The puzzle may be found at https://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/everyman/4059.
We have all the usual Everyman trademarks, the self-reference (15A), the ‘primarily’ clue (10A), the geographic answer (21A), a whole tribe of one-word anagrams (11A), and, this time, long-word consonance (1A, 4D, 25A).
n.b. I completed this blog before the workaround for the WordPress problem was announced, and I had to do as best as I could. The result is not as neatly formatted as it might be, but I hope looks sufficiently readable not to need a reworking.
ACROSS
1 DONE AND DUSTED Two descriptions of freshly-baked cake that’s finished off? (4,3,6)
When the cake has been in the oven long enough, it is DONE; and it may perhaps be DUSTED with icing sugar.
8 TWIG Suddenly realise: t-toupée! (4)
A charade of ‘t’- plus WIG (-‘toupée’).
9 STAIRCASES Flights, not all ending in landings? (10)
Cryptic definition.
10 PROTON Particle; Rutherford originated this one’s name, orginally! (6)
The ‘primarily’ clue is ‘originally’ this time: first letters of ‘Particle Rutherford Originated This One’s Name’, with an &lit definition.
11 ANGRIEST Rashly tasering Tangiers’ ingrates, picking any that’s most furious? (8)
If there were any doubt that Everyman is interested in one-word anagrams, here are three (‘picking any’) anagrams (‘rashly’) of the answer, ‘tasering’, ‘Tangiers’ and ‘ingrates’.
12 OPERA STAR As a report misrepresented Pavarotti? (5,4)
An anagram (‘misrepresented’) of ‘as a report’, with a question mark for the indication by example.
14 LIAR Deceiver in bar rebuffed (4)
A reversal (‘rebuffed’) of RAIL (‘bar’).
15 NAIF On reflection, fan – Everyman admitted – is … not a sophisticated type (4)
A reversal (‘on reflection’) of an envelope (‘admitted’) of I (‘Everyman’) in ‘fan’.
16 LOUSINESS Contemptuous quality, characteristic of nit? (9)
Definition and literal interpretation, a nit being the egg case of a louse.
20 AT THE BAR Here you may see advocate – or advocaat (2,3,3)
A play on BAR in the legal sense and as a place which serves drinks (such as advocaat).
21 ALSACE Pacino’s stunning in Somewhere in France (6)
AL’S ACE (‘Pacino’s stunning’).
23 GLITTERATI Glamorous types’ bit of glam rubbish at #1? (10)
A charade of G (‘bit of Glam’) plus LITTER (‘rubbish’) plus ‘at’ plus I (‘#1’).
24 SHED That woman had place to keep tools (4)
SHE’D (‘that woman had’).
25 DIGITAL DIVIDE Modern inequality, focus of flip-flop? (7,6)
Flip-flops are logic circuits which may be used for frequency division (halving the frequency of a regular pulse).
DOWN
1 DEWDROP Morning’s fresh water and powder sprinkled around duke (7)
An envelope (‘around’) of D (‘duke’) in DEWROP, an anagram (‘sprinkled’) of ‘powder’.
2 NIGHT Report of Bishop’s neighbour’s darkest hours (5)
Sounds like (‘report of’) KNIGHT (‘bishop’s neighbour’ on a chess board at the start of a game).
3 ASSENTS Agrees, in a hearing, say, to be heard (7)
With a little laxity, the answer might be rendered (‘to be heard’) as A SENSE (‘hearing, say’).
4 DEAD AS A DOORNAIL Moving round Asia – and El Dorado! – showing no animation (4,2,1,8)
An anagram (‘moving around’) of ‘Asia and El Dorado’.
5 UNRIGS Removes ropes from a French doctor, son (6)
A charade of UN (‘a French’) plus RIG (‘doctor’ an election, perhaps) plus S (‘son’).
6 TRADITION Customs planting Detective Inspector in time-share (9)
An envelope (‘planting … in’) of DI (‘Detective Inspector’) in T (‘time’-) plus RATION (-‘share’).
7 DRESSER Furniture item as’ll help actor (7)
Double definition, the second being an assistant who helps an actor with their costume.
13 REICHSTAG The cigars distributed in Parliament (9)
An anagram (‘distributed’) of ‘the cigars’, for a word no longer used for the German Parliament (although the building which houses the Parliament is still given that name).
15 NETTLED Earned around half a C; caused irritation (7)
An envelope (‘around’) of L (‘half a C’ – in Roman numerals, L is 50 and C, 100) in NETTED (‘earned’).
17 SWAHILI Drunkenly wails welcoming greeting – language! (7)
An envelope (‘welcoming’) of HI (‘greeting’) in SWALI, an anagram (‘drunkenly’) of ‘wails’.
18 SECRETE Hide, in part of Mediterranean island closest to Cairo (7)
The SE (south-easterrn) part of Crete (‘Mediterranean island’) is ‘closest to Cairo’.
19 OBJECT Demur, having a thing (6)
Double definition.
22 SUSHI Dish – often fish, portion of Hippoglossus hippoglossus (5)
A hidden answer (‘portion of’) in ‘hippoglosSUS HIppoglossus’. H hippoglossus is the Atlantic halibut.
25A – I assumed digital divide reference was a flip flop (the sandal) between toes
It’s so long since we’ve had the alliteration pattern that I only realised that this was one when I was reviewing my answers to remind me how it had gone before coming here. I remember this being reasonably approachable. I particularly liked PROTON. I think Demian@1 has it right, although the footwear in question is properly called thongs, of course. Thanks, Everyman and PeterO.
Agree with Demian and Tassie Tim re the footwear in 25a. Fortunately knew the British term, called thongs in Oz and jandals in NZ.
https://www.wonderopolis.org/wonder/why-are-they-called-flip-flops/#:~:text=They're%20%22thongs%22%20in,way%2C%20way%20back%20in%20time.
Thank you for your blog, PeterO, and for ticking all the boxes in your preamble. Yes, perfectly readable on my laptop.
Favs SWAHILI and DEMUR for the concise clues and surfaces.
I remain as unconvinced by the definition at 16a as I was when I commented on the Crossword Help Forum (but, in the way of these things, no one responded).
Shouldn’t it be ‘contemptible’ rather than ‘contemptuous’?
If I’m wrong, I’d be grateful for the correction!
[pdm @3 … and j……. safety boots, non-pc derogatory ‘humour’ these days]
A good puzzle, pitched just right. I agree with everyone about the thongs/flip flops though. Thanks for the helpful blog, as always.
Rog@6 I’d agree with you on 16a LOUSINESS, but oed.com says contemptuous can mean
“…3. 1549– Deserving or provoking contempt; contemptible, despicable. Now rare.” Latest citation:
“2010 Justice Murphy..said the act of throwing a child off a bridge was ‘either insanity, or completely immoral, vile and utterly contemptuous behaviour’.
Australian (Nexis) 17 June 3″
Liked 25a’s DIGITAL DIVIDE being the space between your tootsies.
Hadn’t heard of jandals, but knew of thongs, which in the UK are something akin to budgie smugglers.
My top faves: ANGRIEST and SUSHI. Also liked ALSACE and DIGITAL DIVIDE.
NETTLED
What does ‘half a C’ mean in the surface reading?
LOUSINESS
Rog@6
You sound right. Will await experts’ views.
Thanks Everyman and PeterO!
As a Brit, this bit of the world is in summer and I’m wandering around in flip-flops, well, would be if it wasn’t the middle of the night, and I wasn’t still up to blog. The DIGITAL DIVIDE amused me when I got to that one, and I’d agree it’s to do with the strap going through the toes.
I found this was a fairly quick Everyman, and got most of it fairly quickly. I also agree with Rog @6 that I was less convinced by LOUSINESS.
(PeterO – I have sympathy – I haven’t tried running the 11 x 11 Quick Cryptic through the tool, because by the time I was given the links, I’d spent a few painful weeks building my own grid to blog them and having a crash course in remembering how to code. but I do know that cobbling together blogs without anything to use for layout, and hand copying and pasting the clues across, is not joyous. )
Thank you to PeterO and Everyman.
Lovely to see the alliteration grid – been a long time since the last one and it is one of my favourites. First time I think that the key letter was a D but Jay will confirm.
Liked: NAIF, ALSACE, DIGITAL DIVIDE, NETTLED
Thanks Everyman and PeterO
Fiona@12, yes, the first outing for D as far as I know.
Nuh FrankieG@9. A thong (singular) is not a budgie smuggler. It doesn’t hide anything, and is just as likely to be worn by women.
The citation you gave of “contemptuous” is very sad, traumatic, for anyone who’s even heard of the father throwing his daughter of the bridge in Melbourne, let alone all the horrible details. I didn’t need that with my Sunday crossword fun and distraction.
Enjoyable puzzle.
Favourites: SECRETE, LOUSINESS.
I could not parse 3d ASSENTS.
Thanks, both.
I was beginning to get a bit browned off with the Everyman – it seemed to be straying from an established and excellent formula. This was a welcome return.
Very enjoyable puzzle and blog.
Thanks to Setter and PeterO (by the way I don’t know what the wordpress problem you are referring to is, but the blog is well formatted as far as I can see on my android phone/Firefox mobile browser)
Very enjoyable puzzle and comprehensive blog.
DIGITAL DIVIDE was my favourite. I also saw flip flops as meaning the sandals with the division between the toes (ie thongs) and found it most amusing. And I loved all of the alliteration.
Ticks also to ANGRIEST for the three anagrams in one, SWAHILI for the neat clue and ALSACE for the fun homophone.
Thanks Everyman and Peter O.
[In Spain on New Year’s Eve it’s customary for everybody (even the men) to wear a red paper thong and burn it next day.
A bit tight around the budgie as I recall, but it rode up at the back something rotten.]
Thanks E&PO
This was rather accessible, though I couldn’t hear “a sense” in ASSENTS. STAIRCASES featured in #4,034 with an almost verbatim clue. Liked ALSACE, NETTLED and all ‘longies’ (flip-flops are of course shoes).
Thank you, Everyman and PeterO
Just to add, there’s also a rhyming pair at 12a & 20a.
Many thanks Everyman and PeterO
Thanks FrankieG @ 9 for that insight re ‘contemptuous’. A little odd for Everyman to plump for the archaic and rare choice. I’m still inclined to think that it was an error and that the setter has been saved by the OED!
Back to type again after last week’s dry, humourless slog. The only spot which held me up a bit was that involving the two 15s and the first word of 20, which I figured could have also been on, in or to.. Thinking the crosser could have been an N, I couldn’t get out of my head RANKLED, with an utterly tenuous synonym of earned=ranked. But that was only completely banished from my mind when I realised no apt word for 15a could start with an R. I also, for too long, tried and tried to think up a three-letter synonym for fan. Admittedly I’d not heard of the word NAIF but still…DUH!
So hippoglossus hippoglossus is a halibut, eh? I’d have put money on it being a seahorse.
Gladys@23, only the tongue is horse-like, at least according to Linnaeus. The seahorse is hippocampus (horsey sea-monster).
Liked: ANGRIEST, NAIF and SUSHI.
Once I eventually realised that 1d was an anagram and I had the initial letter D then 1a slotted in.
Didn’t understand: ASSENTS
Evidently in 25A DIGITAL DIVIDE a lot of people went with flip-flops as footwear, but I cannot see much connection with them and ‘modern inequality’ (as paddymelon’s link @4 points out, even the ‘modern’ part does not hold). The DIGITAL DIVIDE is between the tech-savvy (or those who are able to access the tech) and them as isn’t.
PeterO @ 26 I just saw the clue as a double definition: the digital divide is the modern inequality, and the focus of the flip is the bit between the toes that holds it on the foot.
Simon S@27: Exactly, as seen e.g. here
PeterO – I saw the DIGITAL DIVIDE as a double definition, the gap between the toes used by a flip-flop and the inequality due to lack of access to digital services – which is an issue in the UK, see this article from the ONS discussing the 2021 census results which suggests 8-10% of adults are IT illiterate. There were various suggestions to improve access to IT written into the election manifestoes for the July election across the parties.
I wondered the same thing as Rog @6 regarding the definition in 16ac, but FrankieG @9 provides a dictionary citation that backs it up.
The use of the (uncommon, to me) contraction “as’ll” in 7dn struck me as odd. Although there’s nothing wrong with the clue, I wondered if Everyman phrased it that way for a particular reason.
Nice easy outing, to me a return to the Everyman of old.
Not heard of Digital Divide as in the haves and have nots, and I favour the toe splitting second definition.
Agree that half a C makes for an odd surface, but the multiple anagram and homophone both made agreeable clues.
PRETTY straightforward.
Liked ANGRIEST, ALSACE ( took a while to parse it) and DONE AND DUSTED. In SECRETE surely the SE is part of SEA .
re ASSENTS I decided that hearing is a sense.
Good puzzle; 25 across (“digital divide”) was my LOI,
and I still wasn’t sure. I couldn’t grok the flipflop bit.
The bloggers who suggested the “between the toes” idea made it a lot more understanable. I agree with Greyhound@8.
I also agree with others that “contemptible” r.t. “contemptuous” would have been a better word to use in the 16 across clue. But perhaps Everyman deliberately invoked this obscure meaning of “contemptuous” to make the clue a bit more, uh, challenging.
C is the Roman letter for 100. L is the Roman letter for 50. So half of C is L, giving the L to put into netted (earned), for something which caused irritation.
Susan @35: quite correct, but in the surface reading, what exactly is ‘half a C’?
IN the US I believe it’s slang for a hundred dollar bill.
By the way for NZHerald readers, today’s Styx crossword (just above the Everyman) is very good too, bar one that I needed assistance with.
I think the flip-flops are sandals. Digits includes fingers AND toes so they have a piece between the digits
I think I’ll go with contemptible. Vocabulary.com says “…if something is able to be scorned, it is contemptible. If someone or something is full of contempt, it is contemptuous.” I’m thinking of underarm bowling in cricket, as an example of lousiness.
Resorted to other resources lousiness and found the result hardly contemporary.
Other thoroughly enjoyable way to start a Sunday morning