Hi everyone. Jumbo bloggers will be familiar with the “well that was fun, now I have a mammoth load of clues to blog” feeling. I decided to more-or-less write this one up as I went along, which eliminated that but did make it harder to form an impression of the puzzle as a whole. It certainly didn’t strike me as particularly easier, harder, better or worse than the average sausage.
For once I can identify a few clear highlights: I liked IMAM (21a) and RAYON (54a) very much, and my COD is TÊTE-À-TÊTE (5d).
Speaking of which, in addition to the pair of French words in 46a, we find along rue 29d a pied-à-terre at no. 30a where we can have that tête-à-tête with Pierre (wearing a beret, naturally). Merci beaucoup, monsieur ou madame setter!
Definitions are underlined in the clues below. In the explanations, quoted indicators are in italics, explicit [deletions] are in square brackets, and I’ve capitalised and emboldened letters which appear in the ANSWER. For clarity, I omit most link words and some juxtaposition indicators.
| Across | |
| 1 | Fruit producer‘s problem with cooling system (5) |
| SUMAC — SUM (problem) + AC (A/C, cooling system) | |
| 4 | What cricketer did, bagging half-century, is strove (7) |
| BATTLED — BATTED (what cricketer did) containing (bagging) L (50, half century) | |
| 8 | Subject oneself to debts free of interest (9) |
| INCURIOUS — INCUR (subject oneself to) + IOUS (debts) | |
| 13 | Pit in grounds not ultimately a watering hole (9) |
| ESTAMINET — MINE (pit) in ESTATe (grounds) without the last letter (not ultimately). Too many complete unknowns I can find wearying, but I love the way cryptic clues can coax barely-remembered vocabulary from my scatty old brain | |
| 14 | Not a chime of gold, but one’s highly decorated (5,8) |
| NOBEL LAUREATE — NO BELL (not a chime) + AUREATE (of gold) | |
| 15 | Inspire to show clothes very well (7) |
| PROVOKE — PROVE (to show) goes around (clothes) OK (very well) | |
| 16 | A team mate around the Central Line? (7) |
| AXIALLY — A + XI (team) + ALLY (mate). I like the definition | |
| 17 | Fishing boat, one with sharp point crossing river (7) |
| DRAGGER — DAGGER (one with sharp point) around (crossing) R (river) | |
| 18 | The Book of Numbers? (8,6-4) |
| NINETEEN EIGHTY-FOUR — A cryptic definition. Nothing to do with the Bible, but a notable secular work; this book’s title is formed of numbers | |
| 21 | This person’s a leader of Muslims (4) |
| IMAM — I’M (this person’s) + A + the first letter (leader) of Muslims, &lit. Very neat | |
| 23 | Periodical fashion magazine one’s found in cell (9) |
| ORGANELLE — ORGAN (periodical) + ELLE (fashion magazine) | |
| 25 | A little food consumption limited by it both ways (6) |
| TITBIT — TB (consumption) inside (limited by) TI and IT (it both ways: “it” backwards and forwards) | |
| 26 | Did carp stew done with a starter of mussels (6) |
| MOANED — Make an anagram of (stew) DONE together with A and the first letter (starter) of Mussels | |
| 28 | Silly if neat pants, including the lady’s underwear (12) |
| FEATHERBRAIN — IF NEAT anagrammed (pants) containing (including) HER (the lady’s) and BRA (underwear) | |
| 30 | Extra property of fruit ingested by Frenchman (4-1-5) |
| PIED-À-TERRE — DATE (fruit) inside (ingested by) PIERRE (Frenchman) | |
| 33 | Criminal sent down, stealing muggins’s funds (10) |
| ENDOWMENTS — An anagram of (criminal) SENT DOWN containing (stealing) ME (muggins) | |
| 34 | Set supervisor in two different coaches (5,7) |
| STAGE MANAGER — STAGE and MANAGER (two different coaches) | |
| 37 | One’s time off drinks counter (6) |
| RESIST — I’S (one’s), which REST (time off) contains (drinks) | |
| 39 | Make settlement affected by opponents at table (6) |
| ENCAMP — CAMP (affected) next to (by) E and N (opponents at table, bridge opponents) | |
| 40 | Prepare to fire a round really high (4-1-4) |
| COCK-A-HOOP — COCK (prepare to fire) + A + HOOP (round) | |
| 42 | Big promotion secured by pushy person (4) |
| HYPE — The promotional material is contained in (secured by) pusHY PErson | |
| 43 | Enlarge works — an artistic number (7,11) |
| GENERAL ANAESTHETIC — ENLARGE is anagrammed (works) + AN + AESTHETIC (artistic) | |
| 46 | About a pair of French words for the drink… (4,3) |
| REAL ALE — RE (about) + A + LA and LE (pair of French words for the) | |
| 47 | …which is given name for bird (7) |
| BITTERN — BITTER (… , referring back to the previous clue) + N (name) | |
| 48 | Doughnut present in, e.g., breakfast foodstuff (7) |
| OATMEAL — O (doughnut, doughnut-shaped letter) + AT (present in) MEAL (e.g., breakfast) | |
| 50 | Clowning around, I twice do superman routine (5,8) |
| MODUS OPERANDI — An anagram of (clowning around): I, DO DO (twice do) and SUPERMAN | |
| 51 | An indication with wine courses (9) |
| ANTIPASTI — AN + TIP (indication) + ASTI (wine) | |
| 52 | After a kind of sleep, make time for artist (9) |
| REMBRANDT — After REM (a type of sleep), BRAND (make) + T (time) | |
| 53 | Cover old song, done at first (7) |
| OVERLAY — LAY (old song) with OVER (done) at first | |
| 54 | Fabric cape taken out of drawer? (5) |
| RAYON — C (cape) is removed from (taken out of) [c]RAYON (drawer?) | |
| Down | |
| 1 | Confounded pest to write and devour novel (11) |
| STEPPENWOLF — An anagram of (confounded) PEST + PEN (to write) + WOLF (devour) | |
| 2 | Marks higher than a German, as a rule (5) |
| MOTTO — M (marks) preceding (higher than, in a down entry) OTTO (a German) | |
| 3 | What the Great Ouse will do, finally, is to be known (4,3,2,3,4) |
| COME OUT IN THE WASH — The Great Ouse has its estuary – and will therefore COME OUT (into the sea) – IN THE WASH | |
| 4 | Solvent German car maker on principle losing outside races (7) |
| BENZENE — BENZ (German car maker) + [t]ENE[t] (principle) without the outer TT (losing outside races) | |
| 5 | Four empty theatres without a seat (4-1-4) |
| TÊTE-À-TÊTE — TheatrEs TheatrE TheatrE TheatrE (four empty theatres) around (without) A | |
| 6 | Bagging sportswear one may take off here (7,5) |
| LANDING STRIP — LANDING (bagging) + STRIP (sportswear) | |
| 7 | Make feeble argument defending current books (10) |
| DEBILITATE — DEBATE (argument) around (defending) I (current) and LIT (books) | |
| 8 | Murderer’s confession somewhere in Scotland (5) |
| ISLAY — The murderer’s confession here is I SLAY | |
| 9 | 150 cars bearing uniform for fratricidal ruler (8) |
| CLAUDIUS — CL (150) + AUDIS (cars) containing (bearing) U (uniform) | |
| 10 | Theology’s double bill for study again (6) |
| REREAD — RE (theology) + RE (and its double) + AD (bill) | |
| 11 | Protestant country suppressing wild anger (9) |
| ORANGEMAN — OMAN (country) containing (suppressing) an anagram of (wild) ANGER | |
| 12 | Range Rover’s tail with car forced to go around (6,5) |
| SIERRA MADRE — The last letter (tail) of RoveR with SIERRA (car) and MADE (forced) going around it | |
| 19 | Crawl along with booze up? One is tight (7) |
| NIGGARD — DRAG (crawl along) with GIN (booze) reversed (up, in a down) | |
| 20 | What secretary does, fixing a flaw (7) |
| FAILING — FILING (what secretary does) around (fixing) A | |
| 22 | Short figure gets meat and warm egg on the side (9,7) |
| TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR — A charade of TOT (short), TEN (figure), HAM (meat), HOT (warm) and SPUR (egg on) | |
| 24 | One adding embellishment perhaps in food store (6) |
| LARDER — Two definitions, the first of which was new to me: lard can mean to garnish or strew. Making it an agent noun also makes it whimsical, indicated by perhaps, so I have left it ununderlined | |
| 27 | Not entirely bad: amicable like the first person (6) |
| ADAMIC — The answer is embedded in (not entirely) bAD AMICable | |
| 29 | In street abroad, European can train (7) |
| RETINUE — In RUE (street abroad) we have E (European) and TIN (can) | |
| 31 | Tease wife getting nothing right, one with yellow bloomers (7) |
| RAGWORT — RAG (tease) + W (wife) + O (nothing) + RT (right) | |
| 32 | Block some text, sentence in final part of play (8,4) |
| STOPPAGE TIME — STOP (block) + PAGE (some text – if it’s a page of text, that is) + TIME (sentence, of the prison kind) | |
| 33 | Quake there, with mortar exploding (5,6) |
| EARTH TREMOR — An anagram (… exploding) of THERE with MORTAR | |
| 35 | Rogue is to knock salad ingredient (11) |
| RAPSCALLION — RAP (to knock) + SCALLION (salad ingredient) | |
| 36 | Working on sonata in US city (3,7) |
| SAN ANTONIO — An anagram of (working) ON SONATA IN | |
| 38 | Ethnic group‘s record tough to keep in game (9) |
| SEPHARDIM — EP (record) and HARD (tough) in SIM (game: a sim game is a simulation computer game) | |
| 40 | Protection of Earl Grey, say, featured by tabloid (5,4) |
| CHAIN MAIL — CHA (Earl Grey, say) + IN (featured by) MAIL (tabloid) | |
| 41 | Fabulously young fellow‘s safe shot (5,3) |
| PETER PAN — PETER (safe) + PAN (shot, camera shot). For a great clue to a different character in the story, see 1d in Independent 9922 by Eccles | |
| 44 | Soldiers backing officer brought in retiring soon (7) |
| SHORTLY — OR (soldiers) and the reversal of (… backing) LT (officer) all inside (brought in) SHY (retiring) | |
| 45 | Parent, one having recourse to, e.g., speed gun (6) |
| MAUSER — MA (parent) + USER (one having recourse to, e.g., speed) | |
| 47 | Topping for a French loaf? (5) |
| BERET — A cryptic definition; loaf = head | |
| 49 | Leaders in Evening Standard and Express paper (5) |
| ESSAY — The first letters of (leaders in) Evening Standard + SAY (express) | |
What struck me immediately about this one was the shortness of the clues with only four of them needing to go to a second line of text, and two of those only for the enumeration. I thought something had gone amiss when the A4 page with clues printed with more than 4 inches of white space at the bottom! It gave me loads of room for workings out but for this puzzle I didn’t need any of it.
I liked the CD for 1984, despite it being a CD. It made me smile.
Just under 40 minutes.
Antipast/o seems to be a weekly clue, lately.
No nhos I’m pleased to say, though my mental picture of sephardim as being small, naked boys with wings proved somewhat incorrect..
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