Everyman 3599

by

If I had a brain, I would be dangerous.  Tuned in to Fifteensquared this morning to see what folk made of last week’s Everyman, discovered the blog wasn’t there and suddenly realised that I was supposed to have done it.  Said a bad word.  Apologies for a slightly rushed blog this morning.  Good puzzle, with one or two that were tricky to parse.

 

 

Abbreviations
cd  cryptic definition
dd  double definition
(xxxx)*  anagram
anagrind = anagram indicator
[x]  letter(s) removed

definitions are underlined

Across

1 Cheers received by Communist leader, quiet man in terrible event
CATASTROPHE
A multi-part clue to start us off: TA in CASTRO followed by P and HE.

7 Grouse, not name for flightless bird
MOA
MOA[N] and a chance for the obligatory Pierre bird link.  Became extinct because of overhunting by the 13 across, apparently.

9 Lavish smear filled in by artist
LIBERAL
An insertion of RA in LIBEL.

10 Work silly dopes resisted
OPPOSED
A charade of OP for OPUS or ‘work’ and (DOPES)*

11 Striker, cross about conflict, following heart
CENTRE FORWARD
A charade of CENTRE for ‘heart’ and WAR in FORD.  Climb every mountain, ford every stream …

13 Travel around, beginning to identify Polynesian language
MAORI
A charade of ROAM reversed and I for the first letter of ‘identify’.

14 Trim coach having a change of colour
CHROMATIC
(TRIM COACH)*

15 Stern mind in conservative element
REARGUARD
Perhaps a less well-known definition of REARGUARD, but fair enough.  REAR followed by GUARD.

17 Part of lesson, a humourless book of the Bible
NAHUM
One of the lesser-known books of the Bible, but since it’s hidden in lessoN A HUMourless, we can’t complain.  I’ve told you before about the importance of crossing letters.

19 Pompous man is left rambling about wine
SELF-IMPORTANT
An insertion of PORT in (MAN IS LEFT)* with ‘rambling’ as the anagrind.

22 Blushing, decline to be symbol of revolution
RED FLAG
A charade of RED and FLAG.  Will be sung more heartily chez Labour now that Jezza is leader.

23 Song packed with zest initially about part of USA
ARIZONA
An insertion of Z and ON in ARIA.

24 Occasional rum
ODD
A dd.

25 Hot in spell, yet more shivery – not unknown indicator of fever?
THERMOMETER
Everyman is fond of his multi-part clues, I must say.  An insertion of H in TERM followed by ([Y]ET MORE)*  The anagrind is ‘shivery’ and the removal indicator is ‘not’.

Down

1 Cry about everything
CALL
A charade of C and ALL.  As in a bird’s call/cry.

2 Plant obtained by explorer turning up with company
TOBACCO
A reversal of CABOT followed by CO.  You can choose between John and Sebastian for the ‘explorer’ bit.

3 One who’s withdrawn from contract, one wrongly given lot
SHRINKING VIOLET
A charade of SHRINK, I and (GIVEN LOT)*

4 Head? It helps one draw the line
RULER
A dd.

5 Academic dreaded having no answer to be presented
PROFFERED
A charade of PROF and FE[A]RED.

6 Neat, simple mixer managed innovative approach
EXPERIMENTALISM
(NEAT SIMPLE MIXER)*  Not the greatest surface I’ve ever seen.

7 Odd parts for chaps in film, being this?
MISCAST
The odd letters of ‘chaps’ in MIST, with what &lit dodgers call an ‘extended definition’.

8 Assistant made cape I’d ordered
AIDE-DE-CAMP
(MADE CAPE ID)*

12 Rascal with eccentric air rose to become producer
IMPRESARIO
A charade of IMP and (AIR ROSE)*

14 Bubbly title-holder, beaten finally in time
CHAMPAGNE
A charade of CHAMP and N in AGE.

16 Made reference and raised boring article with editor
ALLUDED
DULL A reversed followed by ED.

18 Fashionable and extremely loud, rising quickly
HOTFOOT
A charade of HOT and a reversal (‘rising’) of TOO F for forte or musically ‘loud’.

20 Field occupying acre, almost
REALM
Hidden in acRE ALMost.

21 Reasonable exhibition
FAIR
A dd.

Many thanks to Everyman for this morning’s puzzle.  I’ll try to blog his next one on time when it’s my turn.

16 comments on “Everyman 3599”

  1. Thank you Everyman and Pierre.

    I was hoping for more New Zealand references, especially as we may be choosing a new flag. Of the final four contenders I think I would choose the one with the fern leaf and the Southern Cross with the red top left corner since it repeats the colour in the stars.

    http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/sep/01/new-zealands-new-flag-final-four-designs-announced

    I really enjoyed the puzzle, the Everyman is the only one in the week I manage to finish.

    typo 5d, FE[A]RED

  2. A nice puzzle for a Sunday. Favourites were CATASTROPHE, SELF-IMPORTANT, PROFFERED, MISCAST and IMPRESARIO

    Another typo, Pierre – TA, not TAS, for “cheers in 1a.

    Thanks to Everyman and PierreO.

  3. Cookie @1
    As an outsider, I agree with your flag preference. I like the minimalism of the black and white fern too, but including the Southern Cross gives some continuity with the old flag and the red corner does tie the whole design together.

  4. jennyk @3, looking down the article I see there is now a fifth option, the RED Peak FLAG. I like the black and white fern too, but many people are OPPOSED to it since it reminds them of the Isis flag. I think the REARGUARD might win in the end and the LIBERALS lose, the old flag being retained.

  5. I wonder, perhaps Everyman did have this possible CATASTROPHE for the RULER in mind when setting the puzzle, the old CHROMATIC flag of the REALM being threatened with change?

  7. Cookie @4
    I don’t like that one. It doesn’t say “New Zealand” at all, at east from this distance. The fern is well known from the sports teams (though I gather the simple fern on black is copyrighted), and the Southern Cross looks good and echoes the old (i.e. already familiar) one. I don’t see the black and white version as in any way similar to the ISIS flag other than the colours, and pretty much any colour combination will have some bad resonance for someone.

  9. Thanks Pierre for the explanations, there were a couple I couldn’t fully explain. Cookie I agree with your flag choice but the polls are picking either the other Kyle Lockwood one (black and blue with the fern) or no change.

    18d, isn’t Hotfoot a verb? Don’t you hotfoot it across town? Quickly has the right sort of meaning but is the wrong part of speech, surely?

    That apart nice crossword Everyman, thanks for the kiwi nod.

  10. Couldn’t do them all, yet again, and quite a few that I couldn’t parse. I am still having trouble getting on this setter’s wavelength.
    As for the flag, I don’t think there is going to be a change, though personally I wish there was. I would prefer a fern but since there aren’t any good enough, any of Kyle Lockwood’s would do.
    Go the All Blacks!!!

  12. A good fun solve today, I’m for changing the flag because of the current one being very close to our cousin’s one across the ditch! We are meeting them at Twickenham tomorrow morning at 5.00am, I believe. Go the All Blacks!

  13. I too always thought hotfoot was a verb and if an adverb I would have said something like a clumsy ‘hotfootedly’, but there will always be a reference somewhere where someone has a legitimate use
    cannot say i will ever come across miscast much in daily use but there you go, another word I may use once in my lifetime.

  14. I got this right out. It took me all day. I completed it because it was a challenge, not because it is interesting or amusing, although Pierre’s observation re Moa and Maori is amusing.
    As for the NZ flag I prefer the existing flag. I like the Union Jack, the Southern Cross and the navy blue background. We are in NZ a former British colony. I like our British heritage. I hark back to Winston Churchill, the Battle of Britain, and Churchill leading the free world in the war against the Third Reich and others.
    The All Blacks are deserving winners of the Rugby World Cup. Well done. Thank you everyone.

  15. Thanks as always for NZ comments, and well done to the All Blacks for a deserved victory in the Rugby World Cup final. Played in excellent spirit as well. The haka is a bit scary, though.

  16. Thanks Pierre, nice to know you take the trouble to read our belated and far off ramblings. Your comments are always appreciated. If we had half the collective crossword solving skills of you guys we would be blessed indeed.

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