The Everyman crossword is definitely improving. There were some nice clues here, and I only had a few very slight doubts in places, as you’ll see in the blog. More like the old Everyman: not all that difficult but sound and a good starting puzzle.
Definitions in crimson italics. Indicators (anagrams, hidden, homophone etc) in blue italics. Anagrams indicated like (this)* or occasionally *(this)
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | MANCHESTER |
The Northern cream’s gathered – its inhabitants would say! (10)
|
| (The N cream’s)* — cream = elite, and the inhabitants of Manchester would say that their town is where the Northern elite gathers — there was a discussion recently somewhere about whether you could (as here) have an abbreviation in a set of letters to be anagrammed; my feeling is that the practice is pretty widespread and it doesn’t worry me, but I know it does worry some — clever clue but is ‘gathered’ really good enough as an anagram indicator | ||
| 6 | AS IF |
Incredulous utterance, Anglo-Saxon, loud: Everyman’s entertained (2,2)
|
| AS (I) f — AS = Anglo-Saxon, f = forte, loud in music, and Everyman = I, the person who is setting this crossword. Everyman has wasted no time in including that self-reference. | ||
| 9 | GET-UP-AND-GO |
Fire outfit with old German first (3-2-3-2)
|
| get-up and o with G just before the o — get-up = outfit, and = with, G = German just as o = old | ||
| 10 | ARTS |
Regularly narrates tricks (4)
|
| [n]a[r]r[a]t[e]s | ||
| 12 | YOURE WAY OFF |
Solver, doubtful: ‘Weary of France? That’s not right‘ (5,3,3)
|
| you *(Weary of) F — ‘you’ is the solver, F = France | ||
| 15 | BANGS ON |
Exactly, son’s trapped rabbits (5,2)
|
| bang (s) on — exactly = bang on | ||
| 16 | TEHERAN |
City state her analysis covers (7)
|
| Hidden in staTE HER ANalysis | ||
| 17 | RHUBARB |
Regret insult that’s spoken: nonsense! (7)
|
| “rue barb” | ||
| 19 | MAN CAVE |
Troglodyte’s back to front in dad’s happy place? (3,4)
|
| If ‘cave man’ (a troglodyte) is back to front (well not exactly back to front, but we know what’s meant) it becomes ‘man cave’, a term that was new to me, but a spot of Googling explains | ||
| 20 | GASTRONOMIC |
Gourmet: ‘Good, great’ (11)
|
| g astronomic — my first thought was that this was wrong and that a gastronomic was not a gourmet (a gastronome is), but in fact it’s fine: ‘Gourmet’ is an adjective, as in ‘a gourmet meal’ | ||
| 23 | NAIL |
Brad‘s secure (4)
|
| 2 defs — a brad (that carpentry thing like a screw or a tack) is a nail, to secure something is to nail it | ||
| 24 | FAVOURITES |
Sat about with our five pets (10)
|
| (Sat our five)* — the ‘about’, which is the anagram indicator, applies to ‘Sat’ and ‘our five’, rather an unusual case of an anagram indicator coming in the middle of the words it applies to | ||
| 25 | LONE |
Single sub announced (4)
|
| “loan” | ||
| 26 | LIGHT-YEARS |
A bit flighty, earsplitting, needing distance (5-5)
|
| Hidden in fLIGHTY EARSplitting — ‘needing’ is just a link -word with no significance of its own; it can be justified perhaps as being equivalent to ‘what you need to find is:’ | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | MAGI |
Wise men one publication introduces (4)
|
| Mag 1 — a mag is a magazine — the Three Wise Men | ||
| 2 | NUTS |
Crazy? Oh no! (4)
|
| 2 defs, the first to a pretty standard synonym for mad, the second to a word that has I should have thought only come from America in the fairly recent past | ||
| 3 | HAPPY AS LARRY |
Merry, Ray plays harp drunkenly (5,2,5)
|
| (Ray plays harp)* | ||
| 4 | SUNBURN |
Mouldy buns leading to runs in a French holiday’s discomfort? (7)
|
| *(buns) u(r)n — mouldy the anagram indicator, r = runs (cricket), ‘a French’ = ‘un’ | ||
| 5 | EDGIEST |
Most provocative side get beaten (7)
|
| (side get)* | ||
| 7 | SERBOCROAT |
What’s spoken extensively: Romania, Bosnia (obviously), Czech Republic (officially accepted) – that’s just for starters! (5-5)
|
| We’re back to the first letters clue that had become a nice standard in the new Everyman until last week, when it seemed they were discontinuing it — s{poken] e{xtensively] R[omania] … — the difficulty for setters is that there are not all that many first letters indicators: after you’ve used ‘primarily’, ‘at first’, ‘initially’, and ‘to begin with’ and ones involving ‘start’ you’re down to ones like that used here, which is a big giveaway; not that it matters I suppose | ||
| 8 | FISH FINGER |
Prepared fresh fig in child’s fare (4,6)
|
| *(fresh fig in) — I’m not sure it’s really child’s fare; there must be many adults who secretly rather like fish fingers and have them from time to time | ||
| 11 | CASH-AND-CARRY |
Wholesaler‘s current account with booze comedian’s drunk (4-3-5)
|
| CA shand(Carr)y — CA = current account, the booze is shandy and the comedian is I suppose Jimmy Carr (in the absence of any other would-be Carr comedians) | ||
| 13 | ABORIGINAL |
Native struck oil bargain (10)
|
| *(oil bargain) | ||
| 14 | IN QUESTION |
Hearing positive little thing being discussed (2,8)
|
| inquest ion — the hearing is an inquest, the positive little thing is an ion | ||
| 18 | BENGALI |
Being heartless fighter, S Asian (7)
|
| Be[i]ng Ali — referring to Muhammad Ali | ||
| 19 | MAMMOTH |
Mother, insect’s enormous (7)
|
| Mam moth — Mam = mother, not the first abbreviation for ‘mother’ one thinks of — since ‘enormous’ is an adjective ‘mammoth’ is one also | ||
| 21 | ETNA |
Stakes raised: it’s hot in Sicily (4)
|
| (ante)rev. — referring to Mount Etna, the volcano in Sicily, ‘raised’ because it’s a down clue | ||
| 22 | USES |
Employs punsters now and then (4)
|
| [p]u[n]s[t]e[r]s |
Just as you said, John. YOU’RE WAY OFF was nice, as was IN QUESTION.. LARRY helped me with CARRY – though I have no idea who Jimmy Carr is. Thanks, John and Everyman.
Enjoyed this.
My last ones in were RHUBARB and IN QUESTION which were two of my favourites – took me ages to get BENGALI but once I did I finally got those two.
Also liked BANGS ON, ETNA, CASH AND CARRY and thought LIGHT-YEARS was nicely hidden.
Thanks Everyman and John
Thanks Everyman.
There was the long rhyming pair as well. I also looked sideways at GASTRONOMIC before thinking much the same adjectival way.
I suspect your comedian suggestion is right, in which case I give the clue an 8 out of 10.
Thanks for the comprehensive blog John.
I liked 14 though an ION could also be a “negative little thing”. Also noticed the anagram in 5D makes for dodgy grammar in the surface. Minor quibbles for an enjoyable solve. Thanks John & Everyman.
14 could have added “while ths cat’s away”.
Thanks for the blog , I agree totally with your summary.
For 1Ac the N is actually in the clue so no problem for me. Recently we had cu for copper then an anagram which I do not like because the u is not in the original clue.
I agree with John this was like an Everyman of the past which I used to enjoy. The last two weeks have been excellent. Thank you.
I agree with John, this seemed like an Everyman from the past which I so enjoyed. The last two weeks have had excellent crosswords. Thank you.
Thanks Everyman, and thanks John. I agree this was a good one from Everyman, an enjoyable solve.
7 – I’d say the long ‘primarily’ clue is best thought of as a running joke – it’s one that I always look for and enjoy in Everyman puzzles (and missed it last week). It’s less about the cryptic challenge and more about Everyman having a bit of fun coming up with an amusing surface, so for me it really doesn’t matter that it’s a ‘giveaway’. And I approve of this week’s effort.
8 – Secretly? Not for me – I’m an unashamed fan!
11 – I assumed Jimmy CARR but could also be Alan of that ilk (no relation). Works fine either way.
19 – It may depend where you come from… In some parts of the UK, it would very much be the first abbreviation you’d think of for mother.
1ac – I’m with Roz @6 on this. If Everyman had, say, used the usual setter’s trick of ‘point’ to indicate a compass direction, that would have been unacceptable, but it’s OK as done here.
My 1st one completed with no mistakes and not even any cheating : ) thanks to everyone here! Would never have managed without u all…
I suppose it’s a case of “people who like this kind of thing will like this kind of thing”. To me it feels like all semblances of wit, originality, and innovation are being systematically eradicated from Everyman. This was the first puzzle In ages where I didn’t have a single tick against a clue.
Very pleasant Sunday morning entertainment as usual. Personally I think the style and standard have been fairly consistent. Bodycheetah @11, you didn’t think there was any wit in 1a for example? It certainly raised a smile with me.
As discussed two or three weeks ago I have absolutely no problem with an abbreviation in anagram fodder. In fact one of my all-time favourite clues used this (Picaroon in Guardian 26,177, 7 February 2014):
New ref took latitude, playing advantage for Eden Hazard (4,2,9)
Many thanks Everyman and John.
Widdersbel@ 9 re 19. Coming from downunder I’m not sure if that should be spelt Mam, or Ma’am. Maybe I should ask Prince Harry?
I get a kick out of the primaries and the double rhyme. This week’s the happy chappies Larry and Carry.
[I know we’re not supposed to speak about a ‘live’ ‘prize’ but today’s was even better.]
Well done Cara@ 10, the first of many I am sure. The important thing for crosswords is practice and being stubborn.
I thought booze was a bit of a stretch for shandy. Who is or was Larry, and why was he so happy? An enjoyable solve in the archetypal Everyman mould, I thought.
[ Lord Jim @ 12 the L from latitude is in the clue so fine by me, like today. It is substitutions that can be a problem, especially chemical symbols. ]
paddymelon @13 – mam for mother is common in the north of England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland. It’s mostly mum or mummy in the rest of England. Or mater if you’re unfortunate enough to be one of Jacob Rees-Mogg’s offspring.
Ma’am is a different word altogether.
Mam is fine – anyone from Northern cream would know (or anyone who watches Corrie).
Regarding 8D, FISH FINGERS – it’s rare to see a child’s menu, particularly at a chain pub, which doesn’t feature fish fingers. On the other hand, I’ve only seen fish fingers on the main menu twice: both in sandwich form, where one was in a modest café and the other was some nostalgia-driven boutique reimagining. Taking the definition of “fare” as “food served in restaurants”, I’d argue that it is certainly “child’s fare”.
I am another who much enjoyed this. I thought the clue for LIGHT-YEARS didn’t need “needing”; it could just have been “A bit of flighty, earsplitting distance.” I also thought that an ion might well be negative. In fact, is it not the case that for most compounds you have to have both in order to produce a neutral atom? I find many of the primarily clues are often astonishingly accurate CADs as well, as this one was. That ticks the box
for me. Many thanks to Everyman and to John.
Another person here to complain about 14d: a “ion” is any charged particle, a positively charged particle is specifically a “cation” (an ion attracted to the cathode, just as a negatively charged particle, attracted to the anode, is an “anion”)
A case where specialist knowledge puts one at a disadvantage due to the looseness of the clueing…
Pleasant puzzle, thank you Everyman and John.
1a MANCHESTER makes no sense to me — I’m obviously ignorant of something important. What is Northern cream? What would they say in Manchester?
I think the whole positive/negative matter in 14dn could easily have been avoided with something like ‘Hearing little thing being discussed’, perhaps hotting it up so that the surface is a bit better.
Valentine@22: ‘Cream’ is a synonym of ‘elite’: I’ll amend the blog to explain this.
Valentine@22 people in Manchester would claim that their city is where ” the Northern cream ” is gathered.
Cream = elite as John says.
Some years ago, the Boddingtons brewery ran an advertising campaign with the slogan “The Cream of Manchester”. I did wonder if Everyman had this in mind when writing the clue.
[Although any aficionado would know that Marble makes the best beers in Manchester these days.]
Well remembered widdersbel@25, I remember the posters and TV adverts when I was young, someone told me once the brewery was at Strangeways by the prison.
Thanks, John and Roz — I did know that “elite” meant “cream,” but I didn’t know about the elitism, real or imagined, of Manchester. I did find myself wondering whether there was a rock band called “Northern Cream”.
Re ION, I thought Paul in Tutukaka’s suggestion @5 was a great idea – ‘while the cat’s away’ would take the cat out of the cation.
John’s suggestion @23 would also avoid the positive/negative problem, but it would leave us with ION = ‘little thing’, which is a pretty difficult equivalence for an Everyman. ‘Little thing’ could make you think bit, mite, iota, scrap, morsel, speck, crumb – or, if you were going down a scientific path – atom, molecule, proton, neutron, electron, even boson or quark might come to mind before ‘ion’. I think for most lay people (with a little science knowledge), ion = charged particle – so, paradoxically, even though ‘positive little thing’ isn’t (necessarily) true, it was actually quite helpful in getting me to the correct answer.
Valentine @27: I like the idea of Northern Cream as a rock combo – Eric Clapton meets the Brighouse & Rastrick Brass Band? 😉
Thanks for an enjoyable puzzle and blog, Everyman and John.
Valentine and essexboy. I can’t help but think of creme brulee from the League of Gentlemen.
essexboy @ 28
I agree with you about ion = charged particle helping to solve the clue. While I know that an ion can be positive or negative, if the clue had just had “little thing” I wouldn’t have known where to start whereas “positive little thing” made me immediately think of ion.
MrEssexboy @28 you missed out leptons and of course neutrinos .
Personally I think positive little thing is fine, some ions are positive little things, it does not have to mean that they all are.
On a universal scale the vast majority of ions are positive.
Thanks Fiona Anne @30. Roz @31: interesting – so the whole universe has a net positive charge? Also, don’t we still need a ‘definition by example’ indicator?
[Petert @29: Yes! You can even buy the merchandise online. ‘Turn heads at the urinals with the official Voodoo Lady Tour T-shirt!’]
[ Not a net positive charge no, probably zero due to early CPT invariance. Most of the baryonic (ordinary ) matter is in stars, our solar system about 98% of mass in the sun. Of this about 40 % in the core which is a plasma, positive ions ( nuclei ) and free electrons, net charge zero. Solar atmosphere far more positive ions than negative plus some more free electrons. Basically at high temperatures , atoms will lose electrons not gain them.]
Definition by example – I try not to be too critical of Everyman clues, I think this one works fine.
[Ah OK, so the positive ions are balanced by the free electrons? Fascinating stuff, thanks Roz (I had to look up CPT invariance!). Crosswords and cosmology – what a delightful combination.]
[Yes exactly , the sun overall will be virtually neutral. CPT violation is actually my specialist subject but a bit heavy for here.]
Roz @14 wise words indeed…thank you!
Really enjoyed this one today, Happy As Larry & Cash And Carry were great. Overall really great – thank you from lockdown Auckland!!
Agree, this was much better than some of the Everyman crosswords of late.
1a was gettable from the fodder but otherwise made no sense, and I’d not heard of a Brad.
Everything else fine, even the surfaces were improved. Begs the question – again – is this really one setter?
Well Barrie, I have heard of Brads. My husband used to be a builder.
Not a bad crossword. Getting closer to my level.
That’s good, Audrey.
Lovely day, sorry there’s no bowls for you.