A standard-issue Everyman
Which is, of course, as it’s meant to be, with all the usual features in place, the primarily clue, the Everyman self-reference, the geographical clue (or maybe two in this case) and the rhyming pair. I found this mostly a straightforward solve, albeit with a couple of slightly more taxing constructions.
Hence Moh’s scientifically proven and unarguable hardness-scale rating: Gypsum
Thanks to Everyman, as ever.
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | SIGN |
Mixed gins for Mark (4)
|
| Anagram (mixed) of GINS | ||
| 3 | MEDITATING |
About time: intervening and saying ‘om’? (10)
|
| MEDIATING (intervening) around T | ||
| 9 | LUTE |
Woodwind instrument, not loud, that resembles a mandolin (4)
|
| [f]LUTE without the F (not loud) | ||
| 10 | PROPAGANDA |
Decent look, you say? Don’t believe it (10)
|
| Soundalikes(ish, for non-rhotic speakers) of ‘proper’ (decent) and ‘gander’ (look) | ||
| 12 | DEAD AS A DODO |
No more like one that’d never fly (4,2,1,4)
|
| Double definition, the dodo having been a flightless bird | ||
| 15 | CARACAS |
In Madagascar, a cashless city (7)
|
| Hidden in MadagasCAR A CAShless | ||
| 16 | ENABLER |
Flipping relative, scourge: ignore this person’s ‘advice’! (7)
|
| Reversal (flipping) of REL + BANE | ||
| 17 | ICEBERG |
Cold one presenting tip that went past the PM? (7)
|
| Took me ages to see how the second part of this worked. Doh. One straightforward definition, the second a cryptic def referring to the iceberg lettuce that famously outlasted the premiership of Liz Truss in 2022, as explained here for those fortunate enough to have missed the entire episode | ||
| 19 | ORGANIC |
Wholesome food type unsettled in cargo (7)
|
| Anagram (unsettled) of IN CARGO | ||
| 20 | ALL FOOLS DAY |
Tricky period in which you might eat rhubarb, gooseberry and many more? (3,5,3)
|
| Cryptic def, another term for April fools’ day, when you might play tricks on people and/or perhaps eat a lot of fruit fool… | ||
| 23 | TREE OF LIFE |
Where preference for Apple triggered fatal error? (4,2,4)
|
| Cryptic definition referring to the story in Genesis of two trees in the Garden of Eden, one being the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (which bore apples), the other being the tree of life which, had they eaten the fruit thereof, would have granted eternal life to Adam and Eve | ||
| 24 | GUAM |
In Nicaragua, military territory belonging to US (4)
|
| Hidden in NicaraGUA Military | ||
| 25 | BREADBOARD |
Money put before corporate committee that’s often wooden when offering support (10)
|
| BREAD (money) + BOARD (corporate committee), with a somewhat wooden definition | ||
| 26 | SKIN |
Hide, son – family! (4)
|
| S + KIN | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | SELF-DECEIT |
Dubiously selected if lying without anyone else knowing? (4-6)
|
| Anagram (dubiously) of SELECTED IF. Not sure if the definition quite works, since self-deceit involves the deceived not knowing they’re deceiving themselves, rather than anyone else. Indeed self-deceit may be far more evident to an onlooker than it is to the individual concerned. But I digress… | ||
| 2 | GET MARRIED |
Marg’d tie ends of rope loosely – tie a notional knot (3,7)
|
| Anagram (loosely) of MARGD TIE and R[op]E | ||
| 4 | EARLAPS |
Primarily, external appendages rounding lugholes averting pesky squalls? (7)
|
| The primarily clue-as-definition | ||
| 5 | IMPLODE |
Everyman’s slog; Everyman’s beginning to succumb to pressure (7)
|
| I’M (Everyman’s) + PLOD + E | ||
| 6 | AS GOOD AS GOLD |
Sad doggo also trained, obedient (2,4,2,4)
|
| Anagram (trained) of SAD DOGGO ALSO | ||
| 7 | IONS |
They’re charged in television serials (4)
|
| Hidden in televisION Serials | ||
| 8 | GRAB |
Brag about bag (4)
|
| Anagram (about) of BRAG | ||
| 11 | CATCHES A COLD |
Snag: patient headed north, elderly, starts to sniffle (7,1,4)
|
| CATCH (snag) + reversal (headed north, in a down clue) of CASE (patient) + OLD | ||
| 13 | BLIND DRUNK |
Glance taking in designated driver given work, being soused (5,5)
|
| BLINK around (taking in) DD (designated driver) + RUN (work) | ||
| 14 | TRACEY EMIN |
Artist to draw outline of the old dynasty (unfinished) (6,4)
|
| TRACE + YE (the old) + MIN[g] (unfinished dynasty) | ||
| 18 | GALILEO |
Heretic in Jesus’ home snubbed – I’m surprised (7)
|
| GALILE[e] (Jesus’ home snubbed, ie made shorter) + O (I’m surprised – I’d normally expect this to be spelled with an H at the end). There was perhaps more to Galileo’s life than his being condemned as a heretic | ||
| 19 | ON OFFER |
Switch positions; queen available (2,5)
|
| ON + OFF (positions on a switch) + ER | ||
| 21 | STAB |
Flying mammals rising to deliver wound (4)
|
| Reversal (rising, in a down clue) of BATS | ||
| 22 | GENE |
Quality of breeding that’s pronounced in Miss Brodie (4)
|
| Soundalike (that’s pronounced) of the first name of the protagonist in Muriel Spark’s novel The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, memorably played on screen by the late Maggie Smith |
Gypsum. Yes. And enjoyable.
Liked D A A DODO, ENABLER, A F DAY, C A COLD and STAB.
SELF-DECEIT
The QM makes it a whimsical def?
Thanks Everyman and moh.
This felt more like a regular Everyman, not too taxing, pleasurable. I share Moh’s quibbles about some of the definitions; I would add that, contrary to popular belief, the Genesis account doesn’t refer to an apple, and Galileo wasn’t condemned as a heretic, just for being “vehemently suspect of heresy” (the real reason likely being that his book personally insulted his friend the Pope). Thanks Everyman and Moh!
New for me: EARLAPS, TREE OF LIFE.
I could not parse 17ac ICEBERG – oh ha ha, that is very funny! I knew of this episode but forgot about it here 😉
I had ALL SOULS DAY for 20A but couldn’t figure out how it fitted. I’ve never heard of ALL FOOLS DAY so am really none the wiser.
My wife and I generally do the Everyman shortly after midnight on Saturday, and the puzzle was given a little extra sauce by not having the word number indicators published on the online version. We rose to the challenge, and did most of it. An interesting exercise in second guessing Everyman! It only occurred to me in the morning that the paper version might have them included…. it did.
Thanks Everyman and moh
Peter @ 4 ALL FOOLS DAY is April 1…
Terry@5: thank you. So it was only the online version. I completed it, but guessing the numeration pushed it towards the difficult end of cryptic.
This week I’m still left with one to solve.
Thanks both.
Entertaining as always. I wasn’t 100% sure if 21d was STAB or bats without the crossers to confirm, though bats would have involved straining the wordplay a bit.
EARLAPS was new to me, but you can’t go wrong with Everyman’s “primarily” clues.
Favourite clues were ICEBERG (Truss will never be forgiven and deserves to be humiliated at every opportunity), and ON OFFER for “switch positions”.
Thanks to both.