Times Jumbo 962

Author   topicaltimPosted on Categories Jumbo Cryptic
A straight down the middle puzzle this, by which I mean I didn’t find very much that could be regarded as demandingly obscure, but at the same time not too many clues which were blindingly obvious. (I usually point out on these occasions, lest I appear to be damning with faint praise, that a straightforward Times puzzle is, of course, still a fine crossword). In short, a very even standard of clues, possibly on the harder side of average, reflected in a slightly higher than average solving time of 32 minutes.

With Jumbos I generally confine myself to discussion of answers which I think might be a) less straightforward for inexperienced or non-UK based solvers, or b) especially elegant / questionable. However, as always, if a particular clue is not discussed, please feel free to raise it in comments for explanation or discussion.

Across
7 THATCHERITE – THAT CHE + “RIGHT”.
13 UP THE ANTE – UP THE (ETNA)rev.; metaphor from increasing the opening bet in card games.
14 EMOTION – playful definition based on the possibility, in this day of e-zines and e-commerce, that one might also have “e-motions”.
15 ENTER – cENTER, as in the American spelling of centre.
17 ADORABLE – DORA in ABLE; I hesitated on the parsing, but if you imagine the possible word order as “talented, girl being introduced”, it’s a bit more obvious.
23 OSTRICH – mOST RICH.
24 TONIGHT – ON in TIGHT; it’s regularly debated in these parts who decides, and when, that a song is sufficiently acknowledged as a classic to be permissible in the Times. I don’t think there’s anyt doubt here, though.
29 FUTURIST – FUn + ToURIST; the definition is, of course, one who predicts the future, rather than a member of the artistic movement. I’d have used the word “futurologist” for the former, but it appears the two terms are interchangeable in this sense.
35 SWINEHERD – WINE in SHERD. “stove pot”, to mean “broken piece of pottery” is nicely original; the definition “pork’s tender” stretches it, because I don’t think pork is really pork while it’s still walking around, but is also nice enough for me not to care.
37 MEME – i.e. “ME! ME!”; coined by Richard Dawkins as a counterpart to the “gene” (entering which I suspect accounted for lots of the single-error solves in the on-line version of this puzzle…)
44 BRITTEN – British wRITTEN; top notch &lit., since BB was, as the vernacular of the time had it, “a confirmed bachelor”.
51 ORACLE – cORACLE.
54 NUCLEAR – Need Unites Cordelia + LEAR.
55 HARDLINER – HARD LINE Right; possibly a 7 across?
57 MARSHMALLOW – MARSH(=bog) + Myrtle + ALLOW; the plant, in this case, of course, not the delicious fireside treat.
 
Down
1 COURSE – one of those clues that confused me because it turned out just to be easier than I thought, to the point of being hardly cryptic.
3 ELECTRONIC – ELECT RON (Reagan, the well-known 7 across, as President) + I/C. Another amusing, if, liberty-taking cryptic def.
4 PINK – PIN + billhooK; one of the more obscure meanings of “pink”, as in “engine knocking” caused by inefficient burning of fuel, but anyone old enough to remember the days when cars were far less efficient than today’s models will probably remember it being in common usage.
5 AMENDMENT – AMEN (the last word) + D + “MEANT”.
6 EYEBROW – the “orbit” in this case being the eye socket.
7 TROUBLING – Time + (OUR)* + BLING; not sure when “bling” entered the crossword world, but we’ve certainly seen it more than once in the Times.
8 ASIDE – i.e. AS IDE, a popular fish amongst setters.
11 INTROIT – Response in INTO IT, i.e. if you were towards the middle of the antiphon, you’d be well “into it”.
12 EUREKA =”YOU REEK” A; I remember this being the basis of jokes which were very amusing when we learned about Archimedes, aged 9.
19 HOTHOUSE – THOU in HOSE; for a change, the measurement, rather than the nominative of “thee”.
21 HITCHIN – HITCH + IN; nondescript part of Hertfordshire, where I learned to fly gliders as a youth (this fact is not commemorated anywhere in the town).
22 SHAGREEN – (HAS)* + GREEN; leather also known as “sharkskin“, though not to be confused with the skin of an actual shark.
25 NAIAD – A1 in (AND)*; this sort of water-nymph, rather than the floaty Greek maidens.
38 CINDERELLA – domestiC + IN Diamonds + ERE + (ALL)rev.; where presumably “in” is in some sense like “she was all in red”.
43 FLY FISHER – FLY (=”hurry”) + FISHER, as in Beatrix Potter’s Mr Jeremy.
45 FADDISH – (DAD)* in FISH; ever-alert on behalf of those solvers who object strenuously to definition by example, I can confirm that “fish” on its own has a distinct definition as a plate, in the same sense as fishplate (unsurprisingly).
46 LUSTRUM – LUST + RUM; a period of five years in Roman times.
48 HEBREW – afgHans + Eastern + BREW.
52 ARCH – LARCH; fallen arches being the bane of many a foot.

5 comments on “Times Jumbo 962”

  1. 26:58 for me. I thought I was heading for a reasonable time of just over 20 minutes, but I became hopelessly stuck on THATCHERITE and ASIDE (the latter seeming annoyingly obvious once I’d thought of it). I was a bit worried by “antiphon” = INTROIT, but it seems to be supported by the Oxford dictionaries.

    I was wondering if MEME might catch a few people out, so if the Times Crossword Club is showing several solvers with just one error, then I expect that accounts for it.

    Just to say, Tim, since I’m the only commenter so far and in case you’re feeling unappreciated, that IMO this is another excellent blog of yours.

    1. Thanks, Tony. I usually manage to be sanguine about the peacefulness of the weekend blogs, as I imagine most of us are. Given how often I’ve read something on-line and nodded appreciatively without leaving any actual trace of my appreciation, I do usually manage to convince myself that I am not the only person who’s visited or found an entry of value…
  2. I’ll second Tony’s comment on the blog, although ironically you skipped the one word I couldn’t come up with, never having heard of SKINTY. It wasn’t in my dictionary, either (a Japanese electronic job, the only dictionary I have at home, and usually quite reliable). 75′, plus God knows how much more for that one.
    1. Kevin, your dictionary has not failed you, it’s SHINTY. Sorry, I should have realised that a Highland Scots game might not have made its presence felt in your part of the world (though it’s one of a number of games which claims to be the father of ice hockey via Canadian settlers back in the C19). I think I’ve become blind to it, as it’s one of those things which crops up more in crosswords than real life, and glossed over it…
      1. Sorry, I either mistyped or misread the solution. Either way, though, nothing in my dictionary.

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