A fun Jumbo that was on the easy side, but none the worse for that. As usual, there were a few unknown words which took me a few minutes at the end to work out, but I was all done in 24 minutes. A couple of MERs noted in the blog, but maybe I’m just being picky. Thank-you generous setter! How did you all get on?
Definitions underlined in bold italics, (Abc)* indicating anagram of Abc, {deletions} and [] other indicators.
| Across | |
| 1 | Quiet country with hot area for predatory fish (7) |
| PIRANHA – P (piano; quiet) IRAN (country) H (hot) A (area). | |
| 5 | Quirky law from east binding that chap thus (9) |
| WHIMSICAL – HIM (that chap) SIC (thus in Latin) in LAW [from the east] -> WAL. | |
| 10 | Muslim market? It’s substantially like this country (4) |
| SOUK – SO (substantially like) UK (this country). | |
| 14 | Selfish person in the know worried about scam (13) |
| INCONSIDERATE – INSIDER (person in the know) ATE (worried), about CON (scam). | |
| 15 | Drink before dance? It’s what a boxer may have (9) |
| PUNCHBALL – PUNCH (drink) BALL (dance). | |
| 16 | Essential to secure company for rambling (10) |
| INCOHERENT – CO (company) in INHERENT (essential). | |
| 17 | Din god and devil initially investigated with sign of hesitation (11) |
| PANDEMONIUM – PAN (god) DEMON (devil) and first letter of Investigated, UM (sign of hesitation) | |
| 18 | Man with papers and style (5) |
| IDIOM – ID (papers) IOM (Isle of Man; Man). A with B by convention meaning B then A. | |
| 19 | Like automated vehicles, oddly red and silver — and small (10) |
| DRIVERLESS – (red silver s)* [oddly], with s = small. | |
| 21 | Agent disturbed by swindles, overcome with horror (6) |
| AGHAST – AGT (agent) [disturbed by] HAS (swindles), i.e. HAS in AGT. I’d not come across that abbreviation before. | |
| 23 | Composer’s offspring disheartened guests with German hotel (9) |
| SONGSMITH – SON (offspring), outside letters of [disheartened] G{uest}S, MIT (German for with), H (Hotel in the phonetic alphabet). I spent a while trying to make the answer HINDEMITH or GOLDSMITH to no avail. | |
| 25 | Old Italian coin, something chewed over by bankers ultimately (5) |
| SCUDO – {banker}S [ultimately] CUD (something chewed) O (over). My first unknown. | |
| 26 | Entertainer’s treat is misguided (7) |
| ARTISTE – (treat is)* [misguided]. | |
| 28 | Die by river, clutching one tropical bloom? (7,6) |
| PASSION FLOWER – I (one) in PASS ON (die) FLOWER (river – that old crossword chestnut). | |
| 31 | English celebrity escorted across lake, given a coat (9) |
| ENAMELLED – E (English) NAME (celebrity) and L (lake) in LED (escorted). | |
| 33 | Monk’s function requiring small container (9) |
| DOMINICAN – DO (party; function) MINI (small) CAN (container). | |
| 35 | Like a mole, for example, eating his grub? (13) |
| INSECTIVOROUS -Cryptic definition. | |
| 37 | On radio, a youth contributing to panto (7) |
| ALADDIN – A LADD sounds like A LAD (a youth) [on the radio], IN (contributing to). | |
| 38 | Indian dynasty in the end calling up forgotten reserve troops (5) |
| GUPTA – Final letters, [in the end], of callinG UP TA (territorial army; forgotten reserve troops). The TA has been know as the Army Reserve since 2014. Read about the Gupta dynasty here. | |
| 40 | Unfashionable wear for women in the suburbs (9) |
| OUTSKIRTS – OUT (unfashionable) SKIRTS (wear for women). | |
| 42 | Start of terrible split about husband’s frugality (6) |
| THRIFT – H (husband) in first letter of Terrible, RIFT (split). | |
| 44 | Sentence in writing on southern peak’s fulmars, etc (10) |
| STORMBIRDS – S (southern) TOR (peak), BIRD (prison sentence) in MS (manuscript; writing). | |
| 46 | Moved slowly, finally summoned by hooter (5) |
| NOSED – NOSE (hooter) and last letter of summoneD. | |
| 48 | Having a bouquet prepared for our side only at first (11) |
| ODORIFEROUS – (for our side o{nly})* [prepared]. | |
| 50 | In South Carolina, getting own back for foraging (10) |
| SCAVENGING – SC (South Carolina) AVENGING (getting own back). Hmm. The initial IN in the clue is taking a bit of a liberty as it is not a wordplay indicator… or even part of the wordplay If it was the answer would be SAVENGINC. | |
| 52 | Be divided by new term for hardliner (9) |
| EXTREMIST – (term)* [new] in EXIST (be). | |
| 53 | Choose Italian film about golf: it has drawing power (13) |
| ELECTROMAGNET – ELECT (choose), G (golf in the phonetic alphabet) in ROMAN (Italian) ET (crosswordland’s favourite film). | |
| 54 | Dress with a certain appeal, primarily round India (4) |
| SARI – SA (sex appeal; a certain appeal), first letter of Round, I (India in the phonetic alphabet) (or first letters of Round India as you prefer). An Indian garment of course. Nice surface. | |
| 55 | Seasonal farm-worker, one hastening to acquire garment (9) |
| HARVESTER – VEST (garment) in HARER (one hastening). Hmm. Well a hare is one hastening, and to hare is to hasten, but I can’t find HARER in the usual dictionaries. | |
| 56 | Fool, possibly, principally serving in arid waste (7) |
| DESSERT – First letter of Serving in DESERT (arid waste). | |
| Down | |
| 1 | Dickensian illustrator purchasing house in Zurich first of all (4) |
| PHIZ – First letters of Purchasing House In Zurich. Properly called Hablot Knight Browne. He was the 14th of 15 children. According to his biographer Valerie Browne Lester, Phiz was in fact the illegitimate son of his putative eldest sister Kate and Captain Nicholas Hablot of Napoleon’s Imperial Guard. No I didn’t know that before looking it up while compiling the blog. | |
| 2 | Revised text about religious feast, as released (9) |
| RECENSION – RE (about) {as}CENSION (religious feast) without the AS. A second new word for me. | |
| 3 | Tips from new commander overwhelmed a sergeant, say (3-12,7) |
| NON-COMMISSIONED OFFICER – Take the initial letters (tips) of New Commander Overwhelmed… | |
| 4 | A requirement to digest one’s cake flavouring (7) |
| ANISEED – I’S (one’s) in A NEED (a requirement). | |
| 5 | Necessary funds enclosed in top half of wallet? (11) |
| WHEREWITHAL – HEREWITH (enclosed) in WAL{let}. | |
| 6 | Unsuitability of snap I sent out (9) |
| INAPTNESS – (snap I sent)* [out]. | |
| 7 | Eg, Leicester’s novel record? (5) |
| SHEEP – SHE (novel by H Rider Haggard) EP (extended Play; record). It would appear there a number of different sheep breeds with Leicester in the name. | |
| 8 | Builders may use one managing pit (6,5) |
| COPING STONE – COPING (managing) STONE (pit of a fruit). | |
| 9 | Hang about, departing at last in ocean-going vessel (6) |
| LINGER – Last letter of departinG in LINER (ocean-going vessel). | |
| 11 | Old woman carrying in a simple wind instrument (7) |
| OCARINA – IN in O (old) CARA (woman’s name). | |
| 12 | Unit of distance? More like temperature, surprisingly (9) |
| KILOMETRE – (more like T)* [surprisingly] where T = temperature. | |
| 13 | Dodgson’s work reportedly disconcerted the Mirror? (7,3,7-5) |
| THROUGH THE LOOKING-GLASS – Sounds like THREW THE LOOKING GLASS (disconcerted the Mirror) [reportedly]. | |
| 18 | Popular drink yours truly would find tasteless (7) |
| INSIPID – IN (popular) SIP (drink) I’D (yours truly would). | |
| 20 | French museum’s door or window slats (7) |
| LOUVRES – Double definition. | |
| 22 | Taken in by bulky catalogue, head of authority who’s resigned (8) |
| FATALIST – First letter of Authority in FAT (bulky) LIST (catalogue). Nice one. | |
| 24 | Offender to begin with breaking into pub cash? Not guilty (8) |
| INNOCENT – First letter of Offender in INN (pub) CENT (cash). | |
| 27 | Colossal volley? Not entirely (5) |
| SALVO – Hidden in [not entirely] colosSAL VOlley. An &lit clue. | |
| 29 | A flightless bird once associated with south Pacific state (5) |
| SAMOA – S (South) A MOA (flightless bird once). | |
| 30 | Communicate quietly with that man’s reputation rising (7) |
| WHISPER – W (with) HIS (that man’s) REP (reputation) [rising] -> PER. | |
| 32 | Neglected, and treated with contempt around university (7) |
| DISUSED – U (university) in DISSED (treated with contempt). | |
| 34 | Hotel employee’s dark period overcoming drink? (5,6) |
| NIGHT PORTER – NIGHT (dark period) PORTER (drink), [overcoming] indicating coming above in a down clue. | |
| 36 | Church musician often representing him as rector (11) |
| CHOIRMASTER – [representing] (him as rector)*. | |
| 37 | Oaths sure upset a writer! (9) |
| AUTHORESS – (Oaths sure)* [upset]. | |
| 39 | Man showing sign of age, perhaps hides key, turning white (9) |
| ALBESCENT – ESC (keyboard key) in AL (random man’s name) BENT (showing sign of age, perhaps). My third unknown word of the puzzle. | |
| 41 | Eastern lad having administered church without reverberation (9) |
| RESONANCE – RAN (administered) CE (church) outside, [without], E (eastern) SON (lad). Without as in “There is a green hill far away…” | |
| 43 | Aussie native’s note on rook — or cock? (7) |
| ROOSTER – ROO’S (Aussie native’s) TE (note) R (rook in chess notation). | |
| 45 | Heavenly body, not a fat-soluble compound (7) |
| STEROID – {a}STEROID (heavenly body) without the A. | |
| 47 | Retired agent is first of heroes to die (6) |
| PERISH – Our second REP (agent) [retired] -> PER, IS [first of] Heroes. | |
| 49 | Speaker’s perceived environment (5) |
| SCENE – Sounds like SEEN (perceived}. | |
| 51 | Situated outside entrance to temple, let it remain (4) |
| STET – First letter of Temple in SET (situated). | |
I found this boring, a sort of QC Jumbo, and indeed I thought of mentioning it to QC solvers; not an interesting clue to be found. DNK ALBESCENT, STORMBIRD (or fulmar; had to look it up), or SCUDO (but knew the Portuguese escudo, so no problem). I don’t see a problem with HARER, nor would I expect to find it in a dictionary.
Mostly easy, but I struggled with RECENSION. NHO it and this was its first appearance here, even including Mephistos. The wordplay got me there eventually.
I also struggled with ALBESCENT which appeared here only once, 6 years ago. It was not helped by crossing with a clue containing an unknown word ‘fulmars’ which I needed to look up in the dictionary to give me a chance of solving 44ac. I felt ‘petrels’ would have been a more generous example because I imagine most solvers would have heard of the stormy petrel.
Major eyebrow spasm at TA clued as ‘forgotten reserve troops’. If the setter thinks that they’re forgotten, he obviously never solves Times crosswords!
I do remember enjoying this Jumbo and almost finishing, though the relevant newspaper must have been recycled by now. I tried today’s and got nowhere, well, not very far anyway.
Agree it was distinctly friendly and a bit like a large QC. Not especially interesting, but on the other hand it’s nice to get one completed well within the day, dictionaries still on the shelf and hair follicles undamaged….and I had forgotten Carroll’s birth name!