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Afair one with some good clues. I think the stter has the wrong drugin 12a.

Enjoyed the first Everyman of 2022. HNY to all. EdC - I have the solution to 12a but have no idea where the drug features. FOI was 1a. LOI was 19d. My COD is 16a which made me smile. The primarily clue was more acceptable for me this week, it worked well. No rhyming pair. Although 13d and 6d are close at a stretch. Three long solutions have the repeated first letters - I forget the term for that as I am not Brendan! A few hiddens. Lastly how odd it feels to be writing one of the first posts.

Happy new year all. A breeze until 19d which held me up for as long as the rest of it put together.

I read the three rhyming pairs as a subtle nod to a fourth rhyming pair not listed, but something we have hopefully all managed to get over the past week or so.

HNY all! The forum has certainly been a bit quiet over the holiday period. Enjoyed this one, had a strong suspicion we were in for the alliterative threesome as soon as I saw the grid. My sticking point was 18d as I bunged in the wrong element to start with. The anagram in 23a is rather fun.

Yevrah, the drug is the last letter in 12a. I’m not sure if this chemical is the same thing though.

Thanks Jono. Alliterative was the term I was after. And the single letter for the drug in 12a, of course.

Mostly straightforward until I got to geek. Element of bile was a tough clue but once that was in 16a was gettable and was my COD. Happy New Year everyone!

Hi Smot,
I had the same reaction to jerk, but if you look up ????? in Chambers there is a definition which is ‘a jerk on a rope’, I’ve never heard of this, but there it is.

The element is an interesting one. It's one of the ones the properties of which were predicted by Mendeleev before it was discovered, as he had a gap in his Periodic Table.

HNY
I agree, Goldilocks standard Everyman, mostly straight forward with a few trickier clues. Smiled at 16a and frowned at what I too, believe to be the wrong drug in 12a
Thanks Everyman

Hi smot, hi jono. Readers of Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey-Maturin historical novels about navy life during the Napoleonic Wars will recognise the 'jerk' usage of ***** in '***** the messenger', a term used in the operation of sailing ships. These 14 books are a treat, just the thing for a Christmas present My LOIs 12a, 16a and 21a took far longer than they should have. HNY all.