Everyman 3,545

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The puzzle may be found at http://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/everyman/3545.

This is a downright wierd weird puzzle. There are several answers which I have labelled “double definition” which are scarcely more than straight single definitions – 13A DAINTY finally led me to comment. I did not know 10A SULLOM VOE, and it is not the most probable of names, so that took a little hunting. Then in 16D and 24A there are, if my parsing is correct, two usages which are vaguely plausible, but for which I can find no justification. There are no two ways about it: I shall have to wait for the solution to ensure that I have not gone completely off the rails. This is the Everyman?

It seems that if I have the answers right, so my guesses on 16D and 24A must stand. Over to you.

completed grid

Across
1 ROBE Steal eastern gown (4)
A charade of ROB (‘steal’) plus E (‘eastern’).
3 UNDER COVER Concealed directly below shelter (5,5)
Definition and literal interpretation.
10 SULLOM VOE Volume so varied around large oil terminal (6,3)
An envelope (‘around’) of L (‘large’) in SULOMVOE, an anagram (‘varied’) of ‘volume so’.
11 RISEN Moved up once reins loosened (5)
An anagram (‘loosened’) of ‘reins’
12 MILLIONAIRES ROW Economist worries unduly about Hebridean island where the rich live (12,3)
An envelope (‘about’) of IONA (‘Hebridean island’) in MILL (James or his son John Stuart, ‘economist’) plus IRESROW, an anagram (‘unduly’) of ‘worries’.
13 DAINTY Choice delicacy (6)
You might stretch it as a double definition, but it is nearer to a straight definition.
14 RHAPSODY Piece of music Harpo’s playing extremely dramatically (8)
A charadde of RHAPSO, an anagram (‘playing’) of ‘Harpo’s’ plus DY (‘extremely DramaticallY‘).
17 TRAVESTY Attempt to secure a sleeveless garment results in farce (8)
An envelope (‘to secure’) of VEST (‘sleeveless garment’) in TRY (‘attempt’).
18 UNUSED Unaccustomed, being new (6)
Double definition.
20 LEAD A DOUBLE LIFE Be like Dr Jekyll, or traitorous spy? (4,1,6,4)
Double definition.
23 ICING Initially it covered it – nice gateau (5)
First letters (‘initially’) of ‘It Covered It Nice Gateau’, with an extended definition.
24 LAND CRABS Crustaceans in catch caught by coastal vessels heading away (4,5)
A charade of LAND (‘catch’) plus C (‘caught’, cricket) plus ?[a]RABS (‘coastal vessels’ could refer to a dhow, say, but I can find nothing to corroborate this) minus its first letter (‘heading away’).
25 DEAD RINGER Deceased bellman’s double (4,6)
Definition an literal interpretation.
26 HEAR Catch that woman palming Ace (4)
An envelope (‘palming’) of A (‘Ace’) in HER (‘that woman’).
Down
1 RESUMED Carried on giving summary before head of department (7)
A charade of RÉSUMÉ (‘summary’) plus D (‘head of Department’).
2 BALALAIKA Instrument found in Welsh lake by dog (9)
An charade of BALA (‘Welsh lake’) plus LAIKA (‘dog’, the first animal to go into earth orbit in Sputnik 2)
4 NIVEN Actor assuming name for good (5)
[g]IVEN (‘assuming’) with the G (‘good’) replaced by (‘for’) N (‘name’), for the screen actor David Niven, the film actor whom I most readily associate with Sir Charles Lytton in The Pink Panther.
5 EYESIGHT Sense agreement among rowing crew (8)
An envelope (‘among’) of YES (‘agreement’) in EIGHT (‘rowing crew’).
6 CORRESPONDENCE Agreement in writing (14)
Double definition.
7 VISOR Eyeshade? Tourist doesn’t need it (5)
A subtraction: VIS[it]OR (‘tourist’) minus IT (‘doesnt need it’).
8 RUNAWAY Where plane comes down carrying a fugitive (7)
An envelope (‘carrying’) of ‘a’ in RUNWAY (‘where plane comes down’).
9 DOG IN THE MANGER Drink them after party to irritate spoilsport (3,2,3,6)
A charade of DO (‘party’) plus GIN (‘drink’) plus ‘them’ plus ANGER (‘irritate’).
15 OBSTINATE Stubborn stain to be specially treated (9)
An anagram (‘specially treated’) od ‘stain to be’.
16 STROLL ON Stumped by corset? There’s a surprise! (6,2)
A charade of ST (‘stumped’, cricket) plus ROLL-ON (‘corset’). I would like to think that a stroll on is a theatrical term for an actor making an unbilled appearance – hence the surprise – but I can track down no justification for this.
17 TALLIED Agreed, tome originally bound (7)
A charade of T (‘Tome originally’) plus ALLIED (‘bound’).
19 DRESSER Actor’s assistant, a help in the theatre (7)
Double definition.
21 ANITA Girl over in Latin America (5)
A hidden answer (‘in’) reversed (‘over’) in ‘LATIN America’.
22 BONCE Head? Head of Balliol, formerly (5)
A charade of B (‘head of Balliol’) plus ONCE (‘formerly’).

*anagram

25 comments on “Everyman 3,545”

  1. Thanks for the blog, PeterO.

    I found these two entries in Chambers 2011:
    grab, an Eastern coasting vessel.
    stroll on! an exclamation of surprise, disbelief (often used ironically).

  2. Thanks, PeterO. I agree with your comments.
    I didn’t get either 16d or 24a so thanks also to mike04. I had never heard of either of those expressions.

  3. Thanks, Peter. I don’t remember finding this a whole lot different to a normal Everyman, although I agree with you that LAND CRABS uses a rather obscure word to lead you to the answer. SULLUM VOE I had heard of, although it will prove tricky for overseas solvers.

    STROLL ON! is old-fashioned, but not unknown.

  4. I couldn’t get Sullum Voe and until seeing KD’s comment, I assumed it was in Scandanavia and probably Norway. I knew the stroll on expression but not the roll on. I guessed that an arab must be a type of boat.

  5. The one that puzzled me was 24ac and I couldn’t see how “rabs” fitted in, eventually persuading myself that it had something to do with “bars” as in “crossing the bar”.

    SULLOM VOE was ok. I would have thought it a well-known name with its enormous oil terminal.

    STROLL ON was my favourite. I have a theatrical friend who is inclined to use the expression and I am of an age to remember the roll-on garment. Girls with great figures still felt obliged to struggle into them while ardent males found them equally difficult to remove – the sixties equivalent of the chastity belt!

  6. Funnily enough I was just thinking that, Jovis. I did indeed struggle into my roll on when I was in my teens, stick thin and weighed 6 stone wet through! I gave up on that idea a long time ago and am now happy to ‘let it all hang out’ (sorry for the mental picture that must conjure up) and be comfortable with my extra bulk added through the years!

  7. Thanks Peter,

    I didn’t find this weird (unlike your spelling ho ho). The only thing I couldn’t understand was ?rabs which was indeed pretty obscure.
    I liked STROLL ON and BONCE which amused me. Thanks to Everyman.

  11. Cookie, I think you’ve cracked it! Barc came up before as an alternative spelling a few months ago in either a Guardian or an Everyman crossword

  14. Thanks Everyman; I thought this was a bit trickier than usual, especially the bottom half.

    Thanks PeterO for the blog – and for explaining VISOR. I thought it was a bad homophone of visa (although there was no hom. indicator.)

    I parsed LAND CRABS as mike04 @1, although grabs is a bit obscure for coastal vessels. I think in 13 one definition is an adjective, the other a noun.

    LOI was LEAD A DOUBLE LIFE, which I liked.

  15. PeterO and Mike @4, the free dictionary gives grab as a coastal dredging vessel, not obscure at all. So the original parsing holds using [g]RABS instead of [a]RABS.

  18. Found this easy to crack except Sullom Voe, never have got in a month of Sundays on the train back to work.
    Now have to do next weeks on line for the blog as station had no copies left. Got to do a fine Poins in the Indy on S instead.

  19. Had heard of Sullom Voe (though have never seen it spelled) so it’s one of those crossword conundrums about whether or not you happen to know something.

    I thought the double life clue was slightly loose because the first word could just as easily have been LIVE which left me floundering with 21d.

  20. Got the lot bar 10a for which I had the letters but nothing made any place I had heard of. Sollom Vue was my best shot. Got the actor but couldn’t parse it, never thought of Given but since 10a was wobbly I didn’t have confidence in the v. I recall the expression “well, bleeding stroll on!” from someone on telly but I have no experience in donning or doffing said garments and the missus hadn’t heard of their reference to roll ons. 25a brought the only smile from what I’m afraid I found a slightly dull crossword. Now off to contemplate golf in the rain.

  21. Whereas in some previous weeks I’ve got half-way through the across clues before I’ve solved one for certain, this week’s seemed much more straight forward. Even down here I was familiar with Sullom Voe, land-crabs,bonce and roll-ons so I was reasonably confident with my solutions. On another tack, an answer in Thursday’s Herald was murderer which is =over REREDRUM, RedRum was a steeplechaser that won the Grand National some years ago. I thought I’d pass this on to anyone (local) that was puzzling over the parsing of this particular clue.

  22. Thanks, Ian. I got Red Rum too.
    Sullom Voe I had heard of.

    Stroll on was ok. But Landcrabs was difficult to work out.

  23. I’ve never heard of Sullom Voe either, and did not,get the Land part of 24 ac. Didn’t get 4 d nor 22d nor 16d and like Barrie, did not think this was one of the best crosswords. I can remember Roll ons though I haven’t heard of ‘stroll on” even though I used to be in musical shows.

    Just for the record Ian, I have heard of Red Rum as that horse has come in crosswords before, and I did get Murderer though I didn’t notice that it was Red Rum reversed.

  24. Hi Kiwis, I tjought this was going to be a doddle after 1a and 14a and 20a, although I did put live instead of lead as one of our Pommy friends above alluded to! I immediately thought of Scarpa Flo which we visited in 2010 for 10a but that didn’t last long.We used to refer to Austin 1800’s as land crabs so that came quite easily. I put in a few correct answers without really knowing why!

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