A most pleasant Everyman, my word creating easy to solve but elegantly clued crosswords can’t be easy. However I printed it out, I appeared to be in a Listener type twilight zone when I looked at the clues.
Fortunately I was able to buy the paper so solving time was probably reduced by a few months…
All quite beautifully done in the end. Thanks Everyman.
| Across | ||
| 1 | EVINCE | Electronic fault restricting new display (6) |
| E for electronic & N(ew) in VICE for fault. Evince means to show clearly hence display | ||
| 4 | OBSCURED | Old bottles, emptied and preserved, hidden (8) |
| O(ld) & an empty B(ottle)S & CURED = preserved | ||
| 9 | DETRACTOR | Revolutionary nonsense transported critic (9) |
| ROT for nonsense & CARTED – transported all reversed. | ||
| 11 | MOUSY | Shy maiden, poor, left out (5) |
| M – maiden in cricket scoring & L(eft) out of (L)OUSY – poor | ||
| 12 | VERTIGO | Rig vote designed to cause feeling of instability (7) |
| A designed [RIG VOTE]* Politics in the Observer? Is there a term for using clues as allegories or unsubtle commentary on recent events. | ||
| 13 | AMATEUR | Inexpert, united, right behind a friend (7) |
| A & MATE – friend) & U(nited) & R(ight) | ||
| 14 | PRIMA BALLERINA | Important dancer having cracked rib, in alarm, pale (5,9) |
| a cracked [RIB IN ALARM PALE]*. Nice surface to fit. | ||
| 17 | WITH A VENGEANCE | Sense retreat, for example, brought about by champion defending north vigorously (4,1,9) |
| WIT = sense & HAVEN = retreat & EG reversed – brought about & N(orth) defended by ACE – champion | ||
| 21 | LAMBADA | Monk admitting naughty dance (7) |
| BAD for naughty inside a LAMA – monk | ||
| 23 | OMICRON | Letter, second sent round by Conservative in club (7) |
| MO for second sent back & C(onservative) inside IRON a golf club. Greek letter | ||
| 24 | IDLED | One day, provoked, did nothing (5) |
| 1 & D(ay) & LED – provoked | ||
| 25 | ELECTRODE | Conductor using baton with energy after return (9) |
| ELECT = return to parliament say. Return is normally a reversal indicator, hurrumph, & ROD – baton & E(nergy). Nice image of conductor in front the carthorse* | ||
| 26 | GLADNESS | Aim to go back aboard schooner perhaps for pleasure (8) |
| END for aim inside GLASS – a schooner is a style of drinking glass. Surface hints at sailing ship however | ||
| 27 | ERASED | Blunder, as edited, partly rubbed out (6) |
| it’s partly inside blundER AS EDited | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | ENDIVE | Leaf vegetable? Need, in a stew, about four (6) |
| A stewed NEED* with IV = four inserted | ||
| 2 | INTERPRET | Vignette, proper text with odd parts missing, read (9) |
| Read into that what you will, it’s alternate letters of the first three words. | ||
| 3 | CRANIUM | Beginnings of markings usually in curve upward in skull (7) |
| M(arkings) U(sually) & IN & ARC – curve all reversed – upwards | ||
| 5 | BARNACLE GOOSE | Bird found around rocky crag, lone duck (8,5) |
| A rocky [CRAG LONE]* & O = duck in cricket all inside BASE for found | ||
| 6 | COMPARE | Contrast in heart broken by politician, heart of oak (7) |
| MP for politcian & the heart of (o)A(k) all inside – breaking into CORE for HEART | ||
| 7 | ROUTE | Speaker’s beginning course (5) |
| Hom. for ROOT – beggining | ||
| 8 | DAYDREAM | Pleasant fantasy story finally penned by father on quantity of paper (8) |
| End of (stor)Y inside DAD – father & REAM – lots of paper | ||
| 10 | TROUBLEMAKERS | Agitators break rule most recklessly (13) |
| Another well worked anagram – this time a reckless [BREAK RULE MOST]* | ||
| 15 | INCURIOUS | Run up with documents from debtors? Not interested (9) |
| INCUR = run up say debts & IOU S – I OWE YOUs | ||
| 16 | DWELLING | Satisfactorily located in row, good home (8) |
| WELL for satisfactorily inside a DIN = row & G(ood) | ||
| 18 | ABANDON | Gang ahead after a scrap (7) |
| A & BAND – gang & On as imperative for ahead | ||
| 19 | A-LISTER | Top star is in remake (1-6) |
| IS inside ALTER – to remake. Very simple but beautiful clue. | ||
| 20 | INTEND | Batting, lean and mean (6) |
| IN – the team that is batting goes out until they’re out when they they come in, beause they’re out etc, A lot of cricket today & TEND for LEAN | ||
| 22 | MALTA | Type of whisky available initially in country (5) |
| MALT whisky & the inital letter of A(vailable) | ||
*anagram
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