Since Everyman is in general so Ximenean I’m surprised that he allows the grid to contain two entries with less than 50% checking. But they’re long ones and perhaps it’s not really that important. The crossword as a whole was mostly very satisfactory, with the usual characteristics, which are highlighted in the grid, until I came to a little group (described below) where I found it hard to finish. I have done, but hope I’ll be told how these clues really work, for I’m not convinced.
Definitions in crimson, underlined. Indicators (homophone, hidden, containment, anagram, juxtaposition, etc) in italics. Anagrams indicated *(like this) or (like this)*. Link-words in green.
The group that slowed me down at the end was 13dn, 22dn, 23ac and 25ac. The across clues were just tricky and I got them in the end. But 13dn and to a lesser extent 22dn I’m still not convinced by.
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | PARLIAMENTS |
Those passing laws showing regrettable paternalism (11)
|
| *(paternalism) — Everyman’s characteristic full anagram | ||
| 9 | OUT OF IT |
No longer working in computing in La-La Land (3,2,2)
|
| out of IT — out of = no longer working in (not sure exactly how, but that’s it I think), IT = Information Technology = computing | ||
| 10 | DENSEST |
Doofus on backside in comfy room with TV, as thick as can be (7)
|
| den se([Doofu]s)t — den = comfy room, set = TV | ||
| 11 | LOIRE |
French banker investing nothing in Turkish capital (5)
|
| L(0)ire — the banker is a river (as we often find in Crosswordland, because it has banks) — lire = Turkish capital (ie its currency) | ||
| 12 | EGG TIMER |
Alarm triggered by poacher? (3,5)
|
| CD where you have to see the poacher as the person or the kitchen implement which is poaching an egg | ||
| 14 | FIRST-CLASS |
Terrific group taught after the register? (5-5)
|
| In a school the register is typically taken in the morning and then the first lesson immediately follows it, so it is the first class | ||
| 15 | BRAG |
Boast of fancy clothing you’ve sent back (4)
|
| (garb)rev. — garb = fancy clothing | ||
| 17 | HYMN |
That man’s recited a song of praise (4)
|
| “him” — him = that man | ||
| 19 | ENDANGERED |
Finish up less serene and under threat (10)
|
| end angered — end = finish up, angered = less serene — or perhaps we have to read it as one phrase: ‘finish up less serene’ = ‘end angered’ — much the same, really | ||
| 21 | DISCRETE |
Unattached: that’s prudent, you say? (8)
|
| “discreet” | ||
| 23 | NEGEV |
Renege – viciously, somewhat – and desert (5)
|
| Hidden in ReNEGE Viciously | ||
| 25 | CHAPTER |
Part of society that moves the narrative along (7)
|
| 2 defs, the first one not the most obvious one, but as Collins says a chapter is a branch of a society or club, the second one referring simply to what a chapter in a book does | ||
| 26 | ARSENIC |
Races in to treat poison (7)
|
| (races in)* | ||
| 27 | ASSIDUOUSLY |
After training, son, you’d sail around America in diligent manner (11)
|
| *(s you’d sail) round US — s = son, US = America | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | PITHIER |
Shorter jetty to harbour: this short (7)
|
| pi(thi[s])er — pier = jetty — disregard the colon — my first thought was ‘pettier’, which I justified as pier round [j]ett[y], with ‘this’ referring to ‘jetty’, and short indicating unsoundly that one removes both the first and last letters, but Everyman wouldn’t commit such a crime — and anyway pettier doesn’t really mean shorter | ||
| 2 | REFLECTS |
Considers what a still lake does (8)
|
| If a lake is still, ie has an unruffled surface, it will reflect | ||
| 3 | IOTA |
Greek character reading Riot Act (but not in full) (4)
|
| Hidden in RIOT Act — I don’t think Everyman would have ‘reading’ as part of the hidden, so I’ve assumed that ‘reading’ is a link-word. Rather unsatisfactory? | ||
| 4 | MADAGASCAR |
18 curtailed shipping commercial silver somewhere in Africa (10)
|
| m(ad Ag)ascar[a] — 18 is MASCARA, ad = commercial, Ag = silver, the symbol — curtailed the indicator that the last letter is missing, shipping the inclusion indicator | ||
| 5 | NONET |
The bravest trapeze artists perform with this group (5)
|
| The bravest trapeze artists perform with no net — the classical music group of nine players | ||
| 6 | STEAMER |
Boat’s second crew with sign of uncertainty (7)
|
| s team er — s = second, team = crew, er (as in ‘er’ or ‘um’) = sign of uncertainty | ||
| 7 | ROLL OF THE DICE |
Risky attempt, forced ‘hello’; it wavers (4,2,3,4)
|
| (forced hello it)* | ||
| 8 | STORAGE DEVICE |
Expressed anger after abrupt halt: electric vehicle to freeze; it’s the computer’s memory (7,6)
|
| sto[p] raged EV ice — stop = halt, raged = expressed anger, EV = electric vehicle, ice = freeze (verb) | ||
| 13 | ILL-NATURED |
Sullen Everyman’s going to drive across the countryside (3-7)
|
| ‘I’ll d’ around ‘nature’ — I’ll = Everyman’s going to, d = drive, nature = the countryside — but so far as I can see there is no entry in either Chambers or Collins telling us that d = drive — it looks as if Everyman is choosing D as a part of abbreviations like HDD (hard disc drive) or the A, B. C, or D drive in a computer, which isn’t very convincing — the self-referential clue | ||
| 16 | AGONISES |
Feels the strain, so easing off (8)
|
| (so easing)* | ||
| 18 | MASCARA |
Cosmetic with which, at first, my Aunt Agatha will conceal blemish (7)
|
| (m[y] A[unt] A[gatha]) round scar — scar = blemish | ||
| 20 | REGENCY |
Period genre recreated with hints of cravats and yestermorns? (7)
|
| (genre)* c[ravats] y[estermorns] — ‘hints of’ is a way of telling us to take the first letters — at least I don’t have to look up ‘yestermorns’, of which I’ve never heard although its meaning is clear enough | ||
| 22 | ROTAS |
After some resistance, Oscar sat up: there’s work to be done (5)
|
| R O (sat)rev. — R = resistance, O = Oscar — the definition looks a bit loose to me, but I suppose it can be seen as a summary of work having to be done | ||
| 24 | IAGO |
Primarily insidious antagonist goading Othello? (4)
|
| The first letters &lit. clue |
D is drive on a transmission console. Non-tech. Prob not in Chambers. Enjoyed the blog John, and the puzzle, thanks Everyman.
HI John, Have you got a subscription? Some of us have tried to logon, already registered, and jump through the hoops, without success, (many times in my case) with the recent changes on the Observer site. It might be a little lonely, or a ROLL OF THE DICE, but thanks for your blog.
Liked FIRST-CLASS, PITHIER and MASCARA.
MASCARA has a nice extended def.
OUT OF IT
‘No longer working in computing’ =Out of IT
Seems to work all right without splitting the WP into two parts.
IOTA
If we see it as ‘reading ‘Riot Act’ partly’, it seems to fit, but the
WP works without ‘reading’ as John says.
ROTAS
Agree with the blogger’s comment on the def.
Also, ‘some’ doesn’t play any role, I think.
Thanks Everyman and John.
I registered and now it lets me in automatically (for now at least, from the mobile phone). I struggled with the same items as the blogger; had the same parsing. Thanks Everyman and John!
thanks for the blog! Related to paddy #2, afaict access to Observer puzzles is now hidden behind a paywall — am I right? so Everyman is only for every [paying] man
For those having issues with access to the Observer puzzles, here are pdf file links…
Everyman
Azed
I read the definition of ROTAS as a contorted word order for “the work to be done is there”
Thanks Jay #6. I get that. Don’t have a printer. Oh well, if I’m keen enough will have to draw up my own grid.
paddymelon@8 This is kludgy and won’t work forever probably, but when I cleared my ‘cache’ on my history, I got in – I think that they are counting the number of times you have logged into the site, so clearing the cache resets your count to zero.
Thanks Jay #6.
I didn’t have to log in on my phone and downloaded to paper without registering (for now). Enjoyed and finished this …finally! Thanks all.
Thanks Jay.
Like others, today is the 1st time I can’t get past the subscription demand.
It was a good 10 years!
Thanks John!
The whole clue for 20 made me think of the wonderful Ben Fensome and his budget recreations of Jane Austen regency dramas on YouTube and Instagram, using lampshades, doilies and shower caps for hats, and socks for hints of cravats.
Thank you Jay@6.
I mistakenly put in CHATTER for 25a. As in the chattering classes (part of society) and the idea that narratives are moved along through talk.
I found this one fairly plain sailing. I also read 1a simply as a double definition. Wasn’t happy with d for drive, so thanks to sofamore@1 for the automatic gearbox reference.
I registered for free last week and can still access today’s Everyman online, so I’m still in with a (small) chance of winning that book token. As polyphone @9 suggests, there might be caching issues.
Thanks John and Everyman
Don’t know if I’m lucky but to avoid trundling through links, I simply move the end number of the URL on by 1 each Sunday. Apart from having to register recently, it’s worked for me on Firefox.
Regarding D for Drive, presumably the setter has an automatic car. Every day I find it irritating that you pull the lever back to got forwards and push it forwards for reverse. Who invented this system?
So far I can get access to the Everyman, but not to the Azed, which comes up against a pay-wall. The whole thing seems to be a ridiculous lottery. I pay for a hard-copy Observer, so certainly don’t intend to pay again. On-line entry to the Azed competition at £1 may be cheaper than postal, but once the “trial” ends, it would be a different story.
Everywhere I’ve looked, the Turkish currency is “Lira” not “Lire”……..
Thanks John, I wish I had found you years ago for this help.
Since the Everyman lady died some years ago, I have always struggled with the new Everyman. I always have to look up two or three answers and can never understand how he gets there from the clues.
Today its turned into a subscription thing so happily it is my end of Everyman for a new life ahead!!!
Robot@14 – I also had CHATTER for 25a
So the Everyman is no longer free access? I cannot get past the “Start your £1 trial” screen
I’ve switched to a different browser and that seems to have worked.
[ Bob Monroe@16 I moved back to Firefox and tried your URL trick. Works a treat – thanks]
Completed for only the second time – but got badly held up by putting in “bygones” instead of “regency”.
What are the ethics about using help? obv. a dictionary is OK, but is an Anagram solver considered cheating?
I thought this was an enjoyable Everyman, with some amusing clues. Though I had to wait for this week’s paper to find a couple of the answers, and – in one case – had to look at this blog to understand how the answer worked.
Re comment No 18
Perhaps an error has been made because of remembering that when Italy had a currency called the Lira, its plural was Lire. I don’t think Turkish plurals are ever formed like that, but by adding -lar or -ler to the singular (sometimes before an existing prefix). I’ve never seen “Lire” for the Turkish currency.
Re comment No 17
If you buy the Observer newspaper, and do so via a subscription, then you should be able to get free online access to things in the paper (and more, in fact, on other days).
I get the Guardian/Observer daily, using a book of subscription coupons which are accepted at most newsagents and other shops selling newspapers; this continues to be administered by the Guardian since the Observer left their ownership, and gives various sorts of free electronic access to both papers (not that I make any significant use of that). I understand that if you have an Observer-only newspaper subscription, bought directly from them, then – similarly – you get all their online stuff free if you want it.
PS: Pedantry note – in my reference to Turkish plurals, “prefix” obviously should have been “suffix”!
Tony Evans @20 Oh, great – I’m glad that it wasn’t just me. 🙂 I think that CHATTER is not a bad answer and there’s an ingenious logic to it. Initially, I didn’t think that CHAPTER was a vastly better answer, but then I thought about the phrase ‘they started a new chapter in their lives’ and felt that this encapsulated the idea of moving the narrative along quite nicely, so I’m happy to concede defeat on this. 😀
Toby @24 RE “What are the ethics about using help? obv. a dictionary is OK, but is an Anagram solver considered cheating?”
I don’t think that anything that genuinely aids one’s learning, or helps you when at an impasse, is cheating. It takes a long time to get good at solving cryptics – I think that Sandy Balfour said (in Pretty Girl in Crimson Rose) that it took him seven years from starting out with cryptics to actually complete his first Guardian cryptic unaided. If I’m stuck, I’ll happily use the Chambers apps (dictionary and thesaurus). If I’ve got some crossers and I’m really stuck, I use the search function in the Chambers dictionary app, which is brilliant as you can use wildcards when you have missing letters and it will show you every word that it could possibly be. E.g., if you couldn’t get 1a this week but had all the crossers, searching for p?r?i?m?n?s would tell you that there is only one word it could be. I’ll pretty much use anything I can to finish the crossword – I prefer not to use the reveal function on the online edition, but I’m not too proud to use if it’s been a few days and I just can’t get it. I don’t like to not finish a crossword, and not knowing one of the answers drives me mad, so, as they say, by hook or by crook. Also, I’d say that the most important thing is not how you get the right answer, but whether you understand why it is the right answer (which is why this site is so incredibly helpful).
Just to add my two pennorth: I think using an anagram solver is fine, since actually figuring out that the answer IS an anagram in the first place can sometimes be an achievement. The pointers to it being an anagram are seemingly countless. I also use wordfun.ca if I’ve got some letters but can’t figure out the word. But that’s usually a last resort. I agree too with Robot @28 that understanding the answer is also pretty important. I’ve been doing these things for 5 or 6 years now and sometimes I think I’m getting the hang of it . . . Also, couldn’t get to the Everyman this week, but I don’t mind that. I often found it a tad annoying . . .
11ac in response to comments 18, 25, and 26: ODE 2010 p 1030 has lire as the only plural of lira, relating to the English language name for both the pre-Euro Italian currency, and the present currency of Turkey. Chambers 2016 p 891 and Collins 2023 p 1144 have lire or liras, also applicable to Turkey as well as pre-Euro Italy: these two dictionaries also mention pre-Euro Malta. In my view, any one of these three sources outweighs the claim of any number of people who have no memory of having seen lire applied to the Turkish currency. It may not follow Turkish grammar, but it is the English language name for the currency that counts. It may be helpful to remember that Deutschmarks was standard English for the pre-Euro currency of Germany. In summary, I am completely happy that “Turkish capital” is a valid indicator for LIRE in an English language crossword.
Yeah, totally agree with Eric E. @29. You’ve got to successfully recognise the anagrind and the anagram fodder before being able to make use of an anagram solver, and I can think of quite a few times when solving the anagram was a lot easier than figuring out that it was an anagram that I was supposed to be solving. 😀
Since the registration requirement, Everyman is playing hard to get, certainly on Firefox, even with all the adblockers disabled. I’ve had success on safari, but it peeves me.
For those with printers, the .pdf remains easily accessible, and the URL takes the form:
https://cdn.observer.co.uk/media/documents/obs.everyman.YYYYMMDD.pdf
Where YYYYMMDD is the year, month, and day, so for e.g.,
https://cdn.observer.co.uk/media/documents/obs.everyman.20251207.pdf
Gets you to yesterday’s puzzle.
Save that URL somewhere, and modify as needed, or have a little fun and write a script to provide the URL for the rest of the decade, millennium, or until the sun turns to a red giant and engulfs the Earth, or until the heat death of the universe, or beyond.
Thanks Gladys C Hugh @32, that works very well. And if they do something to stop it working there’s always the Quiptic to entertain cruciverbalists on a Sunday morning, which seems very similar to the Everyman in its level of challenge.
A very easy solve this morning. I got Nonet only because I’ve seen it used before in crosswords, and don’t think I’ve ever consciously recognised a group of 9 musicians that way. 9ac made me chuckle. As an aging project manager I can’t wait to get out of it.
Pretty straightforward. Setter has used the no net idea before but it took me a whole to remember it. I liked FIRST CLASS, DISCRETE, ARSENIC, DENSEST, STORAGE DEVICE- well suited to a retired Chem and Phys teacher.
Good fun.
A touch of optimism provoked ‘toss of the coin’ for 7d but once we tried a few rolls of the dice, we sorted things out.
In the interregnum, did manage to find Siene on the way for 11a but flipped to Loire. Seems the two rivers get to within 30km of each other so a totally acceptable mistake.
Never been to Negev, but like desserts.