Only two more sleeps till Santa comes. Good job I have a pleasing and soothing puzzle from Everyman to help me contain my exuberance.
A delightful crossword, with beautifully clear cluing, no obscurities and a solver-friendly grid. As always, in fact. But I’ll leave it to Sil next week to propose the vote of thanks for 2018.
Abbreviations
cd cryptic definition
dd double definition
cad clue as definition
(xxxx)* anagram
anagrind = anagram indicator
[x] letter(s) removed
definitions are underlined
Across
1 Flower mostly around middle of January opening quickly but temporarily
POP-UP
An insertion of U for the middle letter of ‘January’ in POPP[Y]
4 Taboo about old border, one that’s unconventional
BOHEMIAN
An insertion of O, HEM and I in BAN.
9 Good ship in legend certainly loaded with large grotesque carvings
GARGOYLES
A charade of G, [Jason’s] ARGO, and L inserted into YES.
10 Turning back, receiving resistance is less common
RARER
An insertion of R in REAR reversed.
11 Representation of scene I love in play
DIORAMA
Another insertion: of I and O in DRAMA.
12 Independent line maintained by agent, tall and thin
SPINDLY
And another: of IND and L in SPY.
13 Keeping collection of data about lake and river for present
STOCKING FILLER
Everyman referenced the C-word. A charade of STOCKING, L inserted into FILE, and R.
15 Transformation of ape, bit ugly, seen in fairy tale
SLEEPING BEAUTY
Great surface. (APE BIT UGLY SEEN)*
18 European cause arousing strong feeling
EMOTIVE
A charade of E and MOTIVE.
20 Proposition in article more garbled
THEOREM
A charade of THE and (MORE)* with ‘garbled’ as the anagrind.
22 Composer contributing to vivid revue going around
VERDI
Hidden reversed in vivID REVue.
23 Period covered by alternative procedure
OPERATION
An insertion of ERA in OPTION.
24 Part of journey around north before next stretch
LENGTHEN
A charade of N inserted into LEG followed by THEN.
25 Noble Yankee ahead of schedule
EARLY
A charade of EARL and Y for the phonetic alphabet ‘Yankee’.
Down
1 Power, ancient, is summoned
PAGED
A charade of P and AGED gives you a reference to a communications device that I fancy is less common that it once was given the rise and rise of mobile phones.
2 Typical posture of archer, prepared
PAR FOR THE COURSE
Another fine anagram. (POSTURE OF ARCHER)*
3 Dull experts upset spies
PROSAIC
A charade of PROS and CIA reversed (‘upset’, since it’s a down clue).
4 Expand unfinished song with new language
BULGARIAN
A charade of BULG[E], ARIA and N.
5 People who entertain multitudes
HOSTS
A dd.
6 Arm injured, can one drink?
MARTINI
A charade of (ARM)*, TIN and I.
7 Broadcast story, short of time, on row about stray dog
AIREDALE TERRIER
A charade of AIRED, [T]ALE, and ERR inserted into TIER.
8 Appeal to deity, shaft of light breaking through
PRAYER
An insertion of RAY in PER for ‘through’. Think Per Ardua ad Astra, or something similar.
14 Information, involving tangled web, to end in remorse for intermediary
GO-BETWEEN
An insertion of (WEB TO)* and E for the last letter in ‘remorse’ in GEN.
15 Change direction suddenly and benefit, grabbing wicket
SWERVE
An insertion of W in SERVE.
16 Couple I phone at end of every year
PAIRING
A charade of PA for per annum or ‘every year’ and I RING.
17 Synthetic fabric in fantastic gallery
ACETATE
A charade of ACE and TATE.
19 Manage to rise above hard time
EPOCH
A reversal (‘to rise’) of COPE and H.
21 Expression of surprise about single currency
MONEY
And another insertion to end: of ONE in MY!
Many thanks to Everyman for this morning’s puzzle. And Happy New Year to our New Zealand regulars.
Superb as usual.
There was a message from the Everyman setter, Colin Gumbrell, on Twitter the other day, which read as follows:
“Sorry to say I’m unwell, and have had to give up doing my crossword work. My last Everyman will be that of January 20th. Thank you to all my solvers, it has been great fun.”
Thanks to Pierre and to Colin for years of enjoyment. He is one of the very best setters.
Thanks both. Sorry to hear about the setter’s illness.
Re PAGED, this still happens at airports etc over the p a system.
Thanks for that news, Skinny. I’m very sorry to hear that Colin is not well. You’re right: he is one of the best setters, and I’m sure lots of others besides me will miss his regular Sunday offerings.
Sad to hear that Colin is unwell. He’s given us years of Everyman enjoyment. Here’s to a full recovery…if possible.
Thanks to Pierre and Everynan.
So sorry to read Skinny’s news. Mr Gumbrell’s enjoyable puzzles will be sorely missed, especially in New Zealand. I will miss his super anagrams, his clues for SLEEPING BEAUTY and PAR FOR THE COURSE in this crossword are just great.
And Cookie@5 you are not the only one for the other side of the world who is going to miss the lovely surfaces and precision. I thoroughly enjoy them after Sunday lunch.
Thank you for the entertainment over the years. And thanks for the blog Pierre. Elucidatory as ever.
I’ve been a fan of Colin’s Everyman puzzles from the start. He’ll be a very tough act to follow. Sorry to see him stand down, and hope he makes a full and speedy recovery. Thanks, Colin, always a joy…
…and thank you Pierre for a smashing blog.
That is sad. How long has he been at the helm now, three years?
This was a most satisfactory if slightly easier solve. Was only held up by having Emotion rather than Emotive and wondering what on earth would fit N_O_H
No doubt someone with the right connections can convey best wishes to Colin from his many happy solvers from New Zealand where they appear in the Saturday edition of the New Zealand Herald a couple of weeks or so after their UK appearance.
That means we may have perhaps three or four to enjoy.
Thank you Colin, and Pierre
Edit – Colin Gumbrell took over Everyman (from Allan Scott) @ 3574 in April 2015 so it will be just under four years under his reign if indeed the end of January is to be his last.
He started with a degree of difficulty way above his predecessor but I think both he and we adjusted to each other over the years.
Audrey, brace yourself…
Sad news indeed. Thanks for everything Colin. Barrie I made the same blue with emotion & tried in vain with electronic assistance until it clicked.
Wow sad to hear. Hope he gets well quickly.
Agree with Barrie, his style did take some getting used to. Today’s crossword was perhaps the simplest I’ve done in a while.
I’m another Kiwi that is very sorry to hear Colin is unwell. I wish him all the best, a speedy recovery, and many thanks for so much enjoyment. This crossword was yet another cracker from him. Thanks also to Pierre, and seasons greetings to you too.
Needless to say, I am also sorty to hear that Colin is unwell. Just when I have got used to him. Yes Barrie. I hope it won’t take me so long with the next one. Thank you Colin for your great work.
I really enjoyed today’s, though like some others, I put emotion instead of emotive and couldn’t manage to rise above hard times.
Lovely spell of weather we’re having.
Of course I meant ‘sorry’. But predictive text changed it.
Of course that should have said ‘sorry’. Drat predictive text!
I too am sad and disappointed that Colin is unwell, best wishes to him. I don’t know how many times I’ve said what a great puzzle it has been that particular week, but it has been often.
As usual, a great puzzle this week. I too, like others suffered from ‘motion’ sickness, this being compounded by having ‘in between’ rather than ‘go between’ for some time. Particularly liked ‘gargoyles’ ( the word I knew, but not really the meaning) and ‘stocking filler’ although not too sure about Pierre’s reference to the C word – that’s a bit juicy in this part of the world! Thanks to all especially Colin.
Colin Gumbrell will indeed be sorely missed, Best wishes and best of luck to him. Hope he bounces back. Modern medicine can sometimes do marvelous things. Fingers crossed.
Rolf, I missed last Saturday’s Herald & did that crossword online yesterday. I responded to your query: The article is the roulette wheel. It only offers the better hope while it’s spinning. So the whole clue defines the answer. I’ve gone of the boil with cryptic definitions too so they take me by surprise when they occasionally pop up.
Looks like we may need to readjust to more of these soon.