Everyman 3,740

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The puzzle may be found at https://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/everyman/3740.

There are some clues here for which I needed more thought than usual – particularly as I did not know 14A URSULA LE GUIN.

Across
1 JOCKEY Conservative in frivolous manoeuvre (6)
An envelope (‘in’) of C (‘Conservative’) in JOKEY (‘frivolous’).
4 STUBBORN Revolutionary objections, given life, becoming persistent (8)
A charade of STUB, a reversal (‘revolutionary’) of BUTS (‘objections’) plus BORN (‘given life’).
9 IAN BOTHAM Great cricketer getting on a bit, wildly theatrical player (3,6)
A charade of IANBOT, an anagram (‘wildly’) of ‘on a bit’ plus HAM (‘theatrical player’).
11 LACED Note odd parts of creeds intertwined (5)
A charade of LA (‘note’ of the sol-fa) plus CED (‘odd parts of CrEeDs’),
12 ELUDING Avoiding noise in electronic projection (7)
An envelope (‘in’) of DIN (‘noise’) in E (‘electronic’) plus LUG (‘projection’).
13 SHERIFF Officer repeated phrase after woman (7)
A charade of SHE (‘woman’) plus RIFF (‘repeated phrase’).
14 URSULA LE GUIN Usual rule newly broken by good, popular science fiction writer (6,2,4)
A charade of URSULALEGU, an envelope (‘broken by’) of G (‘good’) in URSULALEU, an anagram (‘newly’) of ‘usual rule’; plus IN (‘popular’).
18 SCANDAL SHEET Survey held as designed by alien for sensational publication (7,5)
A charade of SCAN (‘survey’) plus DALSHE, an anagram (‘designed’) of ‘held as’ plus ET (‘alien’. Where would crosswords be without it?).
21 FLYLEAF Rush revision of a file without one blank page (7)
A charade of FLY (‘rush’) plus LEAF, an anagram (‘revision of’) of ‘a f[i]le’ minus the I (‘without one’).
22 URANIUM Element in place of education probed by artist with doubtful expression (7)
A charade of URANI, an envelope (‘probed by’) of RA (‘artist’) in UNI (university, ‘place of education’); plus UM (‘doubtful expression’).
24 OUTDO Better time secured by old pair in retirement (5)
An envelope (‘secured by’) of T (‘time’) in OUDO, a reversal (‘in retirement’) of O (‘old’) plus DUO (‘pair’).
25 IDENTICAL Exactly the same dialect in broadcast (9)
An anagram (‘broadcast’) of ‘dialect in’.
26 DRESSAGE Daughter with resolution wise to get equestrian training (8)
A charade of D (‘daughter’) plus RES (‘resolution’) plus SAGE (‘wise’).
27 ORDERS Limits abandoned by bishop giving commands (6)
A subtraction: [b]ORDERS (‘limits’) minus the B (‘abandoned by bishop’).
Down
1 JOINED-UP Enlisted, being coherent (6-2)
Double definition, the first being without the hyphen.
2 CONQUEST Prisoner with search for occupation (8)
A charade of CON (‘prisoner’) plus QUEST (‘search’).
3 EMOJI Icon? Judge one after protest without depth (5)
The first time I have seen this word in a crossword. A charade of [d]EMO (‘protest’) minus the D (‘without depth’) plus J I (‘judge one’).
5 TIME SIGNATURE Arrangement of minuet is great, giving indication of rhythm (4,9)
An anagram (‘arangement of’) of ‘minuet is great’.
6 BULLETINS Reports, learner admitted, restricted by coach? (9)
An envelope (‘restricted by’) of L (‘learner’) plus LET IN (‘admitted’) in BUS (‘coach’).
7 ORCHID Flower kept by porch ideally (6)
A hidden answer in ‘pORCH IDeally’.
8 NOD OFF Fall asleep? Certainly not with party very loud (3,3)
A charade of NO (‘certainly not’) plus DO (‘party’) plus FF (fortissimo, ‘very loud’).
10 HIGHLAND FLING Elated, settle project and dance (8,5)
A charade of HIGH (‘elated’) plus LAND (‘settle’) plus FLING (‘project’).
15 LECHEROUS Clues all over the place about main character being lustful (9)
An envelope (‘about’) of HERO (‘main character’) in LECUS, an anagram (‘all over the place’) of ‘clues’.
16 MEDIOCRE Simple holding company I had set up, undistinguished (8)
An envelope (‘holding’) of DIOC, a reversal (‘set up’ in a down light) of CO (‘company’) plus I’D (‘I had’) in MERE (‘simple’).
17 STIMULUS Raised cases involving obstinate type lacking energy and incentive (8)
An envelope (‘involving’) of MUL[e] (‘obstinate type’) minus the E (‘lacking energy’) in STIUS, a reversal (‘raised’ in a down light) of SUITS (‘cases’).
19 AFFORD Bear cost of offer (6)
Double definition.
20 MYRTLE Expression of surprise over gardener’s latest story after loss of a shrub (6)
A charade of MY (‘expression of surprise’) plus R (‘gardeneR‘s latest’) plus T[a]LE (‘story’), minus the S (‘after loss of a’).
23 ALTER Stumble, not following convert (5)
A subtraction: [f]ALTER (‘stumble’) minus the F (‘not following’).
completed grid

14 comments on “Everyman 3,740”

  1. Thankyou PeterO. I had never heard of Ursula Leguin either.

    I get the feeling Everyman may be an engineer in another life. I find doing his puzzles is like  dismantling a tower of building blocks very carefully, remembering which bits go where, so you can put it all together again.

    Great fodder for the anagram in TIME SIGNATURE. And did like the clue for FLYLEAF.

  2. Very enjoyable puzzle. I have heard of Ursula Le Guin but I have not read any of her books.

    My favourites were 9a and 6d.

    Thanks Everyman and Peter

  3. Thanks, Peter. I have never noticed any particular indications that Everyman is a science fiction fan; perhaps he may have been prompted to include Ursula Le Guin by her death earlier this year, which produced a number of newspaper articles discussing her life and work.

  4. Now I didn’t find this one to be too tricky, perhaps par for Everyman. I did know 14ac though, mostly from her links to Star Trek back in the day, and guessed the name from the enumeration, so that was a big help. Last in 2d, I suspect because I never automatically suspect an answer will contain a Q. 🙂

  5. As Ursula le Guin is one of my favourites, I was glad to find that I could disentangle her name in the early hours of Sunday morning even after enjoying a Midsummer’s party rather well. UKlG (she used the initial K on her title page) must be the mistress of anthropological science fiction; her imagined societies are  both diverse and convincing. At present, I’m enjoying “Always Coming Home”, set in a remote future California but reminiscent of pre-Columbian SW USA. Perhaps, her most famous works include “The Left Hand of Darkness”- written years ago but its theme of gender fluidity seeming highly contemporary- “The Dispossessed” and her fantasy “Earthsea” series.

  6. Thank you Everyman and PeterO.

    The name of the science fiction writer did not come to mind, not a genre I read,  but the U had to be for URSULA then the surname went in – apparently she was made Grand Master of Science Fiction in 2003.

    I very much liked the clues for FLYLEAF and TIME SIGNATURE, the same as paddymelon @1 I see.

  7. Very enjoyable as ever with some great surfaces. I particularly liked SHERIFF, OUTDO, ORDERS and TIME SIGNATURE.
    Like Jon, my last one in was CONQUEST preceded by ELUDING. I was convinced that the latter was evading but couldn’t
    make it work. I thought that LUG for projection was quite obscure. There was an old comic who used to say “Pin back yer lugholes”
    but I can’t remember who. Easy enough to find out though.

    Thanks to PeterO and Everyman.

  8. Davy @7

    The catchphrase rang a bell, but I needed a lookup to bring back the name, Cyril Fletcher of the Odd Odes.

  9. Slipped up on 27ac by putting CREEDS for orders. I know I should have questioned it more when I couldn’t parse it, but when you have an answer its hard to think of anything else. I then took an age to complete the NW corner but on reflection there was probably nothing particularly difficult there. Another great crossword. Thanks Everyman and PeterO.

  10. I found this a bit ho hum. Certainly never heard of Ms Le Guin, and I thought 2 and 10 down a little iffy with the synonyms. Maybe I’m just a bit grouchy as I have to deal with an as yet unresolved flat battery this morning.

  11. Enjoyed this. Yes Barrie you must be grouchy. Call the AA.
    I really like the way PeterO sets out the answers. So easy to understand.
    My favourites were Time Signature, flyleaf and highland fling. I haven’t heard of the author either and had to look her up after I parsed Ursula.
    Now must watch some Wimbledon replays.

  12. I too really enjoyed this one and try my hardest to limit any e-help. Sci-fi lit would be my absolute least favourite genre so there was no way I would ever get her name without googling but I did get the Ursula .
    Great clues, none were too obscure, liked Stubborn, Nod off  and Mediocre.

     

  13. Ursula le Guin (14 across) was my first one in.  I am gob-smacked to be told that people have never heard of her.  Rather like never having heard of, say, Joseph Conrad.

    I’d like to add “The Lathe of Heaven” to the titles mentioned by arib@5.

    The Earthsea series, although aimed at “young adults” is a very rewarding read at any age.

    The word “lug” for projection is quite common.  (E.g. lugs on tyres.)

  14. Despite being a sci-fi/fantasy fan is never heard of Ursula but was able to parse the answer using the fodder and crossing letters.

    I got jockey wrong and was unable to parse eluding.

    @Rolf, I’ve not heard of Conrad either! 🙁

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