The Observer crossword from Sunday 15 Apr 2018
Here’s Everyman with another ‘clunky and humourless crossword equivalent of self-assembly IKEA furniture’. Really?
Four weeks ago, it was the verdict of one commenter – supported by another – that made me have a think. [No, it wasn’t Jacob Rees-Mogg as he doesn’t do IKEA.] I do actually have some things that I got from IKEA, things I quite like. Just as I liked this crossword! And three clues, in particular (18, 22, 27ac).
Definitions are underlined wherever possible and/or appropriate.
| Across | ||
| 1 | CORK | Stop in country’s southernmost county (4) |
| Double definition County Cork is indeed in the far south of Ireland and the ‘stop’ here is probably one on a bottle of whiskey. |
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| 3 | BRUSH-OFF | Rejection of force after brief encounter (5-3) |
| BRUSH (brief encounter) + OF + F (force) | ||
| 10 | MINIBREAK | Point in difficult situation with leaders of army keen for short holiday (9) |
| NIB (point, of a pen) inside MIRE (difficlut situation), then A[rmy] K[een] | ||
| 11 | NADIR | Plug I put in near lowest point (5) |
| AD (plug) + I, together inside NR (near, abbreviated) | ||
| 12 | ANIMALS | Condemn popular article about beasts (7) |
| SLAM (condemn) + IN (popular) + A (article), all reversed [about] | ||
| 13 | SHALLOW | Everything in exhibition is superficial (7) |
| ALL (everything) inside SHOW (exhibition) | ||
| 15 | SCANDALMONGER | Gossip left doctor in peril after examination (13) |
| L (left) + MO (doctor), together inside DANGER (peril), the whole lot coming after SCAN (examination) | ||
| 18 | WINKLE-PICKERS | Pointed shoes in shocking pink were slick (6-7) |
| Anagram [shocking] of PINK WERE SLICK Marvellous clue. |
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| 20 | ETERNAL | Endless odd elements of theory presented in revolutionary way (7) |
| T[h]E[o]R[y] inside a reversal [revolutionary] of LANE (way) | ||
| 22 | ORLEANS | River bank in very large city in France (7) |
| R (river) + LEAN (bank), together inside OS (very large, outsized) Another one of my favourites. |
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| 23 | INTRO | Opening clue, not hard, otherwise taken back (5) |
| HINT (clue) minus the H at the start, followed by a reversal [taken back] of OR (otherwise) | ||
| 25 | ESSENTIAL | Key? It’s in steel as ordered (9) |
| Anagram [ordered] of IN STEEL AS | ||
| 26 | GOODNESS | Leave poems bearing name with singular merit (8) |
| GO (leave) + ODES (poems) around N (name), followed by S (singular) Leave poems? Oh dear! Don’t tell Boris. Associated with the word ‘merit’? |
||
| 27 | SEEM | Spy and spymaster appear (4) |
| SEE (spy) + M (spymaster, of James Bond fame) Favourite #3. |
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| Down | ||
| 1 | COMBAT | Oppose heartless mob, breaking cover (6) |
| M[o]B inside COAT (cover) For some reason, this clue made me think of last Saturday’s brilliant Tramp crossword (1ac in that one). |
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| 2 | RENAISSANCE | Conversion of sinner, a case for rebirth (11) |
| Anagram [conversion of] SINNER A CASE Always when I see the word Renaissance it reminds of the band bearing that name. It’s their first two albums that I treasure, and the second one Illusion in particular, even if the critics at the time (1971/1972) didn’t agree. |
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| 4 | RAKES | Dissolute men in scrapes (5) |
| Double definition | ||
| 5 | SINGAPORE SLING | Offence? Opening old wine, not having one cocktail (9,5) |
| SIN (offence) + GAP (opening) + O (old) + {RIESLING minus I (one)} Riesling isn’t new to me but this cocktail is. According to Chambers: brandy, gin, orange juice, lime juice, Cointreau, Benedictine and grenadine. That’s quite a lot! |
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| 6 | ODD | Casual eccentric (3) |
| Double definition I don’t mind the, um, odd double definition but this is already the third …. |
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| 7 | FOREWARN | Loudly working to secure prize, endlessly alert (8) |
| F (loudly), followed by ON (working) around REWAR[d] (prize, without the last letter) | ||
| 8 | ABRAHAM LINCOLN | Amendment of a bill can harm no president (7,7) |
| Anagram [amendment of] of A BILL CAN HARM NO | ||
| 9 | MESSED UP | Medium with psychic awareness about evil used to be confused (6,2) |
| M (medium) + ESP (psychic awareness) around an anagram [evil] of USED It took me more time to parse the answer than to find it. |
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| 14 | LEGISLATIVE | Law-making stage that is interrupted by small, important upset (11) |
| LEG (stage), then S (small) + a reversal {upset] of VITAL (important), these two together inside I.E. (that is) | ||
| 16 | LACROSSE | Note angry energy in sport (8) |
| LA (note) + CROSS (angry) + E (energy) | ||
| 17 | SWEEPING | Extensive lamentation after end of bliss (8) |
| [blis]S + WEEPING (lamentation) | ||
| 19 | ASYLUM | Place of refuge in fantasy, luminous (6) |
| Hidden answer [in]: fantasy luminous | ||
| 21 | LEEKS | Vegetables, smooth, first to last (5) |
| SLEEK (smooth) with its first letter moved to the bottom | ||
| 24 | TOO | Temperature? Zero, more than once as well (3) |
| T (temperature) + O (zero) + O (zero, once more) One of my first ones in but quite good to clue such a short word so inventively. |
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Long time lurker first time poster here. No point me commenting on the daily cryptics because i usually do them days after publication. I only just re-discovered The Everyman after a year or so and don,t remember them being this good. Reminds me of my favourite Stickler Weekly but with a few more c/d,s and d/d,s.
Very enjoyable Sunday puzzle as always!
My favourites were Singapore Sling, legislative, minibreak (LOI)
Thank you Everyman and Sil
They are not clunky and humourless. They are well-constructed, always fair, and a great way to spend Sunday morning. I always enjoy Everyman and this was no exception.
Thanks to Everyman and Sil.
Thank you Everyman and Sil.
As enjoyable as ever. I loved the WINKLE-PICKER clue and those for RENAISSANCE and ABRAHAM LINCOLN, really good anagrams! The cocktail was new to me, but I do not drink them…
Another fine Sunday morning solve. I really enjoyed it, particularly the Northern Lights (see what I did there, Sil?)
Many thanks, Everyman and Sil (and not forgetting Annie Haslam.)
Another vote for Everyman. Consistently good, in my Goldilocks zone of difficulty and no grotesque surfaces.
A little tricky for Everyman – it took an age before major inroads into the grid were made. Last in 3ac followed by 7d. Clunky and humourless? Never with Everyman, which remains a favourite of mine after many, many years of solving.
Lovely puzzle. Always wonder whether I’m going to get into it, but the wordplay is so fair. Thanks Colin
Andrew K
Excellent crossword. Agree with Sil’s assessment. River bank was clever as was 27a.
I got Cross Off for 3a, reasoning that if your paths cross that was a brief encounter, but Brush does look a lot better on all counts.
I expect Audrey to be here soon. It’s cats and dogs here, unless they have indoor bowls in Browns Bay.
I lived in Singapore briefly, the cocktails were a house bar speciality of the old Raffles Hotel. They are sweet and frankly a disgusting waste of perfectly good gin.
Enjoyed this. I once had a Singapore Sling when visiting Singapore. Actually Barrie, I quite liked it.
My favourites were 15 ac, 22 ac, 26 ac, 27ac and 17 d. Didn’t get Cork. Now why didn’t I think of Ireland?
Hi Barrie. I’m not playing bowls much now for various reasons, but am supposed to play on Monday. However the forecast does not look promising so I might be staying home.
I agree with the praise for Everyman’s puzzles. Like BlogginTheBlog@6, I find them to be precisely in my Goldilocks zone.
My what a sheltered life you’ve lived Sil, if you handn’t before heard of Singapore Slings! 🙂
Contrary to what Barrie, Remuera@9 says, they are a delightful concoction. Just goes to show the sort of taste they have in Remuera. 🙂
I could not parse “nadir” (11 across); thanks to Sil for the explanation.
Found a few tricky clues here. Managed to finish though with 3ac and 4dn being the last ones in on a revisit in the morning. Hadn’t heard of rake in that context so there you go. Then on checking this blog I found I had automatically inserted foreward instead of forewarn. Doh! I suppose that counts as a ‘wrong’.
Thanks to all
Another great puzzle. Last one in was 1ac which I couldn’t parse and didn’t think to question my answer of CURB. And our family were just discussing our Irish ancestry last night!
My whole family is ill. I’m not feel so flash myself. I started the crossie around 9 last night and polished it off this morning. No real clues that stood out. LOI was BRUSH OFF.
Hope you are feeling better Rats…enjoyed my Sunday afternoon pleasure but lost out in parsing Orleans….didn’t get the bank reference there so left it blank and then missed out on Lacrosse too. ah well.