The Observer crossword / Feb 18, 2018
Last week, Pierre started his Everyman blog with the lines “Everyman is such a good choice of cryptic for those new to them, or for those learning the ropes. Always carefully constructed and at a level of difficulty that should encourage people to have a go“. I am not sure whether I fully agree with that. To me, the setter, the really excellent Colin Gumbrell, offers a bit more than just that, making his puzzles a joy for more experienced solvers too. And for bloggers! 🙂
Definitions are underlined wherever possible and/or appropriate.
| Across | ||
| 1 | CARAPACE | Walk behind vehicle with a protective covering (8) |
| CAR (vehicle) + A, followed by PACE (walk) | ||
| 5 | THAMES | Not wild about hotel beside small river (6) |
| TAME (not wild) around H (hotel), then S (small) | ||
| 9 | NEBULAR | Approach disrupted by endless mass of cloud (7) |
| BUL[k] (mass, without the last letter) inside NEAR (approach) This is why I like setters like CG (aka Everyman), such a precise definition. |
||
| 10 | SHRILLY | Nervous about channel with piercing sound (7) |
| SHY (nervous) around RILL (channel) | ||
| 11 | TIGHT | Mean firm (5) |
| Double definition | ||
| 13 | ERSTWHILE | Former Welsh rite translated (9) |
| Anagram [translated] of WELSH RITE | ||
| 14 | UNEXCEPTIONAL | Average bar in combination with a lounge initially (13) |
| EXCEPT (bar) inside UNION (combination), then A L[ounge] | ||
| 16 | SPLINTER GROUP | Vicious ruler stopping breakaway faction (8,5) |
| Anagram [vicious] of RULER STOPPING | ||
| 20 | REPUBLISH | Reissue revolutionary book and increase in zest (9) |
| B (book) + UP (increase), together reversed [revolutionary], inside RELISH (zest) | ||
| 21 | LASSO | Rope in rascal as soldier (5) |
| Hidden answer [in]: rascal as soldier | ||
| 22 | PAIRING | Cutting out loud partnership (7) |
| Homophone [out loud] of PARING (cutting) | ||
| 23 | PLIABLE | Pawn apt to be easily influenced (7) |
| P (pawn, in chess) + LIABLE (apt) | ||
| 25 | DETEST | Hate extreme features of dire experiment (6) |
| D[ir]E + TEST (experiment) | ||
| 26 | FLAGRANT | Glaring, draw attention to storm (8) |
| FLAG (draw attention to) + RANT (storm) | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | CONSTRUE | Understand tricks? Correct (8) |
| CONS (tricks) + TRUE (correct) | ||
| 2 | RUB | Wipe food, not good (3) |
| GRUB (food) minus G (good) | ||
| 3 | POLITIC | Discreet love illuminated in film (7) |
| O (love) + LIT (illuminated), together inside PIC (film) | ||
| 4 | CORRESPONDING | Like keeping in touch with letters (13) |
| Double definition | ||
| 6 | HARD-WON | Solid week working? Not easily achieved (4-3) |
| HARD (solid) + W (week) + ON (working) I wrote this blog on the day that Wigan Athletic beat Man City !! |
||
| 7 | MELLIFLUOUS | Smile of Lulu awfully sweet (11) |
| Anagram [awfully] of SMILE OF LULU Lovely clue (and surface). |
||
| 8 | STYLED | Pen was first labelled (6) |
| STY (pen) + LED (was first) | ||
| 10 | SISTINE CHAPEL | See great work on ceiling here: it’s nice, complicated in form, and large (7,6) |
| Anagram [complicated] of IT’S NICE, put inside SHAPE (form) + L (large) More about it here . |
||
| 12 | GREASEPAINT | Brilliant, enthralling mimics coming up with trendy make-up (11) |
| Reversal [coming up] of APES (mimics) + IN (trendy), with GREAT (brilliant) going around it | ||
| 15 | OPPONENT | Work with part containing single name for rival (8) |
| OP (work, opus) + PT (part) around {ONE (single) + N (name)} | ||
| 17 | LOBBIES | Bible so involved in campaigns (7) |
| Anagram [involved] of BIBLE SO | ||
| 18 | GALLING | Bad upset in band causing annoyance (7) |
| Reversal [upset] of ILL (bad) inside GANG (band) | ||
| 19 | TRIPOD | Stand with climbing party after stumble (6) |
| TRIP (stumble), followed by a reversal [climbing] of DO (party) | ||
| 24 | BAA | Answer twice following black sheep’s cry (3) |
| B (black) + A,A (answer, twice) My first one in – I like sheep! [do I?] |
||
I enjoyed solving this puzzle.
Thank you Everyman and Sil
Thank you Everyman for an enjoyable puzzle and Sil for an interesting blog. RUB was my first in, CONSTRUE the last…
Back to a straightforward Everyman again after a difficult couple of weeks, with the first few clues in the NW corner flying in. I wasn’t sure how 22ac worked, but it could be nothing else. Last in was 26ac.
I totally agree with you Sil about the difficulty level of Everyman. It’s always entertaining but never that easy.
If it was so easy why would anyone want to do it. Words such as CARAPACE and MELLIFLUOUS are hardly common
words and some people would not even know them.
My last one in was PAIRING as it took me ages to spot the paring homophone.
Thanks to Sil and Everyman.
Thanks Sil. Count me in too as a long-standing Colin Gumbrell fan, in all his incarnations.
I cut my teeth on everyman puzzles about 45 years ago and have always found the clues to be beautifully constructed. I am now trying to get my kids to do the same. One minor question mark over this one – is “viscious” a suitable anagrind?
Thanks to Everyman and Sil
I think that a solver of whatever credentials should appreciate the excellence of Everyman’s clues, the more so in that they are seldom overly convoluted. The main difficulty for the blogger is to come up with something fresh to say in the preamble.
24D As Isaiah and Jennens say “All we like sheep”.
PeterO @7, and for the solver to say, hence the few comments!
I do the Azed and Everyman every Sunday, and always, always enjoy Mr. Gumbrell’s creations. Entertaining, fair, fun.
Frankie the cat @6, “vicious” can also mean faulty or unsound according to the COED.
Thanks Cookie@10 – you live and learn…
A good 2 hour brain tease. Straight forward except for 7d. Had to google that one. I wonder if a call my wife mellifluous will she hit me or kiss me
was wondering whether the clue for 1 ac should have read ‘a walk behind vehicle’ otherwise there wasn’t really a reason for the A. That’s picky I know but I do enjoy a really well-constructed clue as these all were. My favourite was 5ac which I
didn’t find easy but was an aha clue at the end.
Messed up 22A, everything else good. Liked Flag Rent and of course Lulu ; ) She must have got me going, barely took half an hour which is half as long as these usually take me.
Couldn’t get 1 d but enjoyed the rest. Favourites were carapace and Thames, I didn’t have any problems with pairing, as some others did. Perhaps, having been a teacher, homophones come easily.
I agree with Sil. These crosswords take a bit of figuring out, and aren’t that easy.
Really enjoyed this – or most of it anyway. Also mucked up 22ac. Got focused on P for loud(wrong way!) and got prising. Stupid really. Bit like the play I saw at the Pop Up Globe today, Comedy of Errors! Thanks to all
Enjoyed this crossie overall though no real clues stuck out for me. Best was 12ac.
We managed to get get this all out without resorting to Mr. ( or is it Mrs?) Quinapalus.
Beautifully crafted clues again.
Got round to this one today. Neat and tidy, hardest fit being 8d STYLED. Got it by crook! Enjoy the weekly challenge. Keep setting.
Found it very difficult ( obviously not used to this setter )