Another solid offering from Everyman.
Most of the regular features are on display (as marked in the grid), aside from the geographical excursion. The single-word anagram wasn’t perhaps as audacious as they can sometimes be, but there was plenty to admire here. I particularly liked CHEESEGRATER and ROCK THE BOAT for the neat anagrams, SUGGEST for the somewhat alarmingly suggestive surface and, my top pick this week, another well-worked anagram, USER’S GUIDE for the nicely concealed definition. Thanks to Everyman.
Moh’s wholly unreliable cruciverbial hardness scale rating: Gypsum
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | PERMISSIVE |
Easy-going, according to correspondence (10)
|
| PER (according to) + MISSIVE (letter, correspondence) | ||
| 6 | ICED |
Knocked off – like some tea? (4)
|
| Double definition | ||
| 9 | DRAWING PIN |
Making illustration of leg that’s tacky (7,3)
|
| DRAWING (making illustration of) + PIN (leg, from Cockney rhyming slang: “pin pegs” for legs) | ||
| 10 | PASS |
I don’t know that way through mountains (4)
|
| Double definition | ||
| 11 | CHEESEGRATER |
He gets career arranging help for chef (12)
|
| Anagram (arranging) of HE GETS CAREER | ||
| 15 | NASCENT |
Rising smell of sodium? (7)
|
| NA (chemical symbol for sodium) + SCENT | ||
| 16 | TACTILE |
A bit of eye-contact, I learn, is touching (7)
|
| Hidden (a bit of…) in conTACT I LEarn | ||
| 17 | SCRATCH |
You should come up to this damage (7)
|
| Double definition, the first referring to ‘come up to scratch’ | ||
| 19 | OATMEAL |
Nothing at repast but porridge, basically (7)
|
| O (nothing) + AT (from surface) + MEAL. What’s ‘basically’ doing here? I think it’s indicating that most porridge – but not all – is made with oatmeal. | ||
| 20 | FIGURE SKATER |
Did she hope her 8 would get +5.0? (6,6)
|
| Cryptic-ish definition. I suppose the 8 – as in figure of 8 – is there to suggest ‘figure’. I have now learned that in competitive figure skating, the rather complicated system of scoring includes a Grade of Execution for the various elements of the routine, which runs from -5.0 to +5.0. But I expect you all knew that already. | ||
| 23 | RAIL |
Pole, fibber, heading west (4)
|
| Reversal (heading west, in an across clue) of LIAR | ||
| 24 | INVIGORATE |
Get perked up – fantastic rigatoni and drops of excellent vinos (10)
|
| Anagram (fantastic) of RIGATONI and EV (first letters – drops – of Excellent Vinos) | ||
| 25 | HEEL |
Part of foot to get better, so we’re told (4)
|
| Soundalike (so we’re told) of ‘heal’ | ||
| 26 | RAINSTORMS |
Idea sessions not started in precipitation (10)
|
| [b]RAINSTORMS (idea sessions) without its first letter | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | PADS |
Increases apparent value of homes (4)
|
| Double definition | ||
| 2 | ROAM |
Travel with Mum – otherwise going back (4)
|
| Reversal (going back) of MA + OR (otherwise). Am I alone in thinking the reversal indicator seems a bit odd for a down clue? | ||
| 3 | IRISH SETTER |
Limerick writer offering conundrums, perhaps your best friend? (5,6)
|
| IRISH (as someone from Limerick would be) + SETTER (writer offering conundrums, such as, ooh, I don’t know, a crossword setter, perhaps?) | ||
| 4 | SUGGEST |
Good cops straightened out gusset, getting intimate (7)
|
| Anagram (straightened out) of GUSSET around (cops) G | ||
| 5 | VAINEST |
After revolution, natives most proud (7)
|
| Anagram (after revolution) of NATIVES | ||
| 7 | COASTLINES |
Make little effort with script, Land’s Ends? (10)
|
| COAST (make little effort) + LINES (as in an actor’s script) | ||
| 8 | DISCREETLY |
With diplomacy – and one- by-one, did you say? (10)
|
| Soundalike (did you say?) of ‘discretely’. Surely no one is going to claim this doesn’t work for their accent? | ||
| 12 | ROCK THE BOAT |
Beth took car, swerving to make trouble (4,3,4)
|
| Anagram (swerving) of BETH TOOK CAR | ||
| 13 | AND SO FORTH |
Ergo, Scottish river etc (3,2,5)
|
| AND SO (therefore, ergo) + FORTH (Scottish river) | ||
| 14 | USERS GUIDE |
Manual labour finally, I guess, due for upgrade? (5,5)
|
| Anagram (for upgrade) of R (labouR finally) I GUESS DUE | ||
| 18 | HOSANNA |
Primarily happy outcry, sung, about nifty Nazarene’s advent? (7)
|
| First letters of Happy Outcry Sung About Nifty Nazarene’s Advent. I think this is probably the first time I’ve ever seen Jesus referred to as a “nifty Nazarene”. | ||
| 19 | ORATION |
Relation in on speech (7)
|
| Insertion of RATIO (relation) inside ON | ||
| 21 | FAIR |
Just panache student’s missing (4)
|
| F[L]AIR without the L (student’s missing) | ||
| 22 | MESS |
Everyman on vacation sightsees in confusion (4)
|
| ME (Everyman) + first and last letters (on vacation) of SightseeS |
Moh, in suggest i think cops (ie takes on) is the includer and g (good) the included.