A puzzle from Everyman with his usual sprinkling of multi-part clues. Some less than pleasing surface readings (if those are important to you) but otherwise, as usual, all sound and tractable.
Abbreviations
cd cryptic definition
dd double definition
(xxxx)* anagram
anagrind = anagram indicator
[x] letter(s) removed
definitions are underlined
Across
1 Moments to turn around fringe projects
SCHEMES
An insertion of HEM for ‘fringe’ in SECS reversed. The insertion indicator is ‘around’ and the reversal indicator is ‘to turn’.
5 Settlement made by prince in drama
HAMLET
A dd, referencing of course the Shakespeare play.
10 Little consolation in court keeping outdated business from changing
COLD COMFORT
A trademark multi-part Everyman clue: it’s OLD for ‘outdated’, CO for company or ‘business’ and (FROM)* inserted into CT for ‘court’. The anagrind is ‘changing’. Good surface.
11 Colour and flavour, not good
TAN
TAN[G]
12 Free almost up to end of voyage
UNTIE
A charade of UNTI[L] and E for the last letter of ‘voyage’.
13 Eager bull disturbed butterfly
LARGE BLUE
(EAGER BULL)*
14 Past subject, consuming half of saga, to know similarly
BY THE SAME TOKEN
Another multi-parter: a charade of BY for ‘past’, an insertion of SA for ‘half of saga’ in THEME for ‘subject’, TO and KEN for ‘know’. Not such a good surface.
17 Charade may fail to shake physicist
MICHAEL FARADAY
Not a charade, of course, but an anagram. (CHARADE MAY FAIL)* The English physicist best known for his work on electromagnetism.
21 Account about popular Pacific island mostly using two languages
BILINGUAL
An insertion of IN for ‘popular’ and GUA[M] in BILL for ‘account’. Today’s factoid: more than half the world’s population is bilingual. As the old joke goes: a man who speaks three languages is trilingual; a man who speaks two languages is bilingual; and a man who speaks only one language is English.
22 Hostile, dismissing a piece of poetry
VERSE
[A]VERSE
24 Earlier round in casino game
AGO
Hidden reversed in casinO GAme.
25 Caper involving revolutionary attack and rescue
DELIVERANCE
An insertion of ELIVER, or REVILE reversed, in DANCE for ‘caper’.
26 Amount of medicine that’s wise after party
DOSAGE
A charade of DO and SAGE.
27 Satisfaction about costume
REDRESS
A charade of RE for ‘about’ and DRESS.
Down
1 Yields reserves, including carbon copy, with hesitation
SUCCUMBS
An insertion of CC and UM in SUBS for substitutes or ‘reserves’. Not one of Everyman’s greatest surface readings.
2 Leave time for composer
HOLST
A charade of HOLS for holidays or ‘leave’ and T gives you the composer perhaps best-known for The Planets suite.
3 Spice cut by moving the knife
MACHETE
A very good surface reading and an insertion of (THE)* in MACE.
4 Tune you miss, all distracted at the same time
SIMULTANEOUSLY
(TUNE YOU MISS ALL)*
6 Traced fantastically old style of design
ART DECO
A charade of (TRACED)* and O.
7 Cover, outside dry shelter, new part of connecting rod
LITTLE END
An insertion of TT for teetotal or ‘dry’, LEE and N in LID.
8 Offer, not tough
TENDER
A dd.
9 Rising initially in rank with fresh face, devotee and bringer of luck
FOUR-LEAF CLOVER
An insertion of R for the first letter of ‘rising’ in FOUL for ‘rank’ followed by (FACE)* and LOVER. A clue where almost certainly you would get the answer from the definition and enumeration and then work out the parsing afterwards.
15 Republican, bad one among lots and lots
TRILLIONS
My favourite clue this morning: good surface reading and a nice bit of misdirection, asking you to separate out ‘lots and lots’. An insertion of R, ILL and I in TONS for the first ‘lots’.
16 Heap of combustible material observed up in mountains
PYRENEES
A charade of PYRE and SEEN reversed. ‘Up’ works as a reversal indicator, because it’s a down clue.
18 Be in suspense with boxer perhaps looking defeated
HANGDOG
A charade of HANG and DOG for one choice of man’s best friend.
19 Blushing about always being admired
REVERED
An insertion of EVER in RED.
20 Sailor with stash, not hot, on ship?
ABOARD
A charade of AB for able bodied ‘sailor’ and [H]OARD.
23 Get up around noon and wash
RINSE
An insertion of N in RISE.
Many thanks to Everyman for this Sunday’s puzzle.
Thanks to Everyman and Pierre. It’s a good challenge to do these with without the check button to fall back on.
Thanks to Everyman and Pierre. I enjoyed this puzzle
Thank you Everyman and Pierre.
Stumped for a while by 7d, I knew the term “big end”, so assumed there must also be a LITTLE END to a connecting rod. I liked the anagram for simultaneously.
Wish the clues here always had the solution length included
The solution length could be included, James. I’m just interested to know why you would find that helpful.
I was about halfway through the grid before any clues fell, but from then on it was plain sailing, with a time that said this was an easyish Everyman. LITTLE END was new to me, but could be nothing else. A fun Sunday morning solve.
The connecting rod links the crankshaft to the piston. The larger diameter bearing on the crankshaft is the BIG END and the smaller diameter bearing inside the piston is the LITTLE END. Long before diesel engines were as common as today the similarly distinctive rattle was the sound of worn big-end which was instantly recognisable and much more familiar to the British motorist.
Thanks Ian for the explanation. I did my own repairs in the old days when one could stand in the engine bay while working on it,but never heard of the little end although I must have handled them.
Those mechanics were innovative with their naming of parts.Perhaps they were the same ones who named some of the butterflies…
can anyone tell me, what does he mean by including the solution length?
Vanessa, I think he means the answer length, which these bloggers tend to omit when they repeat the clues here. Pierre’s point is – why? – given that the answer appears directly below the clue in the blog.
I must say it never occurred to me that it would be remotely useful, but James must have something in mind.
This was a lot easier than some over the past month or so. I liked the lots and lots clue, as well as Hamlet and ABOARD
Hang on – is James asking for the bloggers to say how long it took them to solve the crossword??
This puzzle was just right for me. Don’t need them any harder. Little end was new to me too, but since I’ve often heard mechanics mention’big ends’ it was easy to guess. I agree with Vanessa’s comments.
An interesting puzzle. Blazed through almost all of the southern end but then sat for a while trying to piece together the north. I’d made a mistake with 18d and penned in HANGING given most clues ending in G often end with ING. As a result I did not get DELIVERANCE which I only got in the end with some electronic help. After which, of course, I found HANGING was wrong and I only got the answer from fifteensquared.
Can’t say any clues stood out. FOUR-LEAF CLOVER was perhaps the best.
Started like a lightning bolt with Faraday but ground to a holst before finishing with that clue sometime later. Very enjoyable again. Thanks to all.