Hello and happy Caturday. Sorry this blog is a little later in the day than usual. I always have good intentions to do things IN TIME, but invariably end up where such intentions lead …
Anyway, what felt to me like a fairly typical Jumbo solve slowed down somewhat at the end, culminating in the need for a wildcard search to find 15a. All good fun, thank you 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.
| Across | |
| 1 | Proud feature in paper, that indicates maximum coverage (4-5,4) |
| HIGH-WATER MARK — HIGH (proud) + WATERMARK (feature in paper) | |
| 8 | Paint a sickener for animal (9) |
| DISTEMPER — Two definitions | |
| 13 | Part of church left sort of orange (5) |
| NAVEL — NAVE (part of church) + L (left) | |
| 14 | Waves that are called grey (5,6) |
| WHITE HORSES — For some reason WHITE HORSES – horses that are white – are called greys | |
| 15 | Powerless to block basin (5) |
| STOUP — Without P (powerless), STO[p] UP (to block) | |
| 16 | One soldier, carried round on the back of a native (9) |
| ABORIGINE — The combination of I (one) and GI (soldier) has BORNE (carried) round it. This is all appended to (on the back of) A (from the clue) | |
| 17 | Down-and-out perhaps protected by Valkyries (4) |
| ALKY — The answer is contained in (protected by) vALKYries | |
| 18 | Be told about saw cutting out a hat (8) |
| HEADGEAR — HEAR (be told) around (about) AD[a]GE (saw) without (cutting out) A | |
| 20 | Before too late, hint at leaving (2,4) |
| IN TIME — INTIM[at]E (hint) with AT removed (leaving) | |
| 21 | Young party disturbs spider by accident (5,5,6) |
| TEDDY BEARS PICNIC — The answer provides an anagram of (disturbs) SPIDER BY ACCIDENT | |
| 24 | One conveying an impulse from steel dungeon (5,4) |
| NERVE CELL — NERVE (steel) + CELL (dungeon) | |
| 26 | One note penned by emperor not yet delivered (2,5) |
| IN UTERO — I (one), then UT (note) inside (penned by) NERO (emperor) | |
| 27 | Almost make blood donation — slow progress (5) |
| AMBLE — All but the last letter of (almost) AM BLEd (make blood donation) | |
| 29 | Bus turned sharply beside flowing creek (6-6) |
| DOUBLE-DECKER — DOUBLED (turned sharply) beside an anagram of (flowing) CREEK | |
| 31 | Lear’s folk giving away one beer for fund-raiser (6,4) |
| JUMBLE SALE — JUMBL[i]ES (Lear’s folk) removing (giving away) I (one) + ALE (beer) | |
| 33 | Active, for one, to make hard copy of recorded speech (10) |
| VOICEPRINT — VOICE (active, for one) + PRINT (to make hard copy of) | |
| 35 | Trails ticked off by walker here? (4,8) |
| LAKE DISTRICT — TRAILS TICKED anagrammed (off) | |
| 38 | Figure having third name for film is silly (5) |
| NINNY — NIN[et]Y (figure), having a third N (name) in place of (for) ET (film) | |
| 39 | Creeper it was tempting to have in the garden (7) |
| SERPENT — A cryptic definition | |
| 40 | This glow hard to disperse in laser display (5,4) |
| LIGHT SHOW — THIS GLOW + H (hard), anagrammed (to disperse) | |
| 42 | Luxurious prison transport? (7,9) |
| STRETCH LIMOUSINE — A whimsical definition giving a possible interpretation of the answer which plays on two meanings of “stretch” | |
| 44 | Cut open, took a quick look: not good (6) |
| LANCED — [g]LANCED (took a quick look) without (not) G (good) | |
| 47 | Minister has to tear round at any time (8) |
| REVEREND — REND (to tear) goes round EVER (at any time) | |
| 49 | Man a bit short for Heather? (4) |
| ERIC — The answer is not quite long enough to give (a bit short for) ERICa (heather) | |
| 50 | Mixed drink and snack, first getting wind (9) |
| SNAKEBITE — BITE (snack), having SNAKE (wind) first | |
| 52 | Right to leave mildly humorous order (5) |
| IONIC — R (right) removed from (to leave) I[r]ONIC (mildly humorous) | |
| 53 | Like grand old man in goal, stand prepared (11) |
| GLADSTONIAN — IN GOAL STAND anagrammed (prepared) | |
| 54 | Not initially unresponsive, but stiff (5) |
| RIGID — Without the first letter (not initially), [f]RIGID (unresponsive) | |
| 55 | Basic way to describe aluminium? (9) |
| ELEMENTAL — A way to describe aluminium, a chemical element with the symbol Al, could be ELEMENT AL | |
| 56 | Sends the pasty to cook: it won’t arrive until after Christmas (2,8,3) |
| ST STEPHENS DAY — SENDS THE PASTRY anagrammed (to cook) | |
| Down | |
| 1 | Foreigner depended on contribution to Opera North (9) |
| HUNGARIAN — HUNG (depended) by (on) ARIA (contribution to opera) + N (north) | |
| 2 | Announce painful condition I have contracted internally (4,3) |
| GIVE OUT — GOUT (painful condition), with I’VE (I have, contracted) inside (internally) | |
| 3 | Intention late at night to instruct freedom fighter (7,4) |
| WILLIAM TELL — WILL (intention) + IAM (1AM, late at night) + TELL (to instruct) | |
| 4 | Have to break link — one’s not in the country (6) |
| TOWNIE — OWN (have) inserted into (to break) TIE (link) | |
| 5 | Start to discuss great suffering and complain furiously (5,4) |
| RAISE HELL — RAISE (start to discuss) + HELL (great suffering) | |
| 6 | Digital assistant at first nearly forgets what to say — fed with new lines (12) |
| ALEXANDRINES — ALEXA (digital assistant) + the first letter of (at first) Nearly, then DRIES (forgets what to say) with the insertion of (fed with) N (new) | |
| 7 | Criticise a fight that’s boisterous (10) |
| KNOCKABOUT — KNOCK (criticise) + A + BOUT (fight) | |
| 8 | Frustrate hurried travel (4) |
| DASH — A double definition | |
| 9 | Held up crossing, stupidly ignored business pressure (10,6) |
| SUSPENSION BRIDGE — An anagram of (stupidly) IGNORED BUSINESS P (pressure) | |
| 10 | Lent hasn’t started, so relaxed (5) |
| EASED — lEASED (lent) is missing its first letter (hasn’t started) | |
| 11 | Dietary essential for youngster announced (7) |
| PROTEIN — PRO (for) + TEIN, which sounds like (… announced) TEEN (youngster) | |
| 12 | Criticise tart husband entering bond for boosting relations (13) |
| RAPPROCHEMENT — RAP (criticise) + PRO (tart, prostitute), then H (husband) inserted into (entering) CEMENT (bond) | |
| 19 | Put beyond doubt what one can do when user moves (4,4) |
| MAKE SURE — When USER is anagrammed (moves) one can MAKE SURE | |
| 22 | Picture that is the cover of periodical (5) |
| IMAGE — IE (that is) around (the cover of) MAG (periodical) | |
| 23 | Scott’s work as nurse I glimpse, covering on one occasion (6,2,3,5) |
| TENDER IS THE NIGHT — TENDER (nurse) + I + SIGHT (glimpse) around (covering) THEN (on one occasion) | |
| 25 | French department concerned with organisation of labour (7) |
| REUNION — RE (concerned with) + UNION (organisation of labour) | |
| 28 | Radiant to live with strict sect (7) |
| BEAMISH — BE AMISH (to live with strict sect) | |
| 29 | Foresees royal weakness, which minister takes charge of (6,7) |
| DIVINE SERVICE — DIVINES (foresees) + ER (royal) + VICE (weakness) | |
| 30 | Skyline shows train travelling through high pass (8) |
| CONTRAIL — An anagram of (… travelling) TRAIN going inside (through) COL (high pass) | |
| 32 | Symbol of order getting islanders upset (7,5) |
| MALTESE CROSS — MALTESE (islanders) + CROSS (upset) | |
| 34 | Land in east, not as open to pain (5) |
| EGYPT — E[as]T without (not) AS, containing (open to) GYP (pain) | |
| 36 | Two men collecting earth reshaped a pyramid (11) |
| TETRAHEDRON — TED and RON (two men) containing (collecting) an anagram of (… reshaped) EARTH | |
| 37 | Comfortable situation, but it is growing prickly (3,2,5) |
| BED OF ROSES — A definition, plus a definition of a literal BED OF ROSES | |
| 40 | Mortal danger: country is led astray (9) |
| LANDSLIDE — LAND (country) + IS LED anagrammed (astray) | |
| 41 | One in seven needs to change driver, avoiding water flowing in road (9) |
| WEDNESDAY — An anagram of (… to change) NEEDS and D[river] without (avoiding) RIVER (water flowing), all inside (in) WAY (road) | |
| 43 | Regret saving regular income (7) |
| REVENUE — RUE (regret) containing (saving) EVEN (regular) | |
| 45 | Charlie, surrounded, looked embarrassed (7) |
| CRINGED — C (Charlie) + RINGED (surrounded) | |
| 46 | Deliver blow, catching a belly (6) |
| PAUNCH — PUNCH (deliver blow) containing (catching) A | |
| 48 | Sport red frill (5) |
| RUCHE — RU (sport, rugby union) + CHE (red) | |
| 51 | Friend at length is to become tedious (4) |
| PALL — PAL (friend) by (at) L (length) | |
‘Dry’ for forgetting lines on stage is very old hat so I’m a little surprised that was unknown.
Edited at 2020-06-27 12:43 pm (UTC)
At 15ac I was baffled by wordplay but I had forgotten the basin is spelt STOUP so I was never going to make any sense of STOOP.
27ac has brilliant wordplay but I’m afraid it was wasted on me, so thanks, Kitty, for the explanation.
Alexandrines one of many words I sort of know but could not explain. Along with iambs, feet, hemistichs, trochees, spondees, caesurae etc etc..
jackkt and Kevin should know that it is common wisdom on Wall Street that the Genesis for Amazon buying Whole Foods Markets was Jeff Bezos saying “Alexa, buy me these things at Whole Foods”, and getting the response “Buying Whole Foods”