The puzzle may be found at https://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/everyman/4071.
The usual suspects rounded up, and highlighted in the grid: the rhyming pair, the ‘primarily’ clue, the self reference and the geographical reference. There seemed a fair number of double definitions this time.
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | AMOS |
Old Testament prophet seen in tam-o’-shanter (4)
|
| A hidden answer (‘seen in’) in ‘tAM O Shanter’. | ||
| 4 | NEST |
Intensity regularly dropped in avian protection (4)
|
| Alternate letters (‘regularly dropped’) in ‘iNtEnSiTy’. | ||
| 8 | WISH YOU WERE HERE |
‘How eerie!’ ‘Why, sure!’ Uneasy sentiment when abroad (4,3,4,4)
|
| An anagram (‘uneasy’) of ‘how eerie why sure’. | ||
| 11 | PICKLED |
Chose, after imbibing drop of Laphroaig, to become drunk (7)
|
| An envelope (‘after imbibing’) of L (‘drop of Laphroaig’) in PICKED (‘chose’). | ||
| 12 | LUMBERS |
Moves heavily wanting sleep after cycling (7)
|
| SLUMBER (‘sleep’) with the S moved to the end (‘after cycling’). | ||
| 13 | STALWARTS |
With buff back muscles, doing a flip, they’re resolute (9)
|
| A reversal (‘doing a flip’) of STRAW (‘buff’, colour) plus LATS (in full latissimi dorsi, ‘back muscles’). | ||
| 14 | DRAIN |
Tax channel (5)
|
| Double definition. | ||
| 15 | TIMER |
Wristwatch, say: not so exciting but a becoming one (5)
|
| TAMER (‘not so exciting’) with the A replaced by I (‘but a becoming one’). | ||
| 16 | DOG-EAT-DOG |
Like a competition involving multiple setters? (3-3-3)
|
| Cryptic definition, for want of a better description.. | ||
| 19 | HIDEOUS |
Ghastly duck penetrating – we need camouflage! (7)
|
| An envelope (‘penetrating’) of O (zero, ‘duck’) in HIDE US (‘we need camouflage’). | ||
| 21 | TREASON |
Erstwhile capital offence: agent provocateur finally taken, 7 beheaded (7)
|
| A charade of TR (‘agenT provocateuR finally’) plus [s]EASON (‘7’, the andwer to 7D) minus the first letter (‘beheaded’). | ||
| 22 | THAT’S SO LAST YEAR |
Liberally salt the roast, say? Who does that any more? (5,2,4,4)
|
| An anagram (‘liberally’) of ‘salt the roast say’. | ||
| 23 | AS IF |
Everyman gripped by American science fiction? Hardly (2,2)
|
| An envelope (‘gripped by’) of I (‘Everyman’) in A (‘American’) plus SF (‘science fiction’). | ||
| 24 | KICK |
What pothead may get from – or do to – his habit (4)
|
| Double definition. | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 2 | MAYFLOWER |
Historic ship showing might on river (9)
|
| A charade of MAY (‘might’) plus FLOWER (‘river’). | ||
| 3 | SHUDDER |
Quiet location for milk … shake (7)
|
| A charade of SH (‘quiet’) plus UDDER (‘location for milk’). | ||
| 4 | NEEDLES |
Annoys the French (a primary requirement)? (7)
|
| A charade of NEED (‘requirement’) plus LES (‘the French’), with ‘primary’ indicating the order of the particles. | ||
| 5 | STEAM |
Energy shown by Second XI? (5)
|
| A charade of S (‘second’) plus TEAM (‘XI’) | ||
| 6 | SWIPES |
Pinches small tissues (6)
|
| A charade of S (‘small’) plus WIPES (’tissues’). | ||
| 7 | SEASON |
Shaking tail end, watch a lad fall in Vermont, for example? (6)
|
| A charade of SE[e] (‘watch’) minus its last letter (‘shaking tail’) plus ‘a’ plus SON (‘lad’). | ||
| 9 | SOCIAL MEDIA |
TikTok etc, therefore claim idea is deranged (6,5)
|
| A charade of SO (‘therefore’) plus CIALMEDIA, an anagram (‘is deranged’) of ‘claim idea’. | ||
| 10 | EMERALD ISLE |
On the phone, Ms Raducanu will call Ireland (7,4)
|
| Sounds like EMMA’LL DIAL (‘Ms Raducanu will call’). | ||
| 14 | DIALECTIC |
Using reason, conciliated freely? That’s not on! (9)
|
| An anagram (‘freely’) of ‘c[on]ciliated’ minus ON (‘not on’). | ||
| 15 | TAHITI |
Turncoats abandoning HMS inhabited this island, primarily? (6)
|
| First letters (‘primarily’) of the first six words of the clue, with an &lit reference to the Mutiny on the Bounty (‘some of the mutineers went to Tahiti, some to Pitcairn). | ||
| 16 | DASH OFF |
Scribble, leave hurriedly (4,3)
|
| Double definition. | ||
| 17 | GET BACK |
Understand second Beatles hit (3,4)
|
| A charade of GET (‘understand’) plus BACK (‘second’). | ||
| 18 | GONERS |
They’re beyond help? King George succeeded in the protection of one (6)
|
| An envelope (‘in the protection of’) of ‘one’ in GR (Georgius Rex, ‘King George’) plus S (‘succeeded’). | ||
| 20 | OASIS |
Where to get dates and a drink for ‘90s rockers (5)
|
| Double definition |
Nice, straightforward Everyman, I thought. WISH YOU WERE HERE was my earworm, and the rhyming THAT’S SO LAST YEAR will please the need references for younger solvers brigade (though GET BACK might rile them). I had to check there was an Emma with that surname. Thanks, Everyman and PeterO.
Liked TIMER, DOG-EAT-DOG (CD seems an apt description), KICK, STEAM and EMERALD ISLE (some may say the phone connection was a bit disturbed).
KICK
Liked the ‘his habit’ being shared by both defs (may not be the first time this device is used but I liked it).
Thanks Everyman and PeterO.
Thank you PeterO.. I thought EMERALD ISLE was very tricky linguistically. There’s a bit more to it. There’s the linking and intrusive R and the diphthong, or not, in dial/disle.
Can’t do any more than one link in these posts, and GET BACK (to once where you belonged) is offensive to many down here, so I’ll go with Tassie Tim’s earworm @1. WISH YOU WERE HERE.
I completed this on Tuesday and was very happy with myself as I couldn’t use checks or consult with this site. Thanks to 15² for making this possible! I do need to have patience and resist the check button, as it’s so much more rewarding without cheating (I allow myself a thesaurus).
SEASON was the last in, despite the fact that 21a was a big clue (I’d thought it was autumn initially but I couldn’t make out the wordplay and later crossers disproved it). Being able to count would have made life easier as I’d have got the anagram of 22a in far sooner.
This was a much more satisfying crossword than the impenetrable one the previous week. I managed to finish even if I could not parse absolutely everything. Thank you Everyman and PeterO.
Tough puzzle. I would not recommend it to beginners. I’m not a beginner but I solved only three across clues on my first pass. Luckily I had a bit more success with the down clues.
I guessed 15ac TIMER=’wristwatch, say’ but could not parse the rest of the clue and I came here to check my parsing of 4d.
Favourite: THAT’S SO LAST YEAR (loi).
Thanks, both.
I found this tougher than the week before – well, it took me longer to solve, but I am slowed by cryptic definitions, generally (I never did find Rufus easy).
EMERALD ISLE was a bung and shrug, it doesn’t help that Irish English is rhotic, so I can’t hear that phrase without an intrusive R. And I had the WISH YOU WERE HERE earworm, too.
Thank you to PeterO and Everyman.
Agree with Shanne @8- as someone with an Ulster brogue, that R in Emerald is clearly audible!
Nice to see a reversal of the often-seen device in 2d. This time ‘flower’ is (part of) the solution indicated by a river in the clue.
Thanks for the parsing of TIMER, I had the same experience as michelle @7 with that one.
STALWARTS was my last one in – I’ve only ever rarely heard buff being used as a colour.
I liked THATS SO LAST YEAR, DIALECTIC, SEASON and EMERALD ISLE (which raised a smile despite me having an accent that positively rolls r’s).
Thanks Everyman and PeterO
EMERALD ISLE was dreadful, and not in a good way. I bunged it in with no idea what the “homophone” was supposed to be. It doesn’t even work as a pun.
Nice puzzle, quite accessible. I liked WISH YOU WERE HERE and THAT’S SO LAST YEAR. DOG-EAT-DOG made me smile but EMERALD ISLE didn’t work for me at all.
Thanks Everyman and PeterO
Liked 10d Emma-r-‘ll dial. [The Beatles feature in paddymelon’s link @3: “I saw-r-a film today, oh boy”. Oasis, too: Champagne Supernova“-r-in the sky”.]
After the disaster the previous week, this was fun! You know how cryptic crosswords can sometimes make you smile and even laugh? Well this one had that effect on me.
Thanks Everyman and PeterO
This one was a little tough for me, but educational. I loved the “Emerald Isle” clue.
Thanks both.
Solved all but a handful, I didn’t know the word DIALECTIC and don’t understand XI = team. Really enjoyed the long anagrams and EMERALD ISLE, chuffed I figured out the homophone without having heard of this isle name before.
Thanks Everyman and PeterO
@Eddie XI is eleven in Roman numerals. “First 11” is a common term for a soccer team.
This was a joy to complete today, especially after struggling through the latest quiptic. Thanks PeterO.
I really enjoyed this puzzle, despite the homophone. English people pronounce the R in Emerald, and many pronounce the R that doesn’t exist in “Emma[r]’ll dial”. THAT’S SO LAST YEAR was excellent and amusing.
On the other hand, I wish Everyman would leave out unnecessary punctuation – the ellipsis in 3d SHUDDER slightly spoils the clue. And I didn’t much like the clue for DOG-EAT-DOG which lacked a real definition, and seemed as if it could do with a bit more work.
Over all, a fine puzzle.
No accounting for taste. I loved the EMERALD ISLE homophone (although my particular dialect of English does not include that intrusive R), and I thought that DOG-EAT-DOG was by far the weakest clue.
I thought dog-eat-dog was clever, two setters being two dogs, although gruesome picture.
A much easier puzzle this week from Epsom New Zealand
Good to see the strengths of the NZ coach again in the British team.
Rob.
A much easier puzzle this week from Epsom New Zealand
Good to see the strengths of the NZ coach again in the British team.
Rob.
A much easier puzzle this week from Epsom New Zealand
Good to see the strengths of the NZ coach again in the British team.
Rob.
Challenging but do-able puzzle. Much more appealing than last week’s.
Did not like “emerald isle”; did not get the so-called homophone and had never heard of Emma Raducanu. I don’t follow tennis much. But the answer was fairly obvious once I had a few crossers in.
In 7 down, what the (expletive deleted) has Vermont got to do with anything?
@RolfinBirkenhead it’s referring to fall ie autumn in Vermont being a season.
We enjoyed this much more than last week’s one – favourites are EMERALD ISLE and THAT’S SO LAST YEAR.
No complaints from us here in Whangaparaoa on a gorgeous Summer day!
Better than last week’s.
Much more reasonable ,but like Rolf, I thought SEASON was bit of a stretch. I liked THATS SO LAST YEAR, WISH YOU WERE HERE & DOG EAT DOG.
I didn’t really like STEAM for energy, as a scientist it isn’t a synonym in any way.
We made a mistake. But so so