Jumbo 1156 – June 27th

Author   fathippy2Posted on Categories Jumbo Cryptic
Have to put this one down as a DNF or rather a wild punt that I knew was wrong (dont know which one is worse), all of which was largely avoidable. The cause of the disaster was actually 3D even though the punt was 14A. It would seem there is no such thing as a GREAT MOTH, even though the word play kind of worked, and I was too “happy” with the answer to consider it wrong. Quite why I didnt get 14A despite the incorrect checker is another question entirely, but it just goes to show the importance of re-evaluating previous answers unless you are 100% sure of their validity. The rest of the grid was reasonably untroubled in comparison. I did think it somewhat unique that the last down clue didnt end at the bottom row, but it may be more common than I thought ??
Across
1 POSTGRAD – (pot drags)*
5 ACROSS – A, CROSS=snappy, whole is OVER
9 MORELLO – MOREL=mushroom, L=left, O=old
14 PYTHONESQUE – Faced with P-T-E-… couldnt really see past POTTERESQUE, but had no justification for it. Still not sure why I couldnt dredge PYTHON out of my mind for serpent, despite the mistake, but perhaps your mind does a good job of screening answers at a subconscious level!!
15 TREASONABLE – (ac)T, REASONABLE=ok
16 IDIOT – first letters of I, D(aresay), I(nside), O(ak), T(rees)
17 IMAGINE – I’M IN=in which I feature, around AG=silver, then (plat)E
18 LIE IN WAIT – LIE=story, IN, sounds like WEIGHT=credibility.
19 SIGNORA – reverse hidden in “sARONG I Saw”
20 SHORT SHARP SHOCK – HARPS=music makers, inside SHORTS=spirits, HOCK=wine
22 TRUTH SERUM – TS (Eliot) around RUTH=book, then ER, UM=I’m not sure
23 BETCHA – BETA=greek character, around CH=church
25 TIDY – double def
28 WALPURGIS NIGHT – (put swirling hag)*, not a word I would have known had it not been the original title of the Black Sabbath classic “War Pigs”
30 SCARIEST – CARIES=dental decay, in ST=street=way
32 CAPUCHIN – quirky double def
34 FRENCH KNICKERS – (wome)N inside FRENCH KICKERS=international footballers, perhaps
37 SLOE – sounds like SLOW=thick
38 HANSOM – sounds like HANDSOME
39 MOTIONLESS – double def
43 QUEEN OF THE SOUTH – QUEEN=man(chess), OFT=regularly, HE’S OUT=he’s away, (pert)H, for the Scottish football side.
45 NARWHAL – RAN=dashed, reversed, W(hiting), HAL(f)= a fraction short.
47 ANGELFISH – AN, ELF=impish type, in GISH=old actress (Sheila Gish? bit of a forced one this, but it could be nothing else)
49 USELESS – double def, if you save more, you use less
51 ERNST – ER=sovereign, (i)N, (hi)S, (deb)T
52 CHIAROSCURO – (caruso choir)*
53 ALPHABETISE – (habit please)*
54 RETRAIN – RETAIN=keep, around R=runs
55 EARNER – ARNE=composer, inside ER=sovereign
56 ADULTERY – (rate duly)*

Down
1 POPPIES – POP=drink, PIES=food
2 SITTING BULL – SITTING=session, BULL=charger
3 GHOST MOTH – GOTH=barbarian, around HOST=army, M(anouevres). My alternative had RE=army, AT=on
4 AMERICAN ENGLISH – USE = US, E = American, English
6 CREDITOR – C(hase) R(ecalcitrant), EDITOR
7 ON THE OTHER HAND – ON HAND = convenient, around THE OTHER = sex
8 SPELL CHECK – SPELL=period, CHECK sounds like CZECH
9 MASSEUR – MASS=pile, EUR(o). Pretty sure there is a typo in the newspaper copy. ENDLESS money makes sense on all levels, whereas ENDLESSLY doesn’t.
10 RUN IN – RUN=race, IN=popular
11 LABRADOODLE – LAB=party, RA=artist, DOODLE=casually draw, whole is CROSS
12 OVERTAKE – OVERT=plain, (c)AKE
13 AQUA – A QUA(y)
20 SQUASH – double def
21 SATYRIC – (its racy)*
22 THWACK – TACK=course, around H=hard, W=with
24 ASCENSION ISLAND – (indonesian class)*
26 VITREOUS HUMOUR – (over suit)*, HUMOUR=amusement
27 STASIS – ST=saint=good man, A SIS=sister=relative
29 UNCLEAN – UNCLE=relative, (m)AN
31 WHOOSH – WHO=question, (yobb)O, SH=shut up
33 POLTERGEIST – (litre eg)* in POST=pale,
35 ELEPHANTINE – (lenin the ape)*
36 ON THE HOUSE – double def
40 NERVE CELL – NERVE=brass, CELL=little room
41 SQUAD CAR – SCAR=evidence of damage, around QUAD=square
42 FUSELAGE – FLAG=standard, around USE=employ, then E(xtra)
44 FRISSON – FR=father, IS SON=relative (there have been a lot of relatives in this puzzle, uncle, father, sister, son!)
46 LOTTERY – (wease)L, OTTERY=musteline
48 LARVA – sounds like LAVA=hot stuff
50 ESPY – hidden in (someon)ES PY(jamas)

5 comments on “Jumbo 1156 – June 27th”

  1. Not being a particular fan of Black Sabbath I couldn’t decide between WILPURGAS and WALPURGIS so I had to look it up. Grr.
  2. I think in this one “usually in blue” is part of wordplay referring to French teams e.g. in football and rugby. Thanks for the blog.
  3. I had to google PYTHONESQUE as I had never heard of it,helped by ‘serpent’ to suspect ‘python’.Pleased that I completed it after about 4hrs.(ONG’ARA,NRB,KENYA)
  4. 14ac my LOI, as I was fixated on ‘pittoresque’ (no, I don’t know why). Oddly enough, I wrote ‘giveaway’ in the margin by WALPURGIS NIGHT–‘witches’ celebration’ and a glance at the anagrist sufficed; never to my knowledge heard anything by Black Sabbath. Lots of DNKs: 20ac, 34ac, 43ac. Had it all correct, then spoiled it by typing ‘chiarascuro’.

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