The Observer crossword from January 20, 2019
A truly sad day for crossword lovers. Rumour has it that this was Colin Gumbrell’s final contribution to the Observer series.
And after I saw today’s [quite shocking] Everyman 3,772 , I can confirm: yes it was.
In April 2015 (actually on my very birthday!) our beloved setter took over from his, equally well-respected, predecessor Allan Scott. I clearly remember that it caused a shock wave for many Everyman solvers as the level of difficulty seemed to have gone up to a significantly higher level. Now, almost four years later, I cannot remember any unfavourable reviews – week in week out, these puzzles were so consistently precise and, above all, immensely enjoyable.
It must have been at the end of 2017 that I asked Gaufrid whether he could give me a monthly blogging slot for the Everyman crossword. It was not only because I had to give up blogging for the FT, it was first of all because I had become to like Colin’s crosswords so much. I blogged ‘only’ 15 of his crosswords but it feels like a lot more.
I am pretty sure the other bloggers will have similar feelings.
Colin Gumbrell’s crosswords will be missed by many many solvers, and he will be a hard act to follow, as some already made clear.
So, dear Colin, huge thanks for all the Saturday and Sunday fun over the years!!
But above all, we here at Fifteensquared wish you strength in these difficult times, hoping you will recover soon.
| Across | ||
| 1 | CAREFREE | Unconcerned about heartless arbiter (8) |
| CA (about, circa) + {REFEREE (arbiter) minus the E in the middle} | ||
| 5 | SCAR | Mark made by small vehicle (4) |
| S (small) + CAR (vehicle) My first one in and and an ideal starter for newbies, too. |
||
| 10 | ARGUE | Answer with regret suppressing good debate (5) |
| A (answer) + RUE (regret) around G (good) | ||
| 11 | PERENNIAL | Constant friend outside pub before getting round (9) |
| PAL (friend) around a reversal [getting round] of {INN (pub) + ERE (before)} One of the meanings of ‘perennial’ is ‘growing constantly’. |
||
| 12 | STAND ON CEREMONY | Many, censor noted, wrongly observe formalities (5,2,8) |
| Anagram [wrongly] of MANY CENSOR NOTED | ||
| 13 | COHERE | Be consistent in business at this place (6) |
| CO (business) + HERE (at this place) | ||
| 14 | EXPLAIN | Account for former partner, one in scheme (7) |
| EX (former partner), followed by I (one) inside PLAN (scheme) | ||
| 17 | AGELESS | Ever youthful actress, elegant in part, coming back (7) |
| Hidden [in part] in: [actre]ss elega[nt], then reversed [coming back] | ||
| 19 | SPINAL | Pinches back and a length of backbone (6) |
| Reversal [back] of NIPS (pinches) , followed by A L (length) | ||
| 21 | SELECT COMMITTEE | Let’s cite memo, mistaken about European court, in parliamentary group (6,9) |
| Anagram [mistaken] of LET’S CITE MEMO, going around E (European) CT (court) | ||
| 23 | ASCERTAIN | Discover a spot occupied by church beside river (9) |
| A + STAIN (spot) having {CE (church) + R (river)} inside | ||
| 24 | GABON | Chatter about country (5) |
| GAB (chatter) + ON (about) For those who don’t know where Gabon is, it’s on the west coast of Africa. |
||
| 25 | TIDE | Speaker’s joined trend (4) |
| Homophone [speaker’s] of TIED (joined) | ||
| 26 | PLAYLETS | Small dramas created by nervous ally in revolutionary procedure (8) |
| Anagram [nervous] of ALLY, going inside a reversal [revolutionary] of STEP (procedure) | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | CLAUSE | Reason to keep line in section of contract (6) |
| CAUSE (reason) around L (line) | ||
| 2 | RIGMAROLE | Outfit, medium, with a part in performance (9) |
| RIG (outfit) + M (medium) + A ROLE (part) | ||
| 3 | FREDDIE MERCURY | Singer, divine one in liberated element (7,7) |
| DD (divine, here used as a noun, Doctor of Divinity) + I (one), together inside FREE (liberated), then + MERCURY (element, chemical symbol: Hg) I guess everyone knows who Freddie Mercury (1946-1981) was. And if not, go and see Bohemian Rhapsody, the 2018 biopic featuring the award-winning Oscar nominee Rami Malek. |
||
| 4 | EXPANSE | Flower mostly found in river area (7) |
| PANS[y] (flower, except the last letter) inside EXE (river) | ||
| 6 | CAIRO | Atmosphere in Colorado is capital (5) |
| AIR (atmosphere) inside CO (Colorado, abbreviated) | ||
| 7 | RALLYING | Motorsport getting better? (8) |
| Double definition (with, for some solvers, the first perhaps a bit loose) | ||
| 8 | FREEZE | About to wear hat, beginning to expect period of cold weather (6) |
| RE (about) inside FEZ (hat), then + E[xpect] | ||
| 9 | ENTERPRISINGLY | Boldly come in and carry on about revolt (14) |
| ENTER (come in) + PLY (carry on) around RISING (revolt) | ||
| 15 | ADAPTABLE | Versatile plug attached to a piece of furniture receiving power (9) |
| AD (plug, advertisement) + A TABLE (piece of furniture) around P (power) | ||
| 16 | CAMSHAFT | Part of engine‘s mass in fact has broken (8) |
| M (mass) inside an anagram [broken] of FACT HAS | ||
| 18 | SOCIAL | Spies in very large party (6) |
| CIA (spies) inside {SO (very) + L (large)} | ||
| 19 | SEMINAL | Note French city, rising to be influential (7) |
| LA (note) + NIMES (French city), together reversed [rising] | ||
| 20 | TENNIS | Wrong trap lifted in game (6) |
| SIN (wrong) + NET (trap), together reversed [lifted] Surprisingly, a clue similar to the one it follows. |
||
| 22 | LUCID | Clear line for all to see followed by police (5) |
| L (line) + U (for all to see) + CID (police) | ||
I came here after noticing a big change in today’s crossword, and while I wish the new setter well, I am very sad to read that last week was the last of Colin’s compositions. I can only say that he provided hours of wit and entertainment for me and doubtless many others, and that his wonderful puzzles will be greatly missed.
Hear hear! Colin’s consummate professionalism, subtlety, accuracy and wit will be greatly missed by his many fans, and we wish him the very best for a full recovery and speedy return to crosswords.
I’m sorry to report that, on the evidence of today’s puzzle, the Observer seems to have made a terrible mistake when choosing Colin’s successor …
I have just looked at the first two clues of today’s Everyman. Both are faulty at a basic level and would have the great founder of the series turning in his grave.
Colin has been a part of my Sunday morning routine for all the time he’s been setting. Every puzzle was notable for its wit, precision, and the book, singer or film you always got. A very, very hard act to follow. I wish Colin all the best for a speedy recovery.
That is a wholly fitting tribute Sil. Many thanks.
I have greatly admired Colin’s work over many years, in all his several disguises.
So it is truly with a heavy heart that I now have to say (to twist the Philip Roth title a little), Goodbye Columba.
Colin will be very much missed. I’ve only been solving cryptics for a few months and the Everyman was the puzzle that cemented my love for the form: by turns welcoming, challenging, playful and witty.
I hope that the new setter is able to overcome the issues apparent in today’s puzzle and that the Everyman can continue to be a gateway for other novice solvers.
And to Colin, many thanks and wishing you a speedy return to good health.
For this puzzle, I was unable to fully parse 3d. It was the DDI that I could not work out.
Thank you Everyman and Sil.
And thank you for many enjoyable crosswords, Mr Colin Gumbrell. I have always enjoyed the Sunday Everyman puzzles.
I can only echo what has been said already. Colin, you have brought great pleasure to my Sunday mornings and I admire your deftness of touch and consistency. Wishing you all the very best and hoping to see your work grace the pages of the Observer again.
Yes, sad to see Colin go. Best wishes.
And yes, today’s offering was a little… Odd.
Can only echo the sentiments above. We have spent more time denigrating the clues to 772 than we did completing the puzzle. But… early days. I remember Colin’s start, he went from easy to impossible very quickly. But his clues have made the first hours after Saturday midnight a joy. Great fun, very challenging, and….perhaps we should get out more!! Wishing him well for the future, and encouragement for the newbie.
I was sad while solving this last Everyman puzzle by Colin Gumbrell and will especially miss his super anagrams, such as that at 12a today.
I want to thank him on behalf of the New Zealand solvers, we wish him a speedy recovery and hope to see more of his crosswords in the future.
I have now solved the whole new puzzle. It is DIRE and you lot must tell The Observer so. Colin, I should say, is a long-standing colleague of mine and he has my utmost respect and good wishes for a speedy recovery from his illness. He is out of the top drawer, no doubt about that!
Don Manley @12, some of us who live outside the UK will be tackling the new puzzle later.
Today’s puzzle didn’t look right from the get-go with all of those full stops and strange surfaces, as if it had been cobbled together at short notice by someone with little or no experience of setting. A one-off, I hope.
Thank you to Mr Gumbrell for all of his Everyman work. I’ve spent many happy hours cracking the themes in his brilliant Antico puzzles in The Oldie too.
Nila Palin, the fact that Colin Gumbrell himself doesn’t know the identity of the new Everyman setter suggests to me that your suspicion may be correct. If The Observer receives enough complaints, let’s hope that today’s dreadful debut puzzle also proves to be his/her last and that something approaching normal service can be resumed next week.
It’s truly sad to see that the Everyman’s standards have fallen so far. In fact, the only touch of wit I could detect in 3,772 was that our new setter’s first words were “Loses hope…”. I wish both Colin and the Everyman crossword a speedy recovery.
As Lord Chesterfield might have advised (had he been an Everyman solver), ‘Wit is not upon all occasions required, but accuracy always is.’
Thanks to Sil van den Hoek and Everyman
Having come only recently to this site and more particularly to the Guardian’s on-line archive, I can look forward to solving Colin Gumbrell’s elegant puzzles for some time yet.
Best wishes to him
Just to say about today’s puzzle, and echoing what others have mentioned – I can only guess that this is a first-time setter and the puzzle was not audited. There are so, so many missing indicators. The contrast between what went before and this could not be bigger. It’s such a shame for both the Everyman slot and the person who set today’s.
Many of these answers sum up my experience of Colin Gumbrell’s puzzles: Perennial, Cohere, Ageless, Enterprisingly, Adaptable, Seminal, Lucid and, I’m guessing, Social and Carefree. Let’s hope Rallying is also on this list. Thank you Colin for many happy hours/years of Sunday solving.
Often wondered: who is the editor of the Everyman crossword?
I’ve always assumed, nms, that it was the same crossword editor for the Grauniad and the Everyman, since the Observer is in the same stable. There are two separate addresses on the crossword part of the website, but I guess they end up in the same inbox. I don’t know for sure, though.
As another from the other side of the world, I can only add my thanks for the Everyman series. Beautifully written and oh, so attainable. I have enjoyed them around lunch on Sundays for years. Thank you Mr Gumbrell and thank you too Sil for the blogging.
I can confirm that the Guardian crossword editor has nothing to do with the Observer. In fact I do not think that the Everyman crossword has a crossword editor as such, though this is not to say that there is not a checking mechanism somwhere within the publishing process — I really don’t know.
Many thanks, Colin Gumbrell, for your excellent puzzles in a variety of outlets over the years and I hope there will be some improvement on the health front.
Today’s puzzle can’t possibly be the work of the new Everyman, whoever that may be. I can only think that the wrong puzzle has somehow found its way into the production process. Bizarre.
I asked about the editor because it seems that whoever is responsible has made a bit of a blunder 🙂
And good luck to next week’s blogger PeterO.
Who knows, he might find something positive to say. But – as is clear now – it is an absolute shocker.
Let’s see how it will be next Sunday.
Thanks to Sil and Colin Gumbrell for blog and puzzle.
The Everyman has been a part of my Sunday breakfast table architecture for some years. I’ve always enjoyed CG’s gracious style and wit, and though – and probably because – its remit wasn’t to blow the top off the tuffometer Everyman fitted into a busy family morning perfectly. All the best for the future, Colin.
(Today’s Everyman was woeful. Perhaps the Observer crossword editor is a pinned-on, arbitarary role for which quite possibly being a solver is not a prerequisite, but to be kind to the setter it shouldn’t have left the desk.)
…arbitrary, even!
In this blog from 2013 Hugh Stephenson says that “the Observer person in charge of crosswords is Edie Reilly”:
https://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/crossword-blog/2013/nov/05/guardian-crossword-blog-update
As she is not described as “crossword editor” it may be that Ms Reilly, who is a secretary/assistant at the Observer, deals with crossword nuts and bolts such as payments and scheduling but does not edit.
If anyone wants to register disapproval directly, rather than piling into next week’s blog here, then the address is:
crossword.editor@observer.co.uk
I’ll be recording my opinion there in the morning.
Everyman crossword has been appearing in Chennai-based Indian national broadsheet ‘The Hindu’ for several years now (after a time-lag of some weeks). On the less hard side but highly entertaining. The trend continued after Allan Scott. This week’s (3772) on the original site is too easy and many clues seem to lack in the pleasure quotient. Comments by solvers under a post on a previous puzzle on an Indian blog express disappointment over 3772 (without revealing answers, of course).
The full stop at the end of each clue has caused annoyance to a few present-day solvers. But then The Times used the practice after other UK papers dropped it. The Hindu Crossword by a setter having much respect to it followed it when he introduced the feature in the paper in 1971. The period was done away with later. Now, with setters using punctuation marks too as part of the clue, the full stop has no place in a clue, I think.
Miss you CG. You always delighted. Best wishes.
Happy retirement, Colin.
It was like walking into a room with no power yesterday.
Someone send a decent replacement, please.
I have always been impressed that Colin has been able to produce a quality Everyman on a weekly basis. I feel fortunate that I have been able to tell him as much on Twitter, where he sometimes advertised his puzzles.
As for today’s puzzle – pathetic. Hey, I’d be happy to give you some everyman puzzles! Not sure I could do colin justice, but the puzzles would at least be sound!
It might also be an idea to contact the Observer’s readers’ editor. He or she might be able to explain how the wrong puzzle has apparently been published. He or she might also be able to throw some light on who appoints the Everyman setter and who edits the puzzles (if anyone).
The address of the readers’ editor is:
observer.readers@observer.co.uk
How do you mean ‘the wrong puzzle’?
This wasn’t even what I call ‘a puzzle’?
Oh Lordy, 3772 was dire, 15 minutes down the pub on a Monday evening isn’t what you expect from an Everyman.
I think ‘wrong puzzle’ contains more anagram indicators than 3772.
That the wrong puzzle has been published is the only explanation that makes any sense to me.
The puzzle seems to be the work of someone who is learning how to compile cryptic crosswords. I’m imagining it was submitted to <crossword.editor@observer.co.uk> in the hope that it might be published. Once there, instead of receiving a polite rejection from whoever it is who is responsible for such matters, it somehow found its way into the production process and ended up being published in the newspaper and on the Observer site.
I’m assuming that an experienced setter has in fact been appointed as the new Everyman and that the puzzle that should have been published is still knocking around the Observer offices somewhere.
A lot of assumptions there, of course. and I might be completely wrong, not for the first time 🙂
But I can’t believe that the published puzzle is the work of the new Everyman.
A suggestion has been made above that a wrong puzzle might have been published. It is possible yet I am not sure.
In hot metal press era, each story was an array of slugs sitting first on a tray and later transferred into a chase. So there was only one item in all its solidity – no unedited version, no duplicate, no alternative version – and so there was no chance of a wrong item going into the paper.
Nowadays on the computer any story may have multiple copies, unedited, edited, revised version and so on. Each of these files will have a name.
Now, when a sub while making up the page clicks on a wrong file name instead of the right one – between them there might be a very slight difference – the wrong one goes in.
Only a very careful checking of page proof by a conscientious sub will detect the error.
Yet, a copy just received and to be seen, a copy that has been selected and edited and a copy to be uploaded onto the page will all have distinct file names. So my conclusion is: after all, it may not be a wrong file and an error i n judgement may have occurred.
Just letting my mind wander over the grave incident.
Has anyone who’s complained to the Observer about this week’s puzzle received a response yet?
I have emailed (Monday afternoon) and not even an acknowledgement.
I suspect that Sunday’s “stand-in” puzzle was a panic reaction and someone had to cobble something together. As simple as that!
I agree, Tom – but as no-one seems to know whether a permanent replacement has been appointed yet, how many more of these stand-in puzzles will we have to suffer?
I’ve had no response yet to my Monday email either, and will be forwarding it to the Readers’ Editor if I’ve had no acknowledgement by tomorrow.
Same here – no response or even acknowledgement. I think Tom is not far wrong with his explanation.
I’ve been told the Observer does have a lady puzzle editor who is aware of the many complaints (but seems ignorant of Everyman and Azed!), so let’s see if this results in positive action …
I’m comforted to find that I’m not the only Everyman solver to have been shocked and horrified by the terrible standard of no. 3772, and to discover here the reason for the vertiginous drop in quality. I too hope that the Observer editor takes note of his/her customers’ concerns and ensures that this is only a brief and temporary aberration. Good wishes indeed to the new setter(s), but also please up your game!
This Sunday’s puzzle will be by a brand new setter, or so I’m led to believe. Fingers crossed …
First of the Kiwis here. Not sure what’s going on. Is 3771 Colin’s last crossword or was that 3770? I’m confused.
I’ve had a sneak peek at 3772 and agree it is weird. It more resembles the midweek crossie we get in the NZ Herald. I too wonder if it is a misprint. Dare I look ahead and find out?
As for 3771, I had no issues with finishing it. Could not parse 3d and 20d but they were easy enough to guess. I’ve seen 20d appear a number of times in various crosswords.
Best wishes to Colin.
never seen so many comments! I thoroughly enjoyed this and suppose reading by the comments this is the last by this setter. I guess we will be all nervous to see what next Sat. herald brings us… I foolishly put Scab instead of Scar and then got very stuck on 7d before realising it couldnt start with B I also got clues like Camshaft and Playlets but totally failed to see a relatively straightforward one like Social…. rock on next Saturday and will be interesting to read the reactions..
Thanks Colin for a grand finale. Wish you well. 15ac was a lovely surface. I needed help with 2D even with all the crossers. Thanks for the advance warning from up north. Reminds me of Nevil Shute’s On The Beach.
Never seen so many comments. Nothing challenging in this puzzle, and agree with Rats@49. It’s more like the midweek crosswords we suffer in the NZ Herald. Probably they haven’t been able to find a suitable replacement for Colin yet and this one was just to tide us over.
The most interesting thing about this puzzle was reading the comments. Some from people who haven’t commented for ages and ages and even one from India!!
Looking forward to seeing what happens next week.
This was a nice one to finish, 3/4 easy and then had to focus to complete the last handful of pesky ones.
Apparently 3772 (which kiwis will presumably get next week) was a one-off which the editor presumably found on the back of a fag packet in the rubbish, and a new setter will be in harness with effect from 3773.
So we are in for an uneven period over here.
Meantime, all the best and thanks to Colin for hours of pleasure (and well placed frustration) over the past few years.
Looking forward to next week with glee! Thanks Colin from a very warm NZ for the hours of frustrated fun.
A lovely puzzle and way to go out Colin. Many thanks for all your work over the last few years, and a speedy recovery! Thanks to Sil for the blog. Waiting with interest to see what the comments are all talking about…
I missed this (not the puzzle itself) at the time. Like most solvers here (including, no doubt, the complainers) I cracked the whole thing with no difficulty. the main thing I noticed was the lack of anagram indicators.
I do recall Araucaria having said that at some point in time he consciously tightened up his signalling of anagrams to keep pace with the expectations of the day.
I didn’t notice the full stops – or if I did it didn’t bother me.
I thought it redolent of crosswords from a much earlier age – before the ximenian terror.
Dropping the final full stop (and only the final one if there are others) was (as already pointed out earlier) that only crept in over time. It’s not entirely logical but we seem to find it more elegant and we have certainly now got used to it to the extenet tha tit is treated as “a rule” – conformity now being the watchword in a game that was previously defined by open-mindedness.
Maybe the regular setter (on account of illness) missed the deadline. Maybe the “editor” failed to notice that there was no puzzle booked in for that slot. “Never mind about getting it right – get it written” was a well-known Fleet Street slogan. Like dead air on the radio the paper must be filled with content.
Nowadays you can fill an embarrassing gap with a picture – but a crossword slot has to be filled with a crossword.
My best guess is that they had such a gap and wanted to fill it with an old puzzle. Not wanting to have it recognised as a re-run they went back a very long way – long enough back to have preceded modern conventions. You just needed to put a very old hat on to get on its wavelength.
I think what I wrote above actually applies to Everyman 3772, rather than this one.