Jumbo 1086 – April 12th

Posted on Categories Jumbo Cryptic
Definitely my hardest jumbo in a long while. Struggled a lot in the NE corner, mainly with clues in and around 6A. I am always in two minds when there is unknown (to me) vocabulary as to whether it is acceptably obscure or not. Some puzzles can take a while purely on obscurity of both the definition and the word play, but since the word play here was clear in the end, this one goes down on the right side of the line.

o

Across
1 AMETHYSTS – (system tha.)*
6 COMA BERENICES – COMB around A=area, ERE=before, NICE=pleasant, S=southern. The whole was unknown to me and required checking on google to locate.
13 FLEET – FLEE=run, T(ransport)
14 COMING ROUND – C(ard) O(f) M(asseur) IN GROUND = buried?
15 TIARA – R=river, AIT=island, all reversed, then A
16 READY TO WEAR – READ=study, TOW=do drawing, inside YEAR=class. Whole is “of standard size”
17 ENDOTHERMIC – END=finish off, OTHER=different, MIC(e)=vermin mostly.
18 TABITHA – T.A.=territorial army=volunteers, around (clothe) A BIT H = rather hot.
20 SADDLER – SADDER = lower, around L =length
21 HEADS UP – HEAD = teacher, SUP = drink
23 ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE – (some recruits perhaps)* – nice surface on this with the misleading “air force”
27 ERR – (pet)ER R(abbit)
28 DALLAS – ALL=everyone, inside DAS(h)
29 MATINS – (m isnt a)*
31 RADICALLY – (diary)* outside of CALL=name
34 REDRESSED – RED=cherry, DESSER(t)=sweet, nearly, reversed
35 NEM CON – NEON around MC
36 ANSWER – A “N,S,W,E”=set of directions, R=right
39 BOO – BOO(k)
40 IT AINT NECESSARILY SO – double def
42 INSECTS – IN=accepted by, SECTS. slightly odd/clumsy definition for both the whole and for SECTS ??
43 SYNONYM – cryptic definition, becomes fairly clear from checkers
45 NAME TAG – reversal of GATE-MAN
47 PORTMANTEAU – MAN=fellow, TEA=leaves, U=university, all after PORT=left
49 UNDERACTION – T=tense, CARED=worried, reversed inside UNION
51 NAPOO – NA=sodium, POO(l)
52 THINK IT OVER – THIN=fine, KIT=clothing, OVER=surplus
53 BLESS – B=bishop, LESS=not so much
54 HELTER SKELTER – ((c)LERKS LETTER HE )*
55 CASTRATED – RATED = assessed, next to CAST = shed

Down
1 AT FIRST HAND – A RIFT reversed, H=husband, inside STAND=base
2 EWE LAMB – B=british, MALE=chap, WE, all reversed
3 HOTLY – H(old) O(ne) T(hat) L(oves) Y(ou)
4 SOCIOPATHY – (i to a psycho)* – &lit
5 SIMMERS – S=small, IMMERS(e)
6 CONTRADICTION – CON=prisoner, C=about, inside TRADITION
7 MARVELLER – Andrew MARVELL, meets ER
8 BOULDER – sounds like BOLDER
9 RIDE TO HOUNDS – (horn used do it)*
10 NOTRE DAME – OT=old testament, RED=cardinal, inside NAME
11 CLAIM – C(ontro)L, AIM=direct
12 SEARCH PARTY – ARCH=bow, PART=area, inside SE, (propert)Y
19 TO SCALE – TOSCA=opera, L(oos)E
22 STEAL AWAY – EA=each, LAW=statute, inside STAY
24 MELODIOUS – MEL(t), ODIOUS
25 RWANDAN – RAN=managed, outside WAND=staff
26 SERIOUS – I inside SEROUS
30 SEMICONDUCTOR – (comic turn does)*
32 CONFIRM – a con firm might be a dishonest business.
33 ASSASSINATES – ASS=idiot, (is sent as a)*
34 RABBIT PUNCH – BAR=stop (lifting), BITCH = dog, around PUN = funny
37 REORGANISED – (order as in eg)*
38 WARNER BROS – WARN=advise, EROS=figure in piccadilly, around RB
40 INCOMMODE – INCOME=returns, around MOD
41 NANTUCKET – NAN=grandma, TUCK=food, E(ven) T(his)
43 STERILE – not sure on this one – RILE for anger, but lost on the STE bit
44 MEDEVAC – ME=middle eastern, ED reversed, VAC=holiday
46 TRIDENT – (s)TRIDENT
48 REPEL – EPE(e) inside R and L
50 CABER – CB’er around A

5 comments on “Jumbo 1086 – April 12th”

  1. DNK 35ac or 44d, and REALLY DNK 51ac, my one error: I put in ‘napro’, for no good reason. Never seen NAPOO, and my often reliable Japanese dictionary doesn’t list it.I thought something must be missing from the clue at 43d; S-e-T-t-E-r would give us what we needed to add to RILE.
  2. I’m pretty sure 43dn has a word (or two) missing. Uneven, perhaps..
    I enjoyed this, and I don’t mind the occasional obscure word, regarding them as a shortcoming in me rather than the setter. However irritated to be told I had one wrong. Perusing the solution, it claims I wrote “seatch party.” Presumably I must have done, but I couldn’t see it at the time. Needless to say the paper copy is fine
  3. My notes say 52 mins for this one. I needed the wordplay for 6ac, 35ac and 40ac. I knew NAPOO from reading about WWI. BOO was my LOI after MELODIOUS.

    I agree that the clue for 43dn looks incomplete, although I don’t remember noticing it at the time.

  4. Just under half an hour here. A few unknowns, but all gettable. It’s quite satisfying to construct something like COMA BERENICES from the wordplay and know it’s right, however unlikely it may look.
  5. Enjoyed this, though one wrong, changing medevac to medivac because it looked better. Well, I had been going at it for an hour or so by then!

    I should have been helped at napoo by the fact that I’m singing Goodbyeee among other things to the British Consul-General in a couple of weeks and that ditty contains the unforgettable (you would have thought) line: ‘Bonsoir, old thing, cheer-i-o, chin, chin, Na-poo, too-dle-oo, Goodbye-ee’, but no.

    Finished with contradiction and saddler – rather than any toughie – after finally cracking the stellar clue.

    Edited at 2014-04-29 04:26 pm (UTC)

Comments are closed.