Times Jumbo 724 (27 Oct)

Author   linxitPosted on Categories Jumbo Cryptic
Just a quick report on what I consider to be the more difficult clues. I didn’t make a note of my time for this, but my average for Jumbos is around 30-40 minutes.

Across

13 ROCK MUSIC – Fingal’s Cave is also the name of an overture by Mendelssohn.
17 C(OLLIE)RY – Ollie is Stan’s partner in Laurel and Hardy.
20 THE MAN WHO WAS THURSDAY – novel by G. K. Chesterton
24 P(HL)OXES – H(ot) L(ine) inside SEX OP rev.
29 SEL,LAP UP – SEL is les (“the French”) rev. Not a phrase I’d heard of before, and the last one I got.
35 FROGSPAWN – Spooner’s “sprog fawn”
44 PA(ISLE)Y
50 VESTIARY (It’s a very)* – another word for a vestry.
54 AFGHANI – the currency of Afghanistan. “IN,AH,G,FA” all reversed.

Down

1 NURDLE – hidden rev. in “fiELD, RUN-maker”. A cricket term meaning to gently deflect the ball with the bat.
5 M(1)C,ROC,HIP
7 WE(AKER=rake*)(s)SEX
8 NA(VV)Y – 28 was NAYS, so one of them is NAY.
10 GOBBLED(Y)GO,OK – the Y from coneY’s tail.
12 TA(HI)TI – one of the Society Islands.
22 I,D(ARES)AY – Roman one = I, a bit cheeky as I = one anyway in crosswords.
25 LIPPI – “lippy” – a 15th C Florentine painter.
33 GENE POOL – “loo pen eg” all reversed.
38 DILETT(titled*),ANTI
45 KIT,BAGS – BAGS = claims, as in “Bags I go first”, KIT is “future assembly”, as something that comes in kit form has to be assembled. Very deceptive clue.
46 TBILISI – first letters of “The Bank Is Lending”, then 1 and 1’s rev. Capital of Georgia.
52 S(F)AX – unlikely-named port in Tunisia

8 comments on “Times Jumbo 724 (27 Oct)”

  1. Excellent puzzle, hard. One I could not understand though I got it right was 36 across “Convict returning for the first time in goal not spotted”. Definition ‘not spotted’ perhaps but don’t get the wordplay.
    1. Reverse of CON inside IN(t)ENT = INNOCENT
      “Not spotted” is both the definition and an indicator that the first T (“first time”) of INTENT (“goal”) is missing.

      Bill

      1. No, it’s CON rev. replacing the first T of INTENT, no need for “not spotted” to do double duty here.
      1. “A boring song that lifts a curse”

        My reading. ANTHEM = song that lifts. A boring means put the A into it – with the second a completing it ie AN(A)THEM (A) Definition = curse

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