Eccles and Wednesday make a great combination for crossword solvers.
Eccles doesn’t do themes and messages, but I detected a few political references in today’s clues and entries. Examples include Truss, Trump, government, John Kelly (former Irish politician; also name of one of Donald Trump’s many Chiefs of Staff,) Ed Miliband and off-message,
I liked the clues for ACTIVE (Macbeth Act Four reference), RELEVANT (closely linked sporting references) and SPEEDWELL (a Spoonerism that brought a smile).
The anagram for OFF-MESSAGE was very apt.
| No | Clue | Wordplay | Entry |
| Across | |||
| 1 | Bewilder Truss about folios (6) |
BALE (bundle up; truss) containing (about) FF (folios) Truss is probably a reference to Liz Truss, Secretary of State for International Trade, rather than Lynne Truss, author of Eats, Shoots and Leaves BA (FF) LE |
BAFFLE (bewilder) |
| 5 | Perhaps Trump briefly drinks and exercises (5-3) |
PRES (president; reference PRESident Donald Trump) + SUPS (drinks) PRES S–UPS |
PRESS-UPS (gymnastic exercises) |
| 9 | Lackey follows party in government (8) |
DO (party) + MINION (servile dependant; lackey) DO MINION |
DOMINION (government) |
| 10 | Dreams of ladies’ pants (6) |
Anagram of (pants) LADIES IDEALS* |
IDEALS (dreams) |
| 11 | Supporter of optimistic coin tosser? (4-6) |
WELL-WISHER (one who throws coins into a WELL and makes a WISH, presumably for some thing beneficial or heartwarming [showing optimism]) WELL–WISHER |
WELL-WISHER (someone concerned for another’s welfare; supporter) |
| 12 | Dirty Den‘s rapid descent (4) |
DIVE (a disreputable [dirty] bar, usually underground) DIVE |
DIVE (rapid descent) double definition |
| 13 | Wife struck Frenchman over fake cream in coffee (8) |
W (wife) + HIT (struck) + RENÉ (one of the crossword world’s favourite Frenchmen) reversed (over) W HIT ENER< |
WHITENER (artificial milk for coffee or tea; fake cream in coffee) |
| 16 | A place where people gather in line (6) |
A + VENUE (place where people gather) A VENUE |
AVENUE (row; line) |
| 17 | Pre-recorded John Kelly (6) |
CAN (both JOHN and CAN are slang terms for lavatory or toilet) + NED (reference NED Kelly [1854 – 1880], Australian bushranger, outlaw, gang leader and convicted police murderer) CAN NED |
CANNED ([of music, etc] recorded in advance) |
| 19 | Upset, as return of Miliband extremely overdue (8) |
ED (reference ED Miliband [born 1969], Labour Party politician and former leader) reversed (return of) + SO (extremely) + LATE (overdue) DE< SO LATE |
DESOLATE (unhappy; upset) |
| 21 | Worst year to catch infection (4) |
STYE (hidden word [to catch] in WORST YEAR) STYE |
STYE (small inflamed swelling at the edge of the eyelid, caused by bacterial infection) |
| 22 | Unfortunately, some gaffes are this? (3-7) |
Anagram of (unfortunately) SOME GAFFES OFF MESSAGE* |
OFF-MESSAGE (not following the approved party line) |
| 25 | Lively part of Macbeth where apparitions are summoned, ending in massacre (6) |
ACT IV (in ACT IV of Macbeth, he meets the witches who conjure apparitions to address his concerns; part of Macbeth where apparitions are summoned) + E (last letter of [ending in] MASSACRE) ACT IV E |
ACTIVE (lively) |
| 26 | A second test, with time advancing, of main communication channel? (8) |
A + RETRIAL (second test) with T (time) moving towards the front of the word (advancing) to form RTERIAL A RTERIAL |
ARTERIAL (descriptive of a main communication channel) |
| 27 | Appropriate and right to keep team, except that Wan Bissaka finally replaces Maguire at the back (8) |
RT (right) containing (to keep) ELEV R (ELEVAN) T |
RELEVANT (appropriate) |
| 28 | Old women into gang fighting (6) |
(O [old] + W [women]) contained in (into) RING (gang, often referring to a group of bidders at an auction who collude to buy an item at a lower price than it is worth and then agree to share the profits on subsequent sale) R (O W) ING |
ROWING (fighting) |
| Down | |||
| 2 | Article on literary work that attracts negative types (5) |
AN (indefinite article) + ODE (poem; literary work) AN ODE |
ANODE (in valves and tubes, the electrode to which electrons flow; as electrons are negatively charged, the anode attracts negative types) |
| 3 | Gathering for sickly Oscar’s leaving (5) |
F FR ILL |
FRILL (crimped edging; gathering of material) |
| 4 | Reflection of sound around large island results in slurring of words (7) |
NOISE (sound) reversed (reflection of) containing (around) (L [large] + I [island]) E (L I) SION< |
ELISION (suppression of a vowel or syllable, causing a slurring of words when speaking) |
| 5 | Gasp at that woman being a cougar? (7) |
PANT (gasp) + HER (that woman) PANT HER |
PANTHER (puma in North America; cougar) |
| 6 | Flag up region giving away American land (7) |
TIRE (fatigue; flag) reversed (up; down clue) + ERIT< REA |
ERITREA (country in Africa; land) |
| 7 | Spooner’s magical method is to remove unwanted plants such as this? (9) |
SPEEDWELL would be spoken by the Revered Spooner as WEED SPELL (i.e. a magical method to remove unwanted plants) SPEED WELL |
SPEEDWELL (blue-flowered perennials that are considered to be annual weeds that spread through lawns and borders) |
| 8 | Surprising plot to accommodate high value sporting event (4,5) |
Anagram of (surprising) PLOT containing (to accommodate) an anagram of (high) VALUE POL (E VAUL*) T* |
POLE VAULT (sporting event) |
| 14 | Understand growth in suffering (9) |
HEAR (listen; understand) + TACHE (moustache; growth) HEAR TACHE |
HEARTACHE (suffering) |
| 15 | Moroccan entering a ground (9) |
Anagram of (ground) ENTERING and A TANGERINE* |
TANGERINE (resident of Tangier, Moroccan coastal city; Moroccan) |
| 18 | Hybrid rose rapidly suppresses insectivorous plant (7) |
DROSERA (hidden word in [suppresses] HYBRID ROSE RAPIDLY) DROSERA |
DROSERA (any plant of the sundew genus of DROSERAcea, a family of insectivorous plants) |
| 19 | Rebellious pervert receives fine for verse (7) |
DE DEFIANT |
DEFIANT (rebellious) |
| 20 | The discontented dons curse warm clothing (7) |
TE (letters left in T SWEA (TE) R |
SWEATER (warm clothing) |
| 23 | Spread goodness, except Thursday (5) |
STREW STREW |
STREW (spread) |
| 24 | Good weather for cereal crops (5) |
G (good) + RAIN (type of weather) G RAIN |
GRAIN (cereal crop) |
Duncan has said it all. Eccles + Wednesday = great for solvers.
So many clues are worthy of mention but ACTIVE is outstanding, OFF-MESSAGE is a brilliant anagram and SPEEDWELL is as good an example of a Spoonerism that you could wish for (with the additional smile induced by Duncan’s “Revered Spooner”).
Many thanks to Eccles and to Duncan.
I too am a fan of Eccles Wednesdays and I did notice the odd political reference too
Thanks to him and Duncan too
Superb! As a ‘not-fan’ of Spoonerisms, I unusually got 7D immediately. I didn’t bother to look for a theme but I’ve a feeling Eccles likes to include political references generally? Drosera was new to me, but easily solved. Thanks Eccles and Duncan.
I have also become an Eccles fan.I really liked STREW Thanks all.
Me too. A richesse of ingenious clues.
I’m going to borrow Barbj’s adjective – ingenious. Great midweek entertainment, where like others I thought OFF-MESSAGE was a brilliant clue.
Thanks to Duncan and to our setter.
Yes, the usual enjoyable Eccles solve. Just the right level of difficulty and some very good clues. My favourites were OFF-MESSAGE (even if it is one of my least favourite bits of jargon!), the ‘John Kelly’ wordplay and the surface and def. for WHITENER.
Thanks to Eccles and Duncan
Another really good puzzle from our regular Wednesday setter and I learned a new word in DROSERA. I’m obviously in good company to award the medals to OFF-MESSAGE, ACTIVE, WELL-WISHER and SPEEDWELL.
Many thanks to Eccles and to John for his usual clear review.
Apologies, Duncan, not entirely sure how I came to re-christen you!
Very enjoyable. One or two new words, e.g. DROSERA – but it was easily worked out and confirmed in Chambers. And the Macbeth clue was great.
“Both Aaron Wan Bissaka and Harry Maguire are players for Manchester United (right back and centre back)” – we didn’t know that but we didn’t need to, so another great clue there.
Thanks, Eccles and Duncan.
I’m with copmus @4 with the appreciation of STREW(th). I fell for the other meaning of goodness for a while until I got the S and W crossers at which point a had a little chuckle.
Took my time but got there in the end after a very slow start.
ELISION and DROSERA both new to me the former went in late when it couldn’t be anything else, the latter went in simply from the clue having had the D to start with.
LOI was ANODE even though it was completely obvious what you were supposed to be doing.
Thanks to Eccles and to Duncan.
So much that was really good, as others have said. Why then did we have that incredibly long clue for RELEVANT at 27ac? Almost everything else is so pithy, and Eccles takes ten words to swap A and E. Not that I’m offering to do better.
Er, I think it’s a story-telling surface to do with footie, Wil. Not your cup of tea, but let those who do appreciate the beautiful game enjoy it.
Thanks Eccles and Duncan. Didn’t take long but amusing and I do like to be entertained not just puzzled.
Well yes K’s D, I realise that there is a story in 27ac (and believe it or not I do guite enjoy football and follow it a bit; I simply enjoy cricket and golf more), but my criticism wasn’t of the surface but of the length.
Many thanks to Duncan for the usual detailed blog, and to everyone who commented. I prefer shorter clues, but don’t mind writing long ones as long as they are not unnecessarily long, and I couldn’t think of a shorter way to fit the surface.