Everyman 3,808

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The puzzle may be found at https://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/everyman/3808.

One recurring feature of the current Everyman crosswords has been related answers in long lights. When, early on, I came up with 1D ARCHIMEDES SCREW and 26A WELLINGTON BOOTS, it looked as if the tradition was being continued: items named after people. If that is the intent, there is where it ends, as 1A AT THE DROP OF A HAT is Flanders and Swan’s revue, and 8D TARZAN OF THE APES is the Edgar Rice Burroughs novel, which adhere to no common scheme that I can see. Apart from that, there is the one semi &lit at 18A ECOLOGIST, and perhaps a few too many of the allusive definitions which have produced complaints before.

Across
1 AT THE DROP OF A HAT Father had potato messily and without thinking (2,3,4,2,1,3)
An anagram (‘messily’) of ‘father had potato’.
9 COUNT ON Trust nobleman of Norway (5,2)
A charade of COUNT (‘nobleman’) plus O (‘of’, as in “cat o’ nine tails”) plus N (‘Norway’, IVR).
10 SNIFTER Fine arts: obscure without a little drink (7)
An anagram (‘obscure’) of ‘fine [a]rts’ minus the A (‘without a’).
11 IDIOM ‘A fool will spend time to gain money’: it’s an expression (5)
IDIO[t] (‘a fool’) with the T replaced by M (‘spend time to gain money’).
12 SHANGRI-LA Paradise has madly, endlessly furiously, come before angel’s head (7-2)
A charade of SHA, an anagram (‘madly’) of ‘has’ plus [a]NGRIL[y] (‘furiously’) minus both end letters (‘endlessly’) plus A (‘Angel’s head’).
13 ESTABLISH Prove herbalists worked without recipe (9)
An anagram (‘worked’) of ‘he[r]balists’ minus the R (‘without recipe’).
15 PATIO With some constipation, you might eat here (5)
A hidden answer (‘with some’) in ‘constiPATIOn’.
16 EMCEE Appearing in item, Ceefax host (5)
A hidden answer (‘appearing in’) ‘itEM CEEfax’.
18 ECOLOGIST One re-imagining geopolitics without industrialism and petroleum, primarily? (9)
An anagram (‘re-imagining’) of ‘geo[p]ol[i]tics’ minus P and I (‘without Industrialism and Petroleum primarily’), with an extended definition.
20 SOUTH-EAST From the Home Counties, nearly rancid: the bubbly’s finally missing something (5-4)
A charade of SOU[r] (‘rancid’) minus it last letter (‘nearly’) plus ‘the’ plus ASI[i] (‘bubbly’; the province of Asti in Italy produces various wines, but is best known for the sparkling Asti Spumante, which is officially known by the DOCG appellation Asti). ‘From’ does not seem to belong to the definition.
23 OVULE United in love, besotted, finding need for reproduction (5)
An envelope (‘in’) of U (‘united’) in OVLE, an anagram (‘besotted’) of ‘love’. An OVULE is a plant’s seed before fertilization.
24 ROSSINI Puccini’s sorry about embracing another composer (7)
A reversed (‘about’) hidden (’embracing’) answer in ‘puccINI’S SORri’.
25 BOOZE-UP Pour forth, in pub, round — or several rounds (5-2)
An envelope (‘in’) of OOZE (‘pour forth’ – but surely to OOZE is to leak or flow slowly?) in BUP, a reversal (’round’) of ‘pub’.
26 WELLINGTON BOOTS Rumpled Boston towelling: what’ll keep you dry (10,5)
An anagram (‘rumpled’) of ‘Boston towelling’.
Down
1 ARCHIMEDES SCREW Greek comes before prison officer: ‘How might I get water?’ (10,5)
A simple charade of ARCHIMEDES (‘Greek’) plus SCREW (slang, ‘prison officer’).
2 TOURIST Say, daytripper: visit our isthmus, for a while (7)
A hidden answer (‘for a while’) in ‘visiT OUR ISThmus’.
3 ESTIMABLE Unreliable timetable’s omitting time: that’s … worthy of note (9)
An anagram (‘unreliable’) of ‘[t]imetable’s’ minus a T (‘omitting time’).
4 RANTS Declaims reduction of immigrants by 50% (5)
‘[immig]RANTS’ minus its first five letters (‘reduction … by 50%’).
5 PISTACHIO Green Party at first is to include what’s essential to teaching (9)
An envelope (‘to include’) of ACHI (‘what’s essential to teACHIng’) in P (‘Party at first’) plus ‘is to’.
6 FLING An affair, possibly a Scottish country dance (5)
Double definition.
7 HIT LIST Italian league in history’s half eliminated those to be assassinated (3,4)
An envelope (‘in’) of IT (‘Italian’) plus L (‘league’) in ‘hist[ory’s]’ minus its last four letters (‘half eliminated’).
8 TARZAN OF THE APES ‘A Pest of Nazareth’: outrageous story of 1912 (6,2,3,4)
An anagram (‘outrageous’) of ‘a pest of Nazareth’. Edgar Rice Burroughs’ novel first appeared in 1912.
14 ITERATING Tearing it up is a way of adding stress (9)
An anagram (‘up’) of ‘tearing it’.
15 PHOTOBOMB Intrude in a modern way and get shot with weapon (9)
A charade of PHOTO (‘shot’) plus BOMB (‘weapon’).
17 COUNSEL Flounces out, rejecting female’s advice (7)
An anagram (‘out’) of ‘[f]lounces’ minus the F (‘rejecting female’).
19 IN UTERO Awaiting delivery of hysterical routine (2,5)
An anagram (‘hysterical’) of ‘routine’.
21 HAITI With temperature having dropped, resort of Tahiti remains a humid place (5)
An anagram (‘re-sort’) of ‘Tahi[t]i’ minus T (‘with temperature having dropped’).
22 TABOO Expression of gratitude? I don’t like that being forbidden (5)
A charade of TA (‘expression of gratitude’) plus BOO (interjection, ‘I don’t like that’).
completed grid

13 comments on “Everyman 3,808”

  1. 15a and 16: Two hidden clues consecutively and one of them is a short one in a single word rather than spread across words.

  3. As I’ve said before, I like the current Everyman puzzles.  Occasionally there’s a definition that is just a bit too quirky for my taste, but not often.

    My favourites here were the extended definition at 18a (ECOLOGIST) and the anagram at 8d (TARZAN OF THE APES).  Like DuncT I thought it was the HAT in the top row and the BOOTS in the bottom row that fitted the pattern we’ve seen in recent puzzles.  I can’t see any connection between Archimedes and Tarzan though!

    Many thanks Everyman and PeterO.

  4. Than you Everyman for an enjoyable puzzle and PeterO for the blog.

    There is a Professor ARCHIMEDES Q Porter, the father of Jane Porter, in the TARZAN book …

  6. Largely good, entertaining puzzle; I particularly enjoyed PISTACHIO and PHOTOBOMB. ‘A humid place’ is, however, a pretty naff definition (with ‘remains’ as a fairly unlikely linker.)

    Thanks Everyman and PeterO.

     

     

  7. Anyone else feel there are getting to be too many “anagrams less one, two or more letters” clues? It seems to spoil the neatness of an anagram, and hints at being a bit of a cop-out on the setter’s part.

    And does 23A “need for reproduction” properly clue someTHING that’s needed for reproduction?

    I liked Puccini/Rossini, though.

  8. I think the from in 20A is needed. The South East is from the Home Counties Eastwards. I couldn’t parse that clue though so came here specifically to look for that. So thanks.

  9. This was the quickest Everyman I’ve done in a long while. Having the long 1ac & 1d write-ins helped a lot. looking forward to the RWC final tonight. Thanks Everyman & PeterO.

  10. I agree GrahamP, in fact too many anagrams altogether for my liking. A quick and easy solve this week, but now I’m getting used to the new Everyman’s style it is only the tortured or questionable definitions that provide a challenge.

  11. Couldn’t muster South East or Photobomb, and usual niggly definitions here and there, otherwise fine.

    I think the mini themes are starting to dry up

    Rishi @1, I’m Beezie

  12. An enjoyable solve, but agreed that there could be less anagrams. Having said that, the anagrams minus a letter do put a different spin on things. Not looking forward to the RWC final tonight…

    Many thanks Everyman and PeterO!

  13. Managed this ok except very disappointed I was incorrect with broke up (no rationale here) instead of booze up (so obvious now. Duh!). Agree about the continued large number of anagrams but hey, its good practice for my scrabble! Thanks to all

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