Everyman 3762/18 November

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Another accessible, well-constructed puzzle from Everyman.

 

 

 

Abbreviations
cd cryptic definition
dd double definition
cad clue as definition
(xxxx)* anagram
anagrind = anagram indicator
[x] letter(s) removed

definitions are underlined

Across

1 Forceful machine one steered in quiet waterway
PILE DRIVER
An insertion of I LED in P and RIVER.

6 See second best round
SPOT
A charade of S and TOP reversed.

9 House style according to declaration
MANOR
A homophone of MANNER for ‘style’ as in ‘to the manner (sic) born’.

10 Scrambled over a dune, making an effort
ENDEAVOUR
(OVER A DUNE)*

12 Part of building above foundations getting great new rust remedy – about time
SUPERSTRUCTURE
A typical Everyman multi-part clue: SUPER for ‘great’, (RUST)* and T inserted into CURE.

13 Roll into hearing in court
TRIBUNAL
An insertion of BUN in TRIAL.

15 Dull affair having no end
MATTE
MATTE[R]

17 Reel around in circles
LOOPS
A reversal of SPOOL.

19 Final section from record, one left by villain, not right
EPILOGUE
A charade of EP, I, L and [R]OGUE.

21 Heat’s damaged container, perhaps, depending on circumstances
AS THE CASE MAY BE
Another multi-part charade: (HEATS)* followed by CASE, followed by MAYBE.

24 Bed occupied by male with obvious illness
COMPLAINT
An insertion of M and PLAIN in COT.

25 Area in pub became finally empty
INANE
An insertion of A in INN followed by E for the last letter of ‘became’.

26 Weighty book from my perspective
TOME
It seems to me, that is from my perspective, that this is a good clue.

27 Sharp sequence in neat broadcast
ASTRINGENT
An insertion of STRING in (NEAT)*

Down

1 Quiz round avoided by learner
PUMP
P[L]UMP

2 Weariness in tips from orator after speech giving age away
LANGUOR
A charade of LANGU[AGE] and OR for the outside letters of ‘orator’.

3 Lacy blue dress designed for dancer
DARCEY BUSSELL
(LACY BLUE DRESS)* gives you one of the great British ballerinas. She’s also on the telly now, apparently.

4 Diplomacy without force supported by northern church, basically
IN ESSENCE
A charade of [F]INESSE and N CE.

5 Colour that is picked up in bird frequenting coastal area
EIDER
Excellent. A reversal of RED and IE for id est or ‘that is’. The UK’s heaviest duck, and as the clue says found almost exclusively in coastal areas. My favourite spot to see them is the Northumberland coast. Here’s the obligatory Pierre bird link. And yes, it is the source of the word EIDERDOWN.

7 Point about staff copper raised, getting result
PRODUCT
An insertion of ROD, and CU reversed, in PT.

8 Aimed at gain in trade all over the place
TARGETED
An insertion of GET in (TRADE)*

11 Compromise? Hotel for instance offers it
ACCOMMODATION
A dd. You can ‘accommodate’ someone when you put them up, but you can also ‘accommodate’ their ideas.

14 Garland around tree’s not normally seen in city
LEICESTER
A charade of the Hawaiin ‘garland’, LEI, C for circa or ‘around’ and (TREES)* for the city so moved by the terrible accident a few weeks ago.

16 Definite corruption of cruel act
CLEAR-CUT
(CRUEL ACT)*

18 Choose centre for holiday with mother? Perfect
OPTIMUM
A charade of OPT, I for the middle letter of ‘holiday’ and MUM.

20 Universal fury about doctor causing offence
UMBRAGE
An insertion of MB for ‘doctor’ in U and RAGE.

22 False name, sadly, one admitted
ALIAS
An insertion of I in ALAS.

23 Garment in attractive style
VEST
Hidden in attractiVE STyle.

Many thanks to Everyman as always.

15 comments on “Everyman 3762/18 November”

  1. Thanks both. Good puzzle, and at last a bird for you, Pierre
    [I remember editing an insert for Blue Peter featuring 3d about 30 years ago, when she first burst onto the ballet scene. I feel very old!]

  2. As good as always, on the easier side I thought for Everyman. 12ac caused me problems at the close, but the rest went in without too much ado.

  3. Thank you Everyman and Pierre.

    Sadly I did not know the ballerina, my knowledge stops at Alicia Markova, Margot Fonteyn and Moira Shearer, but the bird for Pierre cheered me up.

  4. I didn’t get to do this puzzle  but always enjoy reading Pierre’s blogs, so thanks to him [and to Everyman, for what seems like an enjoyable solve].

    Special thanks for Pierre’s comment re LEICESTER, which I’ve seen clued in various ways over the last few years. We’ve certainly had our ups and downs lately. Glad you got your bird link. 😉

    Cookie @3 – my list of ballerinas would stop at yours  – but for DARCEY BUSSELL [super clue!],  who will appear on TV within the hour, as a judge of ‘Strictly come dancing’, which you may just have heard of – required weekend viewing for some of us.  😉

  5. Eileen @4, I thought of you when I solved 14d  and later read the blog, and wondered if you would have seen this Everyman – nowadays I am completely out of touch with television, family working hours mean that I am cooking during the main evening programmes, but fortunately the concerts on the wireless are marvelous, and with age I am appreciating just one  faculty being stimulated at a time…

  8. A few tricky ones. I didn’t get 1 d either Paul, nor 9 ac. I had heard of Darcey Bussell even though we don’t get Strictly Come Dancing in NZ any more unfortunately.
    Liked 12 ac and 26 ac.

  9. Found this very hard.  Never heard of Darcey Bussell; thought that was too obscure.  But got it from the cross letters, finally, and used Google to verify that “Darcey Bussell” was indeed a dancer.

    A lot of the other clues were tricky, but got them all out after some struggle.

  10. Great crossword this one (again). Did it ( some of it anyway) online on the plane – shortened the journey somewhat. Really liked ‘tome’. Just shows that sometimes the shortest can be the best. Hadn’t heard of Darcey either but managed it from the crosses towards the end. She’s not that well known here but what would you expect in the colonies! Thanks to all.

  11. Had to verify 1D and the great Dame but got everything apart from not picking the roll in 13A. Doh! Shame, would have been a nice pdm.

    Biffed 12A without bothering to unpack, it had to be right.

    Thanks all. God, only one more Everyman before Christmas.

    Has anyone seen any good books of crosswords recently?

  12. Managed to get this out but not overly impressed with the cluing for 1d. The way it is written suggests you’re removing “ROUND” from “LEARNER” instead of the other way around.

  14. Barrie I agree with Rats. I go to the Everyman back catalogue (I think I started at 3,000 – 2004 vintage) & print off 5 at a time. That’s the John Scott era I think which took a bit of getting used to at first. More cryptic definitions & fewer convoluted multipart clues. Only drawback is there was no 225 in those days which is half of the fun. I’ll be stocking up for Christmas at Tutukaka.

  15. I also missed 1d and 9ac
    The dancer took me two days to find but I was determined to find him or her. I had to unconvince myself the first name was not Audrey or Aubrey
    Am obviously fuzzy brained fm Xmas festivities already
    The ones I found hard I found really hard but weirdly did eventually get 1ac but v late. Faves also 26ac 20d 18d

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