Everyman has done all the right things here so far as I can see. Nice surfaces, sound clues, and all within the restrictions of the rhyming pair, the self-referential clue and the first letters clue. When history is written I suspect this Everyman will bear comparison with some of the greats of the past.
Definitions underlined, in crimson. Indicators (hidden, anagram, homophone, reversal etc.) in italics. Anagrams indicated like (this)* or *(this). Link-words in green.
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | RECAPS |
Summaries concerning upper limits (6)
|
| re caps — re = concerning, caps = upper limits | ||
| 4 | GARCON |
One who waits with racket after | second half of game’s abandoned, right? (6)
|
| ga[me] r con — a garcon (apart from being the French for boy) is a waiter in a restaurant — r = right — con (confidence trick) = racket — ‘with’ a link-word, my only mini-grumble so far (in the solving but not the blogging, and there are few that I still have to solve) | ||
| 8 | PINK FLOYD |
Rock group performing kind of play without | hint of actors (4,5)
|
| *(kind of play) minus a[ctors] — ‘hint of’ indicates the first letter | ||
| 9 | STEAM |
Energy shown by 19th most popular players? (5)
|
| S team — not the A team or the B team but the S team (S is the 19th letter of the alphabet) | ||
| 11 | EXPERT WITNESS |
One who’s reckoned to be a bit of a trial? (6,7)
|
| CD — the trial is a court trial | ||
| 13 | HOTHEAD |
Somewhat macho, the admiral’s a daredevil (7)
|
| Hidden in macHO THE ADmiral’s | ||
| 14 | THREADS |
Clobber some that are found on Twitter (7)
|
| 2 defs — threads is a slang word for clothes = clobber, and you get threads on Twitter | ||
| 16 | POMPEII |
Ostentation shown by Medicis regularly in grand old city (7)
|
| pomp [M]e[d]i[c]i[s] | ||
| 18 | EPSILON |
Ultimately plaintive PS in long, detailed letter from Athens (7)
|
| [plaintiv]e PS i[n] lon[g] — when you see ‘letter from Athens’ in a crossword you can be pretty sure that it’s something to do with the Greek alphabet | ||
| 20 | SPANISH ARMADA |
Lunatic ran a mad ship, as warships seen in English Channel (7,6)
|
| (ran a mad ship as)* | ||
| 23 | PEEKS |
Looks furtively, as snub-nosed little dogs are heard (5)
|
| “pekes” — pekingeses | ||
| 24 | ARISTOTLE |
Athenian recalled in surviving treatises on topics like Ethics, primarily? (9)
|
| The usual first letters clue, &lit. | ||
| 25 | ASTERN |
A small seabird at ship’s rear (6)
|
| a s tern — a = A, s = small, tern = seabird — we were told in the digital version that the clue had been amended to make the bird easier to find, so I expect what is here differs from the original paper version | ||
| 26 | EDISON |
Inventor getting refusal, standpoint rejected (6)
|
| (no side)rev. — no = refusal, side = standpoint (as in ‘in the argument, taking the other side/standpoint’) — the fact that ‘no side’ is a reversal of the inventor has been a boon to crossword setters over the years | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | RAPS |
Box up hip-hop performances (4)
|
| (spar)rev. — ‘up’ because it’s a down clue | ||
| 2 | CONTENT |
Capacity for happiness (7)
|
| 2 defs — capacity = content, happiness = content (does it? I was a bit unsure, reckoning that one is an adjective, the other a noun, but both Chambers and Collins give the nounal sense of ‘content’ as here, so it’s OK) | ||
| 3 | PUFF PIECE |
Advertorial describing a pipe? (4,5)
|
| 2 defs (although perhaps it’s a CD) — the advertorial meaning is in Collins but not Chambers but an advertorial is only an example of it, which is why there is a question mark, and the second one is whimsical but could describe a pipe, so it definitely needs a question mark. In a sense there should be a question mark after ‘advertorial’, but it would break it up unsatisfactorily. | ||
| 4 | GO DOWN THE DRAIN |
Awfully good dinner … what … what will the sticky bits left on the plates do? (2,4,3,5)
|
| *(good dinner what) — that’s what the sticky bits left on the plate will do if the washing-up/dishwashing operation has been efficient | ||
| 5 | RESET |
15 seen regularly in ‘ornets’ nests (5)
|
| [‘o]r[n]e[t]s’ [n]e[s]t[s], 15 being RESTARTED, which is the definition | ||
| 6 | OPEN ERA |
Love seeing swan against meerkat at regular intervals in series of contests (4,3)
|
| 0 pen [m]e[e]r[k]a[t] — this is a term used by sports commentators: I’ve only ever heard it to refer to the way tennis is nowadays, now that players are professionals and there is no shamateurism, but maybe it could apply to cricket and possibly other sports — it’s not in Collins or Chambers so should this fact have been mentioned somehow? | ||
| 7 | POURED WITH RAIN |
Bucketed down – and Spooner’s cried in anguish (6,4,4)
|
| “roared with pain”, as the idealised crossword version of Spooner would have it | ||
| 10 | MISUSING |
Hurting, Everyman’s upset, seeking damages involving | entrance to shop (8)
|
| (I’m)rev. su(s)ing where the single s is s[hop] — this is a pretty unusual sense of ‘misusing’, but Chambers and Collins both have ‘to treat badly’ — the self-referential clue that always appears somewhere — suing = seeking damages — upset because it’s a down clue | ||
| 12 | SHAPES UP |
Quiet parrot, given drink, makes progress (6,2)
|
| sh ape sup — sh = quiet, ape = parrot (in the sense ‘copy’), sup = drink | ||
| 15 | RESTARTED |
Mobilised Desert Rat got back to work (9)
|
| *(Desert Rat) | ||
| 17 | MOANERS |
Trained oarsmen, they’ll complain (7)
|
| *(oarsmen) | ||
| 19 | LEAN-TOS |
Employing a little Chilean to service outbuildings (4-3)
|
| Hidden in ChiLEAN TO Service | ||
| 21 | ISSUE |
Offspring matter (5)
|
| 2 defs — offspring = children = issue, matter = subject = issue (or possibly matter = stuff like pus exuding from a cut) | ||
| 22 | KEEN |
Eager to wail (4)
|
| 2 defs again, one of them in the weeping sense |
Found this easier than the previous week’s puzzle and completed it in record time for me, with just the NE holding me up for a while.
Liked: THREADS, GARCON, POMPEII, CONTENT, MISUSING
Thanks Everyman and John
Thanks John and Everyman.
Didn’t know clobber = clothes, got the ref to ‘threads’ in Twitter. Tried to work in Meta’s ‘Threads’….
Good fun I thought. The “tern” clue originally stated “duck” rather than “seabird” so wasn’t technically correct. The second week in a row there has been a clue revision.
On a separate note, last year Everyman referenced 67 different geographic locations (I’m including countries, cities and seas, and not including duplicates). So far this year we have 45. Plenty of time to hit 70.
Thanks, Everyman and John!
Liked EXPERT WITNESS, EPSILON, PUFF PIECE and MISUSING.
PUFF PIECE
Agree with the blog that this could be a CD.
I think ‘describing a pipe’ can’t stand alone as a def as the phrase is adjectival but
the phrase in the solution is nounal. Instead of this ‘a pipe’? can be
a def, I feel. In that case, ‘describing’ has no role. Overqualified to be a link word?
I understand this:
An ‘advertorial’ is an ad looking like an editorial/newspaper article.
A PUFF PIECE is a newspaper/mag article excessively praising someone or something.
For the first def, we could assume ‘advertorial’ and PUFF PIECE are almost synonymous.
Thanks for the blog, I have a big question mark next to “duck” in the clue for ASTERN, I see that it has now become “seabird” . I thought this was very good and the right standard overall.
I am the opposite to ilippu@2 , I knew clobber and THREADS as slang for clothes but not the other meaning.
Thanks for the geography information from Jay@3 , I noticed a few but I only actual countries now.
We have two inventors here, perhaps another sequence is starting.
Thank you John for your very clear and communicative blog. I’m with you and KVa on the CD for PUFF PIECE.
Not very keen on the CD for EXPERT WITNESS. On on the def for SHAPES UP.
I enjoy Everyman, but I think he might be stepping outside his remit with increasingly difficult crosswords, two of which recently have resulted in on-line corrections.
The surfaces in this crossie didn’t seem to have the usual sparkle. OFFSPRING MATTER was a missed opportunity for a political or social campaign. OPEN ERA was timely and clever, especially, as I understand, that the Meerkat ads are also on TV in the UK. Favs EPSILON, POMPEII.
Thanks Everyman and John.
Like John, I’ve only ever heard OPEN ERA in conjunction with tennis. To call it a series of contents is a bit of a stretch.
EXPERT WITNESS
I liked it somehow.
‘One who is reckoned’ can be reckoned as an expert! ‘A person to be reckoned with’ is the standard usage, I think but we are in Puzzlo-ponglo-sphere! An expert who is a part (to be a bit of) of a court trial…
Though the lawyers and judges are also experts in their professions, in a trial an expert is generally an EXPERT WITNESS.
That’s what I deciphered.
Me@8. Contests, not contents.
I’ve included TERN on the list of birds, even though I know Pierre wouldn’t approve! 🙂
The roseate tern is one of my favourite birds, Jay …
Sorry, PDM @7 – I thought this was a return to a more accessible level for Everyman – not that they have ever got fiendish. This was a real pleasure to solve. I had no quibbles at all. John: there is a phrase ‘Hill of Content’ (in fact, it’s the name of a bookshop in Melbourne). Thanks, Everyman and John.
I’m almost in agreement with John here, and the Everyman has without doubt been improving over time, but POURED WITH RAIN seems to me non-legit as an entry. I don’t think it will be found in any dictionary, either of the English language or of idiomatic phrases, so I’d say it falls into Manley’s proscribed ‘yellow shirt’ category.
I rather liked 12 down.
TLP@14 POURED WITH RAIN is one of the most common phrases in the English Language. What are you talking about?
KVa@9. “Puzzlo-ponglo-sphere” is a good place to be, any day of the week. ” 🙂
Tassie Tim, let’s wait til next week. In the meantime, thank you. Very interesting, especially for this Sydney-sider.
https://www.booksandpublishing.com.au/articles/2012/10/24/25329/hill-of-content-a-brief-history/
NE corner was hardest for me.
Thanks, both.
Maybe you came down in the last shower TLP@14, but the expression ” It poured with rain” is very common where I come from. I know, I know, and it doesn’t seem grammatical, but …..
TLP@14. To save you looking it up, I’ve come up with one, I’m sure there are many.
https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/pour+with+rain
It is in the British English section of Collins under POUR, although ‘pour’ itself can mean exactly the same thing. Sorry TLP!
I had the same misgivings about CONTENT, but it seems to be fine. I don’t see the point of ‘grand’ in 16a. It contributes nothing to the clue.
Trying to leave no tern unstoned …
Never heard of OPEN ERA, but the wordplay got me there. Opposite of biff — I parsed it but didn’t know what it meant.
Had to wait to come here for GARCON, couldn’t think of CON = “racket.” GARROW, anyone?
tlp@14 What’s with the yellow shirt?
Thanks, Everyman and John.
Yes, Valentine@22: I started with the tempting but wrong GARROW too.
What’s the difference between a lion with toothache and a big black cloud?
One roars with pain and the other…
I’d thought this could be the first Crossword I’d completely solved (with lots of googling) but alas I had GARROW at the end. My favourites were GO DOWN THE DRAIN and POMPEII.
I had not seen “detailing” indicating removing the last letter before despite EPSILON being one of the first in due to the crossing letters. Enjoyable puzzle to chew at over the last week, hopefully this week’s Everyman will be my first proper solve!
Valentine @ 22 there is, in Don Manley’s Crossword Manual, a small section which reasons that non-standard phrases do not belong in a crossword, so, for example, BROWNSHIRT yes, if you like that sort of thing, but YELLOW SHIRT no.
I’m still of the view that POURED WITH RAIN is non-standard, despite pleadings above. As has been pointed out, POUR does the same job as ‘pour with rain’. ‘It poured’ is quite sufficient, and POURED with that meaning as an entry would be fine by me.
Enjoyed this – I am not a newish crossword solver and am interested to know if the Everyman is considered an easy crossword compared to e.g. the Guardian daily puzzle? (It felt a bit easier but not sure if the clues just happened to be up my street.)
I was surprised by the definition in 13ac (HOTHEAD), as to me a hothead and a daredevil are two completely different sorts of people: one is easily angered, and the other likes to take risks. Perhaps this is one of these “divided by a common language” cases. (I’m in the US).
I also don’t really get 11ac (EXPERT WITNESS), but I have a history of missing the point on CDs.
I thought this was very good and had no issues with any clues (aside from the original tern = duck). KVa@5I I took the inclusion of the word “describing” in the context of PUFF PIECE being a whimsical phrase describing a pipe.
Thanks Everyman and John.
Paul@28
I meant this:
Advertorial, a description of a pipe? Or Advertorial-it describes a pipe?
If the clue is one of these, I would call it a DD.
In its original form, I would settle for a CD.
Describing a pipe is not equivalent to PUFF PIECE (Of course, considering only the whimsical aspect).
A description of a pipe has equivalence in PUFF PIECE.
Stupidly failed on Expert Witness, thought it was Edward someone, so couldn’t get the pipe clue to work.
Better than last week which I only 3/4 solved and never got back to.
Everyman has improved but labelling him one of the greats is a stretch.
We did this in one sitting, unlike last week! Liked EXPERT WITNESS; GARCON; THREADS. Did not parse OPEN ERA as knew it applied to tennis but not other sports. Thanks to all! A good challenge on the first Saturday of Spring here in NZ.
Am I the only person who doesn’t like garcon?
The autocorrect didn’t like it. Lived in London for years and a waiter was a waiter even in posh French restaurants. I had grower until I spotted open Era. As an NZer pip should know about open era in Rugby!
Last week’s was the first in a long time that took two sittings, so nice to knock this week’s off with breakfast. I’m with John – considering his relatively short tenure, Alan’s now giving us very enjoyable, consistent puzzles with well constructed clues that only the very pedantic quibble over.
I was of the opinion it was completely unacceptable to ever say “garçon “ to the waiter but one could refer to him out of earshot as Le garçon not sure ..and what would the female version be
But I enjoyed this better than last week’s!
Certainly much easier this week -it must be because of the change in weather here in Auckland.
Got tangled up with 6D BUT liked the number of Athenian references.
Rob.
We didn’t peak, we peered and why not?
Primarily because peer had no reason to.be more than half an answer. Peek was really quite sensible.
Otherwise thoroughly enjoyable.