Time: None recorded as I left it at one point and forgot to pause, so when I came back the time was up to about 6 hours. I think it was probably somewhere in the order of 1hr 45min.
A decent mix of good and bad, much as you would expect from a Jumbo. I thought the &lit at 1a was rather neat, also 7d & 38a were both well put together. At the other end of the scale, I thought 9 & 13a were both quite weak, although 13 seems so weak that I feel I must be missing something clever.
cd = cryptic def., dd = double def., rev = reversal, homophones are written in quotes, anagrams as (–)*, and removals like this
| Across | |
|---|---|
| 1 | P + ADDING – a particularly neat &lit. |
| 5 | COTE-DOR (or rather Côte d’Or) = ( |
| 9 | AIRSICK – cd, but rather a weak one. I think the solver was supposed to picture real butterflies, but ‘having butterflies’ is too common an expression for that I would have imagined. Certainly, my first thought was of feeling queasy. |
| 13 | LOOSE CANNON – I’m sure there must be some clever wordplay in here somewhere, but I can’t see it. It’s not just a weak cd, is it? |
| 14 | IN CHARACTER = INCH + A + RACER about T |
| 15 | GHANA = HAN (Chinese) in GA (Georgia) |
| 16 | H(AIR + C)UT – A pageboy haircut hangs straight to below the ear, then turns under. As sported by Johnny Depp in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory |
| 17 | NO |
| 18 | AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION – cd |
| 23 | UNSTRUNG – dd |
| 25 | PAN + IN + I – although I wasn’t sure why ‘burning’ was IN |
| 27 | TRINKET = (KNITTER)* |
| 30 |
|
| 32 | BLUE TIT = (LET IT B |
| 33 | TSETSE FLY = SETS + EFL in T |
| 35 | WHOLE MEAL |
| 36 | CUR + I(OU)S |
| 37 | SWIFT – dd – Jonathan, the author of Gulliver’s Travels, was a satirist |
| 38 | RETINAS = RETSINA with the S moved to the end – ‘They’ll pick up light’ is the well-disguised definition |
| 40 | CALLER = CELLAR with the A&E swapped |
| 41 | GRANDEUR = GRAN + RUED rev |
| 44 | THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE HOME = (LOOSE A MERE KITCHEN HELP)* |
| 48 | PR + OUST + IAN |
| 50 | MU + G + GINS – that’s ‘character’ as in ‘letter of the alphabet’ |
| 53 |
|
| 54 | EDIFICATION = ED + |
| 55 | ANTIOXIDANT = ( |
| 56 | SUC |
| 57 | GRAVELY – hidden |
| 58 | TIMOTHY = OMIT rev + THY |
| Down | |
| 1 | P + H(LEG)M – I wasn’t familiar with this meaning of phlegm. Although about 2 days after I solved this, the same meaning cropped up in the daily puzzle, clued in quite a similar way |
| 2 | D(I + O)RAMA |
| 3 | ICELANDER – dd – a spacecraft designed to land on ice would be an ice lander, presumably. |
| 4 | GRAP |
| 5 | CON + VI(N)CE |
| 6 | TUNIC = IN in CUT all rev |
| 7 | DRI(FT)ER – a good example of the ‘lift & separate’ technique with ‘desert nomad’ |
| 8 | RECONCILIATION = (COIN I ALTER ICON)* |
| 9 | ANARCHIST = I + ST after AN ARCH |
| 10 | REA(L |
| 11 | IN THE NICK + OF + TIME |
| 12 | KERATIN – hidden |
| 19 | ENNOBLE = EL + BONNE |
| 20 | PRACTICAL – dd |
| 21 | A LI(AS)E + S |
| 22 | TUG OF WAR – cd |
| 24 | SIGN OF THE ZODIAC = (CITIZEN’S GOOF HAD)* |
| 26 | INTERFERE = ERE + FRET + NI all rev |
| 28 | TOY STORY = (SOOTY TRY)* – The original Pixar movie and still the best |
| 29 | PUB + LIC |
| 31 | TWEE + |
| 34 | ELSTREE = ELM TREE with M (millions) replaced by S (small) – British film studio that produced many classic movies including The Dam Busters, Ice-Cold in Alex & 633 Squadron |
| 39 | SYNDICATE = CA in (DESTINY)* |
| 42 | NEOLOGISM = O + LOG + IS in MEN rev |
| 43 | MINI’S + TRY |
| 44 | TOPLESS = O |
| 45 | AMMONIA = AN rev about I after AMMO |
| 46 | EXTRA + CT |
| 47 | KNOTTY = KITTY with NO for I |
| 49 | SLIGO = “SLY” + GO |
| 51 | GO APE = EG rev about OAP |
| 52 | S + POUT |
I wasn’t all that keen on 9ac (AIRSICK) either, but 13ac is OK if you think of billiards.