Apologies for the late appearance of the blog, my ability to type has been severely hampered by a cubital tunnel operation on my arm.
I’ll spare you the graphic pics of my elbow. I quite enjoyed this puzzle. If there’s anything you don’t get, please ask
Thanks Everyman once again
Across
1 Excuse certain satisfaction (8)
PLEASURE
PLEA for excuse in court say & SURE for certain
5 Beginning with greeting after hesitation letting doctor in (6)
EMBRYO
MB for doctor inside ER for hesitation & YO as a greeting, most memerably used by “Dubya” Bush in the greeting “Yo Blair”
9 Question highest in command (5)
TOPIC
TOP for highest & I(n) C(ommand). The question of tonights program = the topic of…
10 Old man, very bold, moving with energy in dance (4,5)
PASO DOBLE
PA = father, old man & SO – very & a moving [BOLD]* & E(nergy)
12 Travel in good group involving zero risk, right? (5-4)
GLOBE-TROT
G(ood) & [0 for zero & BET for risk & R(ight)] inside LOT for group
13 Share in rent (5)
SPLIT
Double definition, initially I put in “halve” for this as it seemed to fit both defs as well. That caused me quite a delay in finishing this.
14 Fantastic help by clerk at code-breaking headquarters (9,4)
BLETCHLEY PARK
A fantastic [HELP BY CLERK AT]* Very nice anagram to fit the clue
17 Underrated beginner in ultimate card game babbled, holding diamonds back (13)
UNAPPRECIATED
The biginning of U(ltimate) & the card game NAP & ICE for diamonds reversed inside PRATED for babbled
21 Produce alien after appeal (5)
BEGET
BEG for appeal & the crossword staple E.T. for the setters’ favorite film cum alien.
23 Sad poem about soldier perhaps with line in refined style (9)
ELEGANTLY
ELEGY is the sad poem with ANT for soldier & L(ine) inserted
24 Pasta that pigeons ruined? Not on (9)
SPAGHETTI
It’s a ruined [THAT PIGE(on)S]* with ON removed
25 Father with particular expression of disapproval (5)
FROWN
FR for father & OWN – particular – “each has its own/particular way”
26 Variable merits in wishes (6)
YEARNS
Y – one the typical variables in Maths along with x and z & EARNS = merits
27 Stocky son cutting mass of trees (8)
THICKSET
S(on) inside THICKET
Down
1 Thick soup in container on time (6)
POTAGE
POT for container & AGE for time
2 Flowering plant first in bloom? Rejoicing about that (9)
EUPHORBIA
first letter of B(loom) inside EUPHORIA
3 Hide final pieces of fabulous treasure on island (7)
SECRETE
last letters of (fabulou)S (treasur)E & the island of CRETE
4 Speak angrily about pressure for plan without initial reconciliation (13)
RAPPROCHEMENT
[P(ressure) & PRO for, well, for & without the lead (s)CHEME for plan] all inside RANT
6 Lack of pretension in manner with pen (7)
MODESTY
MODE for manner & STY for pen
7 One resisting authority figure belittled to some extent (5)
REBEL
hidden in figuRE BELitted
8 Superior to receive pass (8)
OVERTAKE
OVER – superior & TAKE – to receive
11 One following order in full adjusted his aerial (9,4)
SATELLITE DISH
TELL for order with I – one following – all in SATED for full & an adjusted HIS*
15 Car is not damaged in tests (9)
AUDITIONS
Car maker AUDI & a damaged [IS NOT]*
16 Poor cleric, without work, in the red (8)
RUBBISHY
without OP(us) BISH(op) inside RUBY – red
18 Contribute feature below mine (5,2)
PITCH IN
PIT for a mine & facial feature the CHIN
19 Idiosyncrasy about service following trade (7)
TRAFFIC
RAF the armed service & F(ollowing) both inside TIC which could be an idiosyncrasy
20 Tips for calligraphy, given excellent new pen? (6)
CYGNET
Well I smirked when I twigged the definition, femail swans are pens and young – new ones are cygnets. the outside letters of C(alligraph)Y G(ive)N E(cellen)T
22 Country in hour covered by a horse going north (5)
GHANA
H(our) inside A NAG all reversed – going north in a down clue
Thank you Everyman and flashling (do hope your elbow will soon be healed, those S&B get-togethers look like they might generate RSI).
Enjoyable, as always, with a super anagram for BLETCHLEY PARK. I got held up at 16d, so many clerics end with on, canon, deacon, parson …
…my stupidity, I don’t think ‘on’ can replace ‘work’, it would have to be ‘working’.
I found this slightly harder than previous Everyman puzzles. I really enjoyed 5a (Embryo) and 27a (Thickset). Euphorobia never came to me. A good challenge and thanks to Everyman and to flashling for the explanations, of which I needed a few to fully understand the puzzle.
I found this quite difficult even though it is a beginner’s puzzle as Pierre never stops emphasising. We beginners are obviously so dim if we cannot complete the Everyman. Why not just call it a puzzle for dim people.
Anyway, I noticed yesterday that I had only completed the top half of the puzzle so I had to make an effort to complete it before the answers were published. I did finish it and my last one in was BEGET which I struggled with for a while. I thought that there were quite a few tricky constructions here but the entertainment value is always first class.
Many thanks to flashling and Everyman.
Thanks Everyman. I thought there was some brilliant misdirection here: it took me the best part of a week to get cygnet and satellite dish. Great stuff.
Quite tough in parts. Liked Cygnet and Auditions. Rapprochement is not exactly an everyday word and the parsing I found tricky so that took a bit of time. Never heard of the plant, apparently it’s a bastard which sums up parts of this crossword imho.
Thanks EM and Flashling, hope you’re on the way to recovery by now.
Took a while and was a struggle at times. I couldn’t think of Euphorbia either although it is quite a common plant. My favourite was cygnet.
Paso doble was a new one for me, but I was able to get there from the clue and a check with Mr. Google. I was particularly pleased with myself as an antipodean to get Bletchley Park, a memory of which I dredged up from somewhere. ?
Another toughie in my book but a great bunch of clues, particularly Cygnet and Bletchley. Don’t know how long I looked at R…….. (4d) before I finally got there. Mind you I was watching one of NZ’s less impressive days in sport in recent times so was suitably depressed. That’s my excuse anyway. Thanks to all
I wasn’t convinced topic = question anyone else? Also was sim unsure how traffic = trade
Lots of good clues tho cygnet and pitch in
Don’t get too down Mark there is nothing like a loss to fire a team up… plus it doesn’t bode well if a team wins everything a year out fm WC
Van, traffic as in drug traffic, not buses and cars.
Loss will do the ABs good. Rule no 1, if plan A isn’t working, find another, in this instance let someone else kick, and consider a drop goal when you’re almost out of minutes and up their end.
Hmm, well what can I say? This was the toughest crossie I’ve done all year and that includes Chifonies and Picaroons I do during the week. Having said that I can’t say I found some of the parsing to my taste. Qualms as below:
1) Topic = question? I’ve always felt topic was a discussion point
2) Euphoria = rejoicing? Not to me it ain’t. Euphoria is a state of excitement of happiness and not an act of rejoicing
3) Particular = own? Hmm, not likely. “Particular way” would qualify as “own” if you were to substitute “particular way” for “own” in “to each his/her own”
Re: ABs. I’ve stopped watching ABs games since we win all the time. What’s the fun in that? Now let’s see how we go against the Argies in Buenos Aires. They are on a 2 game winning streak …
I agree about how tough this was. Its taken me 3 days and I couldn’t parse 17ac as never heard of the card game or prated for babbled (only prattled). Some clever & mischievous clues all the same, esp CYGNET.
Only starting cryptics, but many thanks to the blog writers and the contributors. I am delighted to see that you all saw this as a tricky proposition too. Not nearly finished, but hearing that you all struggled a bit too, I read as progress for me!!
Thanks again. K