This one took me about 36 minutes, which is fast for me, Jumbo-wise. To be fair, the solving conditions were ideal, a rainy Saturday arvo with the wife away in Melbourne for the weekend. Not saying that the wife being away is ideal but……anyway, moving on.
It’s only as I blog this two weeks later that I notice the quality of the surfaces in this puzzle. Plausible sentences in almost all of them. Extra kudos to the setter and my apologies for not noticing at the time of solving. After doing too many of these I think we often fail to see the wood for the trees.
Clues are in blue, with definitions underlined. Anagrinds are bolded and italicised.
| Across | |
| 1 | Spooner’s dog, pointer, so long (6-3) |
| TOODLE-PIP – POODLE (dog) + TIP (pointer), Spoonerised. | |
| 6 | Breaking a law? Indignity for royal attendant (4-2-7) |
| LADY-IN-WAITING – (A LAW INDIGNITY)* | |
| 13 | Saw to test on vehicle at the front (5) |
| MOTTO – MOT (test on vehicle) + TO | |
| 14 | Something for American children to eat these days, put in cakes (4,5) |
| SNOWCONES – NOW (these days) inside SCONES (cakes) | |
| 15 | Right sort of mayonnaise covering very Italian dish (7) |
| RAVIOLI – R (right) + AIOLI (sort of mayonnaise) covering V (very) | |
| 16 | Novel nursery rhyme by man with mole (6,6,7,3) |
|
TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY – TINKER TAILOR (nursery rhyme) + SOLDIER (man) + SPY (mole) Sorry to admit that the 2011 movie made no sense to me. But it was given a ringing endorsement by Sotira and others a week or two ago, so I’m determined to revisit it. Maybe I should read the book first. |
|
| 18 | Clever person packaged undergarment? (8) |
| BRAINBOX – BRA IN BOX. Geddit? | |
| 20 | Clear French own goal in game (8) |
| LEAPFROG – LEAP (clear) + FR (French) + OG (own goal) | |
| 21 | Nobleman getting beheaded — that is strangely frightening (5) |
| EERIE – EER [Nobleman (peer) getting beheaded] + IE (that is) | |
| 23 | Sexy thing breaking heart with rejection (6) |
| EROTIC – [IT (thing) inside CORE (heart)] reversed (with rejection) | |
| 24 | Personal transport with fish husband caught (6) |
| WHEELS – W (with) + H (husband) + EELS (fish) | |
| 25 | What one may wind up eating? (9) |
| SPAGHETTI – Cryptic def. One winds it up on the fork. | |
| 28 | To connect by phone, stand by (3,7) |
| PUT THROUGH – PUT (stand) + THROUGH (by) | |
| 29 | Dry runs inside help (4) |
| ARID – R (runs) inside AID (help) | |
| 30 | In mouth of convict is gold tooth (7) |
| INCISOR – IN + C (mouth of convict) + IS + OR (gold) | |
| 32 | Help person who’s easily deceived, say (7) |
| SUCCOUR – homophone (say) for SUCKER (one who’s easily deceived) | |
| 34 | College register brought round (4) |
| ETON – NOTE (register) reversed (brought round) | |
| 35 | Reportedly created starter, something creamy and white? (5,5) |
| BREAD SAUCE – homophones (reportedly) for BRED (created) + SOURCE (starter) | |
| 38 | Diane, type to provide amusement (9) |
| DIVERSION – DI (Diane) + VERSION (type) | |
| 39 | I step back, taking in face of constantly frozen peak (6) |
| ICECAP – I + ECAP [PACE (step) back] taking in C (face of constantly) | |
| 40 | Worker from agency with the French church (6) |
| TEMPLE – TEMP (worker from agency) + LE (“the” French) | |
| 43 | Bellini’s heroine, not quite orthodox (5) |
| NORMA – not quite NORMAL (orthodox) | |
| 45 | Lead in Godzilla, a modest film (8) |
| GASLIGHT – G (lead in Godzilla) + A + SLIGHT (modest) | |
| 47 | Inside information worried armed policeman in Paris? (8) |
| GENDARME – GEN (inside information) + (ARMED)* | |
| 49 | Letter fools people absorbing one consequence of slander? (9,13) |
| CHARACTER ASSASSINATION – CHARACTER (letter) + ASS ASS (fools) + I (one) + NATION (people) | |
| 52 | Whirlwind ripped a door half off (7) |
| TORNADO – TORN (ripped) + A + DO (door half off) | |
| 53 | For all that, biography is a work of art (5,4) |
| STILL LIFE – STILL (for all that) + LIFE (biography) | |
| 54 | One won’t knock you out in your pub (5) |
| LOCAL – Double def, the first one referring to an anaesthetic. | |
| 55 | Important station in Perth bringing in key counter-terrorist unit? (7,6) |
|
SPECIAL BRANCH – SPECIAL (important) + B (key) + RANCH (station in Perth) What our American friends call a ranch is called a station here in Perth (Australia). For some reason, I’m more comfortable with “ranch in Perth” being used to clue “station” than I am with “station in Perth” being used to clue “ranch”. Maybe that’s just me. BTW, when someone in Australia is taking a social game a bit too seriously, they’ll invariably be told “mate, we’re not playing for sheep stations”. Does this expression have an equivalent in the UK / US / elsewhere? |
|
| 56 | Public exposure: one Tory it affected (9) |
| NOTORIETY – (ONE TORY IT)* | |
| Down | |
| 1 | Programme I came across in list (9) |
| TIMETABLE – I + MET (came across) in TABLE (list) | |
| 2 | Not qualified to nurse sailor convalescing? (3,3,5) |
|
OUT AND ABOUT – AB (sailor) inside OUT AND OUT (not qualified) I’d be more inclined to say “up and about”, but as long as you’re feeling better, that’s the main thing. |
|
| 3 | Unattached miss describing ring (5) |
| LOOSE – LOSE (miss) describing O (ring) | |
| 4 | Job status (8) |
| POSITION – Double def | |
| 5 | Toast for model (6) |
| PROSIT – PRO (for) + SIT (model) | |
| 6 | One used to measure density of comet moving in afterwards (10) |
| LACTOMETER – (COMET)* in LATER (afterwards) | |
| 7 | Article in bowl: father’s attempt to make something sweet to eat (6,6) |
| DANISH PASTRY – AN (article) in DISH (bowl) + PAS (father’s) + TRY (attempt) | |
| 8 | Endlessly malign a rally’s leader, narrow-minded (7) |
| INSULAR – INSUL [endlessly INSULT (malign)] + A + R (rally’s leader) | |
| 9 | Money being used on primary (7,7) |
| WORKING CAPITAL – WORKING (being used) + CAPITAL (primary) | |
| 10 | Opposite of how most poets write (7) |
| INVERSE – most poets write IN VERSE | |
| 11 | Type of mineral set in priory ordered (4,7) |
| IRON PYRITES – (SET IN PRIORY)* | |
| 12 | Forbidding smoking, at last, on border (4) |
| GRIM – G (smoking, at last) + RIM (border) | |
| 17 | Family, edgier, possibly, after training (8) |
| PEDIGREE – PE (training) + (EDGIER)* | |
| 19 | Happy hour binge for one next door (9) |
| NEIGHBOUR – (HOUR BINGE)* | |
| 22 | Mostly fake, blooming sharkskin! (8) |
| SHAGREEN – SHA [mostly SHAM (fake)] + GREEN (blooming) | |
| 25 | Like stars in team, genuine (8) |
| SIDEREAL – SIDE (team) + REAL (genuine) | |
| 26 | Teach kids jumping in equestrian venue (9) |
|
HICKSTEAD – (TEACH KIDS)* Never heard of it. |
|
| 27 | Getting on train for Greyfriars, maybe (8,6) |
| BOARDING SCHOOL – BOARDING (getting on) + SCHOOL (train) | |
| 28 | City in Pennsylvania, and port in South America (8) |
|
PASADENA – PA (Pennsylvania) + ADEN (port) in SA (South America) Passing through Pasadena was the perfect reminder that being mentioned in a song is not actually enough to make a town worth visiting. I’m now thinking of cancelling my three-week holiday in Wichita. Though to be fair I did once enjoy a day trip to Bangor. |
|
| 31 | In no time, I invented story about a warning (12) |
| NOTIFICATION – NO + T (time) + I + FICTION (invented story) about A | |
| 33 | Clubs set too high a price for entrance fee (5,6) |
| COVER CHARGE – C (clubs) + OVERCHARGE (set too high a price) | |
| 36 | Senior group in part of theatre (5,6) |
| UPPER CIRCLE – UPPER (senior) + CIRCLE (group) | |
| 37 | Old man with a lot of bottle? (10) |
|
METHUSELAH – Double def, the second one a slightly cryptic reference to a large wine bottle. Not as big as a Melchizedek of course. |
|
| 41 | English bird, friend for ever (9) |
| ETERNALLY – E (English) + TERN (bird) + ALLY (friend) | |
| 42 | Diet, terrible at first for army unit (8) |
|
REGIMENT – REGIMEN (diet) + T (terrible at first) Don’t get me started on people who say regiment when they mean regimen. |
|
| 44 | One’s flown commercially in a US sitcom shown across Ireland (3,4) |
|
AIR TAXI – A + IR (Ireland) + TAXI (US sitcom) I don’t recall Taxi being that big a deal, but it must have been pretty popular among crossword-setters. |
|
| 46 | Old English poet and writers featured in first half of series (7) |
| SPENSER – PENS (writers) in SER (first half of series) | |
| 48 | Detail in a small symbol (6) |
| ASSIGN – A + S (small) + SIGN (symbol) | |
| 50 | US musician playing lead guitar at the end (5) |
| ADLER – (LEAD)* + R (guitar at the end) | |
| 51 | Rest turned up to support old US inventor (4) |
|
OTIS – O (old) + TIS [SIT (rest)] turned up Would have seemed out of place in the Across clues. |
|
I was about to apologise for JPY being Australian, until Jerry introduced us to The Temperance Seven.
Should also add that Mrs Galspray and I absolutely love driving around California, and the US in general. Just that Pasadena doesn’t top the list of attractions.
Sorry to admit that the 2011 movie made no sense to me. But it was given a ringing endorsement by Sotira and others a week or two ago, so I’m determined to revisit it. Maybe I should read the book first.”
Yes. You should!