Jumbo 1250

Author   mohn2Posted on Categories Jumbo Cryptic
Somewhat harder than average, with a handful of unknowns for me that went in on wordplay and crossed fingers. I enjoyed a good number of the surfaces, which isn’t always the case with Jumbos – a Jumbo setter has to trot out generally twice as many clues as for a 15×15, so I can imagine that the surfaces might not be high on the list of priorities. And many solvers aren’t too fussed about them anyway.

Definitions are underlined, dd = double definition, {} = omission, * = anagram

Across
1 Threat suggested by one forever taking tea (3,6)
MAD HATTER – reverse anagram, as “Threat” could be clued by MAD HATTER
6 Fun in summer from people in lawsuits being on weed? (6,7)
GARDEN PARTIES – GARDEN (weed? – as a verb) + PARTIES (people in lawsuits)
13 Poor mark in school given by master (5)
GAMMA – GAM (school – collective noun for whales) + MA (master). I suppose “Poor” can be considered in a relative sense but gamma seems to correspond more with average than poor. Or do I just have low standards?
14 Arab friend — European gets one for nothing (11)
PALESTINIAN – PAL (friend) + ESTONIAN (European) with I instead of O
15 Hot and cold, turning unwell, with this? (5)
CHILL – CH (Hot and cold, turning) + ILL (unwell), and an extended definition
16 Singing happily in America, Scotsman from another era (11)
CAROLINGIAN – CAROLING (Singing happily in America, i.e. the American spelling of carolling) + IAN (Scotsman), to give the adjective corresponding to the dynasty of Charlemagne. Script lovers will be familiar with
17 On power trips, quietly press for expulsion of MPs (6,5)
PRIDES PURGE – P (power) + RIDES (trips) + P (quietly) + URGE (press), to give us (Wikipedia): “an event that took place in December 1648, during the Second English Civil War, when troops of the New Model Army under the command of Colonel Thomas Pride forcibly removed from the Long Parliament all those who were not supporters of the Grandees in the New Model Army and the Independents”. Something I had either forgotten or never knew.
18 Pull vehicle back in a series of races (7)
ATTRACT – reversal of CART (vehicle) in A + TT (series of races)
20 Irritated expression as pet vanished (7)
DOGGONE – DOG (pet) + GONE (vanished)
21 It offers hope to the sick and old, sure to be treated (7)
LOURDES – (OLD SURE)*
23 What could create current possible disagreement? (9,10)
POTENTIAL DIFFERENCE – POTENTIAL (possible) + DIFFERENCE (disagreement), with the current being electric current
27 Back an attempt (3)
AGO – A (an) + GO (attempt)
28 In operetta, what’s put before jury? Not a hat (6)
TRILBY – TRI{a}L BY jury (Gilbert and Sullivan offering). I didn’t know the G&S connection, but trial by jury is a common enough expression.
29 Terror as dresser goes tipping over, bits smashing off (6)
OGRESS – hidden reversed in dreSSER GOes
31 Steps taken as father’s old, getting billions in benefit (4,5)
PASO DOBLE – PAS (father’s) + O (old), + B (billions) in DOLE (benefit). I always want to spell this PASA but fortunately the wordplay prevented that error. The surface reading perhaps a wry take on the state pension.
34 Agreeable article for men in tribute (9)
COMPLIANT – COMPLIMENT (tribute) with the MEN replaced by AN (article)
35 Closely follow play, having to put in notice (6)
SHADOW – AD (notice) in SHOW (play)
36 Walking a very short distance, short of energy (2,4)
ON FOOT – ON{e} FOOT (short distance, short of energy)
39 Scotland’s own Foreign Department (3)
AIN – dd, the first the Scottish word for “own”, the second a department in eastern France. There didn’t seem to be any likelier option for A?N but I can’t say that either of these meanings emerged from my memory with any great sense of familiarity.
40 Done with requirement for Poohsticks (5,5,3,6)
WATER UNDER THE BRIDGE – literal interpretation, referring to the game played by Pooh and friends in the AA Milne books
42 Batting with more confidence, one offers chance to cover (7)
INSURER – IN (Batting) + SURER (with more confidence), and a nice cricket surface as cover is a fielding position.
43 Female, commonly odious and critical (7)
FATEFUL – F (Female) + ‘ATEFUL (commonly odious)
45 Ridiculous in a suit in the country (7)
TUNISIA – (IN A SUIT)*
47 A proportion of customers sat here, troubled by notice (6,5)
MARKET SHARE – MARK (notice) + (SAT HERE)*
49 Short provision of beer by bar in America (4,7)
HALF MEASURE – HALF (beer) + MEASURE (bar in America, i.e. the American term for a musical bar)
51 Trim short leggings (5)
TIGHT – TIGHT{s} (short leggings)
52 Praise silent type, advancing initially into battle (11)
ACCLAMATION – CLAM (silent type) + A (advancing initally), in ACTION (battle)
53 Make altogether disgusting (5)
GROSS – dd
54 Part of fighter’s gear to lug, before run across high ground (9,4)
CARTRIDGE BELT – CART (to lug) + RIDGE (high ground) + BELT (run)
55 Fielder, inadequate, returning trophies (9)
SHORTSTOP – SHORT (inadequate) + reversal of POTS (trophies), to give the baseball fielding position
Down
1 Chitty-Chitty Bang-Bang, say, favourite fairytale transport (5,6)
MAGIC CARPET – MAGIC CAR (Chitty-Chitty Bang-Bang, say) + PET (favourite)
2 In getting up fast, I remedy fault (7)
DEMERIT – hidden reversed in fasT I REMEDy
3 Sort of lamp I plugged in picked up as benefit (5)
AVAIL – reversal of LAVA (Sort of lamp) around I
4 Prepare vegetables and quickly see to baby (3,3,4)
TOP AND TAIL – dd, though I didn’t know the second meaning, which is (Chambers): “To wash (a baby’s) face and buttocks”
5 Met together for cause: Republican joined (7)
RALLIED – R (Republican) + ALLIED (joined)
6 Smooth style of progress through various gears? Nonsense (3,3,7)
GAS AND GAITERS – SAND (Smooth) + GAIT (style of progress), in GEARS*. Hadn’t heard of this expression, and even when I’d figured it out from the wordplay I was left wondering what a “ga” was, as I’d assumed both words would be plurals. If I had different tastes in literature and TV shows, I would perhaps have known it from Nicholas Nickleby (though the meaning therein seems to have been more like “a satisfactory situation”) or the Derek Nimmo-starring sitcom All Gas and Gaiters.
7 Before test, drops coat (9)
RAINPROOF – RAIN (drops) + PROOF (test). I’m more familiar with waterproof as the coat but Chambers has rainproof too.
8 Construction of poem featuring in Eliot’s first gamble (7)
EDIFICE – IF (poem) in E (Eliot’s first) + DICE (gamble)
9 Greek visionary’s plans then lie in ruins (12)
PANHELLENIST – (PLANS THEN LIE)*
10 Get back from city in sheer delight (9)
RECAPTURE – EC (city) in RAPTURE (sheer delight)
11 Ditch, I hear, with predictable exceptions gets more slippery (5)
ICIER – alternate letters of DItCh I hEaR, with the “I hear” perhaps deceiving the unwary (e.g. me) into looking for a homophone
12 Runner’s up prizes on high quality race track (11)
SILVERSTONE – SILVERS (Runner’s up prizes) + TONE (high quality), for the circuit that hosts the British Grand Prix
19 A loveless return for country girl (7)
ANNABEL – A + reversal of LEBAN{o}N (loveless … country)
22 Trace family: Nick may do it (4,5)
DRAW BLOOD – DRAW (Trace) + BLOOD (family)
24 Traditional accompaniments that are cut off (9)
TRIMMINGS – dd
25 Boat that leads the way for others? (7)
LIGHTER – one of Chambers’ definitions for light is: “(transitive verb) To follow or precede (someone, or his or her path) with a light”, so a person leading the way could perhaps be called a lighter
26 Knock over wine for communion (7)
RAPPORT – RAP (Knock) + PORT (wine)
30 The latest worry for museum conservator? (5,2,3,3)
STATE OF THE ART – literal interpretation
32 Useless worker endlessly about to finish cell extension (7)
DENDRON – DRON{e} (Useless worker endlessly) around END (to finish), to give (Chambers): “A branching projection of a nerve cell”. Not a word I knew but it seemed believable as I knew of other dendr- words.
33 Antelope eats daisies, including one in remote place (6,6)
EASTER ISLAND – ELAND (Antelope) around ASTERS (daisies) around I (one)
34 Winning daily is guaranteed, but not car (11)
CHARISMATIC – CHAR (daily, i.e. cleaner) + IS + {auto}MATIC (guaranteed, but not car)
37 You’re caught; could this describe Quidditch? (3,4,2,2)
THE GAME IS UP – literal interpretation, since Quidditch is a game played on flying broomsticks in the Harry Potter books
38 Discovered painting in prison: sentence not wasted! (10)
PENTIMENTO – PEN (prison) + TIME (sentence) + NOT*, to give a word meaning (part of) a painting that has been painted over by another. Not a word I knew, and its derivation from the Italian word for “to repent” is hardly an obvious connection to its meaning, but the wordplay was kind of helpful.
40 We worked with rectors in one cathedral … (9)
WORCESTER – (WE RECTORS)*, to give the cathedral that used to appear on the £20 note
41 in another, saw end of prayer cut short with entry of queen (5,4)
NOTRE DAME – NOTED (saw) + AME{n} (end of prayer cut short), around R (queen)
43 In charge, one party of Africans ringed girl (7)
FIANCEE – FEE (charge), around I + ANC (party of Africans)
44 Hardy tucks into extremely luscious sweets (7)
LOLLIES – OLLIE (Hardy, i.e. American comic actor Oliver Hardy) in L{usciou}S
46 Excluded workers rising in turn to get drinks (4,3)
SHUT OUT – reversal of TU (workers), in SHOUT (turn to get drinks, as in “It’s my shout”)
48 Man I have heard on the radio (5)
ROGER – dd, the second referring to (Chambers): “A word used in signalling and radio-communication for R, in the sense of received (and understood)”
50 Horrible feeling commonly looms over time (5)
ANGST – ‘ANGS (commonly looms) + T (time). The second appearance of the commonly=”remove the h” equivalence.

7 comments on “Jumbo 1250”

  1. For some reason, 27ac was simply opaque to me; I have no idea why, now. DNK GAS AND GAITERS–well, I once read ‘Nicholas Nickleby’, so I presumably came across it once, but. Bertie Wooster uses the phrase, and it still meant ‘tickety-boo’ then. PRIDES PURGE–or PRIDES, I had the PURGE already–suddenly came to me, although I couldn’t have told you what it referred to; it was my second to LOI. PENTIMENTO ditto; it’s also the title of a volume of memoirs by Lillian Hellman. CHARISMATIC=winning struck me as odd. ‘Trial by Jury’–I think it was G&S’s first collaboration–is the source of the line, “She can look 43 in the dusk, with the light behind her.” Liked 28ac, 34ac 38d, 43d.
      1. That’s what I took it to be, too; but I never took charisma to be that mild a quality. (The word first started being used widely when Kennedy was president, and people weren’t just ascribing charm to him, but a power to move others.) But here it is in Monday’s cryptic, so I yield.
  2. I found this tough: it took me about an hour, in two or three goes. Largely the same unknowns as you, and they caused me the most trouble.
  3. Quite tough,had to google Scottish word for ‘own’ to get AIN having had a-n.
    Ong’ara,Nairobi.

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