Everyman 3631

by

Another good puzzle from Everyman for our Sunday morning entertainment (or Saturday morning for our NZ contributors).

 

 

 

 

Abbreviations
cd  cryptic definition
dd  double definition
(xxxx)*  anagram
anagrind = anagram indicator
[x]  letter(s) removed

definitions are underlined

Across

1  Clean directors have total success
SWEEP THE BOARD
A simple charade of SWEEP and THE BOARD, but a good clue to get us going.

9  Criminal met hero to make proposition
THEOREM
(MET HERO)*

10  Bow string attached to metal, not unknown
INCLINE
[Z]INC plus LINE.  Z for one of the mathematical ‘unknowns’, along with its friends Y and X.

11  Embrace electronic giant
HUGE
A charade of HUG and E.

12  Man with ship at sea in simple part of world
HEMISPHERE
A charade of HE and (SHIP)* inserted in MERE for ‘simple’.  MERE is one of those funny adjectives: you can say ‘Oh, it was a bad scratch’, and you can also say ‘The scratch was bad.’  But while you can say ‘Oh, it was a mere scratch’, you can’t say ‘The scratch was mere.’  There’s a technical word for adjectives like this, but I can’t for the life of me remember what it is.

14  Pine tree in sound location in California
LONG BEACH
LONG for ‘pine’ followed by a homophone of BEECH.

15  Give notice, restricting conflict
AWARD
An insertion of WAR in AD.

17  Film actor free from pressure
LAYER
[P]LAYER

18  One old dam cracked, presaging disaster
DOOM-LADEN
(ONE OLD DAM)*

20  Conquering savage to capture hill
VICTORIOUS
An insertion of TOR in VICIOUS.

22  Promotional piece yielding bravo for Britpop band
BLUR
The two best-known bands from the Britpop era of the 1990s were BLUR and OASIS, so since there were only four letters available, it had to be BLUR.  BLUR were soft poncy southerners, one of whom went on to become a cheesemaker.  Completely unlike OASIS, who were hard, from Manchester, and often used to fight with each other on stage and make copious use of the f-word.  It’s BLUR[B], with the removal of the B coming from the phonetic alphabet.

24  Flower in spring, not large, in decline
SEA PINK
An insertion of [L]EAP in SINK.

25  Employee of coffee shop in Italian city street area
BARISTA
A charade of BARI, ST and A.

26  Work by Joyce Grenfell initially in broadcast wins a keen fan
FINNEGANS WAKE
Lift and separate, as some folk would say.  Joyce Grenfell was a comic actress, but the Joyce you need is James, the Irish author.  G for the first letter of ‘Grenfell’ in (WINS A KEEN FAN)* with ‘broadcast’ as the anagrind.  Nice misdirection.

Down

1  Bag some winnings at Cheltenham
SATCHEL
Hidden in winningS AT CHELtenham.

2  Start to express compassion, receiving information in crisis
EMERGENCY
E for the first letter of ‘express’, followed by GEN in MERCY.

3  Opening fortified wine
PORT
A dd.

4  Strike on day, thus disrupting joint, showing sign of communism
HAMMER AND SICKLE
I’ve said previously that this setter likes his multi-part clues.  This is perfectly fair: it’s HAMMER for ‘strike’, followed by D for ‘day’ and SIC for ‘thus’ in ANKLE for ‘joint.

5  Historic album, unusually absorbing book on one part of Canada
BRITISH COLUMBIA
An insertion (‘absorbing’) of B and I in (HISTORIC ALBUM)*

6  Adequate account with chart about church power
ACCEPTABLE
An insertion of CE and P in AC and TABLE.

7  Urge resistance in disreputable bar
DRIVE
An insertion of R in DIVE.

8  Champion fed up before finish
DEFEND
A reversal of FED followed by END.

13  Party lashed by wild rain, bane of Scottish city
ABERDONIAN
An insertion of DO in (RAIN BANE)*  The anagrind is ‘wild’ and the insertion indicator is ‘lashed’ in the sense of ‘tied up’, I guess.

16  Article on a sundial designed in region of Spain
ANDALUSIA
A charade of A and (A SUNDIAL)*

17  Note to guard against one son becoming prodigal
LAVISH
Another insertion: of V for versus or ‘against’, I and S in LAH for the note in the tonic sol-fa.

19  Report flowed, written up with speed
NARRATE
A reversal of RAN followed by RATE for ‘speed’.

21  Rubbish banter
CHAFF
A dd.

23  Painful upset for god of love
EROS
A reversal of SORE.  Piccadilly Circus statue, for those of you who know London.  Although it’s only allegedly EROS.

Many thanks to Everyman.

17 comments on “Everyman 3631”

  1. Thank you Everyman and Pierre.

    I enjoyed solving this puzzle last Sunday; SWEEP THE BOARD got me started but 1d, SATCHEL, fooled me for a while, it was well hidden and I kept thinking of horse racing…

    I loved being reminded of Joyce Grenfell since Margaret Rutherford then also comes to my mind.

  2. Enjoyed this. Thanks to Everyman & Pierre. Couldn’t you squeeze a link to a chiffchaff from 21d?
    {cookie there is a picture quiz on the IOS blog}

  4. Enjoyable Everyman. I struggled most on 17d and 21d (I too am miffed at the double definition here).

  5. Another good puzzle from Everyman, perhaps a little more difficult in places than usual. Struggled with a couple of the longer answers, that I got from definitions and crossing letters in the end.

  7. Straightforward, but with some very nice clues. My favourite has to be the splendid FINNEGAN’S WAKE.

    Thanks, Everyman and Pierre.

    PS. Pierre – you’ve put (WILD BANE)* instead of (RAIN BANE)*.

  8. So I have, jenny. It’s the stress of not having a bird clue in this puzzle. Corrected now, thank you.

  12. I, too, struggled with 17d as well as 17 ac and 26 ac. It did cross my mind that it could be James Joyce but wasted a lot of time looking up,Grenfell’s works before I gave up.

    Thanks Pierre. Glad you found it easy.

  13. Nice, enjoyed this once I’d got over my Geographobia.

    Never thought Chaff meant Banter. Only really come across the word as in de-wheating. Or perhaps that should be de-chaffing.

    Thanks Pierre and Everyman. Now for some serious rugby tonight.

  14. I completed this except for 24a, Sea pink. I got as close as sea sick, and spa pink. Spa for spring. I looked up varieties of dianthus, and then gave up.
    I was unaware of Armeria Maritima, Marsh Daisy, Thrift, Sea Thrift, or Sea Pink. Learn something every day.

  15. Have to say I got hung up on “spa” also, so got that wrong – didn’t exhibit enough patience to start again on that clue. I did particularly enjoy a bunch of those longer answers so all in all it was good fun. Thanks to all.

  16. I must be the only thicko who went thru lists and lists of scottish placenames struggling why I could not find an ‘aber’ ending in’n’, never crossed my mind it could an adjectival twist of what I wanted to write in all along.
    Didnt get sea pink either.
    On the plus side, I thought the trick was clever in 28ac and felt very chuffed that I didnt fall for it.

Comments are closed.