A good crossword from Everyman this week. No major criticisms and few minor.
Definitions underlined, in crimson. Indicators (anagrams, homophones, hidden, etc) in italics. Anagrams indicated *(like this) or (this)*. I’d like to indicate the link-words in some way, but my fear is that I’ll make it all so complicated that it will be pointless; however, I’ll make them green (actually there aren’t many — the sign of good tight setting). Let me know if this helps.
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | RULES ARE RULES |
When dancing, use rural reels: that’s how it has to be (5,3,5)
|
| *(use rural reeds) | ||
| 8 | I SAY |
Goodness is a liability, ultimately (1,3)
|
| is a {liabilit}y | ||
| 9 | ALMOND MILK |
Mad monk, ill, mixed a drink (6,4)
|
| (Mad monk, ill)* — no, nothing to do with Rasputin | ||
| 10 | CHILLI |
It’s hot, it’s cold, they say (6)
|
| “chilly” | ||
| 11 | LUMINARY |
Lay in rum supply for VIP (8)
|
| (Lay in rum)* — ‘supply’ has to be read as ‘supple-ly” | ||
| 12 | APOLOGISE |
Beg pardon: soldier in a game’s on methamphetamine? (9)
|
| To apologise is to beg for pardon; (a polo(GI)’s E) — polo is the game, GI = soldier (who happens to be American), E = methamphetamine — it seems that none of the dictionaries say this is just the drug ecstasy. I couldn’t possibly say, but that’s what it probably is. I’m not sure of my ground here, but perhaps E is just one of the methamphetamines, in which case the question mark is explained | ||
| 14 | RUDE |
Intruders somewhat disrespectful (4)
|
| Hidden in IntRUDErs | ||
| 15 | WONK |
Making a comeback, be aware of geeky type (4)
|
| (know)rev. — know = be aware of | ||
| 16 | UNDERDOGS |
Where paw-print cushions may be found: one of them might cause upset? (9)
|
| Paw-print cushions may be found under dogs, and underdogs might cause upset (as they vainly hoped might happen in Australia) | ||
| 20 | SNOBBIER |
Roast rib bone’s increasingly superior (8)
|
| *(rib bone’s) | ||
| 21 | TRIFLE |
Model gun is toy (6)
|
| T rifle — T = model, as in the Ford Model T, rifle = gun, to toy with something is to trifle with it | ||
| 23 | ASTRONOMER |
‘Moon-starer’, fancifully? (10)
|
| Extended definition — (Moon-starer)* — this has a slightly familiar feel to it: one could criticise but it must be quite difficult for a setter — if an idea stands out it may simply occur first of all and the setter just goes ahead with it | ||
| 24 | AS IF |
A small island force? I doubt that (2,2)
|
| a s i f — a, s = small, i = island, f = force | ||
| 25 | REHEARSAL ROOM |
Building morale, he roars in actors’ space (9,4)
|
| *(morale, he roars) | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | ROSEHIP |
Spooner’s tear in breeches, old fruit (7)
|
| Spooner would say “rose hip” as “hose rip”, a tear in one’s hose, an old word for breeches — so one has to link the word ‘old’ with what precedes it | ||
| 2 | LOYAL |
True: Left decapitated monarch (5)
|
| l {r}oyal — l = Left, royal = monarch (royal a noun) | ||
| 3 | SLATING |
Pain sandwiches the French ripping to shreds (7)
|
| s(la)ting — pain = sting, ‘the’ in French is ‘la’, slating = ripping to shreds as in a bad review | ||
| 4 | ROMULUS AND REMUS |
Rural museum’s don’s written about twins of old (7,3,5)
|
| (Rural museum don’s)* | ||
| 5 | RENAME |
In the morning, Frenchman’s about to baptise once more (6)
|
| Ren(a.m.)é — René is the Frenchman, a.m. = in the morning | ||
| 6 | LEMON CURD |
Daily in France, tailless dog’s eaten dessert spread (5,4)
|
| Le Mond{e} round cur — Le Monde is a daily newspaper in France, and that’s tailless — the dog is a cur, which is ‘eaten’ | ||
| 7 | SPLURGE |
Place entertained by jerk’s binge (7)
|
| s(pl)urge — surge = jerk (not something that I was comfortable with, but Chambers has them as equivalent in one sense although I can’t find this anywhere else), pl. = place | ||
| 13 | LINDBERGH |
Playing blinder, George Henry who flew to Paris? (9)
|
| *(blinder) G.H. — the early aviator Charles Lindbergh flew from New York to Paris in 1927. George and Henry are just distractions and I’m not sure about this: H is an SI unit all right, but how does G = George? | ||
| 15 | WINDSOR |
Where it’s never desperately short of royals, to start with? (7)
|
| The first letters clue that we always have, and the standard is just about maintained, although I suppose every single royal might be at Sandringham or somewhere else | ||
| 17 | ENTHRAL |
Captivate with eleventh rallentando (to some extent) (7)
|
| Hidden in elevENTH RALlentando — either we have the inelegant use of ‘with’ as a link-word (which it is I think) or the clearly ‘incorrect’ use of the hidden fodder extending to a word that is not necessary for it — the words here are so odd that one immediately suspects a hidden (although when I said something like this once before someone quite correctly pointed out that it didn’t matter: the Everyman crossword is meant to be easy enough) | ||
| 18 | GALLIUM |
Element of bile is ursodeoxycholic matter, initially (7)
|
| gall i{s} u{rsodeo…} m{atter} — although I can’t find this long word in the usual dictionaries, Google says that it is an element of bile, and bile = gall, so if one looks at it one way it’s an extended definition | ||
| 19 | SIENNA |
Queen’s looking up ‘brown pigment’ (6)
|
| (Anne is)rev. — ref. Queen Anne | ||
| 22 | IMAGO |
Everyman’s seen with a strategy game (it’s a stage) (5)
|
| I’m a go — I’m = Everyman (the self-reference we always have), a, go is a strategy game played particularly in the Far East, considered by its aficionados to be even more complicated than chess — the imago is the final stage in an insect’s development: thus a butterfly starts off as an egg, then becomes a larva (caterpillar), then a pupa (chrysalis), and finally an imago (the actual butterfly) |
It’s going to see Everyman varying his “primarily” clue in both 15d and 18. Quite a nice and fairly easy puzzle, though today’s is still easier.
Must be tired – going should read good.
Nice alliterations at top and tail and t’middle.
Thanks Everyman and John for the gentle stroll, just right for a 10a evening (-20 degrees here in Ottawa).
(John, in 13d, G and H are kings.)
Very pleasant. I liked the simplicity of I SAY. Thanks, Everyman and John.
Thanks for a very thorough blog, neat crossword, I liked UNDERDOGS and LEMON CURD, for 3D PAIN is a nice touch, being French for bread I think even at my level. We have R from alliteration for Jay’s list.
A few quibbles, George=G in 13D , maybe from the kings but usually GR , you are right about Henry.
12Ac MA methamphetamine=ecstasy = E ? Not really , more usually known as speed . Ecstasy is MDMA which is too long to type and is a variant of MA .
Thank you John. Blog clear and easy to read.
A bit of chemistry needed in this one. I was looking for “ice” for methamphetamine in 12A.
Don’t know why Everyman clued methamphetamine as ”e”.
E for Ecstasy is 3,4-Methyl?enedioxy?methamphetamine (MDMA).
Did like GALLIUM, although I had to look up ”ursodeoxycholic”. Agree with John’s interpretation.
Favourites ISAY and IMAGO, a novel way of cluing both.
Roz’s typing is faster than mine. Was away too long trying to work out my new computer’s keyboard.
Don’t know why it put the ? in the middle of the formula for MDMA.
I would disagree though, amphetamine is usually known as “speed”. And methamphetamine as ”ice”.
[Roz, good news from the space station today. ]
[PDM@7 my typing is the slowest in the world, I started my post at 5am.
JWST is going well , just hope the mirrors work, the temperature does actually fall to 40K and still the tricky orbit insertion to come. Our middle sprog has put something on this ChromeBook called “JWST TRACKER” for me to click on, it is very good, I have been watching every stage, luckily I do not bite my nails. ]
[I meant telescope of course. Can’t blame this keyboard for that.]
Enjoyed this. My favourite was LEMON CURD.
Thought ROSEHIP and TRIFLE were neat and also liked SIENNA.
SPLURGE was my LOI – still don’t really see how surge = jerk
Thanks Everyman and John
Thanks John and Everyman, very enjoyable.
I also had question marks against the chemical and George.
Roz@5 in fact we’ve had R before in the first ‘alliterative grid’ back in 2020. 1a was RABBLE ROUSING on that occasion. This was the twelfth such grid by my reckoning.
Thanks Andrew, exemplary blog as ever. I like the highlighting link words thing – as you say, it helps to show how tight the clueing is here (though I think you missed one in 11a?).
Agree with Roz about George – it must be the king, but not convinced it stands alone without the R. (It’s like clueing B as “broadcasting” because it’s in BBC.)
But that’s a very minor quibble. So bravo Everyman for another fine effort. I particularly liked “Daily in France” and, like TassieTim, the simplicity of I SAY.
Thanks John and Everyman for another enjoyable puzzle.
Re 13d, perhaps Everyman was thinking of the British armed forces phonetic alphabet in use before the new NATO version.
It began Able Baker Charlie and G was George
H however was Harry not Henry.
18D I “initially” put NIOBIUM as Element (NI = nickel) Of Bile Is Urso… Matter
This held me up in SE until I decided TRIPOD would not parse for 21A
Is it just me or is the 18D clue somewhat ambiguous?
A nice puzzle overall. Thanks Everyman and John
Just realised I said thanks Andrew when I meant thanks John. Sorry!
(It’s really not a good sign when you’ve forgotten who wrote the blog before you’ve even finished reading it.)
Thanks Everyman and John. The G for George thing is interesting. Normally I’d agree with widdersbel re B ≠ broadcasting, but initials for names feel a bit different. Everybody seemed quite happy recently when Paul equated T HANKS with Tom Hanks, and I think it was Lord Jim who reminded us on Friday of ANTONYM = Friend of Caesar, J.? The opposite!
How would we feel about any name being legitimately abbreviated to its initial, irrespective of whether that abbreviation is specifically included in Chambers?
cosmic @14, that’s ingenious! I don’t think it quite works as ‘Element’ would have to be doing double duty (Ni for the wordplay, Niobium for the definition) and it can’t be seen as an &lit because Niobium isn’t an ‘element of bile’ (as far as I know?). And of course there’s the little matter of the crossers…
G
You can prove anything with the internet 🙂
I liked: UNDERDOGS, LEMON CURD, I SAY, ROSEHIP.
New for me: GALLIUM.
Thanks, both.
MrEssexboy@16, your examples contain an initial and then a second/given/surname , we have also had SwansonG and very recently a colleague of H.Kane, all fair game for me.
Any name to its initial ?? not for me unless there is a very specific for it being well known.
AdrianW @ 13 has a good suggestion but it is not in Chambers. Henry=H = SI unit of electromagnetic inductance so it is fine.
Thanks for the reminder Jay@11 , I think R is the first to be repeated ??
Having failed to learn all the single-letter abbreviations in Chambers, I tend to assume that they are OK, especially when the rest of the clue is fairly straightforward, but what is the world coming to, when crossword setters don’t know their speed from their ecstasy?
Essexboy@16 yes, thats how I eventually analysed it. And crossing out the crossers of course.
Roz@19, C and S have also been repeated.
R B C M S G C P L F S R
?1a
rabble rousing, bunsen burners, cruise control, murder mystery, secret service, get the giggles, county council, pyjama parties, liquid lunches, fellow feeling, summer solstice, rules are rules
Another pleasant Sunday solve.
Yes G=George is not really a known abbreviation, although of course it appears in GR for George Regina, but I don’t think most people would abbreviate George III to G III. Everyman could have just used ‘Playing blinder, note Henry …’ or some such.
I particularly liked the UNDERDOGS and the alliteration.
Thanks Everyman and John.
Rather fun, especially reading the comments about G in the LINDBERGH clue, it is to do with aviation in the past, and as adrianw @13 points out G was for George in the British armed forces phonetic alphabet, and Bodycheetah @17 gives a link for “G for George”.
Thank you Everyman and John.
Thanks Widdersbel@12, yes I missed that, blog amended.
In the Lindbergh clue, I think it’s OK for G to be the George in the NATO alphabet, and the H to be the SI unit. Everyman just wanted a plausible name.
Having started Everyman a few months ago, I like that he regularly lives up to his name. Any crossword that has such diverse words and phrases as LEMON CURD, ALMOND MILK, WONK, ROMULUS AND REMUS, GALLIUM, and LINDBERGH is good in my books.
Fans of Breaking Bad will know all about crystal meth (also called blue sky in the series).
Petert @20 – LOL
[widdersbel – thanks for the link to the latest Genius Crossword the other day after my comment about unusual grids; printed and scratching my head over 🙂 ]
No too terrible this one, though 8 anagrams seems plenty, and as you say, John, metamphetamine does not seem to be E, which is apparently methyl?enedioxy?methamphetamine. No wonder the compilers habitually use ‘MDMA’ or ‘drug’, if that’s a good way to put it! 12 across had the frequently-misused ‘across-clue’ convention, and I personally felt 1 and 13 down to be a little on the tenuous side. So did others, I note. But the thing for me still is the style, which seems at a remove from the original, easy elegance of Everymans of yesteryear. Thanks for your well-written blog.
Thanks Jay@22 , I suppose some letters are more suitable for the three combinations.
Plantagenet@28, is the across-clue convention you mentioned the use of ‘on’, where it should be B on A, never A on B (which is for down clues only)? As far as I know, it’s only The Times that insists on it.
Nice easy one this week. WONK is more American, isn’t it?
the last plantagenet @ 28
I have been counting the anagrams for the last few weeks – seems always to be at least six. I used to use an anagram solver but now I am trying to work them out for myself.
[Nobody has mentioned the bears. Ursodeoxycholic acid refers to bears because it was first discovered in bears. To this day there are bears cruelly kept captive with ports to deliver their bile for its use in traditional medicine. I posted this first on the prize blog by mistake.]
Twmbarlwm #30 yes it’s A on B = BA across, which would be AB down.
I spoke to someone at a Times competition apres-ski aeons ago, a person who had thought about becoming a compiler, who said that he saw all clues, since they are written left to right, as having all ‘A on Bs’ equal to BA, and no requirement for any ‘up’ reversal indicators! As you say, and as far as I know, The Times does make the distinction between across and down, and also prefers ‘upness’ in down clue reversals. But I think the Telegraph follows or prefers these conventions too. With The Guardian, you sometimes get what you are given, I’m afraid.
[Thank you Valentine @33; I’m glad you drew attention to that.]
The A on B business: Mike Hutchinson, the Indy crossword editor, has stated that he favours the Times approach (A on B = BA across, AB down), but he seems to let one or two clues through that don’t adhere to this.
Yes, away from The Times I get the feeling that most across clues will show B on A, but A on B is still acceptable. Just a case of being the opposite way around to a down clue is where the tendency leans, I suppose.
Plantagenet @34, unless the Telegraph’s policy has changed recently, they don’t have the same strict rule as The Times. (Eg ‘Strong wind on northern area reveals mineral deposit’ (GALENA May 2021); ‘Drunk back on hard stuff’ (TOSH Nov 2019) – both Telegraph across clues.)
Don Manley said a few years ago on the Telegraph blog that only The Times is adamant about it, so he follows the rule for his puzzles there, but he doesn’t see any logic in it. I guess it’s a case of The Times not wanting to break with a very old tradition too.
Thanks John & Twmbarlwm. That is interesting re the DT, so great to see those examples.
The down version seems logical, where it is used as in ‘on the table’ I suppose, but I agree the across version is not as logical. I suspect The Times, and some compilers, use the convention(s) for the sake of offering consistency to the solver.
Sounds like The Times maxim is 1a, while The Guardian may counter with 24a.
Another enjoyable solve. Underdog was my favourite.
Thanks John & Everyman.
Best Everyman for a while, yes easyish but no harm in that, it’s actually what EM crosswords are for. But if they are really all the same setter I’ll eat my hat.
Not sure I’ve seen 23 across, either way it’s a nice spot.
8 A is a bit of chestnut but everyone has to encounter every crossword chestnut for the first time at some stage in their crossword careers. No point in saying such and such has been done so I’m not going to.
I used to rail at the ‘on’ argument in an across clue, but I think I’ve moved on.
Best for all those in East Europe.
Liked 9a and 6d