Everyman continues to evolve slowly; there are similarities to last week’s puzzle but I think this is a better one.
Nothing too obscure, and some straightforward clues for beginners, but not the give-away ones we saw last week. Some very good surfaces too, for example 26a, 14d and my personal favourite 8d. (Though I’d like to get the surface image of 9d out of my head, please.) The parsing is not always obvious, but I think it’s generally fair.
Curiously the grid is almost exactly the same as last week (just two extra black squares, as far as I can see), which again means long answers round the four sides to provide some helpful crossers. And, after I completely failed to see the pattern in these answers last week, RED at the start of 1a correctly rang a bell to suggest something similar this time. (There’s also a fifth colour, which may be coincidental because it doesn’t really fit the pattern.)
Do we now have one Everyman setter, or a few people taking it in turns, or a committee? Who knows? There are several recurring features (for example more use of inverted commas and colons than is strictly necessary, and a fairly loose attitude to anagram indicators), so perhaps we’re moving towards a unified style of some sort. Thanks to the setter, whoever you are.
Definitions are underlined; square brackets [ ] indicate omitted letters.
| Across | ||
| 1 | RED LEICESTER | Decrepit elders recite ‘Cheese!’ (3,9) |
| Anagram (decrepit) of ELDERS RECITE. | ||
| 10 | LIE DOWN | Inaccuracy with ‘vertical’ crossword clue – get ‘horizontal‘ (3,4) |
| LIE (untruth = inaccuracy?) + a DOWN clue (written vertically). | ||
| 11 | TREACLE | Corrupt cartel gets around Europe with flattery (7) |
| Anagram (corrupt) of CARTEL around E (Europe). | ||
| 12 | ELITE | Chosen few among Pre-Raphaelites (5) |
| Hidden answer in [pre-rapha]ELITE[s]. | ||
| 13 | INTERVAL | In their oddly endless hollow time (8) |
| IN + odd-numbered letters of T[h]E[i]R + VAL[e] (a hollow; endless = last letter removed). | ||
| 15 | NEGOTIABLE | ‘Gone out to lunch’: register describes one; that’s open to question (10) |
| Anagram (out to lunch = crazy) of GONE, plus TABLE (register, perhaps as in “table a motion”) around I (one). The definition is indeed open to question; “open to discussion” might have been better. | ||
| 16 | GREW | ‘Cultivated‘ Greece? That’s disgusting! (4) |
| GR (country code for Greece) + EW (an expression indicating disgust). Cultivated as a verb. | ||
| 18 | HA-HA | Feature of posh garden that I find amusing (2-2) |
| Double definition. The first is a wall below ground level in a ditch, making a hidden boundary: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ha-ha. | ||
| 20 | UNENVIABLE | Disagreeable novel, Blue Vienna (10) |
| Anagram (novel = new) of BLUE VIENNA. | ||
| 22 | FINISHED | Fiendish rogue’s done for (8) |
| Anagram (rogue) of FIENDISH. | ||
| 24 | TROLL | Online annoyance rambles endlessly (5) |
| STROLLS (rambles) without the two end letters. | ||
| 26 | CABARET | Revue‘s act reformed, covering up nude (7) |
| Anagram (reformed) of ACT, around BARE (nude). | ||
| 27 | PENANCE | ‘Atonement‘ writer McEwan regularly lost, confused (7) |
| PEN (writer), and an anagram (confused) of [m]CE[w]AN (with letters regularly dropped). Ian McEwan did indeed write the novel “Atonement”, though you don’t need to know that to solve the clue. | ||
| 28 | GREENSLEEVES | Air essentially unchanged for centuries!? Environmental group reportedly splits (12) |
| GREENS (environmental group) and a homophone (reportedly) of LEAVES (splits, as a verb). Air = song; “Greensleeves” dates from the late 16th century. | ||
| Down | ||
| 2 | EVENING | Levelling the score late in the day (7) |
| Double definition; the first is perhaps more usually “evening up” or “evening out”. | ||
| 3 | LOOKED TO | Was dependent on throne? King Edward finally wasn’t so (6,2) |
| LOO (throne; both words are slang for toilet) + K (king)+ ED (short for Edward) + the final letters of [wasn]T [s]O. Look to someone for something = depend on them to provide it. | ||
| 4 | INNS | Scandinavians barring French in hostelries (4) |
| FINNS without the F (French). | ||
| 5 | ENTANGLING | ‘Capturing in sneaky net’: fishing (10) |
| Anagram (sneaky) of NET, followed by ANGLING (fishing). | ||
| 6 | THERE | Overheard: those people are in that place (5) |
| Homophone (overheard) of THEY’RE (those people are). | ||
| 7 | RECOVER | Bible class to screen rally (7) |
| RE (Religious Education) + COVER (screen = hide). Rally = recover = get better. | ||
| 8 | BLUE IN THE FACE | Furious with unethical beef production (4,2,3,4) |
| Anagram (production) of UNETHICAL BEEF. As in “scream until you’re blue in the face”. | ||
| 9 | YELLOW-BELLIED | Cry ‘that hurt!’, with beer gut prone to wobbling (6-7) |
| YELL (cry) + OW (that hurt) + BELLIED (with beer gut). Yellow-bellied = cowardly or easily scared. | ||
| 14 | RAIN-BEATEN | Pelted by storms, Aintree ban racing (4-6) |
| Anagram (racing) of AINTREE BAN. | ||
| 17 | DISTANCE | Reserve is tackling in front with ball gaining possession (8) |
| IS + the front letter of T[ackling], all contained in (possessed by) DANCE (ball). Distance = reserve = state of being aloof or uncommunicative. | ||
| 19 | HANDBAG | Thatcher was associated with one worker getting sack (7) |
| HAND (worker, as in farmhand) + BAG (sack). The former Prime Minister whose customary handbag was something of a metaphorical weapon. | ||
| 21 | BROWNIE | Disciplined youngster with fattening food (7) |
| Double definition: a junior Girl Guide, or the chewy chocolate delicacy. | ||
| 23 | SERVE | Offer up nonsense verse (5) |
| Anagram (nonsense) of VERSE. | ||
| 25 | OPAL | Episcopalian’s concealed precious jewel (4) |
| Concealed in [episc]OPAL[ian]. | ||
Good morning to Fifteensquared from Everyman!
This is a “thank-you” to all posters, solvers and commenters; also, an introduction.
I was lucky to take over Everyman construction from my extremely esteemed predecessor in February. Doubtless most participants here know this already, but here is why those are daunting and exciting laurels.
The Observer has a decent claim to having forged the crossword puzzle as we know it. Solvers have the highest expectations of its three series: Speedy, Azed and Everyman.
My paper is, I believe, unique among those which take puzzles seriously in not using an in-house editor. Each of us uses testers to refine clues and puzzles before publication. For me, this involves feedback that is a mixture of Ximenean and what we might respectfully term “civilian”.
Why so? My brief requires clues which are solid in structure and which are solvable by beginners and by occasional or lapsed solvers (gently reminding them that solving is a pleasure). Like my antecedents, I add a personal predilection for surfaces which appear to be genuine fragments of language, occasionally, dare I say, entertaining or amusing.
I interpret this in the form of a mixture of straightforward clues and some which may introduce devices and abbreviations which the casual solver may later encounter if he or she should move on to other puzzles. I use grids which reward the solution of each individual clue and I introduce some more arcane pieces of “crosswordese” only when I feel they can be easily inferred and hopefully later recalled as the solver moves on to daily puzzles and perhaps, after some time(!), Azed.
On occasion, I shall try to avoid the arcane altogether, as I did for the Easter Sunday puzzle, since it was likely to have been seen by more readers than usual, all potential converts to our world. There are, of course, other entry points, including some of the Monday puzzles, the Guardian’s Quiptic and the Times 2 Cryptic – all usually excellent – but this is a duty the Everyman must take seriously.
I’ll sign off, I think, as Everyman. Perhaps one day I’ll post here giving name, rank and serial number, but during construction, the veil of anonymity helps me fill the brief: the series, not the setter. I am conscious of the fact that on the Internet, nobody knows whether you really are the setter (or indeed any other kind of dog).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_the_Internet,_nobody_knows_you%27re_a_dog
My “bona fide” is that next week’s clues include the codeword “foxtrot”. And how could I know that otherwise…?
And thank-you of course to Quirister.
First to comment at 9.44? Things must be settling down! My wife and I have just reviewed the 3785 clues, and there are some we positively like! Blue in the face is good.
I seem to be using the phrase second guess a lot lately. Nitwit is another. Parsing has become a bit of a moveable feast. So many definitions are sloppy or imprecise, brownie and negotiable immediately spring to mind.
Still, onward and upward, today’s continues the trend of sloppiness.
Thanks Quirister. I’m sure we will get there. At least we don’t have any clues about golf clubs and militaria any more!!!
God has stepped down. Sit up at the back!!!!
Thanks Everyman – it’s good to hear from you. As you say, you’ve taken on a daunting task, and you’ve summed up pretty well what the Everyman crossword should be. I thought today’s puzzle fitted the brief very well, and I enjoyed solving and blogging it.
Thank you for the introduction Everyman. I was wondering if you were more than one setter, which you seem to be: “Each of us uses…” for me the quality or perhaps style has been so variable that was the only explanation. The puzzle blogged here had (to me) such clunky surfaces that I didn’t even attempt it, whereas today’s (5th May) has been a joy much like the good old days. Looking forward to more details in time and the grids along the way.
Thanks Everyman for popping in; it’s always good to hear the setter’s views.
I thought this was largely good, though I didn’t see the need for ‘to lunch’ in 15A since ‘out’ would have sufficed by itself as the anagrind and I can’t make much sense of the surface anyway. RAIN-BEATEN is a bit of a strange phrase that doesn’t seem to be in any of the main dictionaries; obviously, weather-beaten is a more usual expression.
I ticked CABARET, YELLOW-BELLIED and DISTANCE.
Thanks also to Quirister.
I couldn’t parse 27a the ANCE bit of PEN/ANCE.
Did the SW corner last and laughed at GREENSLEEVES when I solved it.
Thanks Everyman and Quirister.
Thanks for bobbing in Everyman. It’s been a frustrating few weeks. The quality has yo-yoed, and if three’s a set of you doing this, then that offers a kind of explanation. I found the puzzle blogged above OK, and I can see a theme developing of similar constructions round the edges of puzzles (like today).
However, I think there’s a lack of attention to definitions, which is frustrating. I do hope things settle down to a more regular pattern.
Thanks to Quirister & Everyman.
Many thanks for introducing yourself, Everyman. I think you describe the idea and purpose of the Everyman crossword very nicely.
You say you took over in February, but I wonder if you are prepared to say precisely when? Was 3,772 perhaps an interim puzzle? Some of us felt that there were particular problems with that one – unindicated anagrams for example. I think the standard has been much better since.
(Scrooge and Skinny – I think Everyman is saying that he/she is now the sole setter for this puzzle. I read “each of us” as referring also to Speedy and Azed, and possibly also to previous setters.)
Thanks for dropping by, Everyman. I seem to be in something of a minority in that I’ve been enjoying your puzzles enormously. I’ve been solving for about a year, can usually complete both Guardian Monday puzzles without too much trouble and am getting better at the midweek ones – I’ve even been known to complete the occasional Paul Prize. Your puzzles tend to take me about half an hour to complete and I find them witty and good fun. I look forward to them each week, and they continue to improve. Today’s (5 May) was very good indeed. Thanks again, and thanks also to Quirister.
If it is a single setter now, I too would like to know from which Everyman crossword No. he or she is in.
I enjoyed this puzzle. 27a was quite a tricky construction, but the cleverness raised a smile once I saw it. 8d was another favorite.
If I were to complain, it would be about the definition in 11a: to me, “treacle” suggests sentimentality, which is quite different from flattery. But that’s a minor issue.
Unlike some, I don’t read Everyman’s comment as suggesting that he or she is one of a group of Everyman setters; it seems to me to suggest the reverse. The phrase “Each of us” appears to refer to the setters of the multiple Observer puzzles, not to multiple Everyman setters, and the rest strongly implies a single Everyman.
Thanks to Quirister for the blog (it was nice to meet you yesterday) and to the new Everyman for the crossword and for the introduction/explanation. Quite enjoyed this one.
Thanks to Quirister and, especially Everyman for dropping in. I found this more in line with what I expected and that seems to have been an evolving process. Yes, some of the definitions need work but my concern was the ANCE part of PENANCE. I know it has been raised earlier with other setters as the use of “regularly” is accurate but not precise. Every second, third or fourth letter is always the question. Oh yes, it can be worked out but I find it a bit loose.
As a critic of the previous puzzle, and seeing as Everyman has dropped in to say hello, I thought I would just say that, personally, I couldn’t fault this one ( I didn’t have a problem with ‘regularly’ in 27a.) and the puzzle published today (and to be blogged next week) is even better.
Thanks to Everyman and Quirister
I think this is the first Everyman I’ve managed to complete since Colin’s departure. Didn’t manage the parsing for 27ac & 17dn but I get the explanations. These are back to being enjoyable and satisfying again. Nice to have introduction from Everyman, thanks and to Quirister too.
Thank you Everyman. Please do not be a stranger here, it’s great when the setter pops by to offer some explanation.
I got off on the wrong foot with this because I thought 1A was rather a feeble clue, but on the whole the crossword was quite enjoyable. I endorse some of the comments above about the definitions being a bit vague, and the hidden word clues were a bit ho hum too, but this was among the better crosswords of the recent genre.
I enjoyed this a lot more than recent weeks. Some nice clues this week, particular favourites were Greensleeves, Brownie and Yellow Bellied. I appreciate the anagrams as they help me get some runs on the board but I like the other clues much better. One gripe though I am not all fond of the mechanism of missing letters….I particularly don’t get how we are supposed to know the pattern of omitting letters. In 27ac how was the solver to know the ‘regularly’ mean keep one and drop two. Or have I missed a indicator.? Can anyone clarify? But all in all, there was a lot of enjoyment in this puzzle. Nice time spent
sorry I meant ‘keep two drop one’. another positive though I do like the connection between themes in the outside borders. Not that I picked it up until it was mentioned. Must look out for a theme next week
Agree Vanessa. Alternate letters is fine, but beyond that is a bit of a cop-out. OK once to catch us off-guard, but not the sort of thing we’d want to see repeated.
Wow – didn’t expect to see a post from the setter! I came on here to say that this week was much more enjoyable. Looking forward to next week now – which I haven’t in awhile.
Another enjoyable puzzle for me, with a couple of cracking clues. Many thanks to Quirister, and especially Everyman for popping by. Keep up the good work!!
A nasty cold had me bed ridden all weekend. Was not able to get through most of East. Interesting to see Everyman drop in and say hello. I shall persist.
I notice Audrey has not commented on a while. Hope all is well with her.
This may be a cavil.
If you are furious, you’re usually red in the face. One gets blue in the face after a lot of yelling
Like I said, I may be splitting h.