The puzzle may be found at http://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/everyman/3541.
No film this time, but the near-obligatory place name, and I seem to detect more than usual of what I call “connective tissue” – words not forming part of the wordplay as such, but indicating how the parts are put together (and giving a helping hand to the surface while they do it). The grid may not be as bizarre as last week, but is still not one very familiar to me.
| Across | ||
| 1 | CROSS SWORDS | Bridge player engrossed by word games causes quarrel (5,6) |
| An envelope (‘engrossed by’) of |
||
| 9 | ORPHANS | Harps on about children like Annie? (7) |
| An anagram (‘about’) of ‘harps on’. | ||
| 10 | ON STAGE | Treading the boards, using one leg after another (2,5) |
| A charade of ON (‘leg’ in cricket) plus STAGE (‘another’ leg, in the Tour de France, for example). | ||
| 11 | BY DEGREES | How graduates gained success at university, a little at a time? (2,7) |
| Double definition. | ||
| 12 | ORMER | Sea-ear daughter removed from window (5) |
| A subtraction: [d]ORMER (‘window’) without the D (‘daughter removed’). | ||
| 13 | ABRIDGE | Reduce the length of a card game (7) |
| A charade of ‘a’ plus BRIDGE (‘card game’). | ||
| 14 | RISOTTO | Rice dish recipe for starters – it’s too complicated (7) |
| A charade of R (‘recipe’ – I interpret ‘for starters’ as just reinforcing the order of the elements) plus ISOTTO, an anagram (‘complicated’) of ‘its too’. | ||
| 16 | SNAFFLE | Steal tin – perplex bishop, leaving (7) |
| A charade of SN (‘tin’, chemical symbol) plus [b]AFFLE (‘perplex’) without the B (‘bishop leaving’). | ||
| 19 | SUPREME | Chief beginning to split up British Army corps (7) |
| A charade of S (‘beginning to Split’) plus ‘up’ plus REME (Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, ‘British Army corps’). | ||
| 21 | BALSA | Tropical American tree resin, reduced (5) |
| A subtraction: BALSA[m] (‘resin’, perhaps more accurately a solution of resins in essential oils) cut short (‘reduced’). | ||
| 22 | EYEBRIGHT | Look smart in plant (9) |
| A charade of EYE (‘look’) plus BRIGHT (‘smart’). | ||
| 23 | LEVERET | Young animal allowed outside at all? (7) |
| An envelope (‘outside’) of EVER (‘at all’) in LET (‘allowed’), for a young hare. | ||
| 24 | CHATTER | Prattle about milliner (7) |
| A charade of C (circa, ‘about’) plus HATTER (‘milliner’). | ||
| 25 | WORDS FAIL ME | Quarrelsome conversation if male drunk? I can’t express how I feel (5,4,2) |
| A charade of WORDS (‘quarrelsome conversation’) plus FAIL ME, an anagram (‘drunk’) of ‘if male’. | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | CHARGE D’AFFAIRES | Filled with emotion, liaisons involving English ambassador’s deputy (6,9) |
| A charade of CHARGED (‘filled with emotion’) plus an envelope (‘involving’) of E (‘English’) in AFFAIRS (‘liaisons’). | ||
| 2 | OBSCENE | Indecent, old boy on location (7) |
| A charade of OB (‘old boy’) plus SCENE (‘location’). | ||
| 3 | SPONSOR | Poles entering track, leaving backer (7) |
| An envelope (‘entering’) of NS (‘poles’) in SPOOR (‘track’). | ||
| 4 | WESTON-SUPER-MARE | Up in Somerset, we ran new resort town (6-5-4) |
| An envelope (‘in’) of ‘up’ in WESTONSERMARE, an anagram (‘new’) of ‘Somerset we ran’. Since Weston-super-mare is in Somerset, the clue has an extended definition. | ||
| 5 | READMIT | Let in again to study with German (7) |
| A charade of READ (‘study’) plus MIT (‘with German’). | ||
| 6 | STEER | Control the movement of bullock (5) |
| Double definition. | ||
| 7 | TOP BRASS | Highest money for people in authority (3,5) |
| A charade of TOP (‘highest’) plus BRASS (‘money’) | ||
| 8 | SPIDER | Spinner – pride shattered after first of sixes (6) |
| A charade of S (‘first of Sixes’) plus PIDER, an anagram (‘shattered’) of ‘pride’. | ||
| 15 | OVERTURE | Open University going on about orchestral piece (8) |
| A charade of OVERT (‘open’) plus U (‘University’) plus RE (‘about’). | ||
| 17 | ALL OVER | Having a mistress, about fifty, is typical of the person mentioned (3,4) |
| An envelope (‘about’) of L (Roman numeral, ‘fifty’ – your choice which one) in A LOVER (‘a mistress’). | ||
| 18 | ELECTRA | Pick artist to portray the sister of Orestes (7) |
| A charade of ELECT (‘pick’) plus RA (the initials after a name which identify an ‘artist’). | ||
| 19 | STENCIL | Copy upset clients (7) |
| An anagram (‘upset’) of ‘clients’. | ||
| 20 | EIGHTY | Number carried by sleigh, typically (6) |
| A hidden answer (‘carried by’) in ‘slEIGH TYpically’ | ||
| 21 | BELOW | Live down under (5) |
| A charade of BE (‘live’) plus LOW (‘down’). | ||
I enjoyed this puzzle. New word for me was ORMER, and my favourite was 1d.
Thank you Everyman and PeterO.
Thanks, Peter.
Although the answer was pretty obvious, I liked SPIDER today for its cricketing surface.
I think ‘recipe for starters’ to clue the R in RISOTTO works either way, so no problem there.
Slightly intrigued by your comment, Peter, in 17dn about the choice of Roman numerals for ‘fifty’. Is it not just ‘L’?
Another good’un from Everyman.
@kathryn’sdad. I think he just means you can choose whether it’s the first or second ‘L’ which is the Roman numeral as the clue works which ever.
All hunky dory with this one.
Thx
Ah, ok, I see what he meant. Thanks.
Another pleasant Sunday morning puzzle from Everyman. I confess that I didn’t bother to parse WESTON-SUPER-MARE and WORDS FAIL ME because both answers were just about write-ins from the enumeration and the definition. OVERTURE was my LOI because I’d been trying to work out how OU could possibly appear in the answer, and I realised I’d been reading the clue the wrong way once I had all the checkers.
Thanks Everyman & PeterO. Entertaining puzzle as ever.
My favourite clue was OVERTURE, which I struggled with for the same reason given by AndyB @5 above. I also particularly enjoyed SNAFFLE.
I think the bridge player is actually South in 1A parsing.
Here it is 7.30 and I’m all done and dusted, no electronic aids, just whistled through ! A long day stretches before me! Liked spider for spinner
Hi Rod same here in Mangawhai and I’ve already voted! Took a second look to get the cricket reference of 8d. Last two in 15d and 19a. Followed the Scottish referendum yesterday on CNN with partisan interest I wonder whether our turnout will be as animated?
Hi kiwis all good with me had to google a few less familiar words and references like 12 19 21 22 ac and 18 d but mostly for reassurance. Likes 8 d. This crossword was just about right for me in terms of difficulty.
We are away next weekend so will catch you in a fortnight.
Started it before I went to bowls and finished after. Now it’s 5:30. No difficulties this week, except I had never heard of Eyebright. 11ac has been used before.
I voted during the week. Much easier.
Very excited to have finished saturday, i almost never do, must be the election coverage which is getting a bit of a yawn…..
Thought 19a was a bit of a tough one, like many, the answer goes in but i dont know until the blog actually why. would never have known REME…hope fellow kiwis are happy enough with the election outcome….i always say ‘be careful what you wish for’
Nice one , but struggled with ormer and eyebright and was baffled by snaffle until I finally got it !