It’s nearly two months now since our last, long-serving Everyman setter retired, and the offerings since then have been, let’s say, variable. This one, in my opinion at least, passes muster.
The problem is, I think, that we have been spoiled. Colin and Alan for many years produced accessible, clearly-clued, sound-as-a-pound puzzles week in and week out. There were usually very few comments on the blogs here because apart from saying thank you and I particularly liked 23dn, there wasn’t much to say. The new setters are, perhaps understandably, struggling to match this very high standard. This Everyman was technically solid, which is a relief. The one thing that stood out for me was the number of clues where the surface directly included an element of the solution. That’s not outrageous, but I thought it was overdone here. More importantly, what did the Everyman fans out there think? Are we nearly there yet?
Abbreviations
cd cryptic definition
dd double definition
cad clue as definition
(xxxx)* anagram
anagrind = anagram indicator
[x] letter(s) removed
definitions are underlined
Across
1 Behold: rugby player in passion play
LOOK BACK IN ANGER
A charade of LOOK, BACK, IN and ANGER. One of several clues in the puzzle where an element of the answer is given directly in the wordplay. John Osborne’s seminal play of 1956, which led to the the ‘angry young man’ movement.
9 Unusually large kind of car
BUMPER
A dd. The first definition is often followed by ‘crop’; the second definition is referring to the fairground attraction.
10 Violent Mars has people rush to war
ARMS RACE
A charade of (ARMS)* and RACE.
11 Sitcom family, quintessentially British rogues
TROTTERS
A charade of T for the middle letter (‘quintessentially’) of ‘British’ and ROTTERS. The TROTTERS feature in the BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses. Overseas solvers might have struggled, but hey ho, it’s a crossword in a UK weekly.
14 It’s useful for hacking, chesty spasms
SCYTHE
Great surface and clue. (CHESTY)* with ‘spasms’ as the anagrind.
17 Doctor to ring West End tourist attraction
DOWNING STREET
A great spot for an anagram: it’s (TO RING WEST END)* You can’t get near it (or no 10, at least) as a tourist these days because of the security gates, and I’m not sure Teresa is finding it particularly attractive these days.
20 Right now, manic child on the edge in the middle of shut-eye
UP-TO-THE-MINUTE
A five-part charade: UP for ‘manic’, TOT for ‘child’, HEM for ‘edge’, IN for ‘in’ and UTE for the middle letters of shUTEye.
23 My surgical procedure on Dalai Lama ultimately leads to complaint
MYOPIA
A charade of MY, OP and IA for the last letters of ‘Dalai’ and ‘Lama’. As in the previous clue and 1ac, an element of the solution is given directly in the clue.
25 Strapping thing‘s backside hit hard
SEAT BELT
A charade of SEAT and BELT.
28 Head of Germany, Europe’s troubled conscience
SUPEREGO
(G EUROPES)* with ‘troubled’ as the anagrind. One of the three elements of Freud’s model of the human psyche (ID and EGO come up in crossies much more frequently).
29 I’ve changed in the nick
THIEVE
An insertion of (IVE)* in THE.
30 Novel clinical relief work in field
COLD COMFORT FARM
A charade of COLD, COMFORT and FARM gives you Stella Gibbons’ 1932 work. Claims that it’s not well known will be refuted by the fact that it came in at no. 57 in a list of 100 best novels (garnered by the Guardian, no less).
Down
2 ‘Work over, beat up’: boxing spelt out essentially
OEUVRE
An insertion (‘boxing’) of E and U for the middle letters (‘essentially’) of ‘spelt’ and ‘out’ in (OVER)* The anagrind is ‘beat up’.
3 Dreamt up a Koons retrospective seen to include bust
KAPUT
Hidden reversed in dreamT UP A Koons.
4 Consent given in Gretna Green
AGREE
Hidden not reversed in gretnA GREEn.
5 Poet changing yen for krone remains a poet
KEATS
The setter (I’m still not going to call him or her ‘Everyman’ yet) is referencing the fact that you can put Y or K – the abbreviations for ‘yen’ and ‘krone’ in front of EATS to give you two poets: YEATS and KEATS. If you change the Y for a K you’ve still got a poet.
6 Siemens turns out to be a curse
NEMESIS
(SIEMENS)*
7 Twitchy, very neurotic primarily?
NERVY
(VERY N)* with ‘twitchy’ as both the definition and the anagrind. Caddish.
8 Staggered around etc, drunkenly getting back in
REELECTED
An insertion of (ETC)* in REELED. The insertion indicator is ‘around’ and the anagrind is ‘drunkenly’. I would always hyphenate this word: RE-ELECTED.
12 What to do with a car wreck, specifically
TO WIT
A whimsical way of saying that if your car was wrecked, you’d have to TOW IT.
13 Produce sounds like a fishy collection
RAISE
A homophone in anyone’s language of RAYS.
15 Position of Gibraltar endlessly the thing under discussion
THEME
THE ME[D]
16 Columbus is at sea, leaving British behind, in work of Franklin
SOUL MUSIC
(COLUM[B]US IS)* The removal indicator is ‘leaving behind’ and the anagrind is ‘at sea’. Neither Benjamin nor Rosalind, but Aretha.
17 MD: dictation regularly registers that which has been said
DITTO
The even letters of the first two words of the clue.
18 Appearance of chaps on the radio?
GUISE
A homophone of GUYS.
19 Bound, we’re told, to give hope
TRUST
The puzzle is getting a bit homophone heavy here. A homophone of TRUSSED.
21 Get ready to lift the elbow
HEAVE-HO
A dd: the first definition is the original meaning, of sailors preparing to lift the anchor; the second refers to dismissal from a job. ‘She got the old heave-ho from her last position.’
22 Sharp cleaver clearing area
CLEVER
CLE[A]VER
24 ‘Phosphorus (Pb)’!? Offer something in excuse!
PLEAD
A charade of P for the chemical symbol for Phosphorus, and LEAD, for which Pb is the symbol.
25 Parody sending up France: oops
SPOOF
The fifth time in this crossword where an element of the answer has been given directly in the clue. A reversal of F OOPS.
26 For example, Colman‘s factory’s contents
ACTOR
The ‘content’ of ‘factory’ is ACTOR. The surface is referring to the mustard makers in Norwich (although not for much longer, since the factory is closing this year after 160 years the city); the solution is referring to the very talented but perhaps slightly over-exposed actor Olivia Colman. She seems to be in everything at the minute, so the setter is on firm ground in referencing her. And in using ‘actor’ for a female: modern usage and style guides dictate this. Yes, I know, she just won Best Actress award at the Oscars …
27 Brusque barrister
BRIEF
A dd.
Many thanks to the setter for this Sunday’s Everyman.
Thanks Pierre. I agree with you said about being spoiled by sound as a pound puzzles week in week out. I thought this was an excellent work out – I set off like a train and then had to work hard on the bottom half, although there was nothing too tricky with hindsight. The difference is you used to know what you’d get with Everyman and whilst this is definitely more like the standard I’d like to see it doesn’t feel there is a consistent handwriting yet. I also had SCYTHE ticked, along with THIEVE and ACTOR. Looking at it again it was a dnf as I had THERE? instead of THEME for 15d. So it was trickier than I thought. OEUVRE continues the flexible use of “essentially” debate. Thanks to Everyman and Pierre again.
Re the clue “10a Violent Mars has people rush to war”, wouldn’t grammar/idiom require the surface to have rushing?
A ‘rush to war’ could be an ‘arms race’, Rishi. I think the nounal sense works fine.
Yes, getting there slowly but surely.
I quite enjoyed this puzzle. My favourite was TO WIT.
Thanks Pierre and Everyman
What Pierre said in his opening remarks.
Very nice summary Pierre; I haven’t commented recently on the Everyman as the ‘old’ ones, as you said, were smooth and did not raise many issues. I enjoyed this one, although today’s [more next week] seems to have a few rotten clues. Do we know yet if there is just one setter or a panel?
BTW, why don’t The Oscars etc just change to ‘best female actor?’
Thanks Everyman and Pierre
I don’t usually do the Everyman as I’m busy on most Sundays, so I wasn’t aware of the controversy over new setters. I enjoyed this one, with SOUL MUSIC my favourite.
One question: why is “rays” a fishy collection?
Enjoyable puzzle that is improving week by week. I don’t really take note of clue types and how many there were of each, I just enjoy the solving process.
I liked SOUL MUSIC, SCYTHE and SUPEREGO especially. Thanks to Pierre and Everyman whoever he/she may be.
I enjoyed this and, like Michelle, my favourite was TO WIT!
Just an observation, France is going the other way to the UK, it is now feminizing words for métiers, etc.. To me, doing away with the word actress implies that the female is inferior to the male – the French are revoking the 1647 law which states “le masculin, étant le plus noble, il prédomine toutes les fois que le masculin et le féminin se trouvent ensemble“, before this date there were many feminine words, such as autrice, écrivaine and chirurgienne, which are now being brought back.
Et aussi, Cookie, la cheffe. Not sure I’m a big fan of that one, but I’m not going to argue with The Académie française.
I think the most glaring example of “too much given away in the clue” is 22d. It might have been better with chopper or blade, which should be interpreted as cleaver before removing the A. Other than that, I agree with other comments above – several neat and amusing clues here. Thanks to Pierre and the setter.
Pierre @11, I think they have tied themselves up unnecessarily there, the proper term is chef cuisinier, it is not a métier, it is a fonction, “contrairement au métier, une fonction est distincte de son titulaire et indifférente à son sexe – elle est impersonnelle car elle ne renvoie pas à une identité singulière, mais à un rôle social, temporaire et amissible, auquel tout individu peut, en droit, accéder (…). On n’est pas sa fonction, on l’occupe”.
As regards the term chef in the sense of chief, the word cheftaine is already used by the the girl scouts.
By the way, thank you for the blog, I stupidly failed to get GUISE.
Muffin @ 12 – I assumed collection simply denoted the plural.
Err muffin @ 8 obviously… it’s been a long day
Much better.
Most of this was beyond me, I’m afraid.
taking me far too long and not as satisfying solving tho I will keep persevering until get used to this setters, Never heard of the Trotters, should we have.
I didnt understand Oeuvre at all . that clue just didnt make sense to me at all
Enjoyed this puzzle. Struggled with 2 down (“oeuvre”) — had to use wildcard dictionary — then kicked myself.
I don’t get 21 down “heave-ho”. What has “the elbow” got to do with anything? Either heaving (lifting) or getting turfed out of a job? I led myself down the garden path here since I thought in terms of “lift the elbow” meaning to have a drink.
Rolf, if you are elbowed out of a job it means you are being chucked out.
More of a uk expression than a kiwi one.
Rolf, my example sentence with HEAVE-HO was intended to give you the second sense, but if it’s not a familiar expression to you then I can understand why you’d struggle to understand it.
The standard of the puzzles over the last few weeks (the ones you won’t have seen) have been variable, but stick with them – at least the effort is being made to make them more consistent and accessible.
I don’t know. Wasn’t really in the mood to do this. Must be the colder weather.