As is normal at the moment, we have a puzzle from Eccles to challenge us today.
I thought the clue for WISDEN (17 across) was wonderful for the way it wove in the names of three of England’s leading cricketers of the last few years. If you are not a cricket fan, you may have wondered whether the names meant anything.
I also liked the clue for MOTIVE (10 across) where the definition ‘ground’ wasn’t obvious on first reading.
DREARISOME (11 across) is not a word I have come across before, so I struggled a bit solving that clue.
There were plenty of good surfaces as one would expect from Eccles. I’ll give a mention to the clues for SLIDE SHOW (14 down) and NAMETAG (18 down)
| No | Detail |
| Across | |
| 1 | Fuel prejudice about orgy, oddly (6)
BIOGAS (domestic or commercial gas obtained by bioconversion; fuel) BIAS (prejudice) containing (about) OG (letters 1 and 3 [oddly] of OrGy) BI (OG) AS |
| 5 | Son and second daughter abandoning hopeless witness (8)
DEPONENT (a person who makes a deposition, especially under oath, or whose written testimony is used as evidence in a court of justice; witness) DESPONDENT (despairing; hopeless) excluding (abandoning) S (son) and the second occurrence of[second] D [daughter]) DEPONENT |
| 9 | Outrages Conservative, wearing attire showing a bit of skin (8)
SCANDALS (outrages) (C [Conservative] contained in [wearing] SANDALS [footwear with an openwork upper; attire showing a bit of skin]) S (C) ANDALS |
| 10 | Second time Eccles has to give ground (6)
MOTIVE (reason; ground) MO (moment; second) + T (time) + I’VE (I have; Eccles [the setter] has]) MO T IVE |
| 11 | Forlorn nurse is drilling head (10)
DREARISOME (forlorn) (REAR [raise; cause to help; nurse] + IS) contained in (drilling) DOME (head or cover) D (REAR IS) OME |
| 12 | Country, before India invades (4)
EIRE (a country) I (India is the international radio communication codeword for the letter I) contained in (invades) ERE (before) E (I) RE |
| 13 | Relieved idiot carried on broadcast (8)
ASSUAGED (mitigated; relieved) ASS (idiot) + UAGED (sounds like [broadcast] WAGED [carried on]) ASS UAGED |
| 16 | Despot‘s drug left for later time (6)
STALIN (reference Joseph STALIN [1878-1953], Russian depot) STATIN (any of a class of drugs that inhibit an enzyme used in cholesterol production, used to treat heart disease) with L (left) replacing (for) the second [later] occurrence of T (time) STALIN |
| 17 | Stokes stopping Broad and Anderson finally producing their bible (6)
WISDEN (WISDEN Cricketers’ Almanack, or simply WISDEN, colloquially the Bible of Cricket, is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom) S (stokes [the CGS unit of kinematic viscosity]) contained in (stopping) (WIDE [broad] + N [last letter of {finally} ANDERSON]) – Ben Stokes, Stuart Broad and James Anderson are all English cricketers of some note. WI (S) DE N |
| 19 | Predict that man gets terribly sad where a miracle occurred (8)
BETHESDA (The miracle of BETHESDA recounted in John 5:1-9, describes Jesus healing a paralyzed man at the Pool of BETHESDA in Jerusalem, who had been unable to walk for 38 years, after Jesus asked him “Do you want to be healed?”) BET (predict) + HE (that man) + an anagram of (terribly) SAD BET HE SDA* |
| 21 | Tackle good listener (4)
GEAR (tackle) G (good) + EAR (listener) G EAR |
| 22 | Abused whisky and responded heartlessly (10)
MALTREATED (abused) MALT (type of whisky) + REACTED (responded) excluding the middle letter (heartlessly) C MALT REATED |
| 25 | Stop plugging uncouth war tunes (6)
THWART (block; stop) THWART (hidden word in [plugging] uncouTH WAR Tunes THWART |
| 26 | Aim to slip lead in cordial (8)
AMICABLE (cordial) Anagram of (to slip) AIM + CABLE (an electric lead) AMI* CABLE |
| 27 | Is going to cut short boring drunk just after sunset (8)
TWILIGHT (the faint light just after sunset) (WILL [is going to] excluding the final letter [cut short] L) contained in (boring) TIGHT (drunk) T (WIL) IGHT |
| 28 | Morose Mexican’s hat, 25% off (6)
SOMBRE (morose) SOMBRERO (Mexican hat) excluding the last two of eight [25%] letters RO SOMBRE |
| Down | |
| 2 | Get dog at home, to start with (5)
INCUR (gain; get) IN (at home) + CUR (dog) IN CUR |
| 3 | Information on old American city (5)
GENOA (city in Italy) GEN (information) + O (old) + A (age) GEN O A |
| 4 | Saw guards beginning to like killing (7)
SLAYING (killing) SAYING (proverb; saw) containing (guards) L (first letter of [beginning to] LIKE) S (L) AYING |
| 5 | Dance record on vacation creates division (7)
DISCORD (division) DISCO (dance) + RD (letters remaining in RecorD when the central letters ECOR are removed [on vacation]) DISCO RD |
| 6 | Publications about masculine pets (7)
PAMPERS (pets) PAPERS (publications) containing (about) M (masculine) PA (M) PERS |
| 7 | No red meat cooked in place of worship (5,4)
NOTRE DAME (Cathedral in Paris; place of worship) Anagram of (cooked) NO RED MEAT NOTRE DAME* alternatively NO + an anagram of (cooked) RED MEAT NO TRE DAME* |
| 8 | Revolutionary study protects pests? It doesn’t matter (5,4)
NEVER MIND (it doesn’t matter) DEN (study) reversed (revolutionary) containing (protects) VERMIN (pests) NE (VER MIN) D< |
| 14 | Descends on eccentric who provides presentation (5,4)
SLIDE SHOW (a form of presentation) SLIDES (descends) + an anagram of (eccentric) WHO SLIDE S HOW* |
| 15 | Ireland and US: works in progress (5,4)
UNDER SAIL (having the sails spread; propelled by means of sails; of a sailing ship, under way) An anagram of (works) IRELAND and US UNDER SAIL* |
| 18 | Bloke at entrance turned round to show piece of identification (7)
NAMETAG (piece of identification) GATEMAN (bloke standing guard at an entrance) reversed (turned round) NAMETAG< |
| 19 | Sat around after dance and put on weight (7)
BALLAST (heavy material used to weigh down and steady a ship or balloon; weight) BALL (dance) + an anagram of (around) SAT BALL AST* |
| 20 | Goes up and down, sharing new vegetables (7)
TURNIPS (vegetables) TURN (go, as in it’s your TURN) + SPIN (go [swiftly]) reversed – the two words share the N (new) TUR N IPS< |
| 23 | Exposed male member creates distress (5)
ALARM (distress) AL (letters remaining in MALE when the outer letters M and E are removed [exposed]) + ARM (limb; member) AL ARM |
| 24 | Mathematician and European leader wanting introduction (5)
EULER (reference Leonhard EULER (1707 – 1783), Swiss mathematician) E (European) + RULER (leader) excluding (wanting) the first letter (introduction) R E ULER |
Completely agree with our blogger that WISDEN is the stand out clue: Ben Stokes has given a nice opportunity in recent years for the use of an otherwise less commonly occurring abbreviation. Other faves inc MOTIVE for the nice use of ‘Eccles has’; ASSUAGED for the cunning partial homophone; TWILIGHT for the surface; NOTRE DAME similarly with its nod to certain religious dietary codes and finally, both for their humorous messages, UNDER SAIL (‘…works in progress’ is brilliant) and ALARM. LOI was DREARISOME: took a while for ‘head’ = DOME to pop up.
Thanks Eccles and duncan
Another who liked WISDEN a lot. Also liked TWILIGHT and UNDER SAIL.
Thanks Eccles and duncan.
Held myself up in the SE by entering a cautious BALLOON, BALL + O ON = Nothing On for sat around. I completely forgot it was only tentative and it cost me quite some time!
I agree with others on the favourites and might add the simple but effective TURNIPS. DREARISOME was a bit of a cheat using a crossword solver I’m afraid, not sure I would ever have got there.
Thanks to Eccles and duncan
{typo 3d ‘… + A (American)’} — Parsed 19d BALLAST with the definition as “put on weight” – weight that’s been put on.
Especially liked 23d ALARM for the neat ‘Divide & Conquer’ of “male member”. — 20d TURNIPS was nice, too.
The usual solid challenge from Eccles, lots of variety and wrong-footing in play.
This time, I felt that quite a few surfaces were bordering on the nonsense scale, ( not like Eccles); and I had a lingering query, re BALLAST:
19(d)…..”to put on [weight]”, unless “to ballast” is a verb?
Thanks to our blogger for explaining the Stokes abbreviation, I know it from regular appearances, but never understood why. A bit obscure, for me.
Thanks, Eccles and duncan
Simply superb! With ticks all over my page, I thought I might struggle to pick a favourite. Then up popped WISDEN. La crème de la crème!
Many thanks to Eccles and to Duncan.
Ian B @ 6 Yes, “to ballast” is indeed a verb.
Thanks Eccles & DS
WISDEN: amazingly, I’ve heard of all three cricketers. But I hadn’t heard of the publication. No actual complaints here, though–I can appreciate the elegance of the clue. (Baseball’s Opening Day–a bit of a misnomer now that they draw it out so much, but it’s always the first weekend in April–is right around the corner.)
Simon S@ 8
Thanks for the heads up.
I could only see it as a noun.
We live and learn.
Cheers, Ian B
Thanks Eccles and duncanshiell. Delighted to have known about WISDEN via TLS reviews of books on sport.
[FrankieG @5: I like the new expression and hope it catches on. Is “D&C” an acceptable shortening or does that get us back into difficulty?]