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I really enjoyed this Everyman although i found it quite a bit trickier than usual.

That's not to say it's overly difficult, there are lots of anagrams to help you out if you get stuck, but there are more of the charade type clues that require the various parts pieced together.

FOI (first one in) - 1a followed by 1d.

There are a couple of homophones that might raise eyebrows, but hey:-)

COD (clue of the day) - 13a which has a lovely surface.

Thanks to Everyman for a fun puzzle.

Stay safe:-)

I’m not sure what to put down for 5d, though it seems easy. I assume the definition is space. The only four-letter word I know for ’less humid’ ends with the letter d, and this doesn’t sound quite like the answer for 5d. The rest of the puzzle was quite easy.

Mathi, instead of "less humid," think "more ventilated."

Yes. That is better! Lol.

Morning all,
Everyman back on form this week I thought. Trademark rhyming pair. Not sure what that @ is doing in 1a? 13 and 21 my CoDs.

Well, i found that easy, raced through, though caught out yet again being smug as i needed your hints to get my LOI 5d. FOI was 1a. This begins to tell me if the whole is going to be straightforward or not - a clue to the clues. I still hate the primarilies such as 25a, might as well just put the letters in the spaces for us. My COD is 19d, I like the 'not about'. Just dropped son at uni. Hope we get through this winter. Its not going to be good. Stay apart.

Hi Jono, hi Yevrah,

I've only just noticed that rhyming pair! Great stuff.

Morning all. Just looked again. Love the rhyming. Very clever.

Surprisingly I found this quite easy. What's really puzzling me is crossword solvers' jargon. For example, what is a "lovely surface"?

Hi Lucertola,

I know it can be difficult to follow the jargon, I remember being equally puzzled when I started doing cryptics.

A lovely surface just means that when you read the clue it all makes sense, not just in terms of grammar, but in the way it relates the story.

If you compare these two clues, one from last week and one from this week....

10a Mark a git's been given, being contrary – disgrace (6)

13a Briefly hit it off ... before he delivers trite observation (6)

The top one makes no sense whereas the second one reads beautifully.