The puzzle may be found at https://observer.co.uk/puzzles/everyman/article/everyman-no-4139 in the interactive form, or at https://cdn.slowdownwiseup.co.uk/media/documents/obs.everyman.20260215.pdf as a pdf.
All present and correct, with the usual Everyman trademarks: the rhyming pair (2D BENJAMIN BRITTEN and 7D AS WEAK AS A KITTEN), the one word anagram (4D LIONESSES), the geographical reference (24A TIRANA), the Everyman reference (20A NAIVE) and the ‘primarily’ clue (12A CLARO). These are all highlighted in the grid. In the blog, “sounds like” may not apply to all idiolects, and likewise the rhyming pair.
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | ABSEIL |
Quickly go down aisle, tipsily grasping bride’s head (6)
|
| An envelope (‘grasping’) of B (‘Bride’s head’) in ASEIL, an anagram (‘tipsily’) of ‘aisle’. | ||
| 5 | APPEAR |
Seem to be one that’s noble on a podcast (6)
|
| Sounds like (‘on a podcast’) A PEER (‘one that’s noble’). | ||
| 8 | NO-SCORE DRAW |
Number to etch, but use pencil to depict football result (2-5,4)
|
| A charade of NO (‘number’) plus SCORE (‘etch’) plus DRAW (‘use pencil’). | ||
| 11 | ABASEMENT |
See Batman writhing in shame (9)
|
| An anagram (‘writhing’) of ‘see Batman’. | ||
| 12 | CLARO |
Cigar: light and refined one, primarily! (5)
|
| Everyman’s ‘primarily’ clue this week: the first letters of ‘Cigar Light And Refined One’. It is indeed a kind of cigar. | ||
| 13 | FRIENDS |
Runs into baddies in sitcom (7)
|
| An envelope (‘into’) of R (‘runs’) in FIENDS (‘baddies’). | ||
| 14 | SEEPAGE |
Look at bit of document that’s a leak (7)
|
| A charade of SEE (‘look at’) plus PAGE (‘bit of document’). | ||
| 15 | DUBIOUS |
Term ‘promises to pay’ questionable (7)
|
| A charade of DUB (‘term’, verb, as name) plus IOUS (‘promises to pay’). | ||
| 17 | ENCHANT |
Preference: absence of piano in entrance (7)
|
| A subtraction: [p]ENCHANT (‘preference’) minus the P (‘absence of piano’). | ||
| 20 | NAIVE |
Starts to narrate anecdote – Everyman’s simplistic (5)
|
| A charade of NA (‘starts to Narrate Anecdote’) plus I’VE (‘Everyman’s’ with the ‘s for has). | ||
| 21 | ON THIN ICE |
In nice hot resort that’s unsafe (2,4,3)
|
| An anagram (‘re-sort’) of ‘in nice hot’. | ||
| 22 | TEACHER’S PET |
Cheat, and pester horrid swot (8,3)
|
| An anagram (‘horrid’) of ‘cheat’ plus ‘pester’. | ||
| 23 | IN-JOKE |
Call upon Juliet to replace Victor: not everyone gets it (2-4)
|
| A substitution: IN[v]OKE (‘call upon’) with the V repolaced by J (‘Juliet to replace Victor’, with reference to the NATO alphabet, although the correct rendering of the letter J is Juliett). | ||
| 24 | TIRANA |
Time I governed a European capital (6)
|
| A charade of T (‘time’) plus ‘I’ plus RAN (‘governed’) plus ‘a’, for the capital of Albania. | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 2 | BENJAMIN BRITTEN |
Music maker Franklin’s sung of country? (8,7)
|
| A charade of BENJAMIN (‘Franklin’, another famous person with that forename) plus BRITTEN, sounding like (‘sung of’) BRITAIN (‘country’). | ||
| 3 | EASTERN |
Oriental festival, the start of Naadam (7)
|
| A charade of EASTER (‘festival’) plus N (‘the start of Naadam’, a Mongolian festival). | ||
| 4 | LIONESSES |
Oddly noiseless footballers (9)
|
| An anagram (‘oddly’) of ‘noiseless’, for the nickname of the England women’s soccer team. | ||
| 5 | AGENT |
Singular fellow, sales rep perhaps (5)
|
| A charade of A (‘singular’) plus GENT (‘fellow’). | ||
| 6 | PORSCHE |
A little map (or schema) depicting transportation option (7)
|
| A hidden answer (‘a little’) in ‘maP OR SCHEma’. In the original, schema is in italics. | ||
| 7 | AS WEAK AS A KITTEN |
Frail Saint Kate: a wake’s arranged (2,4,2,1,6)
|
| An anagram (‘arranged’) of ‘Saint Kate a wake’s’. | ||
| 9 | GAFF |
What you may do to salmon in your home (4)
|
| Double definition, with neither one being common: to use a gaff, a hook to land large fish; and a house. | ||
| 10 | NOTE |
NB: school’s upwardly mobile (4)
|
| A reversal (‘upwardly mobile’ in a down light) of ETON (‘school’). | ||
| 14 | SMELT A RAT |
‘Fish flipping so long’ was suspicious (5,1,3)
|
| A charade of SMELT (‘fish’) plus A RAT, a reversal (‘flipping’) of TARA (or tata, ‘so long’ or goodbye). | ||
| 15 | DONS |
Puts on academics (4)
|
| Double definition. | ||
| 16 | OREGANO |
Lear’s daughter, beset by ducks, leaves (7)
|
| An envelope (‘beset by’) of REGAN (‘Lear’s daughter’ in Shakespeare’s King Lear) in O O (‘ducks’). | ||
| 18 | CHIPPER |
Fit a device making sawdust (7)
|
| Double definition. I would have thought that a chipper made chips rather than sawdist. | ||
| 19 | TOED |
Kicked warty amphibian that can be heard (4)
|
| Sounds like (‘that can be heard’) TOAD (‘warty amphibian’). | ||
| 21 | OCHRE |
Loch Restil hiding brownish colour (5)
|
| A hidden answer (‘hiding’) in ‘LOCH REstil’. |
