It’s Sunday and time to do the Everyman. You can find it here
I fairly ran through this one, some constructions a bit convoluted but this more than fits the bill for the Everyman as we used to know and love it.
Across
1 Short broadcast including a siren prepared for preliminary event (7-6)
CURTAIN-RAISER
CURT (short) & [A SIREN]* prepared inside AIR (broadcast)
9 Payment to shelter dog not available? Disgusting (9)
REPUGNANT
PUG & N/A all inside RENT
10 Odd editor backing protest (5)
DEMUR
RUM (odd) & ED(itor) all reversed
11 Just occupied by exercises in public (6)
OPENLY
P.E. inside ONLY (just)
12 Buy tea, filling bag (8)
PURCHASE
CHA (tea) inside PURSE (bag)
14 Leader needing attention, in bad shape and beginning to despair (9)
SPEARHEAD
EAR (attention) in a bad SHAPE* & start of D(espair)
15 Part of poem originally about lover (5)
ROMEO
Hidden (part of) reversed (about) answer
16 Comments put forward after reflection (5)
NOTES
SET (put) & ON (forward) reversed – reflected
18 Abandoned right purpose, holding weight (9)
RENOUNCED
R(ight) & OUNCE in END (purpose)
20 Charm obtaining access (8)
ENTRANCE
Another double defintion
21 Grow quiet during second defeat (6)
SPROUT
P (quiet, musically) in S(econd) ROUT (defeat)
24 Finish on intimate terms (5)
CLOSE
Double definition
25 Tests to carry out, designed to provide lessons (9)
TUTORIALS
TRAILS (tests) carrying (containing) OUT* designed
26 Jumping main hurdles as novelist (6,7)
SALMAN RUSHDIE
[MAIN HURDLES AS]* jumping. Nice anagram indicator with hurdles used in the fodder.
Down
1 Load vehicle and leave (5)
CARGO
CAR & GO
2 Complaints about awards (15)
REPRESENTATIONS
RE (about) & PRESENTATIONS (awards)
3 Run gala badly, becoming gaunt (7)
ANGULAR
[RUN GALA]* badly
4 Interact with odd characters out to be smart (4)
NEAT
Odd letters missing from iNtErAcT
5 Incredible article on time put into measurement of water depth (10)
ASTOUNDING
A (article) & T(ime) in SOUNDING (measuring the depth of water)
6 Cocktail, rushed, is coming up (7)
SIDECAR
RACED IS reversed. Never knowingly seen or drunk a sidecar, a crossword only cocktail for me.
7 Mad scandal mayor sorted out for prime minister (6,9)
RAMSAY MACDONALD
[MAD SCANDAL MAYOR]* sorted out.
8 Force here wrecked ancient property (8)
FREEHOLD
F(orce) & HERE* wrecked & OLD
13 React to art reproduced in reddish-brown colour (10)
TERRACOTTA
[REACT TO ART]* reproduced
14 Pass judgement on grammatical structure (8)
SENTENCE
Double definition
17 Faces swimming large lake to reach mountain (7)
SCAFELL
FACES* swimming & L(arge) L(ake). Suspect our NZ friends might struggle with this UK lake district mountain.
19 Politician with anger restricted by American judges (7)
UMPIRES
M.P. & IRE (anger) all inside US (American)
22 Some detest a stew’s flavour (5)
TASTE
Hidden (some) answer
23 Root initially under stone I move (4)
STIR
ST(one) & I & R(oot)
Thanks, flashling, I needed your help in the parsing of 25a – clever misdirection in “carry out”! BTW, you have a typo there: it’s “trial”, not “trail”.
For some stupid reason, I got stuck on the CARGO, OPENLY bit. Otherwise fairly straightforward.
Thanks Everyman and flashling.
I stupidly entered BURNTUMBRA at 13d having already entered SALMAN RUSHDIE at 26a, of course it would not parse and is usually written as BURNT UMBER anyway. However all got sorted out in the end.
CARGO and OPENLY were my favourites since they were the last in!
Running late today (or technically, tomorrow already), so just a quick comment before heading to bed. I had trouble getting started with this, but once I did it went smoothly, helped by clear clueing. Favourites were REPUGNANT and SPEARHEAD for the smooth surfaces.
Thanks, Everyman and flashling.
No Kiwis in yet, lovely Autumn day, they are probably out enjoying the final stage of our warm weather before it all turns to custard. This was a good solve this week and, yes Flashling , Scafell would have been difficult, thank heavens for electronic devises. I too, have never heard of sidecar as a cocktail, let alone sunk one! But the clue made it iimpossible to be anything else.Salman and Ramsay were “aha!” Moments once I had enough crosses and downs in respectively to suss them. Good fun, bring on next Saturday, thanks Flashling and Everyman
second kiwi today – I hope you are not correct about the weather turning to custard! am loving it.
Liked this one, thought the 5d rather tricky I was convinced fathom had to be in there with unfathomable in my head even tho it doesnt mean incredible but couldnt get rid of it until I had definite letters in.
I also took ages to get 1d
Yep, I enjoyed this too, did what is said on the tin and the closest yet to the Everyman of old.
Like Vanessa I tried to shoehorn Fathom in to 5D before reluctantly changing tack.
Not sure I’d use Demur for Protest, at best it’s a mild one (bit like this).
Yep, I enjoyed this too, did what it said on the tin and the closest yet to the Everyman of old.
Like Vanessa I tried to shoehorn Fathom in to 5D before reluctantly changing tack.
Not sure I’d use Demur for Protest, at best it’s a mild one (bit like this).
Mmmm. Struggled with this one last night but attacked it this morning with a renewed vim and vigour (and a clearer head). Finally completed it but have to say that I was unaware that angular meant gaunt (exposing a lack of knowledge in the English language – it seems so obvious now) and I had never heard of Mt Scafell (exposing a lack of knowledge of British geography – I thought Ben Nevis was the only mountain in the UK!) It was fun though – thanks to all.
Yes fine gardening weather in NZ & it might be an Indian Summer hopefully.
I needed the anagrams to get started, and almost completed the crossword.
Scafell is beyond my ken, but mostly it is interesting and enjoyable. Thank you everyone.