Alan Connor continues as the setter of the Everyman under the paper’s new ownership. Another sound puzzle from him here.
Abbreviations
cd cryptic definition
dd double definition
cad clue as definition
(xxxx)* anagram
anagrind = anagram indicator
[x] letter(s) removed
definitions are underlined
Across
1 Doubt integrity of Detective Inspectors given time to decline
DISTRUST
A charade of DIS, T and RUST.
5 Composer Lionel, taking starters, accrues bumper charges for refreshments
BAR TAB
A charade of BART, the composer, and AB for the initial letters of ‘accrues’ and ‘bumper’.
10 Bum, low singer
MOOCHER
A charade of MOO and CHER. The cattle are lowing …
11 Blanket and protective garment cut short
OVERALL
OVERALL[S]
12 Acronym’s ‘Best Actresses’ for Thora aplenty!
BAFTA
A variation on the first letter clue: here, of the last five words of the clue. A cad.
13 Old Italians, recusants undergoing reform
ETRUSCANS
(RECUSANTS)* with ‘undergoing reform’ as the anagrind.
14 In a flap, I fled nursery? Understandable
USER-FRIENDLY
(I FLED NURSERY)* with ‘in a flap’ as the anagrind.
18 Hack takes in tipsy tattler where farmer offers drink
CATTLE TROUGH
An insertion of (TATTLER)* in COUGH. The insertion indicator is ‘takes in’ and the anagrind is ‘tipsy’.
21 Fancy food shop, veal – not half raw – supplied
DELIVERED
A charade of DELI, VE[AL] and RED.
23 Polish entering AA somewhere in the Antilles
ARUBA
An insertion of RUB in AA. The insertion indicator is ‘entering’.
24 Gleaned from harvest? I get just a trace
VESTIGE
Hidden in harVEST I GEt.
25 Drop of alcohol loosens up relatives
AUNTIES
A charade of A for the first letter of ‘alcohol’ and UNTIES.
26 Give another hand to leader needing attention
REDEAL
(LEADER)* with ‘needing attention’ as the anagrind.
27 Bureaucrat: one of five daily?
MANDARIN
A dd. The second is referencing the health advice to eat at least five portions of fruit or vegetables a day.
Down
1 Leaves those fighting Britain in protests
DEMOBS
An insertion of B in DEMOS. The insertion indicator is ‘in’.
2 Dines in haste; expresses derision
SCOFFS
A dd.
3 Once again, tries overseeing a Latin band’s practice?
REHEARSAL
A charade of REHEARSm A and L.
4 Marries striker that’s playing in PM
SIR KEIR STARMER
(MARRIES STRIKER)* with ‘that’s playing’ as the anagrind. Good spot.
6 Hairy Evans regularly shaved sections
AREAS
The even letters of hAiRy EvAnS.
7 Airtight container for gunpowder?
TEA CADDY
A cd. ‘Gunpowder’ is a type of individually rolled loose-leaf tea.
8 Tormentor going round southeast Spain? ‘Correct!’
BULLSEYE
An insertion of SE in BULLY followed by E for ‘Spain’. The insertion indicator is ‘going round’.
9 Tale that ends with a sentence?
COURTROOM DRAMA
A cd.
15 Endearing, mercurial, deep-rooted
ENGRAINED
(ENDEARING)* with ‘mercurial’ as the anagrind.
16 Divorcée in resort became frosty
ICED OVER
(DIVORCEE)* with ‘in resort’ as the anagrind.
17 Less tidy, in a way – but with a distinct character
STYLISED
(LESS TIDY)* with ‘in a way’ as the anagrind.
19 Increasingly feeble wordplay Everyman offered with hesitant expression
PUNIER
A charade of PUN, I and ER.
20 Eschews restaurant: meat singed in parts
EATS IN
Hidden in mEAT SINged.
22 Victory: rebuffed a tailless big cat: ta-da!
VOILÀ
A charade of V and A LIO[N] reversed. Voilà! is used in French as the equivalent of ‘There you go’, or ‘Ta-da!’
Many thanks to Everyman for this week’s puzzle.
Thanks Pierre.
It’s good to have your blog up in the brief window when I can go back to my completed (or not) grid, before it’s lost to the new puzzle. I completed this over 2 Sunday mornings (Antipodean time). Got held up in the NE, mainly because I misread the instructions in the intersecting 5a and 8d, but the fog lifted this morning.
I’d quibble about the definition of DEMOBS. Demob is what happens to military personnel. They are released/discharged/demobilised. They do not leave of their own accord. There doesn’t seem to be a subject in the surface reading?
Fav was CATTLE TROUGH.
I could not parse 27a. Thanks for the explanation. Gunpowder as a reference to loose-leaf tea is also new for me. Enjoyable puzzle and a clear blog.
Thanks E and Pierre
paddymelon@1, I save the filled-in puzzle to a pdf and delete the file after 225 blog comes up.
My faves: CATTLE TROUGH, COURTROOM DRAMA and SIR KEIR STARMER.
DEMOBS
paddymelon@1
Agree with you on the absence of a subject.
Assuming ‘The Army’ as the hidden subject, ‘leaves those fighting’ (discharges soldiers) seems
to define the solution, all right.
Thanks Everyman and Pierre.
The Army demobs, then the soldier leaves — two different subjects. So I get pdm’s @1 quibble .. bit of a “that’ll do” clue, but no firing squad 🙂
Enjoyed the juxtaposition of the rhyming pair SIR KEIR STARMER COURTROOM DRAMA. It would have been interesting had this puzzle appeared in today’s paper given the front page feature.
Thanks to Everyman and Pierre
Given that we are half way through the year, you may be interested see the places and people Everyman has introduced us to so far…
PLACES
Rangoon, Oslo, St Kitts, Adriatic Sea, Uganda(n), Ukraine, Ecuador, Barra, Liberia, Adriatic Sea, Afghanistan, Utrecht, Gulf of Aden, Kyoto, Teheran, Chicago, Peru, Pompeii, Rome, Chianti, Iceland, Bethlehem, Casablanca, Senegal(ese), Ossetia, Osaka, Antigua, Ghana, Afghanistan, Lebanon, Austria, Dresden, Gulf of Oman, Guatemala, Caracas, Myanmar, Bremen, Azerbaijan, Ohio, Aruba
PEOPLE
Oberon, Tracey Emin, Edison, Orlando Bloom, Edgar Allan Poe, Verdi, Henry Moore, Bertrand Russell, Matisse, Ben Stiller, Elton John, Rockefeller, Goldman Sachs, Pasteur, Jan Paul Sartre, Mandela, Uma Thurman, Hillary, Sharon Stone, Anne Boleyn, Henry Moore, Sir Keir Starmer
I enjoyed this. Maybe you’re right about demobs, pdm, but I got it anyway!
I didn’t really know what moocher meant until this puzzle, even though I knew this great song from blues brothers: https://youtu.be/cNA4x8UgMf0?si=8Mq_yaaj6zw1Wsdw
I thought the “low singer” in 10a was a reference to Minnie the Moocher – “she was a low-down hoochie coocher”. OTOH I now suspect Pierre’s reading is the setter’s intention.
Thanks to Everyman & Pierre.
I also note I crossed with Alison@7.
Thanks Pierre. Bit confused on 3D. REHEARS is ok. But “tries” (?) overseeing A and L. Why is “tries” needed?
SIR KEIR STARMER was a nice anagram and a clever rhyme with 9D COURTROOM DRAMA given the PM’s legal background.
I notice the solution in the PDF is a 13×13 grid so all the outside rows are missing, also last week and this the print option doesn’t work anymore so I’ve had to print the awful PDF using god knows how much extra ink. anybody else having a problem?
Cosmic @9 “tries” gives HEARS (in a court context), so “once again, tries” gives REHEARS. At least, that’s how I parsed it.
I found this quite chewy at the time, but can’t really see why now.
Thanks to Everyman and Pierre (a shame there were no opportunities for bird photos).
Yes, ‘tries’ for ‘hears’ is common in crosswordland and refers to the courtroom meaning of the two words. ‘The judge tries/hears the case.’
Thanks TanTrumPet@11 and Pierre@12
Certainly one of the harder Everyman’s that I have completed – took a good while longer than I would usually expect by my admittedly modest standards.
From memory it was the NE and SW corners that I really struggled with. The Gunpowder reference was completely new to me (never drinking tea quite possibly doesn’t help) and the composer was another one I really struggled to parse in the NE. In the SE 18A was the one that almost did for me along with the crossers that intersect with that in the SE.
First time posting here. 13 across. (c)overall. Any opinions on this v overall(s)?
Thanks Everyman and Pierre
Morning Mincarlo, and welcome to Fifteensquared. I guess that your parsing does work: a coverall is a protective garment and is in use in British English. I plumped for the OVERALL[S] option straightaway, mainly because I hadn’t heard of your alternative. But it probably is more of a ‘protective garment’, so I would say it’s a good alternative parsing. [I think you mean 11ac, btw.]
Thanks for getting back to me Pierre. Since using Fifteen squared I’ve come to realise alternative parsing is ok for some clues. (I’m familiar with the word Coverall from wearing Tyvek coveralls for working in Clean Rooms)
Yes, 11ac!
Have I missed something? Today I find that I have to enter my details every time I access Everyman!
Hello! First time posting and I love this site. Can anyone explain why Burn means Moocher?
Thank you all for your ongoing comments, education and entertainment.
Hello Nicki D and welcome. The word is actually BUM not BURN, but the font makes it difficult to distinguish sometimes. So someone mooching around would be bumming around …
No quibbles today, nice level of difficulty and enjoyable. Aunties was ticked as a fun clue.
Really enjoyed this one today. MOOCHER , COURTROOM DRAMA & SIR KEIR STARMER three of the goodies. Thanks all!
Excellent. Very consistent clueing with no laboured surfaces, and no unreasonable GK required. Almost too easy. What to do with the extra time?! Lawns or hedges?
Good puzzle. Struggled but got it all out. I thought that the “one of five daily” part of 27 across was very weak. I had no obection to/no problems with “demobs” (1 down) although it took me a long time to work it out. “Aunties” was LOI.
Thanks to Everyman and to Pierre.
Like Rolf I thought 27a was weak.
Otherwise straightforward. No stand out clues this week.
We too were challenged by bum vs burn for 10 ac. We came up with moo char based on Minnie the Moocher, a song by Cab Calloway. If we had checked the spelling we would have fluked the answer. But we recommend the song.
Hi de hi hi de hi
Hi de hi de ho de ho…