambers – I’m relaxed about GUMBO but maybe the whole clue might have benefited from a US surface which would have removed the need for indicators in my book.
SHOT IN THE DARK, COMEDIC, BEAN CURD, INDIGO and CANS were my biggest ticks today.
Thanks Eccles and RR
Another day, another Francophone detective. This time it’s Jacques Clouseau, as played by COMEDIC genius Peter SELLERS with an atrocious ACCENT in
[A] SHOT IN THE DARK – 1964 – a diamond anniversary.
Peter SELLERS was the COMEDIC genius in the film SHOT IN THE DARK. Is this part of a theme?
Just beat me to it Frankie.
HENDRA was setter Bert Danher
I thought this was a superb puzzle. “Keen bird” v.amusing. Bravo, Eccles! And thanks, RR, of course.
When I got SHOT IN THE DARK, I immediately wondered if there would be a Pink Panther theme and then I got SELLERS… Didn’t spot any further thematic entries though, unless you count the reference to diamonds in 5d.
Amoeba @3 – have you never rewired a plug?
FrankieG – my wife is related to Bert Danher. He was a very interesting fellow by all accounts.
I have not!
You young people today, I don’t know…
If you had, you’d be familiar with L for live and N for neutral. (I see Simon S has already mentioned this, which I glossed over before.)
Widdersbel@10 – The app started me off at 6a/6d, so 6d INDIGO was my foi. I’d forgotten the “diamonds” by the time I was spotting a theme.
There’s ICE at 6a, but I thought that was pushing it. Yes, HENDRA’s obituary makes very interesting reading. “A pure NW Somerset resort” (6-5-4) is lovely, too
HENDRA’s last five puzzles (1999-2002) are available here
Thanks E&RR
Eccles certainly made us work for it today – same unknowns for me as others found with the world leader being the most difficult to root out. Struggled with ‘uninspiring’ in his name probably because I refuse to accept MEH as being a real word and will continue to do so!
Plenty that I did enjoy – SHOT IN THE DARK, PEASANT, INDIGO and CANS took the rosettes with a smile for Spooner’s enthusiastic girlfriend.
Thanks to Eccles and to RR for the review.