Eccles has provided our mid-week cruciverbal entertainment this week.
I found this to be a medium-difficulty puzzle through which I made steady progress, faltering only towards the end in the SW quadrant of the grid.
I believe that I have parsed everything to my satisfaction today, but I would be grateful for confirmation of my reading of “Corona” in 17.
My favourite clues today were 1A and 14, both for making me laugh out loud when the penny dropped; and 3, 11, 16 and 18A, all for smoothness of surface.
*(…) indicates an anagram; definitions are italicised; // separates definitions in multiple-definition clues
| Across | ||
| 01 | HETEROSEXUAL | Use ox leather in a kinky manner, like Boris Johnson?
*(USE OX LEATHER); “in a kinky manner” is anagram indicator |
| 09 | MINUS SIGN | Asking “Is Sun immediately about to show indication of loss?”
Reversed (“about”) and hidden (“to show”) in “askiNG IS SUN IMmediately” |
| 10 | ALEPH | Letter showing the acidity of beer?
Cryptically, “ale PH” would show the acidity of beer! |
| 11 | OUTLAW | Fugitive dated women around US city
LA (=US city, i.e. Los Angeles) in [OUT (=dated, passé) + W (=women)] |
| 12 | FIREBOMB | Brief mob about incendiary device
*(BRIEF MOB); “about” is anagram indicator |
| 13 | KARPOV | Overheard quibble over very political chess champion
Homophone (“overheard”) of “carp (=quibble)” + O (=over, in cricket) + V (=very); the reference is to Russian chess grandmaster and politician Anatoly Karpov (1951-) |
| 15 | APOSTASY | A job as secretary ultimately leads to abandonment of principles
A + POST (=job) + AS + <secretar>Y (“ultimately” means last letter only) |
| 18 | CLOVE OIL | It relieves toothache and wind, suppressing desire
LOVE (=desire) in COIL ((to) wind, twist); clove oil is an essential oil recognised as offering temporary relief from toothache |
| 19 | DEFECT | Want // to desert
Double definition: a defect is a want, lack, absence of something AND to defect is to desert, to abandon one’s country |
| 21 | SCRAPPER | Person who fights in small toilet
S (=small, in sizes) + CRAPPER (=toilet, colloquially) |
| 23 | REASON | Purpose of ‘About a Boy”
RE (=about, regarding) + A + SON (=boy) |
| 26 | NACHO | Northern masculine male leaves to get snack
N (=northern) + <m>ACHO (=masculine; “male (=M) leaves” means letter “m” is dropped) |
| 27 | ARCHANGEL | Maybe Michael Atherton initially right to alter ball’s final character
A<therton> (“initially” means first letter only) + R (=right) + CHANGE (=to alter) + <bal>L (“final character” means last letter only); Archangel Michael is one of the archangels recognised in various religions |
| 28 | POLICE RECORD | Perhaps Roxanne noted criminal offences
Roxanne was a 1978 single by the English rock band The Police |
| Down | ||
| 01 | HAMMOCK | Pork knuckle originally made for husband in bed
HAM HOCK (=pork knuckle); “originally (=first letter) made for husband (=H)” means letter “h” is replaced by “m” |
| 02 | TENET | Principle unchanged, on reflection
“unchanged on reflection” indicates that the word is a palindrome |
| 03 | RISE ABOVE | Not be affected by strange American I observe
*(A (=American) + I OBSERVE); “strange” is anagram indicator |
| 04 | SAID | Claimed to be sedate, not tense
S<t>AID (=sedate, sober); “not tense (=T, in grammar)” means letter “t” is dropped |
| 05 | XANTIPPE | Quarrelsome woman recycling correction fluid on article
AN (=article, in grammar) + TIPPE-X (=correction fluid; “recycling” means last letter moves back to front of word); a Xant(h)ippe is a scolding or bad-tempered woman, after the wife of Socrates |
| 06 | AGATE | Silver corroded in form of silica
AG (=silver, i.e. chemical symbol) + ATE (=corroded) |
| 07 | RENOVATE | Rehabilitate star found in tree, drunk
NOVA (=star) in *(TREE); “drunk” is anagram indicator |
| 08 | CHUBBY | A bit fat, like a fish?
Cryptically, “chub-by” is a like a chub (=fish) |
| 14 | ROOF RACK | Content to drool and release trapped gas, I carry a bit of excess
<d>ROO<l> (“content to” indicates middle letters only) + FRACK (=release trapped gas (from ground)) |
| 16 | STEVENAGE | Organise clothes fair in new town
EVEN (=fair, just) in STAGE (=organise, put on e.g. an event); Stevenage was designated the UK’s first New Town in 1946 |
| 17 | LITERATI | Volume of Corona one drinks at collection of book-lovers?
AT in [LITER (=volume of Corona, i.e. US spelling of litre) + I (=one)] |
| 18 | CASINO | A crime admitted by company providing better accommodation
[A + SIN (=crime)] in CO (=company); a casino is home to people who bet, hence “better accommodation”! |
| 20 | TANGLED | Guided by taste, being messy
TANG (=taste, bite) + LED (=guided, showed the way) |
| 22 | PROMO | Advert for Flash
PRO (=for, in favour of) + MO’ (=flash, as in in a mo’) |
| 24 | SEGNO | Starts to share extrovert’s good news on sign above bar
S<hare> E<xtroverts> G<ood> N<ews> O<n>; “starts to” means first letters only; in musical notation, a segno is a sign to mark the beginning or end of repetitions |
| 25 | OCHE | Lock shed with no external features, in line with sporting regulations
<l>OC><k> <s>HE<d>; “with no external features” means first and last letters are dropped; the oche is the line behind which players in darts must stand when throwing |
Excellent. Big ticks for POLICE RECORD (thought it was an angram for a while with ‘criminal’), CLOVE OIL (must try it), DEFECT and STEVENAGE (‘new town’ is a new term). Some tricky surfaces in clues that include HAMMOCK, ROOF RACK, and RISE ABOVE (where I was sidetracked trying to parse I SEE into the solution) made it a very interesting and enjoyable challenge. I liked the conciseness of the clues in this puzzle and I also have a big tock PROMO (after I had read the blog) so thanks RR. One can never have enough Eccles.
Oops, ‘big tick’ and I agree with your parsing for LITERATI which flows very nicely. Maybe it’s LITER in Mexico.
A quick check on google shows that Corona is in California. Nothing to do with a certain virus. Great crossword. Didn’t know SEGNO but easy to get.
Solving an Eccles puzzle is always a pleasure, and this one was no exception.
I had a long list of ticks with POLICE RECORD my favourite, with special mentions for ALEPH, KARPOV and ARCHANGEL.
XANTIPPE was a new word for me,
I took “Corona” in 17d to refer to the city of that name in California, hence the US spelling of LITER.
Many thanks to Eccles and to RR.
23a REASON – ‘About a Boy is a 1998 coming of age novel written by British writer Nick Hornby’ – a favourite author and a silver anniversary.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/About_a_Boy_(novel)
19a DEFECT – Another homograph, where the noun and verb are pronounced differently.
The film of About a Boy also led to a TV series. Not my cup of tea though.
I did need to check on the quarrelsome woman and the bar sign – and the least said about 21a the better, but there was plenty to enjoy.
Particular mention for CLOVE OIL, POLICE RECORD, CHUBBY (made me laugh) & ROOF RACK.
Many thanks to Eccles and to RR for the review.
Very enjoyable. Each day I seem to learn a new word from a puzzle, and today it’s SEGNO. CHUBBY is like something from the Uxbridge English Dictionary on ISIHAC. I liked the surfaces of 1ac and especially 27ac, a reminder of the test match in which Atherton rubbed earth on the ball (allegedly).
More toilet humour to go with SCRAPPER – here’s a cleaned-up version of XANTHIPPE famously emptying a po over her husband’s head.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xanthippe#/media/File:Reyer_Jacobsz._van_Blommendael,_Socrate,_ses_deux_%C3%A9pouses_et_Alcibiade,_1675._Huile_sur_toile,_210_x_198_cm._Strasbourg,_Mus%C3%A9e_des_Beaux-Art.jpg
Apart from the weak 1a very enjoyable.
I’d never heard of quarrelsome woman but I’m old enough to remember that wretched correction fluid and the wordplay was pretty clear. My ticks go to KARPOV, CLOVE OIL (very neat) ARCHANGEL, POLICE RECORD, ROOF RACK and STEVENAGE.
Thanks Eccles and RR for a top puzzle and blog
I thought 1a was a very neat anagram. Why Boris Johnson? Why not!
I had heard of Xanthippe and the loss of the letter H was clear from the wordplay and I confirmed the alternative spelling in Chambers.
Thanks both. I am evidently not alone in my admiration of POLICE RECORD, but was flying solo when I confidently entered maxim instead of TENET before my obvious error became apparent. Per Hovis@11 I wonder if this is a deliberate misdirection or just to aid the surface – potentially risky in the modern age to assume or declare anyone’s sexuality, but I guess opinions of equal gravity have been used so often where he is considered, and time will eventually run out on the popularity of doing so
Not knowing (or having forgotten – 1978 was a long time ago) that Roxanne was by The Police we needed a little assistance from Google to finish. But otherwise an enjoyable solve wigth just the right amount of challenge. But 5dn had to be XANTIPPE, although we didn’t bother checking in Brewer (and btw we still use that correction fluid occasionally as we solve our crosswords on paper). We couldn’t parse HAMMOCK, though it obviously derived from ‘pork’.
We liked ALEPH, CLOVE OIL and SEGNO.
Thanks, Eccles and RR.
Everything was fine until I tried to anagram ROXANNE NOTED… apart from that all good.
Thanks Ratkojariku n Eccles
What Stephen said @10.
My first Indy puzzle in a while & must find time for more.
Thanks all