Everyman crossword No 3,364

by

A typically entertaining puzzle from Everyman. Unusually for this setter, though, there’s one clue I can’t quite parse (see below). It’s probably my fault, so any suggestions welcome.

Across
1 AVERSE

A + VERSE
4 EASING

I’m not sure about this. It’s (decr)EASING, but where’s the canine? Thanks to Sil for pointing out that I was reading this the wrong way round (see comment 1)
8 KEEP ONE’S CHIN UP

KEEP + *IN SUCH OPEN
10 WIELD

I in *LEWD
11 TASK FORCE

T(emple) + ASK FOR + C (of) E
12 BETHLEHEM

B(ishop) + *HELMET HE
13 FELON

F(ollowing) +EL + ON

There’s been much comment recently about one letter standing for a word. In what context is ‘f’ used for ‘following’?
14 APPLY

<PA + PLY as in ‘Come those who ply the seas’ (Pirates of Penzance)
16 REFRESHER

RE + FRESHER, ie. freshman when I was at University. We weren’t so PC then 🙂
18 CHARLOTTE

CHARLOTTE

Triple definition, the dessert being an apple charlotte.
20 HERON

HERON

HER + ON
22 BRIEF ENCOUNTER

BRIEF ENCOUNTER

I find Chambers gives BRIEF as a slang word for a lawyer, especially a barrister, though it’s the first time I’ve seen it.
23 DECENT

ha. insiDE CENTre
24 FEDORA

FEDORA

FE + DORA
Down
1 ASKEW

AS + KEW (Gardens, in London)
2 EVEREST

EVEREST

(s)EVEREST
3 SWORDPLAY

S + WORDPLAY

I think ‘lively argument’ must be a euphemism!
4 EXCUSE MY FRENCH

&lit.

At first. I put in ‘pardon my French’, until the crossing letters forced me to change.
5 STIFF

S + TIFF
6 NEUTRAL

*RENAULT
7 BEAT THE RETREAT

*A BETTER THEATRE
9 TENNER

Homophone of ‘tenor’
12 BRANCH

B + RANCH, which would actually be an American farm 🙂
13 FREE HOUSE

FREE = ‘complimentary’ + HOUSE

For those unfamiliar with British pubs, a free house is one not tied to a particular brewery, which sells a variety of beers.
15 PRAIRIE

R in PAIR + I + E
17 HORATIO

(skirmis)H + ORATIO(n)
19 LIEGE

EG in LIE
21 NORMA

*MAN OR

The answer some tried instead of Tosca earlier this week!

*anagram

Hold mouse over clue number to see clue, click a solution to see its definition.

7 comments on “Everyman crossword No 3,364”

  2. ‘f’ for ‘following’ is used in references/footnotes in treatises.

    See (book), p. 65f. directs us to look at p. 66 besides 65.
    ff. is plural, so the ref. might be p. 65ff.

  3. ‘Brief’ is a slang word for a lawyer perhaps because they hold briefs for their clients.

    I hold briefs before I decide which underwear I should wear to match my outer wear.

  4. Hi Rishi 😆 Thanks for the explanation.

    Thanks Sil for sorting out my confusion. I’ll correct the blog.

  5. Thanks for the blog Stella. Since it is a quiet day, please permit me a comment re your comment at 12dn. They have farms in America, the term “ranch” is supposed to refer specifically to those raising livestock with extensive grazing land, hence the “large” in the clue. (I have heard people refer to their avocado grove as an avocado ranch but that is just pompous silliness.)

    Ranching as means of raising livestock is practised throughout the Americas (and Australia where they are called stations.) Apparently the only country in Western Europe where livestock are raised this way is Spain, but presumably they are not referred to as ranches there either.

    I do agree though that the term ranch conjures up images of the American west for me too.

  6. Hi Colin. Yes, my comment came from the fact that the surface reading misleadingly implies a British farm.

    In Spain, it would be a ‘cortijo’ or ‘caserío’, depending on whether you’re in the south or the north, respectively. No doubt there are other terms, too. A livestock tradition that barely subsists is ‘transhumancia’, where the breeder takes his whole stock from one location to another, depending on the time of year.

  7. Thank you, Stella.

    Usual good and accessible stuff from Everyman. ASKEW was good, as was EXCUSE MY FRENCH. I must watch BRIEF ENCOUNTER one of these days, since it’s considered to be one of the greatest British romantic films of the 20th century.

Comments are closed.