Times Jumbo 1024

Author   helenoughamPosted on Categories Jumbo Cryptic
Despite two answers I’d not met before (19ac, 36dn), I didn’t find this too difficult, with a solving time of 21 minutes split across two sessions. There were two George Eliot references (25ac, 55ac), but I don’t think they were part of an overall theme – perhaps the setter just likes George Eliot!

As ever, * indicates an anagram.

Across
1 SNAZZIEST – (mizzenmasts)*
6 BIDET – I’D in BET
9 BUCKS UP – BUCK + SUP
13 OUTDO – OUT, + DO (defined by fleece, = con, cheat)
14 BURNOUS – O + U, in BURNS
15 PLATITUDE – Potassium + LATITUDE
16 TICKLED PINK – TICK, + Del (reversed), +PINK
17 RIDE SHOTGUN – (shouting Red)*
18 SPRING – double definition
19 TROUPIAL – O + UP, in TRIAL. I’m not usually too bad on bird names, but I’d never heard of a TROUPIAL
21 ASTRAY – AS + TRAY
25 EOLITHIC – (Eliot)* + H + I + C
26 UTHER PENDRAGON – LUTHER + PEN + DRAG ON
28 EDWIN – hidden in rED WINe
29 SIERRA – the dedfinition is chain (as in mountain chain). SIERRA is the NATO phonetic alphabet code for the letter S. It took me a while to figure this one out!
30 VILLANELLE – LLANELLi in VIE
33 THESSALIAN – (saint heals)*
35 PHLEGM – P, + LEG in HM (= Her Majesty). PHLEGM was one of the four “humours” in ancient medical terminology – the others were black bile, yellow bile and blood. Apologies if you’re reading this over breakfast…
36 KOORI – rook (reversed), + I. This was my other did-not-know answer
38 PIG IN THE MIDDLE – cassowary has SOW (= pig) in the middle of the word
40 BARATHEA – Arab (reversed), + THE + A
42 DETAIN – DIN around ETA
43 DIPLOMAT – Time after DIPLOMA
44 PIERCE – PIER + CavE
47 WASHING SODA – (Ads showing a)*
50 ALL-NIGHTERS – cryptic definition
52 PLAINTIFF – PLAIN + TIFF
53 IMITATE – I ATE around M.I.T.
54 EMAIL – Niamey, reversed, +L
55 DE MILLE – MILL (reference to ‘The Mill on the Floss’), in DEE
56 LANCE – gLANCE
57 KEEPSAKES – KEEPS, around SAKE (Japanese rice wine)

Down
1 SNOUT – SN (chemical symbol for tin is Sn), + OUT (defined by old hat)
2 ANTI-CORN-LAW LEAGUE – (win local guarantee)*. This one brought back unpleasant memories of school history lessons
3 ZOOPLANKTON – ZOOm + PLANK, + not (reversed)
4 EMBEDS – E + M, + BEDS (short for Bedfordshire)
5 TERRIERS – TIERS around ERR
6 BLOCKBUSTERS – BLOCK, + BUSTER’S (reference to Buster Crabbe, the American athlete/actor)
7 DISTRAINED – DI’S TRAINED (DI = Detective Inspector)
8 TEPID – P, in diet (reversed) – ‘diet’ is a term used for the Japanese Parliament, as well as various historical assemblies
9 BOATSWAIN – BOA (defined by stole), + ThiS + WAIN
10 CHIROPTERAN – (to pinch rare)*
11 STUNG – gnu (reversed) under ST
12 PAEONY – AttractivE in PONY (a PONY is a kind of small drinks glass)
18 STEREOTYPE – (See pottery)*
20 LOPSIDED – LOPS, + alternate letters of birdseed
22 ANGELS ON HORSEBACK – GELS in A + N + ON HORSEBACK. The appetizer traditionally consists of oysters wrapped in bacon, though these days I imagine it’s just as likely to feature real horse
23 DIESEL – DIES + E + L
24 INDELICATE – INDICATE around EL
27 BECALMED – BE CALM, + ED
31 LAMMAS – Mass in LAMAS
32 WHALE OF A TIME – (Who ate meal if)*. The definition is ‘ball’, as in ‘having a ball’
34 SENSATIONAL – horSE, + S in NATIONAL
36 KNAVISHNESS – (saves NHS ink)*
37 ADAPTATION – Parisian + TATI + ON, preceded by ADA
39 HANG-GLIDE – N + G + G, in HALIDE
41 BALLPARK – double definition (reference to a ‘ballpark estimate’)
45 SWIPED – double definition
46 BIREME – sounds like ‘buy ream’
48 SWARM – S + WARM
49 OFFAL – OFF + A + L
51 SILAS – is (reversed), + LASS

6 comments on “Times Jumbo 1024”

  1. Lost track of the time, but at least they were all correct, for the first time in a month, I think. Several DNKs, including TROUPIAL (LOI), SNOUT, ‘happy as Larry’, ANGELS ON HORSEBACK, and Llanelli–but I assumed that a Welsh town would have a double L or two. It took me quite a while to stop thinking of Crabbe the poet, about whom I know nothing, so why was I thinking of him? 6d was one of a number of very nice surfaces; also 9d, 25ac, 22d.
  2. Fairly straightforward, though I’d never heard of the two you hadn’t Helen, nor had I heard of Uncle Silas. Or, in fact, of Sheridan Le Fanu.
  3. 23:44 here for a most enjoyable puzzle. I liked the economy of the clues, with nothing too convoluted and all the references familiar (including TROUPIAL) – apart perhaps from KOORI, which I bunged in moderately confidently as my LOI, but then got cold feet over and wasted a minute or so checking that I hadn’t invented it and that there wasn’t another bird that would give the real answer.
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