I found this one a little bit harder than average at the time, though looking over the vocab there was nothing completely unknown. I much prefer difficulty caused by wordplay rather than heaps of obscurities, so thanks to the setter for this one.
Definitions are underlined.
* = anagram, dd = double definition, cd = cryptic definition, {} = omission
| Across | |
| 1 | Beef, good cut (5) |
| GRUMP – G (good) + RUMP (cut) | |
| 4 | Heading out of pub after retracting lie that’s seen through (7) |
| BIFOCAL – reversal of FIB (lie), + {l}OCAL (Heading out of pub) | |
| 8 | Giddy member of patrol’s not caught by bedtime (6,3) |
| LIGHTS OUT – LIGHT (Giddy) + S{c}OUT (member of patrol’s not caught). This meaning of light is probably most often seen in the adjective light-headed. | |
| 13 | Delightful brothers, one stops monk keeling over (9) |
| AMBROSIAL – BROS (brothers) + I (one), inside reversal of LAMA (monk) | |
| 14 | No mate of mine? (3,2,3,2,3) |
| NOT MY CUP OF TEA – would arguably work as a straight definition, but there is an element of crypticitudeness courtesy of the reference to the South American tea called mate | |
| 15 | Decorate with paper top of ship (7) |
| SUNDECK – SUN (paper, i.e. The Sun newspaper) + DECK (Decorate). I would probably have spelled this as two separate words but Chambers accepts either. | |
| 16 | Set lines at end of episode (7) |
| SCENERY – RY (lines) after SCENE (episode) | |
| 17 | Members of department holding medicinal compound (7) |
| MENTHOL – hidden in departMENT HOLding | |
| 18 | The selfish do it with less feeling during appearance post-lunch? (4,5,6,3) |
| LOOK AFTER NUMBER ONE – NUMBER (with less feeling) inside LOOK (appearance) + AFTER ONE (post-lunch?) | |
| 21 | Favourite length of bath taken from start to finish (4) |
| IDOL – LIDO (bath) with the L (length) moved from the front to the back | |
| 23 | Roadracer designated third, maybe, to lift sporting trophy (6,3) |
| WALKER CUP – the third designated roadracer might be WALKER C (after walker A and walker B), + UP (lift). An amateur golf trophy. None of the usual dictionaries accept “Roadracer” as one word but I doubt that nicety will have flummoxed any solvers. | |
| 25 | Allotting term to an overthrown dynasty (6) |
| NAMING – reversal of AN, + MING (dynasty) | |
| 26 | Spurious appeal lodged by Physics unit, commonly (6) |
| ERSATZ – SA (appeal) inside ‘ERTZ (Physics unit, commonly) | |
| 28 | Right choir lately dispersed, with no return expected (12) |
| RHETORICALLY – (R (right) CHOIR LATELY)* | |
| 30 | Key man more uneasy in potential goldmine (10) |
| MONEYMAKER – (KEY MAN MORE)* | |
| 33 | Toothsome? As it’s time for start of lunch, that’s apparent? (10) |
| DETECTABLE – DELECTABLE (Toothsome) with the L (start of lunch) replaced by T (time). I do like the word “toothsome”. | |
| 34 | Reckless fool dashed in, like those of yore? (3-9) |
| OLD-FASHIONED – (FOOL DASHED IN)* | |
| 37 | First class traveller confined to public transport on retirement (6) |
| SUPERB – reversal of REP (traveller) inside BUS (public transport) | |
| 39 | Poet‘s outsiders from land beside river (6) |
| ARNOLD – ARNO (river) + L{an}D (outsiders from land), to give us the 19th century English poet Matthew Arnold. I didn’t recognise anything of his when I Googled him, though he apparently was responsible for popularising the phrase “sweetness and light”. | |
| 40 | Bad time to sell unfinished Yuletide hanging? (9) |
| MISTLETOE – (TIME TO SEL{l})* | |
| 42 | Jack has trouble getting cooler (4) |
| JAIL – J (Jack) + AIL (trouble), to give us a slang term for a jail | |
| 43 | Plain man jokes after exam to make things look good (5,4,3,6) |
| PAPER OVER THE CRACKS – OVERT (Plain) + HE (man) + CRACKS (jokes), after PAPER (exam) | |
| 46 | Rider put composer on the couch, it’s said (7) |
| CYCLIST – homophone of PSYCH LISZT. Chambers has for psych: “To subject to psychoanalysis”, hence the couch reference. | |
| 47 | Trainee’s not finished on retro ball dress fabric (7) |
| BROCADE – reversal of ORB (ball), + CADE{t} (Trainee’s not finished) | |
| 48 | Crossing river, reached small caves (7) |
| GROTTOS – GOT TO (reached) around R (river), + S (small) | |
| 50 | Art school term is beginning in May (13) |
| EXPRESSIONISM – EXPRESSION (term) + IS + M{ay} (beginning in May). The school typified by certain works of Munch, Chagall, Kandinsky, etc. | |
| 51 | One who’s fond of travelling to Romania (9) |
| INAMORATO – (TO ROMANIA)* | |
| 52 | Advance quietly bearing drinks as lure to customer (5,4) |
| SALES TALK – STALK (Advance quietly) around ALES (drinks) | |
| 53 | Furious driver’s last time in terminus (7) |
| ENRAGED – {drive}R (driver’s last) + AGE (time), in END (terminus) | |
| 54 | Symbolic books reflecting breadth of knowledge (5) |
| TOKEN – reversal of OT (books, i.e. Old Testament), + KEN (breadth of knowledge) | |
| Down | |
| 1 | Craftsman’s see-through phone? (5-6) |
| GLASS-BLOWER – blower is an informal term for a telephone, so a see-through phone might be a GLASS BLOWER | |
| 2 | City, ancient one introducing prohibition (5) |
| URBAN – UR (ancient one, with the one referring back to the initial “City”) + BAN (prohibition) | |
| 3 | Performance in series of long standing? (9,7) |
| PROMENADE CONCERT – barely cryptic cd, hoping you might think of “long standing” as meaning having been around for a long time rather than that it will involve you standing for a long time, though arguably either reading would work as a non-cryptic definition | |
| 4 | Quick tips from expert in joint (7) |
| BRISKET – BRISK (Quick) + E{xper}T (tips from expert) | |
| 5 | Material for slideshow maybe covers holiday (9) |
| FILMSTRIP – FILMS (covers) + TRIP (holiday) | |
| 6 | Trick heartless monarch in flamboyant style thus? (12) |
| CONSEQUENTLY – CON (Trick), + QU{e}EN (heartless monarch) in STYLE* | |
| 7 | Dangerous post in which landlord a failure (6,4) |
| LETTER BOMB – LETTER (landlord) + BOMB (a failure). Clever, deceptive definition. | |
| 8 | Amateur on Times set aside (3,2) |
| LAY BY – LAY (Amateur) + BY (Times or, without the misleading capitalisation, times) | |
| 9 | Foodie Times reporter perhaps stuck in Greenland, gutted (8) |
| GOURMAND – OUR MAN (Times reporter perhaps) in G{reenlan}D (Greenland, gutted) | |
| 10 | Awkward love with sailors in your embrace (6) |
| THORNY – O (love) + RN (sailors), in THY (your) | |
| 11 | Figures doctor enters in advance, shortly, after a month (9) |
| OCTAHEDRA – OCT (a month), + DR (doctor) inside AHEA{d} (in advance, shortly). The shapes of the dice used to determine longsword damage in Dungeons & Dragons. | |
| 12 | Pioneer from Brazil later beaten up (11) |
| TRAILBLAZER – (BRAZIL LATER)* | |
| 19 | Most flattering modiste regularly stocks unnamed lines (7) |
| OILIEST – mOdIsTe (modiste regularly) around LI{n}ES (unnamed lines) | |
| 20 | Succeed in deposing leader — close call! (4,3) |
| RING OFF – {b}RING OFF (Succeed in deposing leader). We need to read “close” as a verb. | |
| 22 | Port’s oil platform shifting to and fro in trouble (4,6,2,4) |
| FROM PILLAR TO POST – (PORT’S OIL PLATFORM)* Chambers has: “1. From one state of difficulty to another, 2. Hither and thither”. I only knew the second meaning but it wasn’t much of a stretch to get to the first. | |
| 24 | High point when clubs vote to accept foreign capital (6) |
| CLIMAX – C (clubs) + X (vote) around LIMA (foreign capital) | |
| 27 | Against servers using bags (6) |
| VERSUS – hidden in serVERS USing | |
| 29 | Roaming in the main (2,5) |
| AT LARGE – dd | |
| 31 | Those nearest us mention getting upset due to motion (7) |
| KINETIC – KIN (Those nearest us) + reversal of CITE (mention) | |
| 32 | Insult film company’s OTT ‘Nutcracker’? (12) |
| SLEDGEHAMMER – SLEDGE (Insult, especially in cricket) + HAMMER (film company perhaps best known for its horror films in the ’50s/’60s/’70s), and a quirky definition that fits nicely in the surface | |
| 33 | Stone flag in pieces requiring two protective covers (4,7) |
| DUST JACKETS – ST (Stone) + JACK (flag), in DUETS (pieces requiring two) | |
| 35 | Carpets and clothing reduced in sale? (7,4) |
| DRESSES DOWN – if some clothing is reduced in price, then you could say DRESSES are DOWN | |
| 36 | Rocket, perhaps, old officer sent up with reason (10) |
| LOCOMOTIVE – reversal of O (old) + COL (officer), + MOTIVE (reason), with a reference to the early steam locomotive Stephenson’s Rocket | |
| 38 | Cardinal and Canon speaking (9) |
| PRINCIPAL – homophone of PRINCIPLE | |
| 40 | Looking after winger on European circuit (9) |
| MOTHERING – MOTH (winger) + E (European) + RING (circuit) | |
| 41 | Film buff initially tours continent (8) |
| FANTASIA – FAN (buff) + T{ours} (initially tours) + ASIA (continent), for the Disney film | |
| 44 | Country eleven extremely pleased to secure win at last (7) |
| ENGLAND – E{leve}N (eleven extremely) + GLAD (pleased) around {wi}N (win at last) | |
| 45 | Airmen’s fine deferred — they’re given unlimited time (6) |
| LIFERS – FLIERS (Airmen) but with the F (fine) moved along a couple of places | |
| 47 | Jam or cake? (5) |
| BLOCK – dd, neither to do with food | |
| 49 | Dog food without flavour ultimately (5) |
| TRACK – TACK (food) around {flavou}R (flavour ultimately) | |
I think 28ac was my LOI; and my COD.
Edited at 2016-08-20 06:16 pm (UTC)