Jumbo 916 – hats off to the setter.

Author   fathippy2Posted on Categories Jumbo Cryptic
I may actually have to retract a previous comment about Jumbos not having any of the va va voom of their smaller daily colleagues. There were a few good clues in this one, and all in all it was a thumbs up.
Special mention to 22D,26A and 29A which I particularly rated. Please forgive any typos or oddities as I am typing this with one hand only.

Across
1 INSISTENT – IT outside/limits N,SIS,TEN where relative is the noun here.
6 FACET – lift and separate EAST SIDE to give E inside FACT with side the definition.
9 SNIFFLE – reverse of ELF FINS – a bizarre vision of something to help a pixie swim. The surface may have made little sense, but the amusement of the idea redeemed it in spades.
13 DOGMA – DOG MA = mother dog = one with puppies!
14 TANGELO – TAN=brown GEL=stick O=second letter of poles. Definition=cross for the hybrid fruit
15 BONAPARTE – ON A PART=bit with BE=live outside
16 AERODYNAMIC – (canary mode I)*
17 DIAMOND MINE – DIaMOND=card MINE=not yours. whether they are exclusive I dont know, but will let this go
18 SPOOFS – SPOONS with N going to F
19 UNSPRUNG – (PUNS)* then RUNG=sounded. Note it is not “sounded like” as in rung a bell, since like is in the definition.
21 NUMPTY – MP inside NUT then Y for party’s back/last letter
25 AFFRIGHT – A FF=very strong RIGHT=punch
26 GLASGOW RANGERS – (GROWN RAGE)* inside GLASS for “aboard vessel”. The definition rounds off a great surface for the blue team in Glasgow. I suppose it is lucky Clydebank play in red & white!
28 CLOTH – CLOT=jerk as in moron, then H(ard)
29 LOCUST – CO=business reversed inside LUST=lechery. Great surface use of stripper for LOCUST.
30 FIANNA FAIL – A FAIL after A inside FINN – of which Sibelius is an example
33 CONTAGIOUS – CON=criminal, 1 and O(fifth letter of prisoners) inside TAGUS=river. Def=catching.
35 RENNET – reverse of TENNER.
36 ALL IN – (T)ALLIN(N) – the capital of estonia
38 CHARCOAL BURNER – CHAR=fish, CORNER=hog around ALBUMEN without the MEN=soldiers. Great construction and surface
40 DETACHED – (THE DEAD)* around C for cut off. Bats is a great anagrind for part of speech deception in the surface.
42 ANOINT – one of those words which to me always seems like it “ought” to have double N at the start. ANON=soon around I, with (lubrican)T
43 REMITTAL – RE(MITT)AL, or to be totally oblique – “about as rich as you can be”
44 STASIS – beST AS I Suggest (hidden) – a word which I can never hear without thinking of RED DWARF
47 WHITE COLLAR – COLLAR=arrest, W&E are the partners in bridge around HIT=murder
50 RESUSCITATE – (SECATEURS IT)* – definition “bring round”
52 the one to omit for the acrosses – should be fairly obvious from checkers
53 IN HOUSE – (HEINOUS)* – criminal being another good anagrind as interchange between noun and adjective aids the surface
54 SADHU – first letters of Shake And Delivers Homily Unsupported
55 HOT FOOT – HOT=fashionable FOOT=length
56 SOLID – SO=then, LID=cover
57 GOLD MEDAL – lass=GAL around OLD MED = ancient sea

Down
1 INDIA – on map = IN DIAGRAM (with no G,RAM=memory) for the potential cricket world cup winners.
2 SUGARLOAF MOUNTAIN – A fairly straightforward anagram which took me far too long. Mainly because I wasnt quite sure what draw was suggesting, but it was obvious afterwards.
3 STANDOFFISH – a bit of a chestnut for this answer – it is always either rugby or billingsgate market!
4 EXTENT – the setter today had a great repertoire of puns and visual concepts – cap fire = EX TENT !!
5 TENEMENT – MEN inside TENET=principle
6 FRENCH POLISH – bit of an odd surface, but Marie Curie was French/Polish
7 CLOUDBURST – CURST = Shakesperean swore around LOUD=thundering B(ritish)
8 TIBIA – reverse of A1 and BIT for the bone
9 SUNDOWNER – double definition
10 IMPEDIMENTA – (I emptied man)*
11 FERMI – hidden inside preFER MIcrobiologists. A little too clumsy a surface not to give the game away.
12 ELEVEN – a sort of &lit as far as I can tell, this is either brilliant or too contrived. cant decide. For me, EVEN=”as ten is” under E(end of twelve) and L for fifty, although the over does perhaps suggest it should be before the “E”. Together the definition says that 10 is less than it, 12 is “close by” and 50 is higher – which gives ELEVEN. My mind is still torn, as it seems an inch away from greatness, but not sure why.
18 SPATCHCOCK – SOCK about PATCH C, for the chicken (split to roast)
20 GLORIANA – (a girl no a)* – didnt know this at the time but it was a name given to QE1
22 THE EAGLE HAS LANDED – another great surface with a Jazz theme, anagram of (Adage he Ella’d then) & s (last of Louis) for NEIL ARMSTRONG’s famous line. Pure quality!
23 CHILLI – was going to omit this answer as an obvious old chestnut, but couldnt resist pointing out the fact that the country actually sounds cold! I guess that is the CHILLI’s eternal amusement.
24 ESPLANADES – ESP (perception) then A(rea) D(ivide) inside LANES. Hands up who shoved in PROMENADES after only reading two words of the clue (and perhaps with a few of the lower checkers)
27 omitted for the downs – like the CHILLI another chestnutty word which works in two ways
31 NUTTER – (madme)N, UTTER for an &lit
32 DESERT ORCHID – lift and separate the colours for the “much loved grey (horse)” and the maroon flower
34 ARCHIPELAGO – (eographical)*
36 ALASTAIR SIM – never heard of him but wordplay gives LA STAIRS = holywood flight, inside AIM=end
37 PRIMORDIAL – PRIM=proper OR=gold DIAL=ring
39 ASTRONAUT – a nice oddball type clue, which are great as they can only be done once, so need to be saved for a special occasion. SPACE,MAN is the idea, although I bunged in INVISIBLE for two seconds before realising a word probably didnt end in V.
41 HABSBURG – HAS around B(ig) before GRUB reversed.
45 SWITCH – A “south west itch” = longing to move to Cornwall !
46 AS WELL – A SWELL= balloon (the verb).
48 INPUT – PUT IN the wrong way round = INPUT = data
49 LOADS – LADS outside O
49 EQUAL – E (end of telescope) then QUAL(m)

4 comments on “Jumbo 916 – hats off to the setter.”

  1. 28:39 for me. Some very fine clues – I particularly liked 4D (EXTENT). Like you I was horribly slow with SUGARLOAF MOUNTAIN, which (as you say) is obvious once you’ve got it.

    Is Alastair Sim forgotten already? I got to know his name when I was quite young as my (much) older brother, who was reading medicine at Edinburgh University at the time (the late 1940s), campaigned for him to be elected rector there. His films still appear on TV occasionally – watch out for Green for Danger, for example.

    1. Wasn’t he in the original St. Trinian’s films? I seem to remember him playing the headmistress!
  2. He was indeed, along with George Cole as Flash Harry and Joyce Grenfell as Police Sergeant Ruby Gates who goes undercover as the games mistress. (Perhaps they’re both forgotten now as well? Sigh!)
  3. I remembered Alastair Sim, and the 3-letter last name made it fairly easy to get, once I had a checker or two. Though the only movie I could have associated him with was ‘School for Scoundrels’ (with Ian Carmichael and Terry-Thomas–are they forgotten, too? For that matter, does anyone else remember Stephen Potter?) And all I can remember of him was that he had incredibly hairy ears.
    All in all, an enjoyable Jumbo, with some first-class clues.

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