The puzzle may be found at https://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/everyman/3792.
The new Everyman has a definite predilection for the &lit – that is, a clue which can be read as a whole as wordplay for the answer, or, again as a whole, as the definition.
| Across | ||
| 1 | BENEFITS | Around Tyneside, suits will get perks (8) |
| An envelope (‘around’) of NE (North-East, ‘Tyneside’) in BEFITS (‘suits’). | ||
| 5 | QUICHE | In France, who gets behind cook (not French) offering French dish? (6) |
| A charade of QUI (‘in France, who’) plus CHE[f] (‘cook’) minus the F (‘not French’). In the clue, ‘gets behind’ seems to suggest the reverse order of the particles, but, if read as ‘gets behind it’, is a suitable link. | ||
| 10 | BUSY BEE | Go-getter policeman given basic spelling test (4,3) |
| A charade of BUSY (‘policeman’) plus BEE (‘basic spelling test’). | ||
| 11 | OCEANIA | ‘Dancing On Ice: ‘Australia’ vacuously presenting ‘Polynesia, etc’ (7) |
| An anagram (‘dancing’) of ‘on ice’ plus AA (‘AustraliA vacuously’). | ||
| 12 | LIE-IN | Dishonesty concerning time spent with crossword, perhaps (3-2) |
| A charade of LIE (‘dishonesty’) plus IN (‘concerning’). Not for me: the Guardian and Everyman crosswords reach me in the evening. | ||
| 13 | A BIT STEEP | Slightly inclined to be a little dear (1,3,5) |
| Double definition; ‘dear’ as expensive. | ||
| 14 | ACE IN THE HOLE | A German in each hotel — being prepared is hidden strength (3,2,3,4) |
| An envelope (‘in’) of EIN (‘a German’, the German indefinite article) in ACTHEHOLE, an anagram (‘being prepared’) of ‘each hotel’. | ||
| 16 | JACK-IN-THE-BOX | Give up TV? It’s child’s play (4-2-3-3) |
| Definition and literal interpretation. | ||
| 21 | COMMON ERA | ’Spare mo’ with Cameron? It’s lasted centuries (6,3) |
| An anagram (‘spare’ – set free?) of ‘mo’ plus ‘Cameron’. | ||
| 23 | USHER | Wedding guide more sumptuous with outlay of pounds (5) |
| A subtraction: [l]USHER (‘more sumptuous’) minus the L (‘with outlay of pounds’, slightly cryptic instructions). | ||
| 24 | IWO JIMA | Primarily, it’s where old Japanese infantry met Americans? (3,4) |
| First letters (‘primarily’) of ‘It’s Where Old Japanese Infantry Met Americans’; &lit. | ||
| 25 | GUITARS | What might be plucked, when it’s dipped in refined sugar (7) |
| An envelope (‘dipped in’) of ‘it’ in GUARS, an anagram (‘refined’) of ‘sugar’. | ||
| 26 | NIECES | English seen in Riviera city society with family (6) |
| An envelope (‘seen in’) of E (‘English’) in NICE (French ‘Riviera city’) plus S (‘society’, a common abbreviation, at least in crosswordland). | ||
| 27 | CRANFORD | Victorian novel Conrad frequently reinvented (8) |
| An anagram (‘reinvented’) of ‘Conrad’ plus FR (‘frequently’), for the novel by Elizabeth Gaskell. | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | BUBBLE | Beelzebub, bleeding, hiding blister (6) |
| A hidden answer in ‘BeelzeBUB BLEeding’. | ||
| 2 | NOSHED | Not a single store had food (6) |
| NO SHED (‘not a single store’). | ||
| 3 | FIBONACCI | Maths whiz, wonderfully fab, iconic (9) |
| An anagram (‘wonderfully’) of ‘fab iconic’. | ||
| 4 | THE CAT IN THE HAT | It might be presented as cheetah in that titfer, for starters! (3,3,2,3,3) |
| An anagram (‘it might be presented as’) of ‘cheetah in that’ plus T (‘Titfer for starters’. Would not ‘for a start’ be preferable?). Everyman likes his &lits. | ||
| 6 | USERS | Employers in trouser suits (5) |
| A hidden answer in ‘troUSER Suits’. | ||
| 7 | CONVEYOR | Swindle very cunningly, snatching old type of belt (8) |
| An envelope (‘snatching’) of O (‘old’) in CON (‘swindle’) plus VEYR, an anagram (‘cunningly’) of ‘very’. | ||
| 8 | EXAMPLES | Illustrative warnings make Max sleep fitfully (8) |
| An anagram (‘fitfully’) of ‘max sleep’. | ||
| 9 | DOG IN THE MANGER | In this arrangement, we might see dingo anger them! (3,2,3,6) |
| An anagram (in this arrangement’) of ‘dingo anger them’. There is the intention of an &lit definition, but it is rather tenuous. | ||
| 15 | EVOLUTION | Sturgeon’s aim: Scotland finally off, a natural process (9) |
| A subtraction: [d]EVOLUTION (Nicola ‘Sturgeon‘s aim’ to transfer more power to the Scottish Parliament) minus the D (‘ScotlanD finally off’) | ||
| 16 | EJECTION | Ousting when Liberal drops back two places in poll (8) |
| An unusual device: ELECTION (‘poll’) with the L replaced by J (‘when Liberal drops back two places’ – i.e. L goes two places back in the alphabet). | ||
| 17 | SCHMOOZE | Half of mush to percolate and circulate (8) |
| A charade of SCHM[altz] (‘half of mush’) plus OOZE (‘percolate’). | ||
| 19 | CHEAPO | Mickey Mouse‘s company with a lot invested (6) |
| An envelope (‘with … invested’) of HEAP (‘a lot’) in CO (‘company’). | ||
| 20 | ERASED | Incompetently seared, destroyed the lot (6) |
| An anagram (‘incompetently’) of ‘seared’. | ||
| 22 | OLIVE | No livery includes a yellowish green (5) |
| A hidden answer (‘includes’) in ‘nO LIVEry’ | ||
Thanks PeterO and Everyman. I struggled with 10a because I didn’t know busy as slang for detective, but Chambers did.
Another feature of recent Everyman puzzles appears here: a set of related long entries in symmetrical positions. Here it’s four versions of “X in the Y” at 14a, 16a, 4d and 9d. Two of them feature playing cards, the other two feature animals.
Hm. Got all bar 26a as had 16d as ejecting.
Never heard of Busy for policeman, but figured it.
And where’s the logic in 9d?
My favourite was ACE IN THE HOLE.
I could not parse 17d SCHM/OOZE, or the BUSY in 10a BUSYBEE. I had never heard that BUSY= policeman, and did not even think to look it up in the dictionary as it was off the radar for me, but now I see it there as ‘British informal’.
Thanks Peter and Everyman.
And it’s a pangram.
A much better puzzle than last time, I thought.
I wasn’t sure about “fr / frequently” at 27ac and had to look in several dictionaries before finding it eventually in Chambers. I didn’t care for the DOG IN THE MANGER clue. I don’t think ‘circulate’ is quite sufficient as a definition of SCHMOOZE without a direct reference to the chatting that’s involved.
Enjoying these puzzles, so thanks to the setter. Ihave been wondering though, with references to Hillsborough, Ian Rush and now ‘busy’ for policeman, is the new Everyman from Liverpool?
Thank you Everyman for the piggy in the middle puzzle and PeterO for the helpful blog.
I thought this was great fun. THE CAT IN THE HAT was very stylish, as were the X IN THE Y clues generally. I hadn’t been solving Everyman very long before the changeover, but I think whoever the new one is is really coming into their own now. Thanks to Everyman and PeterO.
I’m afraid I’m still struggling badly with the new Everyman, who is currently taking me longer than Azed to solve. 🙂
I’m with Jon_S @9 here. I found it loose and imprecise. That’s just me, others like it.
Thanks to Everyman and PeterO.
I had some trouble with this but a setting style is becoming apparent. I did complete it though. Loidis@6 I was born in Liverpool and grew up there. I don’t remember a policeman being referred to as a BUSY although I did know the term. I did leave in the early seventies so it could be a more recent usage. Scousers don’t all like football either!
We are getting it done fairly ok, but we are with Skinny, we are finding it all a bit tenuous, Dog in the manger is a good example, surely “in this arrangement” could be improved on? My wife and I now shrug, and say, well this is what we find. Time and time again. Second guessing is the name of the game. I think he is so keen to be up to the nanosecond, that his better judgement ebbs frequently. not at all impressed, I’m afraid.
Late to the party but two things.
F is not a valid abbreviation for ‘French’ (5ac).
It’s like Chifonie inventing his own abbreviations.
21ac is awful: a dubious anagram indicator followed by a definition that contains ‘lasted’, past tense.
The Common Era is not over yet, methinks.
Those who think this crossword was better than last week’s should perhaps think again.
Oh, and 27ac is really an(other) indirect anagram since FR = ‘frequently’ is far from obvious.
Sil @13
Points taken, with one exception: in 21A, ‘it lasted centuries’ would say that it is over, but not, as the clue has it, ‘it’s lasted centuries’.
A quick note on 21a: surely we’re meant to think “spare” in the sense of “insane”, or as Chambers puts it, “furious or distraught to the point of distraction.” That works as an anagrind for me.
Even later to the party.
Apart from our friends down under probably hardly anyone will read this.
Peter, thanks for putting me right on the COMMON ERA definition.
I talked about it with my (English) crossword partner and she noticed that, on earlier occasions, I was not always using the ‘present perfect’ the way I should.
She also told me that – unlike in some other (European) languages, including my mother tongue – in English it is not indicating what’s in the past but was it is until now.
And, Ted, as to the anagram indicator in 21ac (‘spare’), my 13th edition of Chambers only refers to the expression ‘go spare’ in that sense. Supported by Collins.
Strictly speaking, the indicator may be right but I have a feeling that our Everyman (perhaps, too) often likes to avoid the old and aim for the new.
Just like he apparently wants to balance on the tightropes of Indirect Anagram Territory.
I always like setters who stick out their necks but not at all costs.
That’s perhaps why this Everyman unsettles me.
Thought 27a was a letterbank (frequently reinvented), but that might be because setters on my side of the pond like Cox & Rathvon and Kosman & Picciotto have been using more letterbanks lately.
Sil has nailed it: this setter is unsettling. Everyman should not be a vehicle for pushing the envelope. A good variety of devices, absolutely, but edginess such as ‘spare’ as an anagrind and a partial indirect anagram in 27 across – coupled with a definition that is arguably not common knowledge – should not be in a crossword such as this.
On the plus side, Jack in the box was nice. And good luck everyone at the cricket.
I am beginning to get used to this setter, but there are some clues here that I could not parse at all. 17 d was an example. How are we expected to know that schmaltz is mush? I had a smile at 18 though. So for me it was a crossword of both likes and hates.
Go the Black Caps!
23, 24 ac and 15 down all brought a smile to my face. Enjoying the crossword and getting more used to them every week. Many thanks PeterO and Everyman.
I enjoyed this one apart from 17D. Would rather half of school spill out after mass.
Looking forward to the cricket.
I enjoyed the challenge to get as many clues as i could here . Had similar wrangles as others, never knew Cranford so would not have got that.Never heard of a Busy for a PC, I didn’t particularly like 19d or 17d. But liked Jack in the Box, A Bit Steep and Guitars….at first I couldn’d get Grouse out of my head. Is Fr really ok for frequently ?
Big weekend in the UK with amazing sports performers on court and on pitch Cheering on success for Serena and Roger but most importantly the underdog blackcaps…wouldnt it just be amazing if …..
Swatty@4 What is a pangram?
Stephanie Fleming @23
It is a crossword, like this one, in which the answers contain all the letters of the alphabet at least once.
A lot of this puzzle was easy, but I found 27 across and 19 down impossible. I’d never heard of the novel “Cranford”, and “fr” for “frequently? Come on; give me a break, eh? Only got 17 down by means of a wildcard dictionary; could not parse it at all.
Just for the record, Cranford was a TVSeries on NZ TV some years ago. That was how I knew this answer. I think Judie Dench was in it.