Independent 12,360 by Eccles

It’s Wednesday – it’s an Eccles – all’s well with the world!

As usual with Eccles, this is a well-crafted puzzle with smooth surfaces and a good variety of clue types. We found this rather easier than some of Eccles’ previous offerings, but no less enjoyable.

picture of the completed grid

ACROSS

1. Identify American in river (5)

TAGUS

TAG (identify) US (American)

4. Give alcohol to legendary director taking clothes off behind screens (9)

LUBRICATE

kUBRICk (Stanley Kubrick, ‘legendary director’) missing the first and last letters or ‘taking clothes off’ in (‘screened by’) LATE (‘behind’)

9. Staff redo badly written compromises (5-4)

TRADE-OFFS

An anagram (‘badly written’) of STAFF REDO

10. One elderly relative beginning to emerge, senseless (5)

INANE

I (one) NAN (‘elderly relative’) E (first letter or ‘beginning’ of emerge)

11. Read regulation out for official supervising public accounts (7,7)

AUDITOR GENERAL

An anagram (‘out’) of READ REGULATION

13. Encouraged popular Italian leader back to motherland (7)

INDUCED

IN (popular) DUCE (Italian leader) D (last letter or ‘back’ of motherland)

15. Fix section of leaking raincoat (7)

INGRAIN

Hidden (‘section of’) in leakING RAINcoat

17. Hard to abandon charity broadcast after returning short annotation (7)

NOTELET

A reversal (‘after returning’) of TELEThON (charity broadcast) missing (abandoning) ‘h’ (hard)

19. Uniform available as quickly as possible (4,3)

FLAT OUT

FLAT (uniform) OUT (available)

21. Fine 4-0, with United dispatched, being profligate (4-3-7)

GOOD-FOR-NOTHING

GOOD (fine) FOuR (4) NOTHING (0) missing (‘dispatching’) ‘u’ (united)

25. Canon hiding billion in cash for Russian (5)

RUBLE

RULE (canon) round (‘hiding’) B (billion)

26. Member of The Christians playing modest hit (9)

METHODIST

An anagram (‘playing’) of MODEST HIT

27. Son matured by eating that woman in Bow’s cheese (4,5)

SAGE DERBY

S (son) AGED (matured) BY round (‘eating’) ‘ER (that woman, dropping the ‘h’ – as might be spoken in Bow in the East end of London)

28. Dispirited daughter getting behind (5)

DREAR

D (daughter) REAR (behind)

DOWN

1. Idiot limits chemical tests (10)

TITRATIONS

TIT (idiot) RATIONS (limits)

2. Great! Promotion for old man (7)

GRANDAD

GRAND (great!) AD (promotion)

3. Infected with cold in Alabama, is dubious (9)

SCEPTICAL

SEPTIC (infected) round C (cold) + AL (Alabama)

4. Replenishment of drink briefly boosted long-term prisoner (5)

LIFER

A reversal (‘boosted’) of REFILl (replenishment of drink) missing the last letter (‘briefly’)

5. Confidence about oddly absurd artwork that’s outstanding (3-6)

BAS-RELIEF

BELIEF (confidence) round A S R (alternate ‘odd’ letters in absurd)

6. Chemical compound in victim identified (5)

IMIDE

Hidden in victIM IDEntified

7. Visiting a river in East Anglia with a large dry patch (7)

ATACAMA

AT (visiting) A CAM (river in East Anglia) A – we visited the Atacama in 2015, the driest non-polar desert on the planet. We arrived in a thunderstorm and a day later we were making snowballs!

8. Rugby game without wingers is flat (4)

EVEN

sEVENs (‘Rugby game’) without the first and last letters (‘wingers’)

12. Detective losing extremely versatile ringleader (10)

INSTIGATOR

INveSTIGATOR (detective) ‘losing’ ‘ve’ (first and last letters or ‘extremes’ of versatile)

14. Online businesswoman Dorothy picked up butterfly (9)

DOTCOMMER

DOT (Dorothy) + a homophone (‘picked up’) of COMMA (butterfly)

16. Poisonous individual‘s extraordinary dig at NATO (5,4)

GIANT TOAD

An anagram (‘extraordinary’) of DIG AT NATO

18. In addition, win large drills, and something to keep them in? (7)

TOOLBAG

TOO (in addition) BAG (win) round (‘drilled’ by) L (large)

20. Gold and diamonds enthralling single female, leading to opening (7)

ORIFICE

OR (gold) ICE (diamonds) round (‘enthralling’) I (single) F (female)

22. Fear Republican stopping late (5)

DREAD

R (Republican) in (‘stopping’) DEAD (late)

23. Potentially lousy sex with Trump, initially, in his home city (5)

NITTY

IT (sex) T (first or ‘initial’ letter of Trump) in NY (New York – Trump’s home city)

24. Eye part of Emerald Isle, briefly (4)

IRIS

IRISh (‘of Emerald Isle’ – Ireland) missing the last letter (‘briefly’)

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