The original puzzle may be found here or as a pdf at https://tinyurl.com/Everyman4167.
Everyman keeps up the good work with sound clues involving no elaborate constructions, and displays the usual trademarks: the rhyming pair at 2D ONE OVER THE EIGHT and 7D RISING TO THE BAIT; the self-reference at 11A MISER; the geographical reference at 5D EGYPT (with runner-up at 20A CHEDDAR); the ‘primarily’ clue at 3D OAF and the one-word anagram at 17D PRATTLES, with a near miss at the hyphenated 6D SEMI-PRIVATE.
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | SPOT-ON |
Spy working precisely (4- 2)
|
| A charade of SPOT (‘spy’) plus ON (‘working’). | ||
| 4 | DESSERTS |
Puddings – anxious – sent back (8)
|
| A reversal (‘sent back’) of STRESSED (‘anxious’). | ||
| 10 | HEEDFULLY |
Henry necessarily not beginning in attentive manner (9)
|
| A charade of H (‘henry’, the standard symbol for the unit of inductance) plus [n]EEDFULLY (‘necessarily’) minus its first letter (‘not beginning’). | ||
| 11 | MISER |
Flipping Everyman’s ultimately parsimonious: code for ‘skinflint‘ (5)
|
| A charade of MI, a reversal (‘flipping’) of I’M (‘Everyman’s’) plus SER (‘ultimately parsimoniouS codE foR‘). | ||
| 12 | ADVISOR |
I recommend Bill gets protection from sun (7)
|
| A charade of AD (advertisement, ‘bill’) plus VISOR (‘protection from the sun’). | ||
| 14 | TOPKNOT |
King wearing t-shirt, perhaps, not ‘man-bun’- style hairdo (7)
|
| An envelope (‘wearing’) of K (‘king’, chess notation) in TOP (‘t-shirt perhaps’) plus ‘not’. | ||
| 15 | PERCUSSIONIST |
Musician wanted for buffets? (13)
|
| A play on ‘buffets’ as hits. | ||
| 18 | HARBOURMASTER |
Damaged sub with mortar: hear who’s overseeing the boats? (13)
|
| An anagram (‘damaged’) of ‘sub’ plus (‘with’) ‘mortar hear’. | ||
| 20 | CHEDDAR |
Pop diva’s entertaining, making a comeback, total cheese (7)
|
| An envelope (‘entertaining’) of DDA, a reversal (‘making a comeback’) of ADD (‘total’) in CHER (‘pop diva’). | ||
| 22 | CLEMENT |
Kind of article mentioned (7)
|
| A hidden answer (‘of’) in ‘artiCLE MENTioned’. | ||
| 23 | ORGAN |
The Observer‘s heart? (5)
|
| Double definition, the second being an indication by example. | ||
| 24 | CURVEBALL |
Recreational vehicle inspired by piece of snooker equipment? That’s unexpected (9)
|
| An envelope (‘inspired by’) of RV (‘recreational vehicle’) in CUEBLL (‘piece of snooker equipment’). | ||
| 26 | LITTERED |
Behaved antisocially and gave birth (8)
|
| Double definition. | ||
| 27 | CACTUS |
In Cuba and America, pretend to be one that can last a while without drink (6)
|
| An envelope (‘in’) of ACT (‘pretend to be’) in C (‘Cuba’; Chambers lists it as the IVR, which it once was) plus US (‘America’).. | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | SCHNAPPS |
Strong liquor: drunkard’s called for pics (8)
|
| Sounds like (‘called for’) a tosticated (‘drunkard’s’) version of SNAPS (‘pics’). | ||
| 2 | ONE OVER THE EIGHT |
Nine or three sheets to the wind? (3,4,3,5)
|
| Expressions meaning intoxicated, and literal interpretation. | ||
| 3 | OAF |
Primarily obtuse, asinine fathead? (3)
|
| First letters (‘primarily’) of ‘Obtuse Asinine Fathead’, &lit. | ||
| 5 | EGYPT |
Type up welcoming German country (5)
|
| An envelope (‘welcoming’) of G (‘German’) in EYPT, an anagram (‘up’, which generally indicates a reversal, but not here) of ‘type’. | ||
| 6 | SEMI-PRIVATE |
Spelled out imperatives, not entirely in public (4-7)
|
| An anagram (‘spelled out’) of ‘imperatives’. | ||
| 7 | RISING TO THE BAIT |
Hesitator, biting unwisely – fish’s last action? (6,2,3,4)
|
| An anagram (‘unwisely’) of ‘hesitator biting’. | ||
| 8 | STRATA |
American pastries rejected, more than one rank (6)
|
| A reversal (‘rejected’) of A (‘American’) plus TARTS (‘pastries’). | ||
| 9 | ALFRESCO |
Cake-burner not finishing half of scones: like a picnic? (8)
|
| A charade of ALFRE[d] (‘cake-burner’; a reference to the legend about the Saxon King Alfred the Great) minus the last letter (‘not finishing’) plus SCO (‘half of SCOnes’). | ||
| 13 | SQUARE DANCE |
Social event that’s hardly a ball! (6,5)
|
| Cryptic definition. | ||
| 16 | ON RECORD |
Noted repeatedly concerning electrical component (2,6)
|
| A charade of ON RE (‘repeatedly concerning’ – both can have the meaning ‘concerning’) plus CORD (‘electrical component’). | ||
| 17 | PRATTLES |
Babbles, splatter splashing (8)
|
| An anagram (‘splaching’) of ‘splatter’. | ||
| 19 | SCROLL |
Use your phone to find self-catering room with bill 50% reduced (6)
|
| A charade of SC (‘self-catering’) plus ‘ro[om]’ plus ‘[bi]ll’ with each word cut in half (‘50% reduced’). | ||
| 21 | RECCE |
Intelligence-gathering mission giving description of sunken ships, did you say? (5)
|
| Sounds like (‘did you say?’) WRECK-Y, a whimsical ‘description of sunken ships’. | ||
| 25 | ERA |
Age of beermat regularly noted (3)
|
| Alternate letters (‘regularly noted’) of ‘bEeRmAt’. |
