After the festive season, the crossword world returns to normal with an Eccles puzzle on a Wednesday.
We had a good puzzle today with mostly well-known words or phrases in the grid. It wouldn’t be an Eccles puzzle though, without a few slightly obscure entries. For me today, these were ABSCISS, PENDRAGON and STEAM ORGAN.
I wonder how many people use the word BRIDALLY in day-to-day conversation. The definition and wordplay were very clear though.
I liked the clue for PRESIDENT.
| No | Detail |
| Across | |
| 1 | Stopping assistant showing fracture to an audience – dead strange (5,4)
BRAKE DRUM (a metal DRUM attached to a wheel or shaft, so as to retard motion by the application of BRAKE shoes; item that helps to stop the vehicle; stopping assistant) BRAKE (sounds like [to an audience] BREAK [fracture]) + D (dead) + RUM (strange) BRAKE D RUM |
| 8 | Sound of sneeze under discussion (2,5)
AT ISSUE (under discussion) AT ISSUE (sounds like [sound of] ATISHOO [sound of a sneeze]) AT ISSUE |
| 10 | Coordinate muscles, so taken aback by onset of spasms (7)
ABSCISS (alternative spelling of ABSCISSA [the x-coordinate in analytical geometry]) ABS (muscles) + SIC (so or thus) reversed (taken aback) + S (first letter of [onset of] Spasms) ABS CIS< S |
| 11 | Perhaps Trump, Epstein and Andrew repeatedly stripped to get massage (9)
PRESIDENT (Donald Trump [born 1946] is an example of [perhaps] a US PRESIDENT) Anagram of (to get massage) EPSTEIN and DR (letters remaining in anDRew when the outer letters are removed [stripped] twice – AW, then NE [repeatedly]) PRESIDENT* |
| 12 | Destiny of king is with Eccles, given time (6)
KISMET (fate or destiny) K (king) + IS + ME (Eccles, the crossword setter) + T (time) K IS ME T |
| 15 | People rowing in boat are dismal fiends, at heart (7)
OARSMEN (people rowing) OA R SM EN (central letters [at heart] of each of bOAt, aRe, diSMal and fiENds) OA R SM EN |
| 16 | Conservative keeps calm, but Henry shifting a long way to the right (3,6)
OLD SCHOOL (traditional; conservative) HOLDS COOL (keeps calm) with H (henry [unit of inductance]) moving 6 places [a long way] to the right to form OLD SCHOOL) OLD SCHOOL |
| 19 | Quietly finish joke about supreme leader (9)
PENDRAGON (an ancient British supreme chief or leader) P (piano; quietly) + END (finish) + RAG (joke) + ON (with reference to; about) P END RAG ON |
| 20 | Mother bit old resistance fighter in ring (7)
MATADOR (principal fighter in a bull ring) MA (mother) + TAD (a bit) + O (old) + R (resistance) MA TAD O R |
| 22 | Oscar studies European city (6)
ODENSE (city in Denmark) O (Oscar is the international radio communication code for the letter O) + DENS (studies) + E (European) O DENS E |
| 23 | Exchange these unusual plugs in kids’ favourite store (5,4)
SWEET SHOP (a favourite store for many children) Anagram of (unusual) THESE contained in (plugs) SWOP (exchange) SW (EET SH*) OP |
| 25 | Some wine spilled over curvy figure (7)
ELLIPSE (a closed conic section shaped like a flattened circle; a curvy figure) ELLIPSE (reversed [over] hidden word in [some] winE SPILLEd) ELLIPSE< |
| 27 | Maybe opposed to firing West Indian, one ace quits (7)
ANTIGUN (opposed to the use of guns [firing]) ANTIGUaN (West Indian) excluding (quits) one of the As (ace) ANTIGUN |
| 28 | Rudely ran off in West End venue (5,4)
DRURY LANE (a West End venue in London) Anagram of (off) RUDELY RAN DRURY LANE* |
| Down | |
| 1 | In the House of Lords, official support staff to take Latin (5,3)
BLACK ROD (the usher of the chapter of the Garter and of the House of Lords, who summons the Commons at the opening of the UK Parliament: House of Lords official) (BACK [support] containing [to take] L [Latin]) + ROD (staff) B (L) ACK ROD |
| 2 | Cheeky, exposed backside in Boston (3)
ASS (American [Boston] term for arse [backside]) sASSy (impertinent; cheeky – this is also an American term) excluding the outer letters (exposed) S and Y. ASS |
| 3 | Reputation of artist consequently dropping hard (8)
EMINENCE (reputation) EMIN (reference Dame Tracey EMIN [born 1963], English artist) + hENCE (consequently) excluding (dropping) H (hard, when describing pencil lead) EMIN ENCE |
| 4 | After scratching head, understand file (4)
RASP (a coarse file) gRASP (comprehend; understand) excluding the first letter (after scratching head) G RASP |
| 5 | Nasty man aggressive; I must leave (10)
MALEVOLENT (ill-natured; nasty) MALE (man) + ViOLENT (aggressive) excluding (must leave) I MALE VOLENT |
| 6 | Papers in a row, relatively neat (6)
TIDIER (relatively neat) ID (identity papers) contained in (in) TIER (a row) T (ID) IER |
| 7 | How to get lots of admirers hammered (6)
BEATEN (hammered) BE A TEN (be marked perfectly [10/10] and get lots of admirers as a result) BE A TEN |
| 9 | Damaged seat on British motor car that can be very noisy (5,5)
STEAM ORGAN (a musical instrument with a set of whistles operated by STEAM or compressed air. Presumably it is capable of being very noisy) Anagram of (damaged) SEAT + MORGAN (British brand of motor car) STEA* M ORGAN |
| 13 | Passage that is concerning in songs performed in show (4,6)
SIDE STREET (minor STREET or passage) (ID EST [that is] + RE (with reference to; concerning]) contained in (in) SET (the items performed by a singer or band at a concert or show) S (ID E ST RE) ET |
| 14 | Heart broken by politician, man with need on vacation to make out (10)
COMPREHEND (understand; make out) (CORE [heart] containing [broken by] MP [Member of Parliament; politician]) + HE (man) + ND (letters remaining in NeeD when the central letters EE are removed [on vacation]) CO (MP) RE HE ND |
| 17 | With injured rib, dawdle in the manner of a newly-wed (8)
BRIDALLY (in the manner of a newly-wed [bride]) Anagram of (injured) RIB + DALLY (dawdle) BRI* DALLY |
| 18 | Go before nine, in the end, following a decent cryptic (8)
ANTECEDE (go before) A + an anagram of (cryptic) DECENT + E (last letter of [in the end] ninE) A NTECED* E |
| 20 | Lose millions on Scottish island (6)
MISLAY (lose) M (millions) + ISLAY (Scottish island) M ISLAY |
| 21 | Thanks boring Italian magistrate in advancing years (6)
DOTAGE (the weakness and childishness of old age; agedness; advancing years) TA (thanks) contained in (boring) DOGE (formerly the title of the chief magistrate in republican Venice and Genoa. Italian magistrate) DO (TA) GE |
| 24 | A uniform state (4)
PERU (Country [state] in South America) PER (for each; A) + U (uniform is the international radio communication code word for the letter U) PER U |
| 26 | Vegetable is mostly fruit (3)
PEA (a vegetable) PEAr (fruit) excluding the final letter R (mostly) PEA |
ABSCISS looked like it was going to leave me short of a completed grid in an otherwise accessible puzzle. I must have mistyped the word into Chambers as it told me it didn’t exist which was alarming. Then Collins gave me what I needed and, yes, of course it’s in the BRB too. Astonished to find that PENDRAGON is not just a proper name. Nice to see the Morgan make a rare appearance: I live near-ish to Malvern where the old factory still stands churning out about 2 vehicles a day!
Thanks both
It’s always good to find an Eccles puzzle especially on a Wednesday. This was great fun with some complex parsing to be unravelled and a few new words to be checked.
OARSMEN was very clever and PRESIDENT was my favourite of many ticked clues.
Many thanks to Eccles and to Duncan.
PRESIDENT my top clue, double ticked, great spot of the anagram fodder which serendipitously led to the great topical surface.
Also likes OLD SCHOOL and MATADOR.
Is ANTIGUN all one word though? Seems like it would need a hyphen.
Gnomad @3: The Indy uses both Chambers and Collins but seems to give the latter precedence. On this occasion, no real need as the BRB does not have ANTIGUN. Collins has it as one word – though I’d agree with you that ‘the anti-gun lobby’ reads more satisfactorily than ‘the antigun lobby’.
My top picks: PRESIDENT, OARSMEN, ASS and SIDE STREET.
Thanks Eccles and Duncan.
I am another who only knew Uther PENDRAGON, and assumed it was his name rather than his title. I got fixated on the British motor car being an MG rather than a Morgan. A really enjoyable puzzle.
I too spent ages trying to engineer MG as the British motor.
As always, being stuck here in Spain, I have to point out that the thing a matador does is a slaughter not a fight. Spanish for fighter is luchador. Matador is Spanish for killer. QED.
Thanks both.
I found this slightly easier than the usual Eccles. Loved the clue for PRESIDENT, although I parsed it slightly differently, with both E(PSTEI)N and A(NDRE)W being stripped to give the anagram fodder. Both ways work. Thanks, Eccles & ds.
[PM @1, nice to hear they’re still being made. Back in the ’60s with a Vanguard +4 under the bonnet they went 0-50 mph in a few seconds…scary!]
Phew. Hard work.
Setters seem to take every opportunity to use the (much) lesser-used variants of words. ( ABSCISS).
Whether Dame EMIN is an artist ( 3d), is a matter of opinion, in my opinion.
I’m stunned that ANTIGUN is a word. As the old song goes, ” These days, Anything Goes”. (see also, Emin, above.)
QB@8, good point re PRESIDENT. I think there are 2, maybe 3, ways that this wordplay can work.
Whatever, best clue in the grid, for me.
Through gritted teeth, an excellent puzzle, Ecc; and spot-on blog, duncanS
ABSCISS threatened to sink me and needed a fair bit of homework but everything else slotted in quite happily. My top two were the noisy British motor car and the instructions for acquiring a lot of admirers which put me in mind of the Bo Derek/Dudley Moore film.
Many thanks to Eccles and to Duncan for the review.