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brendan

3rd November 2019, 01:47
If there is one thing I've learned from reading members comments in this weekly review of the Everyman, especially with regard to difficulty, sense of humour by the setter etc., it's that we solvers on this site are indeed a broad church.

With regards to this week's offering, I would say the setter is definitely keeping us on our toes. In fact, I'd go as far to say that I would never have guessed that this was by the regular setter.

On a personal level I admit I found it really quite difficult. That's not to say I didn't enjoy it - I did, a lot. It's just that I found it much more of a challenge that those of recent weeks, which, now and again, I'm glad of.

There are a few anagrams, but not all are straight forward and some may require addition and subtraction. 6d took me ages to figure out who the 'partner' was, but when I did, I marvelled at the genius of the clue. As they say "less is more". 9d also took a while to figure out, but when I eventually twigged it, again - excellent.

I'm still not 100% certain how 1a works. i see the first part, but I'm not totally convinced I've parsed the second bit correctly.

So there it is. I do think it's difficult, but I've gone over it a few times and everything appears to be very fairly clued, so thank you setter.

As always, I'll be interested to hear what others think and I'd especially like to hear from newcomers. I remember when I first started doing cryptic crosswords and joined this Forum, it was weeks before I plucked up the courage to post on a thread.

So don't be shy, if you need a hint or would just like to leave a comment, please do. I promise you that we're a friendly bunch.
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brendan

3rd November 2019, 02:11
Don't worry about replying to my query regarding 1a. I've checked Chambers and the definition I wasn't sure about is in there.

Note to self: Check Chambers [before/b] posting next time !
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bgbilly

3rd November 2019, 05:56
Hi Brendan. POTENTIAL SPOILER BELOW. I've been doing the Guardian/Observer crosswords for many years and find this site very helpful but this is the first time I've felt the urge to contribute. I found this Everyman a bit of a mixture of easy, "write in and parse later" and "chewy" which I enjoy but have a bit of an issue with 26 across - "Mustn't take heart of intended and mess about". I stared at it for ages without having a clue what, if any, word could fit. When the bell did finally ring in my head I felt a bit "cheated" as the answer is a contraction which doesn't work without the punctuation. It does parse but do you consider it to be "fair" when the entry only makes sense with punctuation? - which isn't given in the clue. It's only a tiny quibble however as, after a shaky few weeks I'm now really enjoying the Everyman again.

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thomas

3rd November 2019, 09:59
How true that we are all very different. I for example found this puzzle a lot easier than the last 3.
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brendan

3rd November 2019, 10:21
Hi Bgbilly, i take your point about 26a and even made a note to mention it. However, I'm not sure on the rules regarding contractions so decided to omit it from the review. That said, i think it will cause problems for some solvers. I know it did for me!
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jazzgirl

3rd November 2019, 11:15
A good mixture of easy and tricky. 4d was similar in style to last week's 24d so I think this puzzle is probably the work of our regular setter. Regarding Bgbilly's post, I am sure the convention is that if the apostrophe replaces a letter the enumeration treats it as if it doesn't exist
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david w

3rd November 2019, 11:33
I have an answer to 26A but if the first word of the clue is the definition it doesn't fit. I'd appreciate help here please from those who have finished - and also with 5A and 8D.
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elle

3rd November 2019, 11:47
Yes, " mustn't" is the definition for 26a.
The answer is an anagram of a shortened word in the clue.

5a: def is "moves quickly"
8d: def is "relatives"

Yell, if you want any more help.
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jazzgirl

3rd November 2019, 11:50
Online thesaurus shows 26a as synonym for mustn't but I find it a bit 'loose'. 5a def. moves quickly. final letter of the 3-letter word inside a word for "stops boat moving"
8d def. relatives (with usual 3-letters for 'commercials'
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david w

3rd November 2019, 11:55
Thank you. Finished now. I should have got the NE two but I regard "loose" as a generous description of 26A!
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