Just seeing Eccles name at the top of a puzzle brings a smile to our faces – doubly so when we both put on our ‘Eccles’ voice from the Goons.
Lots to enjoy – KITTIWAKE – received both a groan and a smile when we solved it. We did not know BISTRE and had to check that but it couldn’t really be anything else.
Thanks Eccles.
Across
1 Pack case, at first, with fleece – it’s useful on Blackpool beach (9)
DECKCHAIR
DECK (pack) C (initial or ‘first’ letter of ‘case’) HAIR (fleece)
8 Customer tolerates swapping places, ultimately, with rector (3,4)
END USER
ENDURES (tolerates) with the ‘S’ (last or ‘ultimate’ letter of ‘places’) swapping places with the ‘R’ (rector)
10 Paved area of land next to church (7)
TERRACE
TERRA (land) CE (church)
11 See Dennis Amiss in poverty (9)
NEEDINESS
An anagram of SEE DENNIS – anagrind is ‘amiss’
12 Hug Charlie, wet patch quietly ignored (6)
CUDDLE
C (Charlie) pUDDLE (wet patch) with ‘p’ (quietly) missing or ‘ignored’
15 A bit small to be deported with little reason (7)
LIGHTLY
sLIGHTLY (a bit) with ‘s’ (small) missing or ‘deported’
16 Get rid of the Queen, and relinquish the throne? Not British! (9)
ERADICATE
ER (the Queen) AbDICATE (relinquish the throne) without ‘b’ (British)
19 Gathering to celebrate the life of a cat, say, or bird (9)
KITTIWAKE
A homophone (‘say’) of KITTY WAKE – the type of gathering one may have after the death of a cat.
20 Regularly aborted articles for Express (7)
BREATHE
Alternative or ‘regular’ letters of aBoRtEd + A and THE – ‘articles’
22 Shade stops cannabis treatment (6)
BISTRE
Hidden or ‘stopped’ in cannaBIS TREatment – a new one for us.
23 Very easy to understand taking ecstasy in Leek? (9)
VEGETABLE
V (very) GETABLE (easy to understand) around or ‘taking’ E (ecstasy)
25 Men working in Eastern lands showing memory loss (7)
AMNESIA
An anagram of MEN (anagrind is ‘working’) in ASIA (Eastern lands)
27 Evenly furry parts of buttocks? That’s normal (7)
NATURAL
Alternate or ‘even’ letters of fUrRy inside or ‘parting’ NATAL (of buttocks)
28 View exotic lap dances (9)
LANDSCAPE
An anagram of LAP DANCES – anagrind is ‘exotic’
Down
1 Aloof revolutionary went out with revolutionary nurses (8)
DETACHED
DATED (went out with) reversed or ‘revolutionary’ outside or ‘nursing’ CHE (revolutionary)
2 Mind finishing early, coach? (3)
CAR
CARe (mind) missing last letter or ‘finishing early’
3 Cleric is up mountain, wearing tether (8)
CHAPLAIN
ALP (mountain) reversed or ‘up’ inside or ‘wearing’ CHAIN (tether)
4 What bishops say after plea’s conclusion? (4)
AMEN
A clue as definition – MEN (‘bishops, say’ – as on the chessboard) after A (last letter or ‘conclusion’ to ‘plea’)
5 Regrets keeping English pounds – they are off-putting (10)
REPELLENTS
REPENTS (regrets) around or ‘keeping’ E (English) LL (pounds)
6 Partly trimmed ginger fringe (6)
EDGING
Hidden (‘partly’) in trimmED GINGer
7 Vulgar undergarments extremely sexy (6)
BRASSY
BRAS (undergarments) and SY first and last or ‘extreme’ letters of ‘sexy’)
9 The Knack will appear following introduction to song “Little Darlin‘” (10)
SWEETHEART
THE ART (the knack) after S (initial letter or ‘introduction’ to ‘song’) WEE (little)
13 Spooner’s married girlfriend is burden (4,6)
DEAD WEIGHT
A spoonerism of WED DATE (married girlfriend)
14 Kebab stall is cooking game (10)
BASKETBALL
An anagram of KEBAB STALL – anagrind is ‘cooking’
17 Perhaps May is eating Indian starter and main courses (8)
BIRIANIS
BRIAN (as in Brian May of Queen) IS around or ‘eating’ I (initial letter or ‘starter’ of ‘Indian’)
18 Musical piece composed by sister who serves Duke and Earl (8)
SERENADE
SERENA (as in one of the Williams sisters who ‘serve’ – on the tennis court) D (duke) E (earl)
20 6 probing part of skeleton of cattle (6)
BOVINE
VI (six) inside or ‘probing’ BONE (part of skeleton)
21 Teaches beginners to trek up hills (6)
TUTORS
T U (first letters or ‘beginners’ of ‘trek up’) TORS (hills)
24 Be taught to take top off to make money (4)
EARN
lEARN (be taught) removing first letter or ‘top’
26 Marine mammal left abandoned (3)
SEA
SEAl (marine animal) without or ‘abandoning’ L (left)
Fantastic! Lots of Eccles’ slightly naughty humour which I applaud although some won’t.
Fell down at the last hurdle with the sneaky BIRIANIS. As Eccles no doubt intended, I went for the altogether wrong May. Word fit to the rescue.
Always think this grid with the staggered across clues looks a bit strange. Probably just me.
Thanks to Eccles and Bertandjoyce.
Why are some setters so obsessed with undergarments, I wonder? Tedious rather than “naughty”.
BIRIANIS was my last in after initially mis-spelling KITTIWAKE. Both were good clues. BISTRE went in as one of those “must be this, but odd that I haven’t come across this before” sort of answers.
I liked the reminder of ‘Dennis Amiss’ (LBW J. Thomson 0 – seen with my own eyes) and the ‘sister who serves’.
Thanks to Eccles and to B&J
BIRIANI was our LOI too, as we would normally spell it ‘biryani’ (the preferred spelling in Chambers). And we also groaned when we got KITTIWAKE.
A little biased towards the clerical, we thought, with land next to church, chaplain, bishops, amen and the Rev Dr Spooner.
Thanks, Eccles and B&J.
Cheers B&J, and commenters. I hadn’t realised I had an underwear fetish – I don’t recall mentioning it too often.