First Lady seen with stationer, an ordinary joe (8)
Very easy, for the most part. A couple of places where the wordplay included new elements, (TT, ST, another) but the definition usually meant that they were write-ins nevertheless.
Good fun, with some nice surfaces scattered through the puzzle.
| Across | ||
| 1 | CARAPACE |
Protective covering quickly attached to vehicle (8)
CAR APACE Love it when the first clue just drops in. |
| 5 | POSER |
Problem created by show-off (5)
Double definition |
| 9 | EXPLAIN |
Set out east and cross level area (7)
E(ast) X (cross) PLAIN |
| 10 | GROWLED |
Spoke angrily, having become influenced (7)
GROW (become) LED (influenced) |
| 11 | AMEN |
Conclusion of prayer almost correct (4)
Almost AMENd (correct) |
| 12 | GRATUITOUS |
Unwarranted disorder of August riot (10)
Anag (disorder) of AUGUST RIOT. Great surface, reminding me of when I lived in Tottenham a few years ago. |
| 14 | SCINTILLATING |
Brilliant and smart, securing century, batting until middle of day (13)
STING (smart) around (securing) C (century) IN (batting) TILL (until) A (middle of dAy) |
| 17 | HORSESHOE CRAB |
Book following mad hero’s search involving old sea creature (9,4)
Anagram (mad) of HEROSSEARCH O (old) RAB (request a booking? hadn’t heard of this before – can anyone help?) |
| 19 | COMIC STRIP |
Cartoon clowns stumble (5,5)
COMICS (clowns) TRIP (stumble) |
| 21 | WIND |
Gain diamonds in turn (4)
WIN (gain) D (diamonds) |
| 23 | LATVIAN |
Note start of tour through north of Baltic state (7)
LA (note) T VIA (through) N(orth) |
| 24 | TILLAGE |
Secure, holding nerve about cultivation (7)
TIE (secure) around (holding) LLAG (a reversal of gall – nerve) |
| 25 | TERSE |
Abrupt arbiter settled cases (5)
Hidden (cases) in arbiTERSEttled |
| 26 | REDOLENT |
Evocative colour Oscar supplied (8)
RED (colour) O (oscar) LENT (supplied) |
| Down | ||
| 1 | CREVASSE |
Concern initially about vessel containing small crack (8)
C(oncern) RE (about) VASE (vessel) about S |
| 2 | REPLENISH |
Supply assistant, admitting offence, completely upset (9)
HELPER around SIN, all backwards.
|
| 3 | PLAY |
Put under pressure in drama (4)
LAY under P |
| 4 | CENTRAL HEATING |
Strange change in latter system keeping place warm (7,7)
Anagram (strange) of CHANGE IN LATTER |
| 5 | PROHIBITED |
Forbidden expert, disguised, grabbing snack (10)
PRO (expert) HID around BITE |
| 6 | SALVO |
Barrage of colossal volume (5)
Another nice hidden answer |
| 7 | RADISH |
Ingredient of salad presented by artist on plate (6)
RA on DISH. Some of these clues are so simple I wonder if I’m missing something. |
| 8 | AGATHA CHRISTIE |
Crime writer’s novel has tragic hate consuming one (6,8)
anagram (novel) of HAS TRAGIC HATE around I |
| 13 | ATTRACTIVE |
Pretty busy after a dry run (10)
Don’t understand how this one works properly. ACTIVE (busy) after A TT R (run) How does TT = dry? |
| 15 | GERMINATE |
Airmen get trained and develop (9)
|
| 16 | OBEDIENT |
Base that is held by criminal not yielding (8)
Nice use of ‘not’ to throw off my definition-hunting. BED (base) IE (that is) in an anagram (criminal) of NOT |
| 18 | SCUPLT |
Carve stone inlaid with copper disc (6)
CU LP, obviously, but is ST an abbreviation of Stone? |
| 20 | MOTOR |
Drive miles round hill (5)
M (miles) O (round) TOR (hill) |
| 22 |
Fables not without odd features too (4)
|
|
17: HEROS + SEARCH + O + B; the RA are already accounted for.
13: TT = teetotal
18: yes, st = stone, as well as saint and street — see any source about weights and measures.
Thanks Flavia, quite obvious now you point them out. Probably just me being a bit lazy to parse them properly once I got the answers.
Matt
Thanks Everyman and Matt.
You appear to be using PeeDee’s utility to form the blog, so it must have taken a little persistence to force through the type in the answer to 18D! You did not enter 22D ALSO, which is ‘fAbLeS nOt’ dropping the odd numbered letters (‘without odd features’).
That is, typo, of course.
Thanks Everyman and Matt.
This felt just right for me, I particularly liked SCINTILLATING, HORSESHOE CRAB, TILLAGE, SALVO, ATTRACTIVE and SCULPT.
15d, GERMINATE, Anagram (trained) of AIRMEN GET.
Thanks Everyman & Matt.
It did seem to be a bit easier than some of the recent ones. As I’ve said elsewhere, it’s better to put the grid underneath the clues. If one accidentally enters the blog, the completed grid gives all the answers immediately and is difficult to avoid.
I liked GRATUITOUS & SCINTILLATING.
I thought some clues were possibly still a little complex for an Everyman (SCINTILLATING?), but perhaps that is the ‘new normal’. Unlike the Quiptic, the Everyman isn’t described as being particularly easy. That expectation was based on long-time Everyman solvers’ previous experience (I only started solving them after the change of setter).
Favourites were GRATUITOUS, SCINTILLATING, COMIC STRIP and SCULPT.
Thanks, Everyman.
Isn’t it funny how opinions differ ?. I found this quite tough and the recent ones I found quite easy. There’s nowt so queer as folk. The puzzle itself was very enjoyable and it took me about two hours, off and on, to complete, the last two being OBEDIENT and WIND. Lots of great clues including CARAPACE, EXPLAIN, COMIC STRIP (excellent), GERMINATE, OBEDIENT and ALSO.
Thanks Everyman & Matt.
Thanks MA(Dry)
Nearly gave up on this. I’m afraid this setter is too complex for me. However I persevered and got there after a long time. Have just moved house and downsized to an apartment and still feeling unsettled. Haven’t got back into my old routines yet. Wonder where the Kiwis are. I’m not usually the first one.
We found this perhaps a little easier than previous ones. Liked comic strip and also – also.
LOI horseshoe crab (never heard of the book but Mr. Google assisted) and obedient.
Bit late getting to it this week but starting to like these more and more. Once again relied on this column to rationalise some of the answers even after having filled them in: e.g the tt in attractive; how cool. Thanks guys!
Just got back from holiday in Queenstwn after realising no hope in finding a herald in the sth is and then struggling to to find a herald anywhere on sunday, (u learn to keep quiet of one’s origins down there if one is from auckland ) Felt pathetic how out of sorts I felt not getting my weekend herald fix … lovely neighbours came to the rescue..
I enjoy reading the reasons for the answers as I often have no idea how I got there ..tillage for example….
Bit late today, solved in plane to Melbourne, took most of the flight between naps bites and beverages.
Found this a bit harder than recent weeks.
Lindsey and Marion, if Horseshoe Crab is a book it’s a coincidence. The book is just b following the anagram and the def is sea creature. At least that’s how I see it.
Good for Matt to get 1a straight off the bat, that and others in that NE corner were my LOIs.
Thanks Matt and EM.
18D
The answer is a typo. Should say SCULPT.
Thanks.