Hello all. In a departure from routine I solved this one in a relaxed mood listening to music, so the 55 minutes on my clock includes some time not focussed on the puzzle. A few answers on the left hand side held out a bit, but no real problems. No absolute stand-out favourites either, but I liked 25a (OF A PIECE) and smiled at “barking at the moon” (15a), which I will be when this blog is published. Thanks setter!
Definitions are underlined in the clues below. In the explanations, I generally italicise indicators unless it seems clearer not to. Where the removed letter is specified, [deletions] are in square brackets, and I’ve capitalised and emboldened letters which appear in the ANSWER. I sometimes omit link words and juxtaposition indicators if it doesn’t feel necessary to explain them. If you have any questions, please ask in the comments section.
| Across | |
| 1a | Endless last-minute stirring for pick-me-up (9) |
| STIMULANT — Without the last letter (endless) LAST-MINUTe anagrammed (stirring) | |
| 6a | State Post Office? It’s confused (5) |
| POSIT — PO (Post Office) + IT’S anagrammed (confused) | |
| 9a | Flowing westwards, a river also falls? (7) |
| NIAGARA — Going right to left (flowing westwards) A, R (river) and AGAIN (also) | |
| 13a | Mountains, Scottish ones either side of Dee (5) |
| ANDES — ANES (Scottish ones) around (either side of) D (dee) | |
| 14a | Crew chasing miles to fill fish order (7) |
| COMMAND — MAN (crew) after (chasing) M (miles), all going inside (to fill) COD (fish) | |
| 15a | Out and barking at the moon (3,2,4) |
| NOT AT HOME — An anagram of (barking) AT THE MOON | |
| 16a | Bond outside Royal Navy is after underworld intelligence? (11) |
| DISCERNMENT — CEMENT (bond) around (outside) RN (Royal Navy) is after DIS (underworld) | |
| 17a | Support getting ready for holiday hiking (11) |
| BACKPACKING — BACK (support) + PACKING (getting ready for holiday) | |
| 18a | Disease besetting rook and crow? (6) |
| CORVID — COVID (disease) besetting R (rook) | |
| 19a | Northeast supporter pens petition for area surrounding Lincoln (8) |
| NEBRASKA — NE (northeast) + BRA (supporter) contains (pens) ASK (petition) | |
| 21a | Still fast, keeping in condition (6) |
| PACIFY — PACY (fast) holding (keeping in) IF (condition) | |
| 25a | Uniform belonging to a knight? (2,1,5) |
| OF A PIECE — OF (belonging to) + A + PIECE (knight?) | |
| 26a | Stop sorry household cooking (4,4,6) |
| HOLD YOUR HORSES — SORRY HOUSEHOLD anagrammed (cooking) | |
| 28a | Sidney and Edward casually associated (5) |
| SIDED — Familiar forms of (… casually) SID (Sidney) and ED (Edward) | |
| 29a | This fellow involved in Conservative speculation (6) |
| THEORY — HE (this fellow) involved in TORY (Conservative) | |
| 30a | Disputant breaking tiny child’s flower (10) |
| MARGUERITE — ARGUER (disputant) inside (breaking) MITE (tiny child) | |
| 33a | Unprofessional partner invested in gold from Eire losing capital (10) |
| AMATEURISH — MATE (partner) invested in AU (gold) + iRISH (from Eire) dropping the first letter (losing capital) | |
| 35a | Showed sadness for parking I restricted (6) |
| PITIED — P (parking) + I + TIED (restricted) | |
| 36a | Island’s accepting European funds (5) |
| MEANS — MAN’S (island’s) taking in (accepting) E (European) | |
| 38a | Work by Bach Hallé reproduced mostly badly? (7,7) |
| CHORALE PRELUDE — An anagram of (… badly) HALLÉ REPRODUCEd mostly | |
| 40a | Joyous months over in woodland space (8) |
| GLADSOME — MOS (months) backwards (over) in GLADE (woodland space) | |
| 42a | Commercial division lacking direction (6) |
| ADRIFT — AD (commercial) + RIFT (division) | |
| 43a | Drug’s taken about a minute for chemical to affect brain (8) |
| DOPAMINE — DOPE (drug)’s taken around (about) A and MIN (minute) | |
| 44a | Everything except headless fish’s left for one (3,3) |
| ALL BUT — Missing its first letter (headless) hAL[i]BUT (fish) has L (left) in place of (for) I (one) | |
| 47a | Cast had garbled English play (5,6) |
| HEDDA GABLER — Make an anagram of (cast) HAD GARBLED and E (English) | |
| 50a | Unusual to convert local (11) |
| ALTERNATIVE — ALTER (to convert) + NATIVE (local) | |
| 52a | Boat race team shortly set off in rowing boat (9) |
| OUTRIGGER — OU (boat race team shortly – i.e. its abbreviation) + TRIGGER (set off) | |
| 53a | Part of embryo from red oxen shows this returning (7) |
| EXODERM — Reverse hidden: froM RED OXEn shows the answer backwards (returning) | |
| 54a | Briefly feverish, going after love from a Gulf state (5) |
| OMANI — Without the last letter (briefly) MANIc (feverish) going after O (love) | |
| 55a | Note backing covering skirt for man? (7) |
| HOMINID — DOH (note) reversed (backing) around (covering) MINI (skirt) | |
| 56a | Discourage chap avoiding soap (5) |
| DETER — GENT (chap) avoiding DETER[gent] (soap) | |
| 57a | Pride of Aragorn bothered Celeborn and Elrond initially (9) |
| ARROGANCE — ARAGORN anagrammed (bothered) + Celeborn and Elrond initially | |
| Down | |
| 1d | Street with spot for taxis (5) |
| STAND — ST (street) + AND (with) | |
| 2d | What can be used to cut stone under River Test (10,7) |
| INDUSTRIAL DIAMOND — DIAMOND (stone) under INDUS (river) and TRIAL (test) | |
| 3d | Mysterious mushrooms springing up in one (11) |
| UNSPECIFIED — CEPS (mushrooms) reversed (springing up, in a down entry) in UNIFIED (one) | |
| 4d | Air-conditioning with a bit of American intensity (6) |
| ACCENT — AC (air-conditioning) + CENT (a bit of American) | |
| 5d | Moderated rage pursued by editor (8) |
| TEMPERED — TEMPER (rage) followed by (pursued by) ED (editor) | |
| 6d | Smear managers for item sold by builders’ merchant (12) |
| PLASTERBOARD — PLASTER (smear) + BOARD (managers) | |
| 7d | British unknown joining two teams adjoining each other (4,2,4) |
| SIDE BY SIDE — B (British) and Y (unknown) going between (joining) SIDE and SIDE (two teams) | |
| 8d | Refresher working in very little time, not needing all of it (5) |
| TONIC — ON (working) in TICk (very little time) without the end (not needing all of it) | |
| 9d | Theatre to copy style when mounting writer’s material (9) |
| NOTEPAPER — REP (theatre), APE (to copy) and TON (style) when written upwards in the grid (mounting) | |
| 10d | Antony Cecil being treated for circulation (11) |
| ANTICYCLONE — ANTONY CECIL being anagrammed (treated) | |
| 11d | What’s wrapped round in filo? I add flavoured mayo (5) |
| AIOLI — The solution is hidden backwards in (wrapped round in) fILO? I Add | |
| 12d | Retaliate for special constable killed in search (6) |
| AVENGE — SC (special constable) removed from (killed in) [sc]AVENGE (search) | |
| 18d | Mix and invent shade (10) |
| CROSSHATCH — CROSS (mix) + HATCH (invent) | |
| 20d | Having a whiff of a habitual response around travellers (8) |
| AROMATIC — A TIC (a habitual response) around ROMA (travellers) | |
| 22d | National celebration Bolivia at first arranged in Slough (8,2,7) |
| FESTIVAL OF BRITAIN — BOLIVIA AT FIRST anagrammed (arranged) in FEN (slough) | |
| 23d | Duck! Vehicle’s lost what looks like wheel (6) |
| SCOTER — SCO[o]TER (vehicle)’s lost O (what looks like wheel) | |
| 24d | Tax beasts of burden dispatched carrying mass (10) |
| ASSESSMENT — ASSES (beasts of burden) + SENT (dispatched) around (carrying) M (mass) | |
| 27d | Even decided to enter old field (8) |
| MEASURED — SURE (decided) going into (to enter) MEAD (old field) | |
| 31d | Puff during good sprint is something annoying (6) |
| GADFLY — AD (puff) in (during) G (good) and FLY (sprint) | |
| 32d | Auden memoirs recollected bad behaviour (12) |
| MISDEMEANOUR — AUDEN MEMOIRS anagrammed (recollected) | |
| 34d | Just, say, came down on heretic (11) |
| EGALITARIAN — EG (say) + ALIT (came down) + ARIAN (heretic) | |
| 36d | How to make Logan manage more or less satisfactorily (6,5) |
| MUDDLE ALONG — To make LOGAN, form an anagram of (MUDDLE) ALONG | |
| 37d | Tense model following a lot of publicity (10) |
| PLUPERFECT — PERFECT (model) following all but the last letter of (a lot of) PLUg (publicity) | |
| 39d | Disaffected nuisance crashed, neglecting power and pressure (9) |
| ESTRANGED — [p]EST (nuisance) [p]RANGED (crashed) omitting (neglecting) P (power) and P (pressure) | |
| 41d | Curse article found in hat — not the topper (8) |
| ANATHEMA — THE (article) found in pANAMA (hat) without its first letter (not the topper) | |
| 45d | Which people, keeping nothing quiet, go quickly? (6) |
| WHOOSH — WHO (which people) holding (keeping) O (nothing) + SH (quiet) | |
| 46d | Beginner’s book of paint (6) |
| PRIMER — Two definitions | |
| 48d | What archaeologist is casually said to do to discoveries in fact? (5) |
| DATUM — The answer sounds like: DATE ’EM, what an archaeologist does to discoveries, if said casually | |
| 49d | Sensational hat getting regularly furry inside (5) |
| LURID — LID (hat) with even letters of (regularly) fUrRy inside | |
| 51d | Drunk in the middle of week for choice (5) |
| ELITE — LIT (drunk) in the middle letters of (the middle of) wEEk | |
Unusually, I had no DNKs in this Jumbo. But a MER at defining ALTERNATIVE as ‘unusual’, and UNSPECIFIED as ‘mysterious’. I couldn’t parse AVENGE. I liked 22d (DNK the festival) and 38ac.