Wednesday fun from Eccles.
Lots to enjoy here. 26a seems a rather obscure word, but it’s guessable, and I laughed when I realised what was intended. (For some reason my first thought was HANDY = H AND Y, but they’re both worth four points so it had to be wrong.) I also liked the unusual but logical enough construction of 10a, the neat conjunction of names in 22a, and the misleading “first among equals” of 20d. Thanks Eccles as always.
Definitions are underlined; BOLD UPPERCASE indicates letters used in the wordplay; square brackets [ ] indicate omitted letters.
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | LACQUER |
Picked up someone going without waterproof coat? (7)
|
| Homophone (picked up = heard) of LACKER (someone who lacks something = goes without it).
A waterproof paint coating, traditionally made from resin. |
||
| 5 | WHO’S WHO |
Show how to upset collected VIPs (4,3)
|
| Anagram (to upset = shake up) of SHOW HOW.
The series of books providing biographical information about important people. |
||
| 9 | TROUT |
Swimmer‘s jog around University (5)
|
| TROT (jog = run, but without trying too hard) around U (abbreviation for University).
A fish = something that swims. |
||
| 10 | ERROR-FREE |
“Fore!” some characters repeatedly snarled, with no mistakes (5-4)
|
| Anagram (snarled = tangled) of FORE with the E and R characters repeated a few times. | ||
| 11 | FISCAL YEAR |
Apprehension about one flaky financial period (6,4)
|
| FEAR (apprehension), around I (one in Roman numerals) + SCALY (flaky = with the surface coming off in pieces). | ||
| 12 | BRAS |
Supports cash cut (4)
|
| BRAS[s] (slang for money, especially coins = cash) without the last letter (cut).
Supports for the bust. |
||
| 14 | ON THE DOUBLE |
In a position to win game of darts quickly (2,3,6)
|
| Double definition, appropriately enough. To win a game of darts, the player’s final throw needs to be a double (or the bullseye); or an expression meaning quickly, from the military command to march at a faster than normal pace. I initially had “at the double”, which could work for either meaning, until the crossing letter put me right. | ||
| 18 | BRAIN-TEASER |
Bishop drops drinks next to queen’s puzzle (5-6)
|
| B (abbreviation for bishop) + RAIN (drops of water) + TEAS (drinks) + ER (the late Queen Elizabeth). | ||
| 21 | DOSS |
Couple in Madrid reportedly sleep in very basic accommodation (4)
|
| Homophone (reportedly) of DOS (Spanish for “two”, so “a couple” in Madrid).
Slang term meaning to sleep in a makeshift bed (or not in a bed at all) for want of somewhere better. |
||
| 22 | ADJUDICATE |
Notice two Best Supporting Actress Oscar winners make decision (10)
|
| AD (short for advertisement = notice) + JUDI (Judi Dench, who won an Oscar as Best Supporting Actress for Shakespeare in Love) + CATE (Cate Blanchett, who won the same award for The Aviator).
To make a judgement in a competition or dispute. |
||
| 25 | ARCHITECT |
Cite chart that’s excited designer (9)
|
| Anagram (excited) of CITE CHART. | ||
| 26 | UTILE |
It is worth a point in Scrabble, which is useful (5)
|
| In the game of Scrabble, the U TILE (like all the other tiles with vowels on) is worth one point.
A word for useful, derived from Latin via French; probably obsolete in this form, but it survives in variants such as “utility”. |
||
| 27 | INSPECT |
Examine bit of pitch during cricket? (7)
|
| First letter (a bit) of P[itch], inserted into INSECT (of which a cricket is an example, indicated by the quesiton mark). | ||
| 28 | RETINAS |
Sanitiser is discarded on the counter, important for seeing membranes (7)
|
| SANIT[is]ER with the letters IS discarded, reversed (on the counter).
Retina = the layer at the back of the eye on which images are formed = a membrane for seeing. I’m not sure what “important” is for, unless the definition is “important-for-seeing membranes”? |
||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | LET OFF |
Discharge, in more ways than one (3,3)
|
| Multiple definitions, because “let off” can mean “discharge” in several ways (though some of them are probably related). To fire a gun or explosive charge; to release someone from employment or from a commitment; to release waste gases, as in “let off steam”; and I suppose if someone is charged with a criminal offence and then let off without going to trial, they could be said to be dis-charged. | ||
| 2 | CHOOSE |
Pick sweets over the phone (6)
|
| Homophone (over the phone = spoken and heard) of CHEWS (chewy sweets). | ||
| 3 | ULTRASOUND |
Highly reliable scan (10)
|
| ULTRA- (prefix indicating “very” = highly) + SOUND (reliable, as in a sound foundation for a building).
A type of scan for medical diagnosis. |
||
| 4 | REEDY |
Shrill and voracious, but not at first (5)
|
| [g]REEDY (voracious) without the first letter.
Reedy (of a sound, especially a voice) = shrill = high-pitched. |
||
| 5 | WARMAKERS |
Friendly con-artists abandoning female – they will cause trouble (9)
|
| WARM (friendly, as in a warm welcome) + [f]AKERS (con-artists) without the F (abbreviation for female). | ||
| 6 | OGRE |
Go green, ringing fearsome individual (4)
|
| Hidden answer (. . . ringing = surrounding) in [g]O GRE[en]. | ||
| 7 | WARDROBE |
Washington border troubled Cabinet (8)
|
| WA (abbreviation for the US state of Washington) + anagram (troubled) of BORDER.
A storage cupboard. |
||
| 8 | OVERSTEP |
Bowl a no-ball, as clear record broken by Stokes (8)
|
| OVERT (clear = deliberate and in plain sight) + EP (abbreviation for extended-play record), containing (broken by) S (abbreviation for stokes, a scientific unit of viscosity).
In cricket, the umpire calls a no-ball when the bowler oversteps a line before releasing the ball. |
||
| 13 | TOURNIQUET |
Torque unit can vary and it can restrict flow (10)
|
| Anagram (. . . can vary) of TORQUE UNIT.
A device to restrict blood flow when treating an injury. |
||
| 15 | TRENDIEST |
Most stylish butt seen in Italian port, briefly (9)
|
| END (butt, as in “cigarette butt”) inserted into TRIEST[e] (port city in north-east Italy) without the last letter (briefly). | ||
| 16 | ABU DHABI |
A friend curtailed drug problem in Arabian city (3,5)
|
| A + BUD (short for buddy = friend), then HABI[t] (slang for drug addiction, as in “a cocaine habit”) without the last letter (curtailed).
The capital city of the United Arab Emirates. |
||
| 17 | CASSOCKS |
Taps engaging American’s bottom and robes (8)
|
| COCKS (as in stopcocks = water taps) containing (engaging) ASS (American slang for buttocks = bottom).
Robes worn by clergy or by church choir singers. |
||
| 19 | RATION |
Helping shop to stock newspaper (6)
|
| RAT ON (shop, as a verb = slang for betray someone to the authorities) containing (to stock) I (the newspaper known as i).
Ration = helping = an allocated portion. |
||
| 20 | PETERS |
Tricolour’s first among equals in flags (6)
|
| First letter of T[ricolour] inserted into PEERS (equals).
The surface suggests that the definition is peter = the Blue Peter flag (flown when a ship in port is about to sail), but it may also be as in “peter out” = weaken and fade away = flag. |
||
| 23 | UTTER |
Spread boron out, say (5)
|
| [b]UTTER (a spread used on bread) without the B (chemical symbol for boron). | ||
| 24 | DICE |
Diamonds repeatedly cut into cubes (4)
|
| D (abbreviation for diamonds, in playing cards) + ICE (slang for diamonds = gemstones).
Dice, as a verb = to cut into small cubes, especially in food preparation. |
This was great fun as usual for this setter’s puzzles, which I found on the easier part of his spectrum.
RATION was my last to parse and favourite. Special mentions too for FISCAL YEAR, BRAS, ON THE DOUBLE, ULTRASOUND, OVERSTEP and TRENDIEST.
Many thanks to Eccles and to Quirister.
Liked LACQUER, INSPECT, LET OFF and PETERS.
OVERSTEP: I don’t understand the surface. A record broken by Ben Stokes?
Thanks Eccles and Quirister.
I didn’t consider the possibility of PETERS actually being flags but I guess that is possible; I assumed Eccles would be misdirecting us. LACQUER is a lovely homophone and I really appreciated the in your face anagram that gets us to WHO’S WHO; FISCAL YEAR, BRAIN TEASER, ADJUDICATE, REEDY, WARMAKERS, WARDROBE and TOURNIQUET were my other faves. I think I have seen UTILE somewhere else very recently but that does not detract from the nice idea. wrt ERROR-FREE, I think Eccles has experimented with letter banks before: I am sorry and you can call me a stick-in-the-mud but they are not a device I particularly enjoy. Given I had all the crossers making it easy to write in, the setter is forgiven on this occasion!
Thanks Eccles and Quirister
Always enjoy an Eccles. Bit of a shame that the clues for UTILE and DICE are almost exactly the same as recent clues elsewhere but these things happen. INSPECT is a bit of a chestnut but the word just cries out for such a clue.
KVa: you say you don’t understand the surface – and yet I believe you have the right interpretation of it. Yes, it is alluding to a record being broken by Ben Stokes, the English cricketer. Mind you, as he is an all-rounder, whether that is a bowling or batting record, it is hard to say.
Didn’t know the scientific unit of viscosity, but this adequately explains 8D. In my version of Scrabble a U is worth two points, but no doubt there are others where it’s just one. For me, ‘at the double’ means quickly, while ‘on the double’ is the darts term, so this doesn’t quite work. These aside, excellent as always from Eccles so many thanks to setter and blogger.
Just checked the previous clues for UTILE & DICE I mentioned @4. We had ‘Useful item worth little in board game’ by Serpent (Oct 5) and ‘Two diamonds cut into little pieces’ by Jason (Oct 3). Apologies if I haven’t reproduced the clues exactly.
Thanks Eccles and Quirister
I enjoyed this – quite a challenge but all very doable.
I like the idea behind error-free; new ideas and different clue constructions are always welcome. As per the using Prime letter placements; I look forward to more and – with luck – new ways of signposting them that are not so overt.
BTW Tatrasman – which edition of Scrabble is that?
Another super puzzle from Eccles – ADJUDICATE is just brilliant!
No time to list and expand on my (many) other ticks – I’m awaiting an imminent boiler service.
Many thanks to Eccles and Quirister.
An enjoyable ride. I agree with Hovis@7 about ‘on’/’at’ and indeed originally had ‘at’ (since the military term is the more entrenched), thus hindering me for ages for ULRTASOUND. I also spotted the similarity with recent clues and indeed in pretty sure that’s how I got UTILE so quickly (it was a nho for me a fortnight ago, in English at least!).
Like our blogger, I interpreted RETINAS as important-for-seeing membranes.
I revealed ADJUDICATE and OVERSTEP; just couldn’t spot them from the checkers and the former evaded me. Nho the second in the cricket sense and – for about the fifth time recently – forgot S for Stokes.
Thanks both
Especially liked 22a ADJUDICATE – Dame Judi D got her Supporting O playing the original ER in 1998. (See 18a BRAIN-TEASER for the usual one.)
Cate B (nominated for playing the same Elizabeth that same year) got hers in 2004, playing Katherine Hepburn, a four-time (never Supporting) Oscar-winner.
She was nominated again in 2007 for the sequel – (they couldn’t call it Elizabeth II) – Elizabeth: The Golden Age.
[And for more “Supports”, see 12a BRAS, as usual.😐]
Thanks E&Q
I was definitely on Eccles’ wavelength today. Breezed through this and found it great fun. Thanks, Eccles & Quirister.
Agree with matthew @8 about ERROR FREE. This kind of construction is known as a letter bank – there’s someone I follow on social media who specialises in them so I recognised the form quite quickly. Eccles has done a good job of making the wordplay clear and precise here.
Always enjoy an Eccles puzzle but never find them easy! UTILE was something of a revelation, not a word with which I’m familiar but skilfully used, also particularly liked FISCAL YEAR, WARMAKERS & OVERSTEP once the relevant pennies dropped. Not sure that I’d have got ERROR-FREE without some checkers in place.
Thanks to Eccles for the challenge and to Quirister for the review.
Thanks both. Little to add other than I also went initially with ‘at’ instead of ON THE DOUBLE, and that ADJUDICATE works so well, I’m a little surprised I haven’t seen it before (maybe others have)
Sorry for delayed response to Matthew Newell @8. The version I’m using is the online WordFeud.
Great puzzle!!!
Agree re others’ favourites and I had a few more of my own.
Thanks to Eccles for the fun puzzle and to Quirister for the blog.