It’s Wednesday, it’s Eccles!
Another great puzzle from our Wednesday setter – smooth surfaces and well-crafted clues.
We had to check the references in a few answers – for 1ac, 4ac, 12ac, 24ac and 8d, but they were all eminently gettable from the wordplay. Clue of the day is definitely 17ac!
B (Belgium) LOUiSE (‘Redknapp maybe’ – singer, formerly with Eternal) missing or ‘ignoring’ ‘i’ (international)
tOBlERONe (Swiss chocolate) missing the first and last letters or ‘endless’ and the’l’ (last or ‘ultimate’ letter of beneficial) – a moon of Uranus
A reversal (‘the wrong way’) of TONK (forcefully strike)
A potty is a small toilet, so could fancifully be described as a LITTLE JOHN
GrAcE (alternate or ‘periodic’ letters) L (left) IC (in charge)
PERIsCOPE (‘observer in the main’ – as found in a submarine) missing the middle letter or ‘disheartened’ – a new word for us
CAMP (affected) AVID (fanatical) round or ‘bored by’ D (Dutch)
bumPIER (more uneven) missing ‘bum’ (tramp)
M (mark) ACE (wonderful)
GO (try) in or ‘stopping’ an anagram (‘strangely’) of ANAEMIC
POLLY (parrot) GOT (obtained) with an ‘l’ (first or ‘original’ letter of languages) moved to the right (‘more eastern’)
DAUBE (French meat stew) round N (first letter or ‘bit’ of nutmeg)
TIMES (by – as in multiplication) I (one) + a reversal (‘recalled’) of LANG (Fritz Lang, Austrian-born film director) – the UK radio time signal apparently used to be broadcast from Rugby
A homophone (‘picked up’) of GAIT (‘pace’ – a way of walking)
G (German) I’M (writer is) LET (allowed)
U R (text for ‘you are’) round or ‘including’ SURE (certain)
BANANA (fruit) round or ‘caking’ D (first letter or ‘beginning’ of deteriorate)
Hidden (‘bottled’) and reversed (‘withdrawing’) in fLAT COla
A reversal (‘revolutionary’) of CULTS (sects) + I A (first or ‘primary’ letters of infiltrated an)
BeEtLe (alternate ‘odd’ letters) + FRY (fish)
dEJECTION (unhappiness) with the ‘d’ (first letter or ‘leader’) replaced by R (Republican)
NOH (Japanese drama) OPERa (‘show with singing’) missing the last letter or ‘finishing early’
An anagram (‘wrong’) of PETE TONG SPINS
An anagram (‘queer’) of RHYMED and CAP
A reversal (‘to turn’) of ROOM (space) + IN G (good)
A reversal (‘after returning’) of SELDOM (rarely) round or ‘bored by’ U (university)
An anagram (‘cooked’) of RAREBIT
SLICE (mishit – in cricket, golf, etc) round or ‘crossing’ U (middle letter or ‘centre’ of defunct)
A reversal (‘raised’) of RE (on’) GIN (booze)
Eccles has the knack of allowing you to feel clever when you work out a new word like PERICOPE or a fact like OBERON being a heavenly body. I did think the TIME SIGNAL was the hooter at the end of a Rugby League match.