Everyman starts the New Year with . . . well, more of the same; bending the rules a bit but generally fun.
There are a couple of names that might not be familiar to everyone. As usual, some of the anagram indicators are pushing the boundaries. And I’d love to hear from anyone who can make sense of 25a; the answer isn’t hard to guess, but the clue is either very vague or very contrived, I’m not sure which.
On the plus side, the homophone indicators are all fair and reasonable (at least to me). There are some very well-constructed clues with good surfaces; I enjoyed the mental images of 1a, 5a (Monty Python’s Life of Brian perhaps?) and 13a. And as usual we have a rhyming pair of entries at 4d and 9d. My favourite clue is probably 18a – simple but effective.
Thanks Everyman, and happy new year to all.
UPDATE: It appears that clues 13a and 24a are different between the online version of the puzzle (which I used to write this blog) and the print version. I’ve updated the blog to include both versions.
Definitions are underlined; square brackets [ ] indicate omitted letters.
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | HEN NIGHT | When topless man’s announced? (3,5) |
| [w]HEN (topless = last letter removed) + homophone (announced) of KNIGHT (man = chess piece). &lit (clue-as-definition): hen night = a group of women going out for the evening, typically before one of them gets married. This may involve a male stripper as part of the entertainment. |
||
| 5 | DEJA VU | Revolutionary Judea inspires very familiar feeling (4,2) |
| Anagram (revolutionary) of JUDEA, containing (inspiring) V (very). | ||
| 10 | SUNDIAL | Star, laid back, is old timer (7) |
| SUN (start) + LAID reversed (back). Old timer = a historic device for telling the time. |
||
| 11 | ENACTED | Staged tea dance without a pirouette (7) |
| Anagram (pirouette) of TE[a] DANCE without one A. Everyman is stretching the limits of acceptable anagram indicators as usual; pirouette means to spin round, but not really to mix up. | ||
| 12 | UNARM | Peacekeepers assembled with a marine to demilitarise (5) |
| UN (United Nations = peacekeepers: a crossword favourite) + A RM (Royal Marine). | ||
| 13 | YARD OF ALE | ONLINE: Visiting university, Australian redhead drained one firkin at first, large amount of booze (4,2,3) |
| Initial letters (at first) of Australian Redhead Drained One Firkin, inserted into (visiting) YALE (US university). Yard of ale = an oversized container of beer (typically a narrow glass a yard high), to be drunk in one go as a challenge or forfeit. |
||
| PRINT: Beer garden? (4,2,3) | ||
| Cryptic definition: beer garden = outside seating area attached to a pub, which may be more of a yard than a garden. But “yard of ale” means the large container as above. | ||
| 14 | AT ROCK BOTTOM | Act oddly, shake rump, getting as low as you can (2,4,6) |
| A[c]T (oddly = odd-numbered letters) + ROCK (shake = unsettle) + BOTTOM (rump). | ||
| 18 | SELF-CRITICAL | Is circle flat? Possibly … doubtful (4-8) |
| Anagram (possibly) of IS CIRCLE FLAT. | ||
| 21 | ONE-EIGHTH | Everyman misrepresents height a fraction (3-6) |
| ONE (Everyman in the sense of “an unspecified person”; or perhaps the setter intends the slightly stilted usage of “one” to mean “I”) + anagram (misrepresents) of HEIGHT. | ||
| 23 | GHOST | German army’s spirit (5) |
| G (German, as in the former GDR) + HOST (army). | ||
| 24 | STOICAL | ONLINE: Patient’s ill – nearly about to amputate limb, to begin with (7) |
| SIC[k] (ill; nearly = without last letter), containing (about) TO, then first letters (to begin with) of Amputate Limb. Patient = stoical = enduring without complaint. |
||
| PRINT: In France, you will get into film, almost uncomplaining (7) | ||
| TOI (French for “you”, so “in France you”), inserted into SCAL[e] (film, almost; film as in limescale perhaps?). | ||
| 25 | LET IT BE | Withholding sex appeal, not a Beatles song primarily wanting for orchestration! (3,2,2) |
| The Beatles song Let It Be, but I’m struggling to explain why. I think it’s meant to be an extended definition, because the song starts with just piano and solo voice rather than full orchestration (the other instruments don’t come in until later). The wordplay isn’t at all obvious; I think it’s an anagram (for orchestration) of BE[a]TLE[s] (not A, and first letter of S[ong] wanting/missing), containing (withholding) IT (sex appeal; an old crossword favourite). But please correct me if you can do better! |
||
| 26 | STERNE | Grim-sounding novelist (6) |
| The Irish novelist Laurence Sterne, pronounced (sounding) like STERN = grim. | ||
| 27 | GYM PANTS | They say Mr. Broadbent’s tired with sportswear (3,5) |
| Homophone (they say) of JIM (the actor Jim Broadbent) + PANTS (as a verb = is out of breath = is tired). | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | HUSH UP | To suppress America, His Highness stifled rising (4,2) |
| US (America) within (… stifled) HH (His Highness), then UP (rising). For once “rising” isn’t a reversal indicator in a down clue. Hush up = suppress = try to keep something away from public knowledge. |
||
| 2 | NON-FAT | Light gas without energy floats around tank to begin with (3-3) |
| N[e]ON (gas, without E = energy) + first letters (to begin with) of Floats Around Tank. Light = non-fat as in “light” versions of dairy foods. |
||
| 3 | IDIOMATIC | Preposterous to describe mum using colloquialisms (9) |
| IDIOTIC (preposterous), containing (describing) MA (mother = mum). | ||
| 4 | HOLLY GOLIGHTLY | Oh golly! Falling – not seriously – for society girl (5,9) |
| Anagram (falling? Doesn’t really work for me) of OH GOLLY, then LIGHTLY (not seriously). The main character in Truman Capote’s novella Breakfast at Tiffany’s and the film based on it. |
||
| 6 | ERATO | Some contents taken from refrigerator: famous inspiration for poetry (5) |
| Hidden answer (some contents taken from) in [refrig]ERATO[r]. One of the Greek Muses, specifically the one associated with love poetry. |
||
| 7 | ATTRACTS | Draws a tableau originally with expanses of land (8) |
| A + T[ableau] (originally = first letter) + TRACTS (expanses of land). | ||
| 8 | UNDREAMT | Buckle under in the morning temperature? Inconceivable (8) |
| Anagram (buckle = crumple) of UNDER, then AM (ante meridiem = in the morning) + T (temperature). | ||
| 9 | KEIRA KNIGHTLEY | Actress, one embraced by dissolute rake, chivalrous in conversation (5,9) |
| I (one in Roman numerals) inserted into an anagram (dissolute) of RAKE, then a homophone (in conversation) of KNIGHTLY = chivalrous. The actress Keira Knightley; the surface perhaps suggests the Pirates of the Caribbean film series and the attentions of Captain Jack Sparrow. |
||
| 15 | ORANGE-TIP | Butterfly variety seen in books on Italy and Portugal (6-3) |
| RANGE (variety) in OT (Old Testament = books), then the abbreviations I and P for Italy and Portugal. As the name suggests, an orange tip is white with orange patches at the edges of its wings. |
||
| 16 | ESPOUSES | Champions see soup’s prepared (8) |
| Anagram (prepared) of SEE SOUP’S. Champions (as a verb) = espouses = supports a cause. |
||
| 17 | BLUE NOTE | Jazz outfit thumping lute with bone (4,4) |
| Anagram (thumping) of LUTE + BONE. Technique in jazz of playing certain notes slightly lower in pitch than would be expected in a standard scale; or one of several jazz establishments with this name. |
||
| 19 | BOLTON | North-west town’s sportsman (forward) (6) |
| BOLT (sportsman: the sprinter Usain Bolt) + ON (forward). Town in Greater Manchester, NW England. |
||
| 20 | ATHENS | Answer must include the ancient city (6) |
| ANS (abbreviation for answer), including THE. | ||
| 22 | INCAN | Write-in candidates including South American (5) |
| Hidden answer (including) in [write-]IN CAN[didates]. Pertaining to the ancient Inca Empire in South America. |
||
I agree that 25A is rather clumsy – the apparent definition seems to be buried in the heart of the clue. However, I think it works like this: IT (sex appeal) is withheld (contained) by BEATLES minus A and S (‘not a’ and ‘song primarily wanting’) and the actual definition is ‘orchestration’, which is presumably used as a synonym for ‘composition’.
I was unsure how to parse LET IT BE. Had guessed BOSTON for 19d (and could not parse it) but now see that it is Bolton – a town I have never heard of.
My favourites were SUNDIAL, STOICAL.
Thanks Peter and Everyman.
The jazz outfit is surely the Blue Note record label, a recent favourite of documentary film makers.
LET IT BE: I agree with Mike except that I parsed “orchestration” to mean anagram and the “Witholding” is definition for Let it Be.
But I agree, very contrived
At 25ac I think on the whole I agree with Cosmic, but I also wondered if ‘withholding sex’ might be the definition of LET IT BE, taking IT as a euphemism for ‘sex’. Then separately in wordplay we’d have IT (just from ‘appeal’) BE{a}TLE{s} [not A / Song primarily wanting] with ‘orchestration’ as the anagram indicator. It’s not perfect, but every suggestion so far seems to be flawed one way or another, which is the sign of a poor clue or that we are all missing something.
In 15ac the I and the P come from international car registration codes.
In my copy of the Observer, the clue for 24a is different! “In France, you will get into film, almost uncomplaining.” I arrived at ‘stoical’ from the definition and the crossers, and ‘toi’ for ‘you’ in France, but I can’t see how the rest works… Anyone else have this version of the clue, and any idea how to parse it, please?
I have the different 24a in my copy of the Observer, and also a different 13a: “Beer garden?”.
i think the alternative 24a parses as TOI (‘You’ in French) inside SCAL (‘scale’ for film, almost, with the end missing).
I also had the variant clue for 24a, parsed as toi, French you, within (into) scal(e) – film or even Scal(a), a film house. In addition, my 13a clue was Beer Garden? (both amusing and bending the rules).
Overall, I find Everyman to swing from being rather unsatisfyingly obscure, like this one, to fairly straightforward.
I have the same version of 24a as you do, Su. And for 13a, my (printed) copy of the Observer has ‘Beer garden?’ instead of the clue discussed above.
Different versions online and in print, perhaps?
Thanks to all commenters. I was working from the online version of the puzzle, which had 13 and 24 as I have given them above. I prefer ‘Beer garden?’ though!
Just to say I will be out for the rest of the morning, so apologies if I don’t reply to comments for a few hours.
I know this a little previous, but today’s puzzle just doesn’t seem like the same setter – no pairs, fewer multi-part clues, a very different style…
I really liked 1a HEN NIGHT – a great &lit. And I also ticked 23a GHOST which was simple and effective.
25a LET IT BE was indeed strange. All the elements are there but the order of them doesn’t seem to make sense cryptically. Mike @1: I’m not sure that “orchestration” can be the definition as it is needed as the anagram indicator.
Also strange that there were different versions of this puzzle! I agree that “Beer garden?” is better for 13a.
Many thanks Everyman and Quirister.
Largely OK, although I had written ‘contrived’ against 25A. I agree with Quirister’s parsing, including the extended definition.
I didn’t like tired = PANTS; one is not necessarily tired when out of breath. I thought the jazz outfit might have been BLUE TONE, but it seems to be BLUE NOTE in the checked version.
Thanks Everyman and Quirister.
Michelle @2 I take it that you not from the UK. Anyone with no interest in football whatsoever would have heard of the team Bolton Wanderers. Also, Bolton was mentioned (backwards = Notlob) in the famous Monty Python parrot sketch. Bolton is actually just a few miles north of Manchester and was previously the centre of the cotton industry back in the 19th century.
Yes, 25a is indeed a messy clue and maybe a bit &lit. Favourites were HEN NIGHT and IDIOMATIC. Thanks to Everyman and Quirister.
What’s with the italicised word (must) in 20d (in the online version anyway)? And there are even more in today’s (1a, 6d, 13d, 20d). And all of them have eaten the surrounding spaces, which slows down reading.
Has the crossie been uploaded with editing indications maybe?
skinny @11 – there is a pair in today’s, though less obvious than some.
Lin @15; the spacing is OK in the newspaper hard copy, although why the last three are italicised is beyond me.
I’ve now updated the blog to include both the print and online versions of the two affected clues. Thanks everyone who pointed out the inconsistency.
As for 25a, I think the jury is still out. Unless Everyman would care to comment?
Must admit I struggled with this & only finished it yesterday – I was fairly sure of the answers but parsing them was another matter. However, there are also some very good clues – I particularly liked 1a & 18a.
Have to say, apropos 27a & 2d, that I’m not convinced either ‘gym pants’ or ‘non-fat’ are expressions in common use.
I also struggled with the parsing of LET IT BE, and eventually gave up; so I am indebted to Quirister and all the above commenters for sticking with it until they arrived at something workable.
As for HEN NIGHT: I assume Everyman is, indeed, a man, and therefore hasn’t been on any hen-nights. I’ve been on quite a few – and although all were boozy and quite a few were riotous, so far I haven’t encountered any male strippers. Perhaps this image is as realistic as the idea that stag-nights always end up with the hapless groom naked, miles from home, and handcuffed to a lamp-post/park-bench/sheep… All the same, I’ve no problem with hoary old clichés being used in clues!
Thanks to Everyman for a fun couple of hours.
Thanks Everyman and Quirister
Re 25A, I think there’s more going on than initially meets the eye, though I don’t think it’s a great clue.
The Beatles recorded Let It Be in1969 while they were falling apart. They made several attempts to come up with a releasable version, the most famous mix being by Glyn Johns. They then shelved it. After Abbey Road it was resurrected, and Phil Spector was brought in to get it into releasable shape. This involved adding strings to much of it.
So per se, the track and album Let It Be were originally (primarily) ‘wanting for orchestration’, which came much later. (The original unadorned takes were later released as ‘Let It Be…Naked’)
I think ‘…primarily wanting orchestration’ is Let It Be = LIB = Libretto = Text wanting musical accompaniment.
I too was at a loss with the parsing of 25a but I think Boffo@22 has found a new twist on it.
Davy@14 i know from her previous posts that Michelle lives in Australia and I get the impression she is not a sports fan. We all have the right to prioritise how we spend our recreational time (after crosswords of course).
Since we are talking about 19d, I’ll add my two cents worth. While I am sure Everyman had Usain Bolt in mind, it could easily have been any other sportsman with a surname of Bolt, including rugby league player, Michael Bolt, who played for the Illawarra Steelers (now merged with the St George Dragons). The fact that he played hooker ( a forward) adds nothing to the wordplay, but could be seen to add a subtle touch to the surface reading.
Has any explanation been given as to why the print and online clues were different?
Davy@14
Thank you for explaning 19d. No, I never heard of the Bolton Wanderers. I never pay any attention to soccer/football news. I do know the dead parrot sketch but I do not remember NOTLOB in it. I do know Usain Bolt – so I really should have been able to guess this town with some help from google to check whether it existed/exists.
Kevin @23 – it is correct that I am Australian but I did not live there for a long time. I do like some sports – especially cricket and tennis – but not soccer/football.
@Kevin
I could guess. The print edition once rolled out of the press cannot be changed. The setter’s revisions or the editor’s changes may have come too late for the subs to take them. The articles and features online could at any time be changed and updated. Of course, this would be done only if the Editor feels the changes are really needed. Unlike the print edition, the online crosswords are in the archives and might be solved in the future, so a senior editor might approve the revision.
I scratched my head over 25 ac for many a minute before dismissing it as “obscure”. Thanks to Quirister and fellow bloggers for trying valiantly to explain it, but I fear the explanations introduce (or rely upon) yet more artifice and obscurity.
Also wondered if 4 dn and 9 dn were intended to be the Everyman “trademark pairing”. Well they rhyme, perhaps. But I can’t see any other connection…
Thanks E for the usual Sunday breakfast entertainment and Q for the blog (which tends to form the monday breakfast entertainment these days…)
The clues in prize crosswords are supposed to be the same in print and online editions. Someone ought to explain why this crossword was changed.
Circled 1, 24,25 and 26A for various reasons of unfathomability or unparseability or neverheardofhimness.
In NZ we had the online version of the clues (even though it is a print copy in the paper). All a bit strange.
Enjoyed 23A. Had to Google-check the butterfly, my knowledge of those starts at cabbage white and ends with red admiral.
It would be nice if the setter would explain 25A. I gave up after the bit that says ‘not a Beatles song’ when clearly it is, both a single and album.
I found many of the clues unfathomable. Liked Hen Night and Gym pants.
Overall though a disappointing crossword.
Reading the comments is as enjoyable as the actual attempting to solve the puzzle!
Missed Non-Fat -I was convinced Neon was the gas in lights so dismissed that Light could be linked with the answer.
Liked Yard of Ale – thought the Beer Garden clue was much better than the over wordy clue we had in th NZH. Enjoyed reading all the proposed variants to explain Let it Be, I am just happy it came to me but would like to also know why it is.
Liked 21ac 27ac 3d the most. Never heard of Erato rather a useless add in – I would have left it out. also didnt much like 17d am sure a better clue could work here.
Found this one very difficult. Needed wildcard dictionaries and Google to get many of the clues, and still could not parse a lot of them (e.g. 19 down, “Bolton”).
Buggered up 9 down (“Keira Knightley” — one of my favourite actresses!) due to miscounting letters. Psigh!
Thanks to Quirister for the explanations.
I found this one hard, but there are several possible references to Monty Python, which I enjoyed: 5 across, 19 down, and 7 across as in ‘she’s got huge…. tracts of land’.
We in NZ get this a month later than it appears in the UK, meaning it’s a couple of weeks since Terry Jones died for us, but a couple of weeks before he died when our UK colleagues got this crossword. Interesting…
Many thanks Everyman and Quirister.