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I think it was Jono who said in yesterday's Prize blog that maybe it had mistakenly got mixed up with the Everyman and, even though I'm sure he was joking, this week's offering only lends credence to that theory.

Of course, there are the usual Everyman staples, anagrams, hiddens, initials etc., but there's also several more complicated clues that really take some unpacking and, even now, there are still a few where the answers are clear but I don't fully understand the wordplay - like ..

21d - who's "the little man"? and 19a - "hairy male"?

COD - There were also some really good clues with my favs being 16a and 4d.

Thanks to Everyman for a challenging puzzle.

Did you find it as tricky as me or was I just not on the setter's wavelength? - Let us know.

Stay safe:-)

Brendan,

Thanks for the nice overview as always.

I would appreciate a hint for 4 down.

For 21d, without hopefully giving too much away, the solution is "contained".

OMG! How did I miss that in 21d 🤬 Thanks PS

4d - word play is 1 + 4 + 2 - for for "given investment" think more ceremony than finance.

Ah - thanks.

In terms of 21d, it took me a while. I think it employs clever deception, because we're used to working with "a" and "little" and "one" as standard elements of construction.

Thanks Peter, I got totally spun round with 21d looking for a little man that wasn't there for exactly the reasons you say, "a" and "one" etc ..

Hi Brendan,

I found this significantly tougher than yesterday's Prize. The answers to 19a and 21 were obvious, but I found their parsing (esp. 19a) exceedingly difficult.

FOI 1d, LOI 19a.
COD has to be 19a (brilliant IMO), 16 runner-up, 4 and 1d hono(u)rable mention.

I initially thought the puzzle a bit uninspired, but gradually found sufficient challenging and witty clues for an overall 👍. Thanks to Everyman.

Hi Geeker,

So it's not just me that found this difficult, at least compared to yesterday's Prize.

19d - I had a feeling this was going to be clever and too much so for me, but too early for spoilers so I'll mull on it a while longer.

I'm glad you gave 1d a mention - I'm just re-reading Wolf Hall in which the 'bishop is sent up with slander' so I can't believe I overlooked it!

19a was my favorite. Think what an Oxford professor would make of male hairy--and he is the answer

Aahhhh!! I get it now - I guessed the way the clue would work but was trying to apply it actual 'hairy males' such as Esau and Yeti etc.

Bravo Everyman, that's a great clue:-)

Some parts of this definitely took a bit more thinking, but I am adrift on one bit. The only remotely connected answers seem to be 11 & 20a. If so, this is quite a step backwards.
Took me ages to click to 19a too, but I smiled when I did.