Times Jumbo 816 (Sat 23 May 2009)

Enjoyable puzzle with good clues and excellent surface readings, solved in a variety of spells during a trip so no exact solving time, but I’d say it was about average in difficulty for a Times Jumbo. NE corner I found the hardest.
* = anagram < = reversed

ACROSS
1 V (d)ISCO UN TESS Definition: noble
7 BROAD(CAST)ER
13 NY MPH From Greek mythology
14 NATT(I)ER
15 T WAY BLADE My final entry
16 TOT TEN HAM Amusing
17 SCHOOL GIR L rig< Definition: one found in stream
20 A B (1 G) AIL
22 TERM ITE(m)
24 TO RN ADO
25 S (eIGHT) ING The one I’d most difficulty in understanding. “Glimpse of small number wasting energy in musical performance” It seems just slightly arbitrary to call ‘eight’ a small number so I thought maybe the ‘small’ gives S with the ‘musical performance’ being just G but that does not seem to work. So I think it’s what’s shown above – dicts confirm that ‘sing’ can be a noun as well as a verb.
26 M ICHAEL (MAS TER)M (claim he)*
28 E (L F)IN
29 ElfiN HAL O
30 SIGNWRITER A cryptic definition that was my favourite clue.
33 EX HUMATION “Hume Asian”
35 S (EA Ch)OW
37 NIT RE tin<
39 TAKE THE BISCUIT Double definition
41 BLOOMERS Ditto
44 DYNAMIC Ditto – the second one is a musical reference
45 M (hAuNcH) OLE
46 WARB L(a)ER (real braw)<
47 SELF-REGARD reflection not a cryptic reversal here but Narcissus falling in love with his own reflection
49 OESOPHAGI (Hope as I go)*
53 EC TOM O (R)P H
54 O RIG AMI Was not quite clear how the clue was saying put RIG in between the other two parts – the way it read seems to lead more to O AMI RIG but no doubt about the answer, I’d say.
55 T (HE)ME First letters of first three words of clue.
56 PARENT HE SIS His Excellency (Governor)
57 E GREGIOUSLY (ogre is ugly)*
DOWN
1 VENETIANS (ten navies)*
2 SOME THING OF THE KIND
3 OCHRE First letters A bit unusual to include the h after the hyphen in cool-headed (which hyphen could maybe have been omitted) but this may be nit-picking.
4 NON (CH ALAN C)E none is the same as nones
5 EST (I’M)ATE
6 S (CIS SOR B)ILLS (bros sic)<
7 BIRTH RIGHT “Berth” Esau sold his birthright (OT)
8 OUT DO
9 DRAUGHTSMAN Double definition, the second referring to the board game draughts
10 AMBERGRIS (Mr Big’s are)*
11 TRAP part<
12 REEL “Real”
18 TAKEN TO THE CLEANERS Double definition
19 CO(MM)ERCE Very good
21 ANTONY Mark cf Caesar Julius Rivals in ancient Rome. Have seen this idea used before, I think
23 E (YE) PIECE 9d = draughtsman
27 CH (ROM 1)UM
28 EVEN TIDE
31 RAN COURt
32 DEMI-MONDAINE E in (diamond mine)*
34 THE (NCE) FORTH first letters of ‘new crews exercised’
36 WELL-WISHING Double definition
38 SCANDALOUS (casual nod’s)* re-collected i.e. anagram
40 TIMBER MAN Beetle and deal = timber
42 SER VILELY “Sir”
43 DEB (ON) AIR
48 ET HOS (Hosea – OT Book)
50 PAT I O Postman Pat and first letters
51 KEEP Double definition
52 STAR(board)