A puzzle that I thought was easier than average, with only one unknown (albeit clearly clued) word.
Definitions are underlined, * = anagram, {} = omission, dd = double definition, cd = cryptic definition
| Across | |
| 1 | Red vehicle by tunnel (7) |
| CARMINE – CAR (vehicle) + MINE (tunnel) | |
| 5 | Game plans (8) |
| DRAUGHTS – dd | |
| 9 | Party fellow touring one region (6) |
| DOMAIN – DO (Party) + MAN (fellow) around I (one) | |
| 13 | Impression of sale going wrong, not making as much money as some? (16) |
| SEMIPROFESSIONAL – (IMPRESSION OF SALE)* | |
| 14 | Good person called: tied up (6) |
| STRUNG – ST (Good person) + RUNG (called) | |
| 16 | Possibly happiest words in grave situations (8) |
| EPITAPHS – HAPPIEST* | |
| 17 | When darkness starts to fall, organised activity cut short (4) |
| EVEN – EVEN{t} (organised activity cut short) | |
| 18 | Reserved little man meeting female, overwhelmed by scent (6,3) |
| SPOKEN FOR – KEN (little man) + F (female), in SPOOR (scent) | |
| 20 | Race into northern river to find bird (8) |
| WHEATEAR – HEAT (Race) in WEAR (northern river) | |
| 21 | Garage isn’t a bad place for getting men together (7,4) |
| STAGING AREA – (GARAGE ISN’T A)* | |
| 24 | These being good, one may get a hearing (9) |
| ACOUSTICS – cd, perhaps hoping to make you think of a trial. I would have thought that you would hear things regardless of whether the acoustics were good or bad. | |
| 25 | A limit to growth in Highlands? (4,4) |
| TREE LINE – cd | |
| 26 | Social climber maybe to get weepy hugging knight (4) |
| SNOB – SOB (to get weepy) around N (knight) | |
| 29 | Eager park kid playing, no quiet philosopher (11) |
| KIERKEGAARD – (EAGER {p}ARK KID)* | |
| 31 | He or she maybe the winner of the bronze (5,6) |
| THIRD PERSON – literal interpretation | |
| 33 | Attractive person, temptress by valley returning ill-groomed (11) |
| DISHEVELLED – DISH (Attractive person) + EVE (temptress) + reversal of DELL (valley) | |
| 36 | How to make toil something that runs smoothly? Have a break (4,4,3) |
| TAKE TIME OFF – if you TAKE TIME OFF toil, you make {t}oil, which is something that runs smoothly | |
| 38 | Kick a stake (4) |
| PUNT – dd | |
| 39 | Whisky, mostly deficient cure for returning type of sickness (3,2,3) |
| MAL DE MER – MAL{t} (Whisky mostly) + reversal of REMED{y} (deficient cure) | |
| 41 | Passing article one’s put back in river (9) |
| TRANSIENT – AN (article) + reversal of IS (one’s), in TRENT (river) | |
| 44 | Fascinating madame entertaining leaders of English, standing up (11) |
| MESMERISING – MME (madame) around initial letters of E{nglish} + S{tanding), + RISING (up). One definition of up in Chambers is: “Placed, going or directed up”, which I suppose equates to rising. | |
| 45 | Reason for restricting court something that should concern church? (8) |
| SANCTITY – SANITY (Reason) around CT (court) | |
| 48 | Fellow at rest having returned for some bread (9) |
| CHAPATTIS – CHAP (Fellow) + AT + reversal of SIT (rest). Interestingly, per Chambers the only other word fitting these checkers is CIABATTAS, which are another type of bread. | |
| 49 | Quietly leaving fight after retreat in formations not straight (4) |
| ARCS – reversal of SCRA{p} (Quietly leaving fight) | |
| 50 | Father taken in by West Africans with superior German woman (8) |
| HAUSFRAU – FR (Father) in HAUSA (West Africans – Chambers: “A people living mainly in N Nigeria”), + U (superior) | |
| 52 | Flap causing momentary lack of vision (6) |
| EYELID – cd, referring to blinking but hoping to make you think of a panic | |
| 53 | Leak at the highest level? Get very angry (2,7,3,4) |
| GO THROUGH THE ROOF – literal interpretation | |
| 54 | Returning from action, GIs need this American officer (6) |
| ENSIGN – hidden reversed in actioN GIS NEed. Chambers: “An officer of lowest commissioned rank in the US Navy”. | |
| 55 | Part-time soldiers in rows having to admit mistake (8) |
| TERRIERS – TIERS (rows) around ERR (mistake), this being a nickname for members of the Territorial Army (now known as the Army Reserve) | |
| 56 | Debauched fellow doing wrong gets paid (5,2) |
| RAKES IN – RAKE (Debauched fellow) + SIN (doing wrong) | |
| Down | |
| 1 | Trader paid price with a bit of hesitation (6) |
| COSTER – COST (paid price) + ER (a bit of hesitation) | |
| 2 | About to go to sea or stop behind? (6) |
| REMAIN – RE (About) + MAIN (sea) | |
| 3 | Questions this person’s excellent examples (9) |
| IMPEACHES – IM (this person’s) + PEACHES (excellent examples) | |
| 4 | Vestment brought up and put on Her Majesty, a ruler bringing a new era (5-6) |
| EPOCH-MAKING – Reversal of COPE (Vestment), + HM (Her Majesty) + A + KING (ruler) | |
| 5 | At stag parties don’t expect these acts (4) |
| DOES – literal interpretation, as a party of stags (in the sense of deer) would not contain any does | |
| 6 | Declared to be someone idiotic, always a rebellious youngster once (11) |
| ASSEVERATED – ASS (someone idiotic) + EVER (always) + A + TED (rebellious youngster once) | |
| 7 | Reason the chap in group gets something for campers (11) |
| GROUNDSHEET – GROUNDS (Reason), + HE (chap) in SET (group) | |
| 8 | Distraught loner with a sat-nav, one lost in old region (9) |
| TRANSVAAL – (L{one}R A SAT-NAV)* Though no longer a province, I thought that the word was still in use to describe the region. Enjoyed the surface. | |
| 10 | To have more importance than we ought, I fancy (8) |
| OUTWEIGH – (WE OUGHT I)* | |
| 11 | Strong challenge being what person in gold rush makes? (1,3,3,4,5) |
| A RUN FOR ONE’S MONEY – literal interpretation | |
| 12 | Manner, say, in up-and-coming country (7) |
| NIGERIA – reversal of AIR (Manner) + EG (say) + IN | |
| 15 | Signalled feeling first to last — first hint of depression (8) |
| MOTIONED – EMOTION (feeling) with the E moved to the end, + D{epression} | |
| 19 | In sound, notice poles trouble a marine creature (3,5) |
| SEA SNAIL – homophone of SEE (notice), + SN (poles, i.e. South and North) + AIL (trouble) | |
| 22 | Finished, ready to go on holiday northward? (6,2) |
| PACKED UP – PACKED (ready to go on holiday) + UP (northward?) | |
| 23 | Such influential people cannot be seen still? (6,3,7) |
| MOVERS AND SHAKERS – extended/cryptic definition, hoping to make you think of still in the sense of “as before” rather than stationary. From the poem called Ode, by Arthur O’Shaughnessy. | |
| 27 | Covering start of night maybe worker is suitable for rewards (8) |
| BENEFITS – BEE (maybe worker) around N{ight}, + FITS (is suitable for) | |
| 28 | In manger Magi find tiny life form (4) |
| GERM – hidden in manGER Magi. Nice Epiphany-related surface. | |
| 30 | Guard has to look up (4) |
| KEEP – reversal of PEEK (to look) | |
| 32 | Work’s ending within current month and old-fashioned writer may need this (8) |
| INKSTAND – {Wor}K in INST (current month) + AND | |
| 34 | Greek character, one arrived from the south, to get very thin (8) |
| EMACIATE – reversal of ETA (Greek character) + I (one) + CAME (arrived) | |
| 35 | Social scientist’s protest little good — criticise that woman (11) |
| DEMOGRAPHER – DEMO (protest) + G (little good) + RAP (criticise) + HER (that woman) | |
| 36 | Reciter hops around, this muse being the inspiration? (11) |
| TERPSICHORE – (RECITER HOPS)*, to give the muse of choral song and dance | |
| 37 | Good health may be what he wishes for (11) |
| TOASTMASTER – cd | |
| 40 | Moulding pathetic person’s character (9) |
| DRIPSTONE – DRIP’S (pathetic person’s) + TONE (character), to give (Chambers): “A projecting moulding over a doorway, etc, serving to throw off the rain”. Didn’t know this word but the wordplay seemed clear. | |
| 42 | Drunk sailor on a high, as one might say (2,2,5) |
| SO TO SPEAK – SOT (Drunk) + OS (sailor) + PEAK (a high) | |
| 43 | Rebuking player ultimately involved in defeat (8) |
| BERATING – {playe}R in BEATING (defeat) | |
| 44 | Accomplice keeps calm initially with explosive weapon (7) |
| MACHETE – MATE (Accomplice), around C{alm} + HE (explosive) | |
| 46 | Revolutionary play about old soldiers (6) |
| TROOPS – reversal of SPORT (play) about O (old) | |
| 47 | Awkwardly managin’ a cake (6) |
| MUFFIN – MUFFIN‘ (Awkwardly managin’) | |
| 51 | A fuel for cookers and heaters (4) |
| AGAS – A + GAS (fuel for cookers) | |
Ong’ara,
Nairobi.
http://times-xwd-times.livejournal.com/1742738.html