Bank Holiday Monday Times Jumbo 1029

An appropriate theme for the April 1st Jumbo, with plenty of fools among the answers (SIMPLETON, AIRHEAD, BERK, CLOT, CHUMP, BUFFOON, DUNCE, CLOWN and DUMMY), and ALL FOOLS’ DAY appearing at 57ac. I didn’t encounter any especially obscure answers, and solved this in 19 minutes.

As usual, * indicates an anagram.

Across
1 BACK-STABBER – BACKS, + ABBE in haTRed*
7 CORRUPTIBLE – (or be culprit)*
13 SIMPLETON – I + MP + LET, in SON
14 AIRHEAD – AIR + HEAD
15 RIFLE – (el + fire), reversed
16 APHIDS – spa, reversed, around HID
17 IMITABLE – I’M ABLE around IT
18 RANSOME – RAN + SOME
20 UMBRELLA ORGANISATION – (mourns a global inertia)*
23 RETRACTfreighT, after carter (reversed)
24 SADDEST – ADDErS in ST
26 SKIMMER – hidden in Kipling’S KIM MERcifully
28 BERKmatE, in B + R + K
29 MNEMONIC – MEMO around N, + NICe
32 MISHANDLE – MILE, around SAND around H
35 SPORTS CAR – SPORT SCAR
36 EGOISTIC – E + GO + I + STICk
37 CLOT – CLOTh
39 LATERAN – (NE altar)*
41 MARINER – MINER around A R
44 PRIMARY – PRIORY, with MA replacing O
45 PUT TWO AND TWO TOGETHER – double definition
49 AGELONG – A GEL ON Girl
50 DAEMONIC – (once maid)*. I much prefer this spelling of the word
51 HELPERwHELP, + ER (Elizabeth Regina, a well-known corgi breeder!)
53 CHUMP – CHUM + P
54 OSMOSIScOSMOS IS
55 VALUELESS – (AS levels)* around U
56 CHLOROPHYLL – (porch l holly)*
57 ALL FOOLS’ DAY – ALL FOOLS + DAY

Down
1 BISCAY – AY (certainly) after B IS C
2 COME HOME TO ROOST – double definition (“tweeters” here indicates birds)
3 SALAD CREAM – SCREAM around A LAD
4 ALTO – middle letters of Walton, the composer
5 BY NO MEANS – (money)* in BANS
6 REACTOR – REAR around C TO
7 CEREBRATE – CELEBRATE, with R replacing the L
8 REEVE – RE + EVE
9 UNDERPASS – I wasn’t 100% certain about this, but I think that UNDER-PASS would be a politically-correct (PC) way of saying “fail”
10 TYRANNICIDAL – (Cinna tardily)*
11 BUFFOON – BUFF + O ON
12 EYELET – sounds like “islet”, defined by “inch”
19 PLATONIC – alp (reversed), + TONIC
21 ISTHMUS – IS THUS around M
22 URGENTLYsURLY around aGENT
23 ROBUSTLY – ROB US, + alternate letters of TELLY
25 DUNCE – DUN over CratE
27 MIDDLE-AGE SPREAD – MIDDLE AGES + P + READ
30 MARIMBA – Mine Bauxite, in MARIA
31 CLOWN – C + LOW + deceptioN
33 SLIPPAGE – SLIP + PAGE
34 STORM TROOPER – (sort promoter)*
38 LITTLE NELL – sounds like “little knell”
40 NEWSGROUP – (grown-ups)* around E
42 REDRESSAL – RED + RE, + lass (reversed)
43 RETRIEVAL – (irrelevant)*
45 PREQUEL – QU in P REEL
46 WOODSIA – initial letters of ‘wilt on our dry savannah in Africa’
47 CALCIC – AL in CC, + mICa
48 BRASSY – BRA + SupportS + Y
50 DUMMY – mud (reversed), over MYanmar
52 ALSO – hidden in nationAL SOvereignty</s>

One comment on “Bank Holiday Monday Times Jumbo 1029”

  1. 18:12 for me. A pleasant, straightforward solve. I came to the same conclusion as you about UNDERPASS.

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