Another sound enough offering from Everyman this morning, but with one clue where the instruction is missing and a few – in my opinion at least – with rather random surface readings.
There is, as we have come to expect, a bit of a theme, and today’s is a religious one. Across the top we have FOR HEAVEN’S SAKE and across the bottom, FOR THE HELL OF IT. Given that all those that believe in that supernatural mumbo-jumbo would have heaven as ‘up there’ and hell as ‘down there’, that’s appropriate; even more so when you see that PURGATORY is conveniently situated halfway between the two. I think the religion of choice is Roman Catholicism, since PURGATORY is essentially an RC construct, where if you’ve been bad but not very very bad, you can be prepared for the state of grace that allows you to enter heaven. My theory is backed up by the fact that we have PONTIFF and INNOCENT I elsewhere in the grid (ERRED, SIN, and OUR FATHER also feature). The fact that AYATOLLAH is also there somewhat dents this hypothesis.
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 Tiddly oaf never shakes? I don’t believe it
FOR HEAVEN’S SAKE
(OAF NEVER SHAKES)* with ‘tiddly’ as the anagrind.
10 Brief gives bum steer
TERSE
(STEER)* with ‘bum’ as the anagrind.
11 Spice Girl given cautions about counterfeit goods
FORGERIES
An insertion of GERI (originally Halliwell, and one of the Spice Girls) in FORES, the plural of a warning given by hobbyists hitting a small white ball with a stick.
12 Traditional intro in Raiders remake
DEAR SIR
(RAIDERS)* with ‘remake’ as the anagrind.
13 Web implicated, diet abandoned where people eat
DINETTE
An insertion of NET in (DIET)* with ‘abandoned’ as the anagrind and ‘implicated’ as the insertion indicator.
14 ‘Uh’ sound elicited by kitsch wardrobe
SCHWA
A rather random surface reading (it’s not putting a picture in my head, put it that way), but it’s hidden (‘elicited’?) in kitSCH WArdrobe. The SCHWA is a short, neutral, generally unstressed vowel sound, represented as an upside down ‘e’ in the International Phonetic Alphabet. It’s extremely common in English, but less so in other European languages. For many speakers, it’s the ‘a’ sound in ‘a book’ or in ‘about’; or the ‘o’ sound in ‘memory’; or the last syllable in ‘father’ (but not if you have a rhotic accent, and let’s not go there, otherwise it’ll be getting dark.) So ‘uh’ is a fair transliteration of it, which is what Everyman has used in his clue.
16 Arbitration with no time for deep thought
MEDIATION
MEDI[T]ATION
19 Suffering when a conservative follows heartless, reactionary group
PURGATORY
A charade of GR[O]UP reversed and TORY. The middle letter removal indicator is ‘heartless’ and the reversal indicator is ‘reactionary’.
20 Act immorally with American in snotty enclosure
SINUS
A charade of SIN and US.
22 On ‘scone’, rendering given by reactionaries
NEOCONS
An extremely random surface reading. (ON SCONE)* with ‘rendering’ as the anagrind.
25 Batman’s seen in this hoax in American resort
CAPE COD
A charade of CAPE for the superhero’s outerwear and COD.
27 Bisected protozoan – 50% missing very soon
IN HALF A MO
I don’t think I would ever say this phrase exactly, but it’s a charade of IN HALF for ‘bisected’ and AMO[EBA].
28 Nannies essentially depicted in musical movie
ANNIE
[N]ANNIE[S]
29 Bashed fifth toe? Holler just because you can
FOR THE HELL OF IT
(FIFTH TOE HOLLER)* with ‘bashed’ as the anagrind.
Down
2 Early bit of devotion: rousing her at four
OUR FATHER
(HER AT FOUR)* with ‘rousing’ as the anagrind. ‘Early’ struck me as not entirely necessary, but the prayer has been around a long time, even in English. Here’s the OE version:
3 Cobbler does this for despicable people
HEELS
A dd.
4 Amoral foe tampered with sports car
ALFA ROMEO
(AMORAL FOE)* with ‘tampered with’ as the anagrind.
5 Wild deer on both sides of river went astray
ERRED
An insertion of R in (DEER)* The anagrind is ‘wild’ and the insertion indicator is ‘on both sides of’.
6 Big mugs muffled passage on fancy keyboard instruments
STEINWAYS
An insertion of WAY in STEINS. The insertion indicator is ‘muffled’.
7 Fatalist will lose weight to become famous
A-LIST
[FAT]ALIST.
8 Oriental festival supported by nationalist
EASTERN
Since it’s a down clue, it’s N supporting EASTER.
9 Quarrelling dads to wrestle
AT ODDS
(DADS TO)* with ‘wrestle’ as the anagrind.
15 Religious leader with a ‘tally-ho!’: a maverick
AYATOLLAH
(A TALLY HO A)* with ‘maverick’ as the anagrind.
17 Seat of learning choosy lad declined
DAY SCHOOL
(CHOOSY LAD)* with ‘declined’ as the unlikely anagrind. The puzzle is getting a bit anagram-heavy, I fancy.
18 19, simple-minded one
INNOCENT I
This isn’t ideal in any puzzle, let alone a prize one. It would have been helpful to know that we were looking at 19dn and not 19ac, n’est-ce pas? A charade of INNOCENT and I for ‘one’. He was PONTIFF between 401AD and 417AD. A lack of editing, I think. Oh, hang on, the Everyman series doesn’t have an editor …
19 Religious leader quiet concerning difference of opinion
PONTIFF
A charade of P for the musical ‘quiet’, ON and TIFF
21 Primarily, somewhere you don’t necessarily expect Yukonese?
SYDNEY
The first letters of the last six words of the clue and an extended if rather bizarre definition. I can’t find ‘Yukonese’ in any authority, but I’m presuming Everyman is referring to people from Yukon.
23 As an alternative, including the alternative
OTHER
An insertion of THE in OR for ‘alternative’ in the second part of the clue.
24 Small potatoes!? A tremendous success!
SMASH
A charade of S and MASH. Interrobangs should be banned, imho.
26 Scotsman in post office, one of 6
PIANO
The mythical – or at least archetypal – Scotsman, IAN, is inserted into PO to give you what 6dn is an example of.
Many thanks to Everyman for this week’s puzzle.
My favourite was 27a IN HALF A MO.
For 2d, Early bit of devotion – I thought it referred to the words Our Father being at the start of the Lord’s Prayer.
I was fine with INNOCENT I. I justgoogked Yukonese and it popped up in some sites, but not dictionaries.
Thanks Everyman and Pierre.
In 5dn it seems that it’s the enumeration alongside the clue that will decide that we need not have to insert a four-letter anagram of DEER on both sides of river.
just saw my typo above @ 1
should be: I just googled Yukonese
Thanks both. Much better than the previous offering IMHO.
I was happy with 18d. If I am solving a down clue my and see “19” I assume it’s 19 down.
Michelle, you are no doubt right – the ‘early’ bit in the clue for OUR FATHER is just referring to the fact that it’s the opening line.
I really enjoyed this. Having “heaven”, “purgatory” and “hell” in their respective positions was clever. And I thought 15d AYATOLLAH was very good.
Overall I thought it was just about the right level for an Everyman.
I also enjoyed this. Perhaps 22a refers to the raid on Scone by William Wallace, the First War of Scottish Independence – hmm…
Quite enjoyable but still a few loose definitions. I found this the easiest Everyman of the new era. You have gone up in my estimation Pierre and mumbo-jumbo it is indeed. The terms up and down for heaven and hell, have no absolute meaning considering the rotation and orbit of the earth.
Thanks to Pierre and Everyman. To be gender-neutral, isn’t it time that Everyman identified itself.
Just to be pendantic, Pierre, your explanation of 19a is missing the A that precedes TORY in the solution
Oops, should add my thanks to Pierre and Everyman …
I would have preferred “one side of river” or “either side of river” in 5d; the clue as written seems to call for an extra R. I too wondered about “early” in 2d, but Michelle @1 cleared it up as far as I’m concerned.
This was a DNF for me, as I’m embarrassed to say I couldn’t spot FORGERIES. With the crossers, it should have been dead obvious.
Despite this, and despitethe admittedly Dadaist surfaces of some clues, I thought this was an enjoyable puzzle.
Thanks to Pierre and Everyman.
Absolutely no problem with two or more deer being on both sides of a river, and the four letters in deer being split up and put on both sides of r.
Yukonese though…
In case it’s not clear, my problem is that “both sides of river” seems to me to mean RR, so it seems to lead to an answer with three Rs (including the one from “deer”).
Sorry — I just realized I was being stupid. “On both sides of” has a completely different function in the clue, and the R is simply the usual abbreviation for “river”. I withdraw my quibble.
Compared with recent weeks (months even) I positively romped through this one, and felt that perhaps the new Everyman might be getting into his (her?) stride. It helps, of course, that I’m getting used to the new style, but generally I thought this was pretty acceptable and bodes well for the future. Nothing I would really quibble with, though I had to look up ‘neocons’ having decided it must exist.
Twelve anagrams (half or whole) is double what is acceptable imho.
A number of nothing surfaces.
A-List doesn’t mean famous, it’s where famous people appear. The adjective and noun are both A-lister.
The WP in 23D is flawed, how can you read ‘including the alternative’ to mean ‘or includes the’?
These crosswords are simply not up to snuff for the standards Everyman should set.
I think the definition in 23d is actually ‘alternative’. The OR is a synonym for ‘as an alternative’.
In 2d I first took ‘early bit of devotion’ to mean the prayer we are taught at a young age. Your reading is neater considering the ‘bit’ – though it could have a double meaning.
Thanks Pierre and Everyman.
Oh, great, the Herald has repeated this useless crossword this week.
Whoops, perhaps I did it on line when we were denied the right one last week?
Romped through this one. A bit anagram heavy, I’d agree, but an enjoyable solve nevertheless.
@Barrie, no problem with a-list for me. Celebrities are often referred to as ‘a-listers’.
Many thanks Everyman and Pierre.
I thought it was an OK crossword, I don’t seem to get many chuckles with this setter though. Never heard of neocons.
Before I started it I checked online to make sure we had the correct puzzle this week. Luckily someone seems to have taken notice of the letters some of us wrote to the Herald last week. At least I hope so..
Another good crossword I thought. Just the right challenge for me.
Thanks Pierre & Everyman.
Well done Audrey for writing to the Herald. I had every intention but…
This week was certainly easier for me, I am going to say I’m getting smarter but next week could be a stinker! Thanks to all concerned.
I read “Early bit of devotion” to mean that it’s the early part, i.e. the beginning, of the Prayer.