It’s Sunday and my shift at the Everyman wheel.
Struggled a bit but that was entirely my own undoing as it turned out. Thanks Everyman.
Across
1 Permit cry of pain in rage? No time (7)
EMPOWER
OW in Timeles (t)EMPER
5 Base linked to era producing amount of film (7)
FOOTAGE
FOOT (base) & AGE (era)
9 Delivery from popular vocalist carrying weight (9)
INSWINGER
Cricket term. IN popular & W(eight) in SINGER
10 Get over being annoyed (5)
CROSS
This was my last in by a mile, entirely due to me entering 8d wrongly, like Eric Morecambe, I had all the right letters but not necessarily in the right order. Should have noticed earlier that ESNIGN isn’t actually a word. It’s a simple double definition this one.
11 Opening achieved by one in working for diamonds (7)
ORIFICE
1 in FOR* working & ICE (rocks, diamonds)
12 Reach junction going west in Welsh town (7)
MAESTEG
GET SEAM reversed (going west)
13 Not allowed to be hostile for example with hint, dropping name (12)
ILLEGITIMATE
ILL (hostile) & E.G. & I(n)TIMATE (hint without n)
17 Caught by evil demon, state criticism (12)
CONDEMNATION
C(aught) & DEMON* evil & NATION (state)
20 Rowing boat stuck behind loud river transport (7)
FREIGHT
F (loud) & R(iver) & (rowing) EIGHT
22 Followers showing energy come together and run around (7)
RETINUE
E(nergy) & UNITE & R(un) all reversed
23 Correct people engaged by editor (5)
EMEND
MEN in ED(itor)
24 Silent pal bothered one involved in radio quiz? (9)
PANELLIST
[SILENT PAL]* is bothered
25 Swindled, receiving instrument reduced in strength (7)
DILUTED
LUTE in DID (swindled)
26 Serious about following novelist endlessly (7)
AUSTERE
RE (about) after (jane) AUSTE(n) endlessly
Down
1 Broadcast is copied in serial form (8)
EPISODIC
[IS COPIED]* broadcast
2 Sweet old man not moving east (8)
PASTILLE
PA (old man) & STILL (not moving) & E(ast)
3 One can, entertained by joker, miss point in play (7,3,5)
WAITING FOR GODOT
1 & TIN (can) both in WAG (joker) & FORGO (miss) & DOT (point)
4 Lamented bird appearing on front of tabloid in colour (9)
REGRETTED
EGRET & T(abloid) all in RED
5 Place for discussion in university in fashion (5)
FORUM
U(niversity) in FORM (fashion)
6 Conducted groups high above small seats for audience (9,6)
ORCHESTRA STALLS
ORCHESTRAS (conducted groups) & TALL (high) & S(mall). One of my last to parse correctly for some reason
7 Takes on commercial work, climbing street (6)
ADOPTS
AD (commercial) & OP (work) & ST(reet) reversed –climbing
8 Officer among aliens ignored (6)
ENSIGN
Hidden answer, a rather junior officer though
14 Notes Roman made all over the place (9)
MEMORANDA
[ROMAN MADE]* all over the place.
15 Important person is being excited, accepting Oscar (3,5)
BIG NOISE
O(scar) inserted in [IS BEING]* excited
16 Upset head of state trapped by upper-class weed (8)
UNSETTLE
S – head of S(tate) inserted in – trapped by U(pper class) NETTLE (weed). What is a weed? just something growing where you wish it wasn’t.
18 Bad result hurt (6)
OFFEND
OFF (bad) & END (result). Anyone else spend a while trying anagrams of RESULT?
19 Delight about answer let out (6)
REVEAL
A(nswer) in REVEL (delight)
21 I had to support favourite, taken up without enthusiasm (5)
TEPID
I’D after PET reversed taken up
Although I can’t believe it hasn’t been done many times before I really liked the reverse charade for RETINUE. By the way Flashling, I like the colour scheme you use.
Thanks Everyman and flashling, I am not sure if the good Mr Scott has waved goodbye…
I entered ELSTREE at 5a, ENSIGN went in nicely at 8d, then was stuck in the NE corner for a long time:
it certainly was a ‘base linked to era producing amount of film’. i.e. quota quickies.
I had not heard of the Welsh town MAESTEG. EMPOWER, RETINUE and ILLEGITIMATE were good.
Agree about weeds, my garden is a natural one; I once had a lovely soft NETTLE fibre knitted top.
typos, 3d TIN not TIM, 6d ORCHESTRA STALLS and 15d BIG NOISE two words
Thanks Everyman & flashling.
I had to check MAESTEG. I particularly liked ORCHESTRA STALLS & TEPID.
Thanks flashling for your excellent blog. Another enjoyable Everyman and my two favourites today were EMPOWER and BIG NOISE. I’d never heard of MAESTEG despite having Welsh ancestry and couldn’t even parse the clue although I got the answer. Thanks Everyman.
@Cookie thanks for the typo spots, fixed ta. The 2 word things are caused by the blogging software in part and my failure to proof-read in toto!
For the NZ crowd I’ll be on holiday and unable to comment when you get this, will look forward to your barbed comments. 🙂
(I visit NZ at least once a year – interesting to note that the Saturday cryptic in the New Zealand Herald is substantially more difficult than the usual daily offering and is in fact the Observer’s Everyman with a time lag of approximately two months – a constant source of disappointment to find that I have already done the crossword!)
Thanks Everyman and flashling.
I failed to solve MAESTEG and I needed help to parse 22a and 3d.