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Thanks to Everyman for a puzzle with a wide range of clues.
Quite a few easy/straightforward entries, but several whose parsing was complex and even obscure. Wound up taking a long time to complete, due to difficulties with 6.
Didn't notice a trademark rhyming pair. There's a "first letters" clue, relatively short by Everyman standards, and a rather long hidden. The three long clues (13, 13, and 15 letters) have clear wordplay and parsing, which helped a lot in solving.
FOI was 1a (quick start), LOI 15d.
2 and 15d co-COD, also liked 5, 20 and 25.
Didn't possess the GK required for 22, but wordplay still manageable.
Sticklers might find fault with some clues, esp. 6 which I didn't care for; I also found 12 and 19 slightly dubious.

Hi Geeker,

I agree that some of the parsing is quite a bit more complex than usual.

Like you, I didn't have the GK for 22d but it only took a couple of seconds to find it on Google.

6d made an appearance 2 weeks ago although he won't be immediately identifiable from the wordplay.

I didn't the poet in 5d, philistine that I am, but the wordplay is clear.

Having trouble equating 3d to "caretaker" but, again, the wordplay is clear.

Don't really understand the homophone part of 2d, but then low carb diets were never really my thing:-)

Hi Brendan,
Yes, 6 was a bit familiar! :-) Clever misdirection, though I question some of the wordplay (boxed?).
I found the homophone 2d witty, though I'm thin and have never needed to diet, let alone low-carb.
Agreed on 3. I also question the anagrind in 19 and "irritate" in 12.
But purists often find fault with Everymans, going by comments on 225.

I don’t know what “GK” means, but I actually snorted at 22. Definitely my COD.

2d - I'm like you Geeker, I have trouble putting on weight so low-carb diets are not something I've ever needed to bother with. That sad, I just can't see what the homophone is meant to be saying?

3d - Despite what I said earlier, a quick check in Chambers thesaurus shows that "irritate" is indeed a synonym for that part of the answer - you live and learn:-)

19d - I have seen "up" used as an anagrind a few times before, presumably meaning 'up in the air'.

PS Just checked Google and seen the diet referred to in 2d:-)

Hi MPRS,

GK = General Knowledge.

I enjoyed this one, even though I found it on the easy side. Maybe I was just on the same wavelength as the setter. I liked the matching alliteration of the long clues. I know the term in 25 without the middle three letters, but was not familiar with it as is.

I usually am not a fan of homophones, but I did like 2d.

Not sure why, but after struggling for the last couple of weeks this was the quickest Everyman I've done in ages. Caretaker as an adjective makes 3 sound for the time being. Agree the 6 punch doesn't quite land.

Agree with PaulNZ on this one. Finished with my breakfast cuppa. Enjoyed a couple of South American clues. Didn't like 21.