Independent 11,934 by Eccles

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My second Eccles puzzle in a row, as he returns to his usual Wednesday slot.

As often happens, Eccles has introduced me to a couple of unfamiliar words, but helpfully provided clear wordplay for them. I liked the misdirection in 18d, the pointed comment of 9a, and Spooner’s little friend in 23a. My favourite clue today was 18a, which had me searching far too long for some obscure abbreviation (apart from the obvious one which isn’t an abbreviation at all) before the penny finally dropped. Thanks Eccles for the fun as always.

Definitions are underlined; BOLD UPPERCASE indicates letters used in the wordplay; square brackets [ ] indicate omitted letters.

ACROSS
9 PROFITEER
Staff nearly able to charge Michelle Mone, perhaps – an amoral businesswoman (9)
RO[d] (staff) without the last letter (nearly) + FIT (able), inserted into (to charge = filling) PEER (for example Baroness Michelle Mone).

Someone who seizes an opportunity to make money without worrying too much about the ethics: amoral if not actually immoral. Extended definition, I think: during the Covid pandemic, Ms Mone claimed that she wasn’t responsible for some very lucrative contracts (from the Conservative government she was then part of) awarded to her husband’s company for supplying PPE, which the government later said wasn’t good enough to use.
10 BRILL
Fantastic swimmer (5)
Double definition. Slang shortening of “brilliant” = fantastic; or a flatfish (swimmer) related to the turbot.
11 REBBE
Jewish leader, one declining to reflect? (5)
EBBER (something that fades away like a receding tide = one declining) reversed (to reflect).

Hasidic Jewish title for a spiritual leader; not quite the same as “rabbi” but some of the meanings overlap.
12 RED DEVILS
Director delivers plays for parachutists (3,6)
Anagram (. . . plays) of D (abbreviation for director) + DELIVERS.

Nickname for the display team from the Parachute Regiment in the British Army.
13 CORSLET
My son hired out body armour (7)
COR (cor! = my! = expression of surprise) + S (abbreviation for son) + LET (hired out, typically describing rented accommodation).

Also spelled corselet; armour for the upper body.
14 INFRACT
Break actually overwhelms rector (7)
IN FACT (actually), containing (overwhelming) R (abbreviation for rector).

Infract, as a verb = to break a law or an agreement. Perhaps more common in the noun form “infraction”.
17 MAYBE
Article by American lying about crowds, perhaps (5)
Hidden answer (. . . crowds, as a verb = surrounds), reversed (lying about), in [articl]E BY AM[erican]. This took me a very long time to see – well hidden.
18 SOS
Naughtinesses cryptically resulting in plea for help (3)
We need to split the first word into NAUGHT IN ESSES: it’s O (zero = naught) in SS (two letter S = esses).

International distress signal, dot-dot-dot dash-dash-dash dot-dot-dot. Originally defined just as a sequence of dots and dashes, but it corresponds to the letters SOS in Morse code so it’s acquired that name.
19 ELDER
Senior metalworker wanting wife (5)
[w]ELDER (metalworker) without the W (abbreviation for wife).
21 SEDATED
Extremely safe saw is made quieter (7)
End letters (extremes) of S[af]E, then DATED (saw, as a verb = had romantic meetings with).
23 TEST BED
Spooner’s favourite cuddly toy that is used for experiments (4,3)
Spoonerism of BEST (favourite) TED (short for teddy bear = cuddly toy).

An environment set up to test new technology, or the software equivalent for testing computer programs.
24 LION-TAMER
Later on, I’m performing circus act (4-5)
Anagram (performing) of LATER ON I’M.
26 YIELD
Give and take (5)
Double definition. Yield, as a verb = surrender = give. Yield, as a noun = income or profit from selling something = (colloquially) take, especially when referring to the income from selling tickets for an event.
28 SCREW
Prison officer bragged after start of sentence (5)
CREW (past tense of the verb to crow = brag, though “crowed” is perhaps more common in this sense) after the starting letter of S[entence].

Slang for a prison officer.
29 NOISELESS
Running back is claiming tennis champion is silent (9)
ON (running, as in “is the heating on?”) reversed (back), then IS containing (claiming) SELES (Monica Seles, former world no.1 and multiple Grand Slam tennis champion).
DOWN
1 SPAR
Extra short box (4)
SPAR[e] (extra) without the last letter (short).

Spar, as a verb = box = fight with the fists, especially in training rather than in a full-on match.
2 LOMBARDY
Barmy old crook in part of Italy (8)
Anagram (crook, as an adjective = bent or damaged) of BARMY OLD.

Region in northern Italy, on the southern edge of the Alps.
3 MISERLIEST
Extremely mean falsehoods stopping Mr T moving south (10)
LIES (falsehoods) inserted into MISTER (usually abbreviated to Mr), with the T moving to the end (downwards in a down clue = south).

Miserly = mean = unwilling to spend money.
4 WET ROT
You and I run, revealing fungal problem (3,3)
WE (you and I) TROT (run, but not very fast).

Damage to wood caused by various species of fungi.
5 TRADE-INS
Insert ad to shift items for part exchange? (5-3)
Anagram (to shift) of INSERT AD.

Trade-in = a used item (especially a second-hand car) given as part payment for a newer one.
6 OBOE
Cockney tramp heard musical instrument (4)
Pronunciation (heard) of HOBO (tramp) as a Cockney would say it (dropping the initial H sound).
7 SILICA
Component of sandstone church (but not the northern quarter) (6)
[ba]SILICA (originally an ancient Roman public building, but the term has come to be used for church buildings of a similar shape), without the first two of the eight letters (top quarter, in a down clue = northern quarter).

Silicon dioxide, a major component of sandstone.
8 ALAS
One third of American state is cut off, unfortunately (4)
ALAS[ka] (American state), with the last two letters of six (one third) cut off.
13 CAMUS
Philosopher quietly leaves University grounds (5)
CAM[p]US (university grounds) without the P (p = abbreviation for Italian piano = musical term for quietly).

Albert Camus, French writer and philosopher. My usual strategy when “philosopher” appears in the wordplay is to run through the Monty Python Philosophers’ Song in my head, but this time it didn’t produce an answer.
15 FREESTYLER
Unrestricted racer Terry feels odd (10)
Anagram (odd) of TERRY FEELS.

Someone taking part in a freestyle sports event, in which competitors are not restricted to a particular style; though if we’re talking about racing, it probably refers to swimming, in which “freestyle” almost always means front crawl.
16 TIRED
Sex up left-winger, getting exhausted (5)
IT (slang for sex or sex-appeal) reversed (up, in a down clue), then RED (slang for a political left-winger).
18 SEDIMENT
Settled matter in court, at last, after side upset team members (8)
Last letter of [cour]T, after an anagram (upset) of SIDE and then MEN (team members, as in a football team “down to ten men” after a sending-off).

Solid matter that has settled at the bottom of a liquid.
20 DEBRECEN
Young socialite, before playing field, went naked in Hungarian city (8)
DEB (a young lady socialite) + REC (short for recreation ground = playing field), then [w]EN[t] without the outer letters (naked).

Not one I’m familiar with, but a reasonably straightforward guess-and-check from the wordplay.
22 DOOSRA
Surprising delivery from saint bearing a cross returned (6)
S (abbreviation for saint), surrounded by (bearing) A ROOD (a cross), all reversed (returned). I might have expected “bearing” to mean “containing”, but perhaps “covered with” works too.

A ball bowled by an off-spin bowler in cricket (a delivery) that spins in the opposite direction to what is expected. Invented by the Pakistani men’s cricket team; the name is Hindi-Urdu for “the other one”.
23 TORPID
Sluggish hill descent coming up (6)
TOR (a hill or rock outcrop), then DIP (descent = a decrease) reversed (coming up, in a down clue).
24 LASS
Girl left behind in America (4)
L (abbreviation for left) + ASS (American word for what the British might call an arse = behind, as a noun = buttocks).
25 TOWN
Drag queen’s bottom seen in Eccles? (4)
TOW (drag = pull) + last letter (bottom, in a down clue) of [quee]N.

Definition by example: Eccles is a town in Greater Manchester, norh-west England.
27 DISC
Record short dance (4)
DISC[o] (short for discotheque = dance party) without the last letter (short). A slightly weak clue, because surely the word “discotheque” comes from the discs (vinyl records) played there?

18 comments on “Independent 11,934 by Eccles”

  2. This was very enjoyable, and tricky in places. I took me an age to parse the obviously-correct SOS (full marks!), and I never did spot the expertly-hidden MAYBE, convinced as I was that it must come from a reversed AM and a YE, leaving me unable to account for the ‘B’. DOOSRA was unlikely jorum for me, though it was bound to be cricket-related. I particularly liked SILICA, SEDIMENT and YIELD.

    Thanks both

  3. The city in Hungary was the dnk for the day, but the bits went together ok. Watch a fair bit of cricket, so I knew doosra. The naught in esses was very cute, surprised not th have seen it before. And the drag queen’s bottom waa fun. Enjoyed it, ta QnE.

  4. Agree with the blog. SOS a very nice clue (now I know how it parses). Super puzzle once again from Eccles. Likes for ‘girl’s left behind’, ‘barmy old crook’ and ‘Terry feels odd’. Also liked SEDIMENT for the definition and the hidden MAYBE. Thanks Quirister and The (other) Famous Eccles.

  5. Naughtinesses = SOS was one of my father’s favourite bits of crosswordese so the idea must have been around for a long time but I think it’s the first time I’ve seen it used. DOOSRA defeated me but then that’s what it was designed to do on the pitch! I didn’t manage to get the S in the right place and the eventual correct answer simply did not look like a word. PROFITEER was well done; how DOBRECEN finds it way into a crossword, I have no idea.

    Thanks both

  6. A fun, tight puzzle from Eccles, as is the norm.

    I’ve seen enough cricket to have heard of a DOOSRA, and it turns out I’d have guessed what it was correctly. Conversely I don’t know enough about Hungary to know DEBRECEN, but it was well-clued.

    Thanks both.

  7. Excellent fun as usual from Eccles with a couple of new things to learn along the way.

    I agree with KVa’s top picks with the addition of SEDATED. Of these SOS was my favourite – brilliant.

    Many thanks to Eccles and to Qurister.

  8. Good to see Eccles ‘back home’ and on top form.

    Ticks galore, as usual. I’ll resist listing them all today. I didn’t know the Hungarian city but enjoyed piecing it together – especially ‘playing field’.

    Thank you for a lovely blog, Quirister, especially for parsing PROFITEER and SOS (brilliant clues) and Eccles for a lot of fun.

  10. Loved this, especially 17a. Will the Orange Man need to lie about the crowds at his inauguration again? MAYBE… [The DISC is clearly Abba’s SOS (1975 …)]

  11. Really enjoyed this. Nho DOOSRA nor that spelling of CORSLET, but all fair. Favourites PROFITEER and SOS (slightly smug smile as I parsed that one). Thanks to both

  14. How I wish ‘d been able to sort out the parsing of SOS by myself, instead of which I needed our reviewer to lead me by the hand! That becomes a favourite along with – surprise, surprise – the Spoonerism.
    Many thanks to Eccles for another challenge involving a couple of unknowns and also to Quirister for the review and his guidance.

  15. [FrankieG @13: indeed it was. In my pre-PostMark days. And my good old Dad. Out of interest, his other great favourite was ‘Die of cold (4,3)’ = ICE CUBE.]

  18. DOOSRA was a bit unfair on those of us who live in the baseball lands. There’s a type of baseball pitch (pitch here being the equivalent of bowl, not field) called a shuuto, which is Japanese. I’ll work that one into a puzzle to get revenge one of these days.

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