Independent 10,723 / Eccles

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Eccles is occupying the mid-week slot once again today.

I found this to be a puzzle of two halves, in that I found that I was able to solve around 50% of the clues without undue effort, while the others really needed to be chipped away at, first to be solved and then to be parsed. One example of the latter was 20D, where it took me ages to see what the function of “says” was in the clue.

I am more or less satisfied with my parsing with the exception of 1A, where my proposed parsing is unsatisfactory in that the first letter of “of” does not figure. I look forward to being enlightened and will amend the blog accordingly later.

My favourite clues today were 5, for the reference to Kate Humble; 9, for surface reading; 16, for overall construction; and 20A for making me smirk. I also like this less common grid, which offered the solver lots of corners and intersections to work at.

*(…) indicates an anagram; definitions are italicised; // separates definitions in multiple-definition clues

Across    
     
01 INORGANIC Belonging to group of atoms not involving carbon, primarily – which includes gold

IN (=belonging to) + OR (=gold, in heraldry) + G<roup> of A<toms> N<ot> I<nvolving> C<arbon; “primarily” means first letters only are used]; & lit.
     
08 HEATHER How to raise the temperature of that girl Erica?

Cryptically, one way to raise the temperature of that girl would be to “heat her”!; Erica is the heather genus of plants
     
10 SETTLER Dog collars left for newcomer

L (=left) in SETTER (=dog)
     
11 DRAFTSMAN American engineering technician shakes around Air Force staff

[RAF (=(Royal) Air Force)] in DTS (=shakes, i.e. Delirium tremens)] + MAN (=staff, as verb); “draftsman” is the US spelling of “draughtsman”
     
12 LECTOR Hobbyist banishes depression, becoming reader in church

<col>LECTOR (=hobbyist, as in stamp collector); “banishes depression (=col, in mountain range)” means letters “col” are dropped
     
15 SPANGLE Piece of shiny material to stretch across broken leg

SPAN (=to stretch across) + *(LEG); “broken” is anagram indicator
     
16 TRADEMARK Characteristic counter-culture followed by European country, but not Norway

TRA (ART=culture; “counter” suggests a reversal) + DE<n>MARK (=European country; “not Norway (=N, in IVR) means letter “n” is dropped)
     
19 ATTENTIVE Careful mother not starting to drink red wine

TENT (=red wine) in <n>ATIVE (=mother, of e.g. country or tongue; “not starting” means the first letter is dropped)
     
20 PREPAID Papa gets nappy the wrong way round, with discharge already settled

P (=papa, in international radio communication) + REPAID (DIAPER=nappy; “the wrong way round” indicates reversal); the “discharge” of the definition refers to a payment!
     
22 AT REST Still show resistance for second time

ATTEST (=show, certify); “resistance (=R) for a second time (=T)” means that the second letter “t” is replaced by “r”
     
23 GASTROPOD Perhaps snail trail is back, inspiring a tantrum

[A + STROP (=tantrum)] in GOD (DOG=trail, follow; “is back” indicates reversal)
     
25 AQUARIA Fish tanks, for example, moved away from highly corrosive liquid

AQUA R<eg>IA (=highly corrosive liquid); “for example (=e.g.) moved away” means letters “eg” are dropped
     
27 EN SUITE See unit refurbished as part of a set

*(SEE UNIT); “refurbished” is anagram indicator
     
28 DEBUTANTE Socialite teed off about Asian country deporting Henry

B<h>UTAN (=Asian country; “deporting Henry (=H)” means letter “h” is dropped) in *(TEED); “off” is anagram indicator
     
Down    
     
01 INSULATE To shield at home, you texted boring schedule

IN (=at home) + [U (=you texted, i.e. in textspeak) in SLATE (=schedule, plan, as verb)]
     
02 OFT Frequently remove roof from top of house

<l>OFT (=top of house); “remove roof” means first letter is dropped
     
03 GALLOPED Ran opinion piece supporting hostility

GALL (=hostility, ill will) + OP ED (=opinion piece, in newspaper, published opposite the editorial)
     
04 NERD Obsessive type blocks inner demons

Hidden (“blocks”) in “inNER Demons”
     
05 CHEAPSKATE Humble lady follows men taking drug, being a skinflint

[E (=drug, i.e. Ecstasy) in CHAPS (=men)] + KATE (=Humble lady, i.e. BBC TV presenter Kate Humble)
     
06 MANTRA Snare leader of party to leave same statement repeatedly

MANTRA<p> (=(a)snare); “leader of party (=P, i.e. first letter)” means letter “p” is dropped
     
07 PRINCE Cost to protect new member of royal family

N (=new) in PRICE (=cost)
     
09 HOMOGENISE Goes home in pants to make uniform

*(GOES HOME IN); “pants (=rubbish)” is anagram indicator
     
13 CHANTEUSES More than one singer seeks to cover quirky tune

*(TUNE) in CHASES (=seeks); “quirky” is anagram indicator
     
14 MALADAPTED Reproduced entertaining Russian car, power unsuited to modern needs

[LADA (=Russian car) + P (=power, in physics)] in MATED (=reproduced)
     
17 INSTRUCT Teach that curt, snide characters are shown up

Vertical reversed (“up”) and hidden (“characters are shown”) in “thaT CURT SNIde”
     
18 HEAT WAVE Foolishly, we have case of tequila in unusually warm weather

*(WE HAVE + T<equil>A); “case of” means first and last letters only are included in anagram, indicated by “foolishly”
     
20 PEG LEG Fake member of parliament initially says Latin must be included

P<arliament> (“initially” means first letter only) + [L (=Latin) in 2 x E.G. (=say, for example)]
     
21 ADROIT A legal right to get expert

A + DROIT (=legal right)
     
24 DAUB Smear name around America

A (=America) in DUB (=name, call, as verb)
     
26 RUN Organise dried fruit to be peeled

<p>RUN<e> (=dried fruit); “to be peeled” means first and last letters are dropped
     
                       

15 comments on “Independent 10,723 / Eccles”

  1. I, too, thought at first that 1a was perfect and then struggled to utilise the ‘o’. If we’re right, it’s a shame as Eccles could probably have got away with “…grouped atoms…” That said, someone may turn up with a solution and Eccles is good enough that minor aberrations are unexpected.

    Some nice tight clueing and enough head scratching to make it satisfying without causing a headache. I liked the DT’s in DRAFTSMAN, like RR the construction of GASTROPOD, GALLOPED for incorporating op-ed, MALADAPTED for the incorporation of Lada and PEG LEG which was my lol moment.

    My only raised eyebrow – apart from the aforementioned 1a – was equating socialite with DEBUTANTE. At a surface level it’s fair enough but the pedant in me says 1) at the point of being a debutante, surely they don’t yet qualify to be a socialite and 2) some debs might lead a quiet and non-social life, having originally had their coming out.

    Thanks to Hoskins and RR

  2. Thanks RatkojaRiku
    Regarding 1ac, Chambers gives G as the abbreviation for ‘group of’ so the parsing is IN (belonging to) OR (gold) G (group of) A[toms] N[ot] I[nvolving] C[arbon].

  3. Brilliant Gaufrid. Thanks for coming to the rescue. TILT. Given Hoskins’ pedigree, I was surprised so am delighted to see there is a solution

  4. How did Hoskins slip in here?

    All the usual Eccles’ excellence was on show here making for a very enjoyable solve as always. He will doubtless be expecting me to point out his unindicated Americanism in 20a but the rest of the puzzle was so good I forgive him! ?

    Many thanks to Eccles and to RR.

  7. I chased a lot of red herrings trying to parse GALLOPED. Was a Gallop poll an opinion piece, but it’s not spelled like that. Was it just ed supporting poll ag(resssion) reversed? No problems with a DEBUTANTE being a socialite. I think the implication is that they take part in a number of social events as part of their coming out. Having done that, they then cease to be a debutante and may or may not cease to be a socialite. I think I like PEG-LEG though the parsing eluded me at the time.

  8. [RD @5: by way of making partial amends, here’s the link to the emoji shortcuts. The one you wanted is semicolon then close bracket “;)” but remember to leave spaces either side or the emoticon won’t work. 😉 ]

  9. Didn’t have any idea about the highly explosive liquid so that one went in courtesy of the first two words in the clue and I was convinced that a type of dinosaur would feature in 14d until the penny dropped.
    My favourites were HEATHER, for the humour, PEG LEG and CHEAPSKATE.

    Thanks to Eccles for the puzzle and to RR for the review.

  10. Like Jane, I didn’t know the highly corrosive liquid and I’d forgotten OP ED, which I learned from crosswords.

    My solving experience was pretty much the same as RR’s and, if pushed, from the dozen or so clues I ticked, I’d settle for the same four favourites as his, for the same reasons (and perhaps squeeze in ATTENTIVE, for the surface).

    I’m with Petert re DEBUTANTE.

    Huge thanks, as always to Eccles for the fun and RR for the blog.

  11. Rabbit Dave @4 – while diaper is obviously much more common in America, I’m not sure it needs to be indicated as an American. If I look up, say, ‘sidewalk’ in Chambers, it says:
    sidewalk noun (N American)
    A pavement or footpath

    whereas for diaper it says:
    diaper noun (esp N American)
    1. a baby’s nappy
    etc etc

    I think that ‘esp’ makes a subtle difference.

    But that’s by the by. I really enjoyed this one. 20D and 23A my favourites.

  12. I too got to 50% but took me a while and after that pretty much ground to a halt with substantial help needed, but enjoyed what I could do and enjoy attempting to understand what I can’t! Agree on PEG-LEG being a lol moment but like Petert @7 I couldn’t parse it which I why I love this site for all the help afterwards

    Thanks to Eccles and RR

  13. Thanks for the fun Eccles. We didn’t know G for “group of” and entered INORGANIC without checking everything, probably because it was our LOI. So, thanks also to Gaufrid and Tatrasman.

    Not forgetting another thank you to RR for the blog.

  14. Thanks RR, and to all commenters. I didn’t know G=group of either until it was pointed out to me – I originally had ‘with’. Thanks to Bluth for making the same point I was going to, although Collins doesn’t have that important esp.
    Has anyone seen me and Hoskins in the same room? Well, yes, but not for a couple of years. Mind you, I’ve hardly been in the same room as anyone for quite a while.

  15. I read ‘belonging to group’ as ‘in org’!

    Frustrating time in NE corner as I had RATTLE for snare.

    Thoroughly enjoyable!

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