Independent 11,370 / Eccles

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Eccles has supplied this week’s Wednesday challenge.

For me, this puzzle was pitched at exactly the right level for a working day. It offered entertainment and an appropriate amount of head-scratching, not least in the top left-hand corner. And for the words that I didn’t know – e.g. at 1D, 19 and 20 – I was able to work them out satisfactorily from the wordplay.

My favourite clues today were 6, 8 and 14, all for concision and smoothness of surface; 11, for originality; 19, for a surface that made me laugh out loud; and 27, for its discreet definition.

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

Across    
     
01 SCHISM Break in school meals initially is welcomed

IS in [SCH (=school) + M<eals> (“initially” means first letter only]
     
04 LAGERS Scandinavian drinking good English beers

[G (=good) + E (=English)] in LARS (=Scandinavian, i.e. a Swedish forename)
     
09 READ Recited Communist broadcast

Homophone (“broadcast”) of “Red (=Communist)”
     
10 CALL TO MIND Think of characteristic sound by male animal in Germany

CALL (=characteristic sound, of animal) + TOM (=male animal) + IN + D (=Germany, in IVR)
     
11 RIDDLE My first is in rift and also in Chris, My whole is in sift and in this

The first letter of riddle also figures in rift and in Chris; a sift is a riddle, sieve, and the whole clue takes the form of a rhyming riddle!
     
12 UNTINGED Part of unaccounting editorial is not tainted

Hidden (“part of”) in “unaccoUNTING EDitorial”
     
13 PALMISTER Friend with title becomes fortune-teller

PAL (=friend) + MISTER (=title)
     
15 SHOE House in Kent region where fertile old woman lived

HO (=house, i.e. abbreviation) in SE (=Kent region, in UK); the reference is to the nursery rhyme about the old woman (and mother of many, hence “fertile”) who lived in a shoe
     
16 SERF Labourer returning additional heroin is dispatched

FRES<h> (=additional, new, e.g. of input, evidence); “heroin (=H)” is dispatched” means letter “h” is dropped; “returning” indicates reversal
     
17 PENNILESS Poor writer’s describing psychiatrist’s brother

NILES (=psychiatrist’s brother, in the US sitcom Frasier) in PEN’S (=writer’s)
     
21 TIRAMISU Dessert from America – I ruin it on the counter

US (=America) + I + MAR (=ruin) + IT; “on the counter (=contrary)” indicates reversal
     
22 ROTTER Despicable individual back in water with swimmer

<wate>R (“back in” means last letter only) + OTTER (=swimmer)
     
24 PERILOUSLY Yes, I roll up pants in a risky way

*(YES I ROLL UP); “pants (=rubbish)” is anagram indicator
     
25 PUNT New plugs placed in boat

N (=new) in PUT (=placed)
     
26 DEEPEN Intensify revolutionary requirement to include exercises

PE (=exercises, i.e. physical education) in DEEN (NEED=requirement; “revolutionary” indicates reversal)
     
27 OVERLY Too tense to leave in a conspicuous manner

OVER<t>LY (=in a conspicuous manner); “tense (=T, in grammar) to leave” means letter “t” is dropped
     
Down    
     
01 SHEHITA That woman disrupted a method of killing animals

SHE (=that woman) + HIT (=disrupted) + A; shehita is the slaughtering of animals in accordance with rabbinical law
     
02 HADID Bella was able to purchase alcohol for this reason?

HAD ID (to show the seller) (=was able to purchase alcohol for this reason); Bella Hadid is an American model (1996-)
     
03 SUCCESS Head of Christian church stops to figure out favourable outcome

[C<hristian> (“head of” means first letter only) + CE (=Church, i.e. Church of England)] in SUSS (=figure out)
     
05 ASTUTE Clever like King, briefly Egypt’s leader

AS (=like) + TUT (=King, briefly, i.e. Tutankhamun) + E<gypt> (“leader” means first letter only)
     
06 EMMENTHAL Man with helmet ordered cheese

*(MAN + HELMET); “ordered” is anagram indicator
     
07 SINCERE Outspoken prophet of lust, perhaps, is genuine

Homophone (“outspoken”) of “sin (=lust, perhaps) + seer (=prophet)”
     
08 CLAUDE DEBUSSY Composer buys a secluded complex

*(BUYS A SECLUDED); “complex” is anagram indicator
     
14 MARGARINE Seaman eats fish spread

GAR (=fish) in MARINE (=seaman)
     
16 STIPEND Gratuity in post is money for living expenses

TIP (=gratuity) in SEND (=post, e.g. a letter)
     
18 NUREYEV Dash over to look at very renowned dancer

NUR (RUN=dash; “over” indicates vertical reversal) + EYE (=to look at) + V (=very); the reference is to Soviet-born ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev (1938-93)
     
19 STEPNEY Recalled desire to fondle soprano’s spare tyre

YEN (=desire) + PET (=fondle, stroke) + S (=soprano); a stepney is a spare wheel, in old slang
     
20 RIBOSE Sugar found in bone and lobster occasionally

RIB (=bone) + <l>O<b>S<t>E<r> (“occasionally” means alternate letters only are used); ribose is a type of sugar, a pentose
     
23 TAPIR Spot a piranha devouring large mammal

Hidden (“devouring”) in “spoT A PIRanha”
     

21 comments on “Independent 11,370 / Eccles”

  2. Lovely puzzle. Comprehensive blog!
    Thanks, Eccles and RR!

    RIDDLE stands out for me.

    There was an old woman who lived in a shoe.
    She had so many children, she didn’t know what to do.
    She gave them some broth without any bread;
    And whipped them all soundly and put them to bed.

  3. I love Eccles’ puzzles with his devious and cunning clueing coupled with super-smooth surfaces, and this was no exception, apart from the use of an utterly obscure character in an American sitcom as part of the wordplay for 17a.

    SHEHITA and STEPNEY were new to me but readily derivable from the wordplay.

    It’s very difficult to pick a favourite from such a good selection, but for novelty value the excellent RIDDLE takes first place.

    Many thanks to Eccles and to RR.

  4. Beaten by this one. I didn’t know STEPNEY (which is apparently derived from the name of the street in Llanelli where the ‘spare tyre(s)’ or wheels were first manufactured) or SHEHITA, for which I guessed a close but still wrong “shebita”. ‘Bella’ HADID was also unknown but no problem with NILES at 17a.

    I agree with others that RIDDLE was v. clever and I always like to see our appealing friend the TAPIR making an appearance.

    Thanks to Eccles for such an entertaining (and educational) puzzle and to RR for the detailed blog

  5. Same as most commenters in that SHEHITA was unkown, and I couldn’t get HIT for disrupt so gave up. A DNF threfore. Lots of good clues as usual with Eccles. Thanks to both him for the fun and RR for filling in the blank.

  6. Several answers that required investigation today – some I enjoyed finding out about, STEPNEY for instance, others I certainly didn’t – SHEHITA being one, not to mention its myriad of different spellings.
    Tops for me were SCHISM, RIDDLE & STIPEND.

    Thanks to Eccles and to RR for the review.

  7. As said elsewhere, clever and enjoyable. STEPNEY and SHEHITA were my final gets, based on them being previously unknown to me, but fair and derivable. As everyone else, found RIDDLE to be very clever and original; enjoyed that one. HADID made me smile too. Very good.

  9. Yes, super puzzle today, and blog. A fair mix of gettable and stretching and needing help. Just right for me.
    Only disappointment was the time I wasted trying to guess how Stepney works as rhyming slang. Turns out it doesn’t, but it should.
    Thanks Eccles and RR

  10. After a real struggle with Vlad in the G this morning, turning to Eccles was a real delight. Nice and approachable and I was definitely on the wavelength. Lots to smile about – constructions, surfaces and general wit. Favourites include RIDDLE, PALMISTER, SHOE, PERILOUSLY, HADID, SINCERE, STIPEND and PENNILESS, (sorry RD but I loved the appearance by Niles: Frasier is a pretty high profile US sitcom with international distribution so, fortunately, not obscure in my book). Two easy ones that both made me smile – EMMENTHAL and TAPIR.

    Thanks Eccles and RR

  11. Thoroughly enjoyable puzzle.

    I had ticks for CALL TO MIND, RIDDLE, SHOE, ASTUTE, EMENTHAL, NUREYEV and – top favourite – CLAUDE DEBUSSY.

    I also took some time trying to work out the Cockney slang of STEPNEY – interesting story – and, having no interest in American sit-coms, I knew nothing of the psychiatrist’s brother but the wordplay was perfectly clear, so I guessed and googled.

    Thanks, Eccles for the fun, Eccles and RR for a good blog.

  12. I agree with everything the blog and commentary says about this puzzle. Liked RIDDLE and SHOE. I couldn’t parse the O in shoe. I thought it must be ‘old’ but as the blog has explained the abbreviation for house is HO. Bravo!

  13. The utterly obscure SHEHITA and HADID (never heard of either, and needed a wordfinder for the former) spoiled what would otherwise have been an enjoyable crossword. Sorry, Eccles.
    Thanks, though to RR for the explanations.

  14. Thanks, Eccles, this was lots of fun – RIDDLE is absolutely brilliant and made me laugh out loud. Likewise SHOE. And the anagram for CLAUDE DEBUSSY is very clever. A good 3/4 of the solutions came quickly, but there were some trickier ones I had to work quite hard for. It was easy enough to get as far as SHE_I_A, but like rocket @5, I struggled to come up with HIT for “disrupted” – no complaints though, it’s a perfectly fair synonym.

    And thanks for the blog, RR.

  15. I’ve learnt not to be too hard on myself when beaten by a lack of GK so SHEHITA and HADID didn’t spoil the enjoyment (and the latter gave me a smile). PENNILESS got the prize for pdm of the day, with CLAUDE DEBUSSY a notable second.

    Good fun from Eccles and the pleasure was amplified by a splendid blog that illuminated the gaps.

  16. Thanks Eccles for yet another superb crossword. I needed assistance to get SHEHITA, HADID, and SHOE (I should have known the latter) but I was quite pleased to solve STEPNEY from the amusing wordplay. I liked CALL TO MIND, TIRAMISU, OVERLY, and SUCCESS among others. Thanks RR for the blog.

  17. Brilliant puzzle with a plethora of excellent clues.
    I’ve ticked SCHISM, TIRAMISU, OVERLY, SUCCESS and ASTUTE but my favourite was the lol SHOE.
    Many thanks to Eccles and to RR for a top blog and explaining “Niles”

  18. Lots to enjoy here. I thought RIDDLE might have also contained a reference to the writer and illustrator until I remembered that that particular Chris is a RIDDELL. Even if unintended it was a fortuitous sideways nod enough for me.

    Didn’t know SHEHITA or STEPNEY. I love that there is always something new to learn in a daily cryptic and that there is always someone who will expand on where expressions come from, so thank you Eccles, RR and posters.

  21. Was beaten by 1d, 19d, 22a, 16a & 25a, then my partner swooped in and got them in no time to make me feel thick. Had to Google “Bella” to get 2d.

    17a, once I’d got it made me smile, but had I not been a fan of Frazier…

    Always so impressed by RR and the other bloggers that you solve these so quickly, thanks for your parsing. 🙂

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