Not the easiest Everyman I’ve ever solved or blogged. It’s all pretty sound, if a bit one-dimensional.
Abbreviations
cd cryptic definition
dd double definition
(xxxx)* anagram
anagrind = anagram indicator
[x] letter(s) removed
definitions are underlined
Across
1 Lizard with energy grabbing bite, not quietly
GECKO
An insertion of [P]ECK in GO.
4 List containing tips from epigram and poem, for example
ROLE MODEL
An insertion of EM for the outside letters of ‘epigram’ and ODE for ‘poem’ in ROLL for ‘list’.
9 Soul accepting falsehood, very trusting
BELIEVING
An insertion of LIE and V in BEING.
10 Rotten part of frivolous yarn
LOUSY
Hidden in frivoLOUS Yarn.
11 Malevolent creature concealed in flower
ORCHID
A charade of ORC and HID. ORCS feature heavily in The Lord of the Rings by Tolkien.
12 Perfectionist beginning to sob, heart broken by learner
STICKLER
A charade of S for the first letter of ‘sob’ and L inserted into TICKER.
14 Singer, sober, moon in sky affected
SMOKEY ROBINSON
(SOBER MOON IN SKY)*
16 Anxiety about half of work, obscure, with a line lacking depth
TWO-DIMENSIONAL
Pretty meaningless surface and a typical multi-part Everyman clue (which he can overuse sometimes, I feel). An insertion of WO for ‘half of work’ and DIM
in TENSION followed by A and L.
20 Confirmed time established in arrangement of date
ATTESTED
An insertion of T and EST in (DATE)*
21 Piece of jewellery I love in artist’s workroom
STUDIO
A charade of STUD, I and O.
23 One surrounded by cheers, sun god in crown
TIARA
An insertion of I in TA followed by RA for the ‘sun god’.
24 Engine with extremes of power breaking bad robot up
TURBOPROP
An insertion of PR for the outside letters of ‘power’ in (ROBOT UP)*
25 Silly aim oddly receiving resistance in like manner
SIMILARLY
An insertion of R in (SILLY AIM)*
26 Treacherous person lacking wide support
EASEL
[W]EASEL
Down
1 Great upset over book about ape
GIBBON
A reversal of BIG followed by B and ON.
2 Fellow in fantastic form, calm doctor in comic novel
COLD COMFORT FARM
An insertion of F in (FORM CALM DOCTOR)* gives you the novel by Stella Gibbons.
3 Honour large venture, right away creating monument
OBELISK
A charade of OBE, L and [R]ISK.
4 Bar protest
RAIL
A dd.
5 Guide for sailors with happy hearts on river
LIGHTHOUSE
A charade of LIGHT for ‘happy’ in its ‘gay’ sense, H and OUSE for the river. There’s more than one, so take your pick.
6 Prophet in endless pain in country
MALACHI
An insertion of ACH[E] in MALI gives you the Old Testament prophet.
7 Rules applied unfairly in tennis match perhaps restricting quality
DOUBLE STANDARDS
An insertion of STANDARD in DOUBLES.
8 Los Angeles group engaging you for hairdresser’s work?
LAYERING
An insertion of YE in LA RING.
13 Pretty tense, in a mess without new compositor
TYPESETTER
(PRETTY TE[N]SE)* and a word that takes you back to the old days where type really was set using bits of metal.
15 Opponent disrupting last broadcast in lost land
ATLANTIS
An insertion of ANTI in (LAST)*
17 Position during delay
INSTALL
A charade of IN and STALL
18 Result revealed approach
OUTCOME
A charade of OUT and COME.
19 Politician inhibited by sign about rising force
COMPEL
An insertion of MP in LEO for the ‘sign’ and C for ‘about’ reversed.
22 Become strained and fight
FRAY
A dd.
Many thanks to Everyman for this Sunday’s puzzle.
Thank you Pierre and Everyman for an enjoyable puzzle and blog
Thanks for the blog, Andrew. I also found this to be a tricky Everyman – the hardest one in several weeks.
After my first pass I had no answers in the top half of the grid and only a couple in the bottom half … definitely out of the ordinary for Everyman. COLD COMFORT FARM, which I read a couple of years ago, was the eventual breakthrough I needed – providing enough crossing letters to complete the rest of the grid …
except that I actually failed on two clues – ROLE MODEL and RAIL – where I instead biffed in gold medal and grid, knowing they were probably wrong but lacking the patience to persevere 🙁
Fortunately today’s (22 Jan) Everyman was a return to normal transmission.
24a took me some time to sort out.
20a and 18d are probably my favourites from this one.
Thank you Everyman and Pierre.
I took quite a while to solve this. I liked the clues for STICKLER, TURBOPROP, TYPESETTER and DOUBLE STANDARDS!
About par for Everyman, and as enjoyable as ever. 2d I dredged from the very depths of my memory, though I could tell you nothing about it apart from the title.
Took me a long time too and. I almost lost patience and gave up but I got there in the end. I agree with Pierre about too many multi – part clues. I dislike them, and guessed a lot of them without parsing.
Yes, Pierre, I agree. This was a bit of an unrewarding slog. Shame, I’ve enjoyed the last few weeks’ offerings. I’ve not read the book or heard of the prophet, which didn’t help but there was little to raise any quiet smiles here and some of the charades and DDs were awfully dull ?
Hi all… I rather enjoyed this, even though am sure we have seen Tiara more than a few times already – I thought 8d was a bit of a stretch but actually got it after exhausting all other things hairdressers do.
Favourites were 4d I thought very clever; 7d and 5d. a few tricks don’t hurt.