One or two little niggles when I was writing up the blog, but overall another sound as a pound Sunday puzzle from Everyman.
Abbreviations
cd cryptic definition
dd double definition
(xxxx)* anagram
anagrind = anagram indicator
[x] letter(s) removed
definitions are underlined
Across
1 Artist needing help, a struggling Italian painter
RAPHAEL
RA for ‘artist’ followed by (HELP A)* with ‘struggling’ as the anagrind, gives you Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, the Renaissance painter, known to his mates as RAPHAEL.
5 Bishop, American, to hand over travel permit
BUS PASS
A charade of B, US and PASS.
9 Select few‘s brief pitch
SHORT LIST
A charade of SHORT and LIST in its verbal sense.
10 Some swell English girl
ELLEN
Hidden in swELL ENglish. Don’t think I know any Ellens; Dame Ellen MacArthur is probably the best-known public figure.
11 Authority coming from state, in this manner
SAY-SO
A simple charade of SAY and SO.
12 Philosopher extremely disagreeable actress upset
DESCARTES
A charade of DE for the outside letters of DisagreeablE and (ACTRESS)* with ‘upset’ as the anagrind. Cogito, ergo sum, and all that.
13 Summoned up the courage, left the board, and got married?
TOOK THE PLUNGE
Not so much a dd as a td – a triple definition.
16 Emperor greets English girl going round Ethiopia’s capital
HAILE SELASSIE
The man in question was Ethiopia’s regent from 1916 to 1930. Keep him in mind next time RASTAFARIAN crops up in a crossword. It’s an insertion of E for the first letter of Ethiopia in HAILS E LASSIE.
18 Agree ills may come from such aversions
ALLERGIES
(AGREE ILLS)*
20 In trepidation, I treated saltpetre
NITRE
Hidden in trepidatioN I TREated. Potassium nitrate, used in fertilizers and fireworks.
22 A few restraining Greek in a temper
ANGRY
An insertion of GR in ANY. ‘Any’ for ‘a few’?
23 Left a group on edge? Not half!
ABANDONED
A charade of A BAND ON and ED[GE].
24 Gossips idly with stories about teetotaller
TATTLES
An insertion of TT in TALES. Probably better known in TITTLE-TATTLE.
25 Have a meal before start of revue in the auditorium
THEATRE
An insertion of EAT and R for the first letter of ‘revue’ in THE.
Down
1 Defy drunken sister
RESIST
(SISTER)*
2 Agent for two unknowns
PROXY
A charade of PRO and XY for two of the mathematical unknowns.
3 Who may have identified early moon, or star twinkling?
ASTRONOMER ROYAL
Something of an ‘all-in-one’ clue, since the entire surface defines the answer. (EARLY MOON OR STAR)* with ‘twinkling’ as the anagrind.
4 He’s landed in Scotland, having put down with king aboard
LAIRD
Speed, bonny boat, like a bird on a wing … actually not. An insertion of R in LAID. LAIRDS are Scottish landowners.
5 Wife of Uriah Heep, initially taken in by very eccentric male graduate
BATHSHEBA
Nice misdirection: forget the Dickens character; you need the Biblical Uriah, whose wife was BATHSHEBA. She is H for the first letter of Heep in BATS for ‘very eccentric’ followed by HE for ‘male’ and BA for ‘graduate’.
6 Advice to tourists on the west coast of Italy that may be misconstrued?
SEE NAPLES AND DIE
A dd cum cd, I suppose, unless I’m missing something.
7 Simultaneously, and without warning
AT ONCE
A dd.
8 Evil crime I back no end
SINISTER
A charade of SIN, I and STER[N]. It’s a right-handed world.
13 A problem getting into sealed rear lamp
TAIL LIGHT
An insertion of A and ILL in TIGHT.
14 Article on opponent’s play
THE RIVALS
A charade of the definite article, THE, and RIVALS for ‘opponents’. Sheridan’s play.
15 Yokel eating hot game bird
PHEASANT
This one has been around the block a bit, but hey, it’s an entry-level puzzle. An insertion of H in PEASANT and the obligatory Pierre bird link.
17 Parish officer to stay, given new deal
BEADLE
A charade of BE (a vague synonym of ‘rest’) and (DEAL)*
19 Small trading centre, well-kept
SMART
A charade of S and MART.
21 Opinion expressed by third of guests entering marquee
TENET
An insertion of E for the third letter of ‘guests’ in TENT.
Thanks as always to Everyman.
Good entertaining Sunday crossword.
Thanks Pierre; I thought the whole of 6 was a cd.
I agree that ‘a few’=any is a bit loose. I would have thought that ‘some’ would have been better, although maybe that was avoided as a potential hidden indicator.
I liked the td TOOK THE PLUNGE and, yes, the ELLEN I know is a swell English girl. 😉
Because I knew the expression SEE NAPLES AND DIE was a write-in, but for those who don’t know it could be difficult. Other than that it was the usual neat Everyman puzzle.
Thanks Pierre,
I would just like to say that the clue to ASTRONOMER ROYAL was marvellous.
Great surface and perfect anagram. Well done Everyman.
Reprinted in the New Zealand Weekend Herald today. I managed it in one sitting which is extremely rare for me as there is usually one or two clues that take me till Wednesday at which point I give up and look them up on fifteensquared. Todays victory came despite me not knowing the Naples phrase and figuring out that Uriah Heep must have had a wife name Bathsheba…
Got stuck with 6d ( see Naples and die ) …….and 13d ( tail light )
Otherwise no problems , v enjoyable , thanks