A sound and pleasing puzzle from Everyman, with all the usual trademark inclusions.
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 Type of surgery, German, with jabs: they aid mobility
WALKING STICKS
A charade of WALK IN, G and STICKS.
8 Roll up! Not one old nag in bit of horse-racing
FURLONG
A charade of FURL, O and N[A]G. A length equal to one-eighth of a mile, 660 feet, 220 yards, 40 rods or perches, or 10 chains. Don’t expect a Gen Z child to know that.
9 Score and trim root vegetable
PARSNIP
A charade of PAR and SNIP and a chestnut as well as a vegetable.
11 Snapping: ‘Down with that thing!’
LOSING IT
A charade of LOSING and IT.
12 Eco option – wanting money, morals abandoned
SOLAR
([M]ORALS)* with ‘abandoned’ as the anagrind.
14 Art gets lubricated
OILS
A dd.
15 Huge splint, after combustion, cools down?
LIGHTENS UP
(HUGE SPLINT)* with ‘after combustion’ as the anagrind.
17 FBI agent yells, as Spooner tells associates
BEDFELLOWS
Doctor Spooner might have rendered this as FED BELLOWS.
19 Treaty very popular in the auditorium
PACT
Aural wordplay/soundalike (‘in the auditorium’) of PACKED.
21 Getting on with a drink: good
AGING
A charade of A, GIN and G.
22 15C – shivering, actually
IN EFFECT
(FIFTEEN C)* with ‘shivering’ as the anagrind.
25 Trust son with organ, Times
SWEAR BY
A charade of S, W, EAR and BY for ‘Times’. Think the piece of wood colloquially referred to as ‘two by four’.
26 Omnipresent, zeitgeisty, expensive medicine putatively inhibiting cuddliness, primarily?
OZEMPIC
The initial letters of the first seven words of the clue and a cad.
27 Crazy kids reckon fox blown away
KNOCKED FOR SIX
(KIDS RECKON FOX)* with ‘blown away’ as the anagrind.
Down
2 Diffused a looser spray
AEROSOL
(A LOOSER)* with ‘diffused’ as the anagrind.
3 Understood: some work now non-essential
KNOWN
Hidden in worK NOW Non-essential.
4 Barely-there short nightgown covering one – bold bit of licentiousness
NEGLIGIBLE
An insertion of I, B and L for the initial letter of ‘licentiousness’ in NEGLIGE[E]. The insertion indicator is ‘covering’.
5 Drains visible in rest areas in retreat
SAPS
A reversal of SPAS.
6 Floods among the reeds
INRUSHES
A charade of IN and RUSHES.
7 German child with the French books in here
KINDLES
A charade of KIND, the German word for ‘child’ and LES, one of the French words for ‘the’.
8 Dashing, having knocked back some runners?
FULL OF BEANS
A cd. The reference is to runner beans.
10 Itinerant rashly precipitate
PERIPATETIC
(PRECIPITATE)* with ‘rashly’ as the anagrind.
13 Gosh! Now I will jump around, very loudly – doing this?
SHOWING OFF
A charade of (GOSH NOW I)* and FF for the musically ‘very loudly’. The anagrind is ‘will jump around’.
16 Merrily deadheaded herbgrace in town of French literature?
BERGERAC
([H]ERBGRACE)* with ‘merrily’ as the anagrind. Bergerac is famously associated with French literature through the play Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand.
18 Almost in pieces, overcome by noise in cinema
DRIVE IN
An insertion of RIVE[N] in DIN. The insertion indicator is ‘overcome by’.
20 Plays seen here in part of Philadelphia
ADELPHI
Hidden in PhilADEPHIa. Referring to the Adelphi Theatre in London’s West End.
23 Jacques’s one with energy rising increasingly, Frank
FREER
The Jacques referred to is Frère Jacques, of French nursery rhyme fame. Move the E up a bit (it’s a down clue, don’t forget) and you’ve got the comparative adjective that is your answer.
24 On vacation – holiday – starts to detest Everyman’s hideous alter ego
HYDE
A charade of H[OLIDA]Y and the initial letters of ‘detest’ and ‘Everymam’. Dr Jekyll’s best mate.
Many thanks to Everyman as always for this week’s puzzle.
Many thanks, Pierre, for your clear explanations. I agree with your comments about the puzzle but am very disappointed to learn that without a subscription I can’t access the Everyman any more. Thank goodness for the Guardian!
My faves: IN EFFECT, FULL OF BEANS and SHOWING OFF.
OILS
I think the 2nd def is ‘gets lubricated’ (gets something lubricated).
PACT
Does ‘packed’ mean ‘very popular’? Or is ‘auditorium’ doing double duty?
Thanks Everyman and Pierre.
Thank you, Pierre. Although, I did not find this sound and pleasing. It was one of the first I did not complete. 23d completely defeated me. As did 22a – thanks for explaining this. Thank you, too, for explaining 18d which I could not parse fully. I made a mistake at 23a and had Swear On which held me up. I also felt 11a, although I got it, a rather loose clue.
Thanks Pierre!
I finished this week and enjoyed it, particularly 17a.
I don’t fully understand the parsing of 8a and 24d – how do we know to cut the middles of nag and holiday?
I can still access the online and PDF versions of puzzle by registering for an account, no paid subscription needed.
I was held up in the top left corner for ages as I had plastic shocks for 1a, but corrected it when I saw that it needed to rhyme with knocked for six, and then everything else fell into place.
Morning, Essjay. For 8a, ‘not one’ needs to be read as ‘not a’, which gives you the instruction to remove the A from NAG. In 24d, ‘on vacation’ is a standard instruction to remove the inside letters, leaving only the initial and last ones – which gives you the HY you need for the solution.
Good to hear that you finished and enjoyed.
Thanks Pierre, and Everyman. Like Christopher @3, I went for SWEAR ON which scuppered me for 24d.
Crosser @1: it’s an inelegant offering compared to the website but the pdf for this week’s is here: https://cdn.slowdownwiseup.co.uk/media/documents/obs.everyman.20260111.pdf and changing the date each week will give you the latest.
I’m still managing to access the interactive version of each week’s puzzle by clicking on the menu in the top right corner of the previous puzzle and selecting the latest Everyman. Maybe this will work for you:
https://observer.co.uk/puzzles/everyman/article/everyman-no-4133
KVA @ 2: I agree; ‘gets lubricated’ is the full definition.
PACKED can mean popular in lots of places, not just auditoria. Pubs, parties, beaches…
Christopher @ 3 – LOSING IT seems ok to me. A team can be down/losing in a match.
Comment #10
All those with problems accessing the pdf, I have an old (2012) mac that no longer gets updates and various sites no longer play, I get round these by opening them in chrome instead of safari, this also no longer gets updates due to the version of software being incompatible so no doubt will also stop playing soon, I suggest trying different browsers to access the pdf. Guess its time to get a new computer:(
Crosser @1; like Essjay @4, you don’t need a subscription, just a (free) account registration.
I enjoyed tackling this Everyman, which I haven’t attempted for a while. I liked the eco-option SOLAR, the FBI agent yelling, being dashing and FULL OF BEANS, and Jacques and Frank being FREER.
Thanks Everyman and Pierre.
Robi 12,
I have that free account registration, and as you say, I can access all the Everyman puzzles up to last week’s.
However, if I try to access today’s, then I get the subscribe pop up, which is a change.
Crosser@1 et al: you don’t need an Observer subscription, just a registered login. I think this has been said before. Note that The Observer and The Guardian have gone their separate ways so the new regime may be unfamiliar to some.
Holypeanut 7:
[Many thanks for that, yes it works.
By exporting it as a new file I was also able to reduce the contrast to save printer ink.]
To access the Everyman pdf, I use the method given by Holypeanut @7 – it’s awkward but it seems to work. I do have one of their free registrations, but it seems to only give you access for a certain number of times before the paywall block appears.
Lloyd’s, 16
Yes, I found that too.
However, I’ve just found that if I go to my browser preferences and delete the cookie for the Observer, then that restores access, (for a further limited number of views one assumes.)
8d) I understand the ‘runner beans’ bit, but can’t see the ‘full of’ — what has ‘knocked back’ got to do with it? Thanks.
Etu@15: I haven’t experienced any kind of block since registering my login.
Thanks for the blog , some good clues , especially the long anagrams .
KVa@2 – Extra lectures in Particle Physics are always packed/very popular .
MW42@18 – knocked back can mean you have eaten them so now FULL OF BEANS .
Thanks Roz. Obvious now you’ve pointed it out!