Everyman 4,015

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The puzzle may be found at https://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/everyman/4015.

All present and correct, with a little twist – where the expectation was for a rhyming pair, at 4D and 7D, we have the IN and OUT connection. The four double definitions show how that form of clue should be used, which is not always the case.

ACROSS
1 DYNAMO
Numerous Dutch rejected old go-getter (6)
A charade of DYNAM, a reversal (‘rejected’) of D (‘Dutch’) plus MANY (‘numerous’); plus O (‘old’).
4 OSCARS
Primarily ostentatious soirée comprising actors’ rambling speeches? (6)
The ‘primarily clue: first letters of ‘Ostentatious Soirée Comprising Actors’ Rambling Speeches’, definitely &lit.
8 REMBRANDT
Artist‘s unusual term describing mark (9)
An envelope (‘describing’) of BRAND (‘mark’) in REMT, an anagram (‘unusual’) of ‘term’.
9 PASTE
Gum unpasteurised? Not entirely (5)
A hidden answer (‘not entirely’) in ‘unPASTEurised’.
11 SOUTH AFRICANS
Nationals chant of Russia in revolution (5,8)
An anagram (‘in revolution’) of ‘chant of Russia’.
13 ABSEILS
A baron puts to sea, we’re told, goes down by rock (7)
A charade of ‘a’ plus B (‘baron’) plus SEILS, sounding like (‘we’re told’) SAILS (‘puts to sea’). A slightly cryptic definition: Chambers: ABSEIL – to let oneself down a rock face using a double rope.
14 HACKSAW
Unimaginative writer, ‘dated’: that’s cutting (7)
A charade of HACK (‘unimaginative writer’) plus SAW (‘dated’ – met romantically).
16 OTHELLO
Game play (7)
Double definition; for the first, OTHELLO is a board game.
18 SLAMMER
Fizzy cocktail in can (7)
Double definition, first, in full, a tequila slammer; second, slang for prison.
20 SCANDALMONGER
Gossip: purveyor of beachwear catching cold? (13)
An envelope (‘catching’) of C (‘cold’) in SANDAL MONGER (‘purveyor of beachwear’)
23 DRILL
Homo sapiens leaving baboon to find tool (5)
A subtraction: [man]DRILL (‘baboon’) minus MAN (‘Homo sapiens leaving’).
24 GOLDENEYE
007’s adventure: duck! (9)
Double definition.
25 AGHAST
Horrified, as some windbag has telephoned (6)
A hidden answer (‘some’) in ‘windbAG HAS Telephoned’.
26 STASIS
Holy person unchanged, in equilibrium (6)
A charade of ST (saint, ‘holy person’) plus AS IS (‘unchanged’).
DOWN
1 DORM
Either end of dayroom providing somewhere to sleep (4)
D OR M (‘either end of DayrooM‘).
2 NEMESIS
Siemens’ corrupt adversary (7)
An anagram (‘corrupt’) of ‘Siemens’. Everyman has a fondness for one-word anagrams, but this did not make it to the grid colouring below.
3 MERCURIAL
Frenchman with awfully cruel air, temperamental (9)
A charade of M (‘Frenchman’ – M for Monsieur corresponding to the English title Mr.) plus ERCURIAL, an anagram (‘awfully’) of ‘cruel air’.
4 OUT OF THIS WORLD
Wonderful, for it told us how to dance (3,2,4,5)
An anagram (‘to dance’) of ‘for it told us how’. Good spot!
5 CAPRI
Sign showing absence of growth in Italian island (5)
A subtraction: CAPRI[corn] (‘sign’ of the Zodiac) minus CORN (‘absence of growth’).
6 RASCALS
Class war with no leader, revolutionary scoundrels (7)
An anagram (‘revolutionary’) of ‘class’ plus ‘[w]ar’ minus its first letter (‘with no leader’).
7 IN THE SPOTLIGHT
Unusually lithe thing opts to become famous (2,3,9)
An anagram (‘unusually’) of ‘lithe thing opts’..
10 EASTWARD
After Spain, a flight attendant losing energy – thence to Italy? (8)
A charade of E (‘Spain’ – International Vehicle Registration) plus ‘a’ plus ST[e]WARD (‘flight attendant’) minus the E (‘losing energy’). The definition refers to the direction from Spain.
12 CAROUSED
Charlie excited, having boozed it up (8)
A charade of C (‘Charlie’, NATO alphabet) plus AROUSED (‘excited’).
15 CRAGGIEST
Familial emblem incorporating a horse and Everyman, most weather-beaten? (9)
An envelope (‘incorporating’) of ‘a’ plus GG (gee-gee, ‘horse’) plus I (‘Everyman’) in CREST (‘familial emblem’).
17 HEARING
Judicial investigation making sense (7)
Double definition.
19 MARKERS
Ones going through exams with felt tips (7)
Double definition.
21 DELTA
Greek character, one down in the mouth? (5)
I am not sure of Everyman’s intention for the wordplay (if he has just the one). It could be the ‘mouth’ of a river such as the Nile (which would make for another double definition); or D as the first letter (‘in the mouth’) of 1D DORM or of ‘Down’ itself.
22 TEES
Verbally make fun of golfers’ items (4)
Sounds like (‘verbally’) TEASE (‘make fun of’).

picture of the completed grid

27 comments on “Everyman 4,015”

  1. Who told Chambers that you need a double rope to ABSEIL? When I was caving, we abseiled on single ropes all the time – that’s why it was called SRT – single rope technique. The usual sound entertaining puzzle, even if I did look for the rhyming pair before terrifying to the IN/OUT trick. Thanks, Everyman and PeterO.

  3. TassieTim @1
    It looks as if Mr. Chambers has been talking to a rock climber, who may well want to retrieve the rope on reaching the bottom. Of course, that is the last thing you would want if you had just abseiled into a cave, and hope to use it to prussik or otherwise ascend the rope to get out again (and can then still retrieve the rope from its anchor at the top). It seems that Chambers is not the only source that specifies a double rope, even if it is not an essential part of the technique.
    A remarkable autouncorrect!

  4. I thought OUT OF THIS WORLD was indeed a wonderful anagram and I really enjoyed the definition for EASTWARD and the second for DELTA (they are always down in the mouth are they not?)
    Thanks PeterO and Everyman.

  5. Thanks, PeterO for the lovely blog.
    DELTA
    I considered the river connection. Your thoughts on down’s/dorm’s mouth were interesting.

  6. My favourite was CRAGGIEST

    Also liked: STASIS, MERCURIAL

    Did not get DELTA or DRILL

    Thanks Everyman and PeterO

  7. Thanks for the blog, very neat set of clues , especially the long entries , and I thought the level of difficulty was just right.
    Very minor quibble, a MANDRILL is not a baboon, also has a close relative called a DRILL to confuse things further.

  8. I enjoyed this puzzle. My last two in were the intersecting MARKERS and SLAMMER although I’m familiar with all 4 definitions. Maybe it was the jiggling back and forth with the permutations that scrambled my brain.
    OSCARS was very good. I wondered if Everyman may have deliberately clued REMBRANDT for the IN AND OUT alignment. Liked the surface for DYNAMO. And great fodder in SOUTH AFRICANS and OUT OF THIS WORLD.

  9. I read HEARING as “making sense” as in the current “are you hearing me/am I making sense”, so didn’t see making as redundant in that clue.

    Nice steady Everyman, thanks to PeterO for the blog.

  10. We’ve also got CAPRI to add to the geographical locations as well as SIEMENS – NEMESIS for the 7-letter word plus anagrams.

  13. This was my first Everyman puzzle. Not too hard but enjoyable. Do not understand the colouring and rhyming pairs. Please could someone kindly explain ?

    Thanks to both.

  14. SM @13 Everyman has a few trademark clues, usually two long answers that rhyme, sometimes a different connection such as this with the IN/OUT. A PRIMARILY clue uses all first letters. A self-referencing clue includes “Everyman” somewhere.

  15. Good end/start to the week. I liked the SANDAL MONGER, the good anagrams for OUT OF THIS WORLD and IN THE SPOTLIGHT, and the flight attendant losing energy.

    Roz @7; you are right about MANDRILL but it was (Wiki) ‘traditionally thought to be a baboon’ and both Chambers and the ODE call it a baboon, so Everyman can be excused, I think.

    Thanks Everyman and PeterO.

  16. Thank you Roz.
    I man sorry but I am being slow and cannot see the connection between IN OUT , SOUTH AFRICANS and CRAGGIEST?

  18. Robi and Peter the dictionaries need an update and I cannot say what I really think about Wikipedia. Modern DNA techniques have totally changed classification of primates. As Robi says the setter can be excused.

  19. SM @16 IN and OUT are not much really , Everyman sometime links clues with opposites , more usually rhymes.
    One clue always contains Everyman in the wording, usually meaning I or me, for this puzzle it is the clue for CRAGGIEST.
    SOUTH AFRICANS part of a long-running geography theme.

  20. Sorry Robi @15, I missed your post.
    SM @17
    The colouring is just a bit of decoration. As Roz @14 says, Everyman is known for some repeated features in his crosswords, one of which is linked answers in symmetrically placed long lights; sometimes forming a rhyming pair, sometimes alliterative, or here with the contrast of IN and OUT. Other common features are the ‘primarily’ clue – here 4A OSCARS – geographical references – 11D SOUTH AFRICANS here (and, as Shanne @10 points out, I might have added 5D CAPRI) – a clue containing the name Everyman – 15D CRAGGIEST – and, as I said in the blog, but did not get round to colouring in the grid, a one-word anagram – here 2D NEMESIS from ‘Siemens’.

  23. 19 minutes, SCANDALMONGER and CRAGGIEST my favourites. I was concerned on the first pass that I hadn’t got a single across clue, but the downs seemed much easier.

    Re DELTA, I suspect this is a triple definition – Greek character/one down (D – phonetic alphabet)/(river) mouth.

  24. WhiteDevil@23. Everyman is meant to be an entry level puzzle. It doesn’t encourage solvers in their early stages to give a time check, and you’ll find most Guardian solvers don’t do that on this site. It’s irrelevant anyway. Some like to take a day or a week to enjoy it.

  25. Paddymelon@24 I’ve grumbled before about those who like to post their times, it is really most irritating, but he ignored me, so good luck.

    Nice crossword, liked the wp in Dorm.

  26. Very enjoyable puzzle to brighten up a dull and drizzly morning. I ticked oscars, out of this world and craggiest.

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