But really nothing at all to quibble about here and, if you missed this one, I strongly recommend you stop reading at this point and go catch up. Standing ovation to the setter and I’m glad I didn’t get up from under the wrong side of the bed this morning (see 41ac) so I could fully enjoy this jumbo among Jumbos!
ACROSS
1 Still bright and fine — due to change (7)
UNFADED – (AND F DUE*) [“to change”]. Some grief was incurred by me from falling into the obvious trap of trying to anagram “fine due”…
5 Recent arrival to pack stuff by eight? Not quite (4,3)
WOLF CUB – WOLF [stuff (as in to eat ravenously)] + CUB{e} [eight(= 2^3)? “not quite”]
9 Charlie needs one for a cricket team? Correct (7)
CHASTEN – C [Charlie] + HAS TEN [needs one for a (11-player) cricket team?]
13 One on hand with the punch (6,5)
BOXING GLOVE – cryptic definition
14 Africans lost in maze saw two bishops (11)
ZIMBABWEANS – (IN MAZE SAW B B*) [“lost”]. FOI.
15 Capital time to leave unspeakable German indeed! (5)
ABUJA – {t}ABU [unspeakable, with T = time leaving] + JA [German for indeed!]. I started trying for the geographically proximate ACCRA, but no dice there.
16 Match going away from City: fix! (3,4)
TIE DOWN – TIE [match] + DOWN [going away from City]
17 Sometime around four, perfect perhaps, for sweeping! (9)
EXTENSIVE – EX [sometime] +, around IV [four], TENSE [perfect, perhaps]
18 Join forces with Bob from Victoria? (4,3,6,8)
TAKE THE QUEEN’S SHILLING – cryptic def, where the bob is a coin and Victoria is the monarch not a place.
23 Unusually short but square old weapon (8)
ARQUEBUS – (BU{t} SQUARE*) [“unusually”]
25 Sitcom of one hour, back on screen (2-2-2)
HI-DE-HI – reversed I H [one | hour] on HIDE [screen]
27 We all have two payments to follow annually (7)
PARENTS – RENTS [payments] to follow P.A. [annually]
30 Back in Brazil, educating professor’s pupil (5)
ELIZA – hidden reversed in {br}AZIL E{ducating}. Spooky that the blog I blogged only the other day had DOOLITTLE in it.
32 Unimaginative artist incorporating circles in image (7)
PROSAIC – O’S [circles] in R.A. [artist] in PIC [image]
33 Miss turning to wine-based drink drained dry port (9)
KIRKCALDY – reversed LACK [miss] after KIR [wine-based drink] + D{r}Y
35 Parisian that enters to defeat Home Secretary hands down! (9)
BEQUEATHS – QUE [that, in French] “enters” BEAT [to defeat] + H.S.
36 Terms used in cricket are too long (7)
OVERRUN – OVER and RUN, two terms used in cricket
37 I refuse to go on backing everyone: that’s flat! (5)
LLANO – NO [I refuse], to go on reversed ALL [everyone]
38 Sailor briefly caught in a satellite town on the Med (7)
AJACCIO – JAC{k} C [sailor “briefly” | caught] in A IO [a | satellite]
40 Take The Sun for understanding article on woman (6)
BASQUE – homophone of BASK [take the sun]
41 Blind porter catching zeds — where you’d expect to find him? (8)
BEDAZZLE – ALE [porter] “catching” ZZ [zeds]. I personally would have expected to find him “in” BED, not near, beside or under (?) it, but perhaps it’s because he’s blind?
44 What have you in mind? Very little change on offer (1,5,3,4,8)
A PENNY FOR YOUR THOUGHTS – a cryptic definition, 1p being the smallest amount of change there is, nowadays.
48 Resolutely deferred start of meal during visit (9)
STAUNCHLY – {L->}UNCH [meal] with its “start” deferred to the end, during STAY [visit]
50 Bits from Roman times one read in translation (7)
DENARII – (I READ IN*) [“translation”]
53 Area with which the author’s at home, reflecting his female side (5)
ANIMA – A [area], with which reversed AM IN [the author’s at home]
54 Fire extinguisher taken from prison: warder finally in court subject to questioning (7,4)
STIRRUP PUMP – STIR {warde}R UP PUMP [prison | warder “finally” | in court | subject (v.) to questioning]
55 Putting together project about Times: “no gaps”, I resolved (11)
JUXTAPOSING – JUT [project] about X [Times] + (NO GAPS I*) [“resolved”]
56 Crime baron maybe going down (7)
SINKING – or SIN KING
57 Prince, not exactly that carefree (7)
HALCYON – HAL C YON [prince | not exactly | that]
58 Learner driver (7)
COACHEE – or perhaps one being coached = learner
DOWN
1 Happy to attend, having finished earlier (6)
UPBEAT – BE AT [to attend], having UP [finished] earlier
2 Outdoor pursuit by horse in spring (7)
FOXHUNT – X H [by | horse] in FOUNT [spring]. Very nice, especially as the wordplay completely passed me by initially!
3 Pass request for assignment to tutor? (4,3,2)
DON’T ASK ME – or alternatively punctuated, DON, TASK ME [request for assignment to tutor]
4 Figure computer buffs do this? (5)
DIGIT – computer buffs DIG I.T.
5 Anyone occupying new home, verifiably? (8)
WHOMEVER – well hidden in {ne}W HOME VER{ifiably}
6 More or less stop, in the main to deceive (3,2)
LIE TO – double def. If a ship is lying to, it is nearly stationary with its head to the wind.
7 Enclosed frames something Walton’s on about for artist (7)
CEZANNE – ENC [enclosed] “frames” NAZE [something (the Essex town) Walton’s on], all reversed
8 With glasses on, watches ads for cars? (6,8)
BUMPER STICKERS – with BUMPERS [glasses (for toasting)] on, TICKERS [watches]
9 Outlet’s porch fast deteriorating (5,4)
CRAFT SHOP – (PORCH FAST*) [“deteriorating”]
10 What you’ll see on the Nile, and the Avon, typically (5)
ASWAN – or on the Avon, you will typically see A SWAN
11 Music that could have lad join tzaritza dancing (11,4)
TRADITIONAL JAZZ – (LAD JOIN TZARITZA*) [“dancing”]
12 Saving time in New York, say: no good concealing it (4,3)
NEST EGG – E.S.T. E.G. [time in New York | say], concealed by N.G. [no good]
19 Herald eclipse, one a long way from earth? (7)
TRUMPET – TRUMP E.T. [eclipse | one a long way from earth (though the one in the film wasn’t)]
20 Single-issue college speakers get up briefly (9)
UNIPAROUS – UNI P.A. ROUS{e} [college | speakers | get up “briefly”]
21 Unfinished stringed instrument: I state you can wax it (7)
LYRICAL – LYR{e} I CAL [“unfinished” stringed instrument | I | state (the one I’m blogging this from!)]
22 A snake or two a bear tormented (5,3)
WATER BOA – (TWO A BEAR*) [“tormented”]
24 Callixenus comprehends his limits age wise (15)
QUINQUAGENARIAN – so the limits to a quinquagenarian, age-wise, are 50 and 59. Which are contained, Roman numerically, in {ca}L-LIX{enus}. Utterly brilliant, and I’m not going to pretend I saw it until long, long after submission.
26 State funds partner no longer one with place on the board (9)
EXCHEQUER – EX [partner no longer] with CHEQUER [place on the board]
28 The blue socks that are great for seeing baseball teams in? (8)
SKYBOXES – SKY BOXES [the blue | socks]. Something American sportsy!
29 Odd person, the president, one featuring in reply to children’s question (10,4)
GOOSEBERRY BUSH – GOOSEBERRY [the odd person in “two’s company, three’s a crowd”] + BUSH [the president].
The children’s question is “Where do babies come from?” Though we grownups all know it’s really by stork delivery.
31 French town one can start to like, somehow (7)
ALENCON – (ONE CAN L{ike}*) [“somehow”]
34 Romeo regularly taking money for reciting poem (7)
RONDEAU – R [Romeo] + ON [regularly taking, as in medication] + homophone of DOUGH [money]
39 How mishit croquet ball might come back ready-made (3,3,3)
OFF THE PEG – complicated double def with a croquet scenario.
42 Alias entered into by queen to see a Russian poet (9)
AKHMATOVA – AKA [alias] “entered into” by HM [the Queen] + TO V A [to | see | a]. Anna Akhmatova, strong contender for the Nobel Prize in 1965 and 1966.
43 Hormone’s harmful substance keeping husband younger (8)
THYROXIN – TOXIN [harmful substance] “keeping” H YR [husband | younger]
44 Is supporter first to abandon plucky players? (7)
ASSISTS – {b}ASSISTS [plucky players, abandoning their first letter]
45 Reference work on beer, large and so complex? (7)
OEDIPAL – OED [reference work] on IPA L [beer | large]
46 Maybe like Berkshire land one’s keeping quiet about (7)
SWINISH – WIN I’S [land | one’s], keeping SH [quiet!] about
47 Jar on its lid — something often right underneath (6)
JANGLE – J{ar} with ANGLE [something often right] underneath
49 Italian architect recalled in verse — and oddly overlooked (5)
NERVI – reversed alternate letters of I{n} V{e}R{s}E {a}N{d}
51 In vain altering Schiller ode’s intro (2,3)
NO JOY – take Schiller’s Ode TO JOY, and alter the first letter appropriately.
52 Child nearly sacrificed? There are differing accounts (5)
ISAAC – an ISA and an AC are two types of (financial) account.
Edited at 2019-08-17 06:45 pm (UTC)
Edited at 2019-08-18 07:12 pm (UTC)
A fabulous tour de force from our setter, the quintuple being just a part of it. Great clues all over the grid, compelling (if you had the time) following through to rhe end. I had 79 minutes on it, and resented none.
Arguably, 5 of every ketter was not much help, since at no point did I feel I was looking for any particular letter to completr the set. Bravo!
FOXHUNT, I think, may be FOUNT around X H. Thanks to blogger too.