The puzzle may be found at http://www.guardian.co.uk/crosswords/everyman/3485.For the most part, Everyman’s usual concise and inventive clues. It is unfortunate that the blog ends with two clues that I think are dodgy.
| Across | |||
| 1. | A Catholic clergyman, to be precise (8) | ||
| ACCURATE | A charade of ‘a’ plus C (‘Catholic’) plus CURATE (‘clergyman’). | ||
| 5. | Old organ proves musical (6) | ||
| OLIVER | A charade of O (old’) plus LIVER (‘organ’). | ||
| 9. | Plan to study steeple (8) | ||
| CONSPIRE | A charade of CON (‘study’) plus SPIRE (‘steeple’). | ||
| 10. | Wholly entertained by wicked song (6) | ||
| BALLAD | An envelope (‘entertained by’) of ALL (‘wholly’) in BAD (‘wicked’). | ||
| 12. | Was up on bronco’s back in Wild West Show? (5) | ||
| RODEO | A charade of RODE (‘was up’) plus O (‘broncO‘s back’). | ||
| 13. | Different set to wear in a car, perhaps (3-6) | ||
| TWO-SEATER | An anagram (‘different’) of ‘set to wear’. | ||
| 14. | A hardware shop should have them, the practical details (4,3,5) | ||
| NUTS AND BOLTS | Definition and literal interpretation. | ||
| 18. | Doctor is certain to, engaging British specialist (12) | ||
| OBSTETRICIAN | An anagram (‘doctor’) of ‘is certain to’ plus B (‘British’). | ||
| 21. | In the past, left Yemeni port with too much on board (9) | ||
| OVERLADEN | A charade of OVER (‘in the past’) plus L (‘left’) plus ADEN (‘Yemeni port’). | ||
| 23. | New hinge, a nicker (5) | ||
| NEIGH | An anagram (‘new’) of ‘hinge’. | ||
| 24. | Fish male brought into room (6) | ||
| SALMON | An envelope (‘brought into’) of M (‘male’) in SALON (‘room’). | ||
| 25. | Nevertheless a profit, one more time (3,5) | ||
| YET AGAIN | A charade of YET (‘nevertheless’) plus ‘a’ plus GAIN (‘profit’). | ||
| 26. | Surgeon taking head off sore (6) | ||
| LISTER | [b]LISTER (‘sore’) without its first letter (‘taking head off’). | ||
| 27. | Elected Conservative must ring her right away on paper (2,6) | ||
| IN THEORY | A charade of IN (‘elected’) plus an envelope (‘must ring’) of ‘he[r]’ without the R (‘right away’) in TORY (‘Conservative’). | ||
| Down | |||
| 1. | Agreement made by a Conservative and my daughter (6) | ||
| ACCORD | A charade of ‘a’ plus C (‘Conservative’) plus COR (‘my!’) plus D (‘daughter’). | ||
| 2. | Carer’s Allowance, initially nothing in US and neighbouring country (6) | ||
| CANADA | A charade of C A (‘Carar’s Allowance, initially’) plus NADA (‘nothing in the US’). | ||
| 3. | Ape in centre of forest, and bear (9) | ||
| REPRODUCE | A charade of RE (‘centre of foREst’) plus PRODUCE (‘bear’). | ||
| 4. | In short, rodents brutally ripped apart (4,2,6) | ||
| TORN TO SHREDS | An anagram (‘brutally’) of ‘short rodents’. | ||
| 6. | First in London to reduce rent (5) | ||
| LEASE | A charade of L (‘first in London’) plus EASE (‘reduce’). | ||
| 7. | A lot live, terribly explosive (8) | ||
| VOLATILE | An anagram (‘terribly’) of ‘a live lot’. | ||
| 8. | Medical outfit embarrassed over trial (3,5) | ||
| RED CROSS | A charade of RED (’embarrassed’) plus CROSS (‘trial’; the only relevant usage that I can think of is motocross). | ||
| 11. | Successful business‘s current worry (5,7) | ||
| GOING CONCERN | A charade of GOING (‘current’) plus CONCERN (‘worry’). | ||
| 15. | Supporter at home was hard to indoctrinate (9) | ||
| BRAINWASH | A charade of BRA (‘supporter’) plus IN (‘at home’) plus ‘was’ plus H (‘hard’). | ||
| 16. | Massive reduction in fuel (8) | ||
| COLOSSAL | An envelope (‘in’) of LOSS (‘reduction’) in COAL (‘fuel’). | ||
| 17. | A balloon, then a second appears, also (2,4,2) | ||
| AS WELL AS | A charade of ‘a’ plus SWELL (‘balloon’) plus ‘a’ plus S (‘second’). | ||
| 19. | Group of stars, including a domineering woman (6) | ||
| VIRAGO | An envelope (‘including’) of ‘a’ in VIRGO (‘group of stars’). | ||
| 20. | Sea air? (6) | ||
| SHANTY | Cryptic definition – and ambiguous; chanty is one of the alternative spellings. | ||
| 22. | Ring worn by miss, unattached (5) | ||
| LOOSE | An envelope (‘worn by’) of O (‘ring’) in LOSE (‘miss’), I seem to recall a similar problem coming up recently: can a thing ‘worn’ be on the inside? | ||
Some Everyman’s are harder than others, or should I say some Everyman’s are easier than others.
I thought this one was on the easier side of the spectrum but enjoyable as ever.
Good fun on during a Sunday lie-in.
Many good surfaces, at least three outstanding surfaces: 3d (REPRODUCE), 16d (COLOSSAL) and above all 6d (LEASE). Perhaps, some estate agents do crosswords too. 🙂
Thanks again for a fine blog, Peter.
You underlined a bit too much in 10ac: a BALLAD isn’t a ‘wicked song’, is it? 🙂
Well, perhaps some are.
No problem with SHANTY as I had never heard of ‘chanty’ but, technically speaking, you are presuambly right.
Sil
Thanks for pointing out the slip in 10A, now corrected. I am not sure what happened there – but I would be fairly certain the I did not have Eskimo Nell in mind.
You should say ‘some Everymans’ for a start.
I enjoyed this puzzle. I particularly liked 4d, 1a, 12a, 21a, 16d, 10a (last in) and my favourites were 17d AS WELL AS, 1d ACCORD and 25a YET AGAIN.
Thanks for the blog, PeterO. For 8d, I was thinking of “We all have our crosses to bear” for the word ‘trial’.
I don’t understand why neigh =nicker . Nicker is slanger for a pound or someone who steals which neigh is something a horse does. Please enlighten me.
Bamberger@5 – “nicker” means to neigh or snigger (Chambers – apparently a Scottish term). I have always imagined it to be the slightly rattling noise horses can make, with some onomatopoeia going on.
Thanks, Peter.
As always from Everyman, an accessible puzzle with some lovely surfaces.
Bamberger, NICKER in this sense is worth storing away – I only learned it from crosswords, but it does come up from time to time. Never knew it was Scottish, though.
CROSS for ‘trial’ I am struggling a bit with too. But SHANTY I didn’t consider ambiguous, because luckily I’d never heard of CHANTY. The ‘worn’ device has been used by other setters, I think.
Paul B, when you’re setting as Tees or Neo, you’re very strict about following your ‘rules’ of compiling and have often criticised here other setters when they don’t follow them. So when you’re just being a commenter, why don’t you follow the ‘rules’ of this site?
“Aggressive, insulting or inflammatory comments … are not acceptable and will be removed.”
I’d count your nitpicking over Sil’s misuse of the apostrophe as “aggressive”, particularly since you had nothing else to say about Everyman’s crossword today. Personally, I’m more interested in what Sil’s got to say about the puzzle than about the fact that he used an apostrophe wrongly.
Thank you to Everyman for today’s puzzle.
Thanks, Peter.
For 8D, how about “It’s a trial, a cross I have to bear.”
I know, PaulB @3, I know.
But thanks for pointing out anyway.
It is a kind of Dutchism that every now and then still slips off my pen, more or less automatically. Especially when I write posts after midnight (being somewhat tired).
BTW, I don’t count post #3 as ‘agressive’ or whatever. I made a mistake (twice) and I was aware of it as soon as the post went into cyberspace.
End of story.
I didn’t think I was being aggressive, insulting or inflammatory either, K’s D. I think Sil can take a nudge like that without going into paroxysms of indignation, though others might be a little more sensitive.
What did you think about the crossword, Paul? That’s what comments here are meant to be about.
Thanks for telling me what my comments are to be about.
Thanks Everyman and PeterO.
Last Sunday seems a long time ago but I remember it was enjoyable as ever.
‘Chanty’ is given in my ODE (which is usually a pretty good guide to modern usage) as archaic or N.American, so I do think shanty is fine (and it’s the only way I would think of spelling it.) My Chambers Crossword Dictionary gives ‘wearing’ as a containment indicator and ‘wear’ as an insertion indicator, so maybe take your pick with ‘worn by,’ although it seems OK to me.
Robi @13
I am in full agreement with what you say in your last sentence – but that does not address my niggle (and I see it as no more than that; I might have used that word in my preamble, rather than dodgy – with a change of syntax, of course). Wordplay of the form ‘AB’ worn by CD’ to give ACDB – no problem. This clue uses the form ‘AB worn by CD’ to give CABD. One might still point out that in, say, “the belt worn by me” the belt is in the middle, but even then a more precise description would that the belt surrounds the middle.
Thanks to Michelle @4 and jvh @8 for coming up with a better connection for ‘trial’ and CROSS.
Nice Everyman – prolly slightly on the easy side.
Thanks for the blog PO.
Re wear/wearing/worn (22d) – yes – this also came up in the last Gordius but one.
The resolution for me is, considering AB (something worn) CD (the wearer)as above:
CD is a person both times
If AB is a coat we get A(CD)B
If AB is a badge we get C(AB)D
Letting it work either way round.
Strictly the surface meaning doesn’t matter but, just as an observation, in this case a ring is worn (mainly) externally to the wearer – it doesn’t envelop the wearer in the way clothes do.
JS @15
I’m coming round to your way of thinking. I note that Googling “wear a pacemaker” produces a fair number of hits.
One of my old gurus always reckoned the ‘wear’ variations could signify containment in either sense.