Everyman 3,692

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The puzzle may be found at https://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/everyman/3692.

I found this Everyman a little knottier than usual, with some misdirections that took me a while to see through. Also, there are some particularly good surfaces.

Across
1 TROUBADOUR Minstrel with instrument entertaining king, old and gloomy (10)
A charade of TROUBA, an envelope (‘entrtaining’) of R (Rex, ‘king’) plus O (‘old’) in TUBA (‘instrument’); plus DOUR (‘gloomy’). Having the ending D-U-, I had difficulty getting DRUM out of my head.
6 BASS Perch for member of male voice choir (4)
Double definition. Bass and perch are fish; neither is a very specific term, and both likely refer to fish of the same order, the Perciformes, but I am doubtful about using one to define the other.
10 RAFTERS Beams, having last bit of summer pudding (7)
A charade of R (‘last bit of summeR‘) plus AFTERS (‘pudding’).
11 ANNOYED Fantastic day, none getting fed up (7)
An anagram (‘fantastic’) of ‘day none’.
12 STUNTS Checks acts designed to get publicity (6)
Double definition.
13 RUNABOUT Work concerning small car (8)
For once, ‘work’ is not OP (and ‘concerning’, not RE). A charade of RUN (‘work’) plus ABOUT (‘concerning’).
15 MARTIN LUTHER Theologian, until converted by article, right behind revolutionary force (6,6)
A charade of MAR, a reversal (‘revolutionary’) of RAM (‘force’) plus TINLU, an anagram (‘converted’) of ‘until’ plus THE (definite ‘article’) plus R (‘right’), with ‘behind’ indicating the order of the particles.
18 EGGS BENEDICT Diamonds in big scene get tossed in dish (4,8)
An envelope (‘in’) of D (‘diamonds’) in EGGSBENEICT, an anagram (‘tossed’) of ‘big scene get’.
21 TRESPASS Enter without permission, using pressure when breaking lock (8)
An envelope (‘breaking’) of P (‘pressure’) plus AS (‘when’) in TRESS (‘lock’).
22 ATRIUM Area in good order around university hall (6)
A charade of A (‘area’) plus TRIUM,  an envelope (‘around’) of U (‘university’) in TRIM (‘in good shape’). I think of ATRIUM as a courtyard, but it can be an entrance hall or vestibule.
24 PANACEA Criticise expert with a remedy (7)
A charade of PAN (‘criticise’) plus ACE (‘expert’) plus ‘a’.
25 INITIAL Opening home with key, not against letting one in (7)
A charade of IN (‘home’) plus ITIAL, an envelope (‘letting … in’) of I (‘one’) in [v]ITAL (‘key’) minus the V (‘not against’).
26 EAST Brute with book out to make a point (4)
[b]EAST (‘brute’) minus the B (‘with book out’).
27 BELONGINGS Live with desires for possessions (10)
A charade of BE (‘live’) plus LONGINGS (‘desires’).
Down
1 TIRESOME Wearing fresh rose in season (8)
An envelope (‘in’) of RESO, an anagram (‘fresh’) of ‘rose’ in TIME (‘season’).
2 OFF GUARD Unprepared, not operating with screen (3,5)
A charade of OFF (‘not operating’) plus GUARD (‘screen’).
3 BREATHING SPACE Pause, having broadcast bare facts with rapidity (9,5)
A charade of BREA, an anagram (‘broadcast’) of ‘bare’ plus THINGS (‘facts’) plus PACE (‘rapidity’).
4 DOSE Deer receiving small quantity of medicine (4)
An envelope (‘receiving’) of S (‘small’) in DOE (‘deer’).
5 UP A GUM TREE In difficulty? Meet guru, unusually enthralling old man (2,1,3,4)
An envelope (‘enthralling’) of PA (father, ‘old man’) in UGUMTREE, an anagram (‘unusually’) of ‘meet guru’.
7 ANYHOW Hospital in no way working carelessly (6)
An envelope (‘in’) of H (‘hospital’) in ANYOW, an anagram (‘working’) of ‘no way’.
8 SEDATE Calm lawyer on time in spot (6)
An envelope (‘in’) of DA (District Attorney, US ‘lawyer’) plus T (‘time’) in SEE (spot’).
9 ENGAGEMENT RING Call after battle for sign of promise to unite (10,4)
A charade of ENGAGEMENT (‘battle’) plus RING (‘call’).
14 CLOSE SHAVE Fail to keep quiet in underground chamber, making narrow escape (5,5)
An envelope (‘in’) of LOSE (‘fail’) plus SH (‘quiet’) in CAVE (‘underground chamber’).
16 DIVISION Inspector with dream department (8)
A charade of DI (Detective ‘Inspector’) plus VISION (‘dream’).
17 STIMULUS Stubborn type, endlessly engaged in legal actions, raised motivation (8)
An envelope (‘engaged in’) of MUL[e] (‘stubborn type’) minus its final letter (‘endlessly’) in STIUS, a reversal (‘raised’ in a down light) of SUITS (‘legal actions’).
19 STAPLE Fastener‘s main element (6)
Double definition.
20 TENNIS Misbehave and catch up in game (6)
A reversal (‘up’ in a down light) of SIN (‘misbehave’) plus NET (‘catch’).
23 LINO Floor covering useful in our houses (4)
A hidden answer (‘houses’) in ‘usefuL IN Our’.
completed grid

9 comments on “Everyman 3,692”

  1. Thank you Everyman and PeterO.

    I, too, found this a little knottier than usual, but for me UP A GUM TREE was a write-in when I had the U for UP, before I even saw the clue or had any other crossers – EAST, however, was my last in, how stupid can one get.

    Not sure about 6a, the COED gives for BASS “the common European freshwater perch” – Wiki says that the word bass comes from Middle English bars, meaning ‘perch’.

    So many clues with lovely surfaces that it is hard to pick out favourites, perhaps those for TROUBADOUR, STUNTS, TRESSPASS and ENGAGEMENT RING.

  3. Yes this was tricky again with, as you say, plenty of good surfaces of which RAFTERS, TRESPASS and LINO (excellent surface) were favourites. Very entertaining puzzle.

    Thanks to PeterO and Everyman.

  5. No problems with the East side, but the West took a while, especially top left where I had actually written in Drum before having to backtrack. Unusually there was a typo in our edition with the word ‘kveep’ appearing in 14 D.

    Not a lot of variety in these clues of late, with an awful lot of envelope type clues. A few puns and homonyms would break things up a bit imho.

  6. Really enjoyed this one! A simple enough outing for me given I didn’t have to continue into Sunday.

    Last to pen in was UP A GUM TREE. Enjoyed TROUBADOUR, TIRESOME, RAFTERS, ATRIUM and PANACEA.

  7. I enjoyed this one but found it harder than previous, not being able to parse trespass and completely missing houses as the hidden word indicator for Lino. Thanks Everyman & PeterO.

  8. LOI was 2 down (“off guard) — though is was “obvious” once I saw it!

    Could not parse 25 across, and when I read PeterO’s explanation I just
    thought “!!! That’s *obscure*!!!”

  9. That was teally quite tough for me and i needed help. Loved engagement ring , stimulus and troubadour . Bass was a poor clue.

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