A tricky but fun puzzle containing umpteen instances of well-hidden definitions, which to me is one of the hallmarks of the best crosswords. A few things I didn’t know, but the wordplay seemed pretty unambiguous for all of them.
Definitions are underlined, {} = omission, * = anagram, dd = double definition
| Across | |
| 1 | Draw tiny sum of money, accepting tinker’s contemptuous response (5,2,3) |
| SUCKS TO YOU – SUCK (Draw) + SOU (tiny sum of money) around TOY (tinker) | |
| 6 | Vast Canaries complex offering places for travellers (7,5) |
| CARAVAN SITES – (VAST CANARIES)* | |
| 14 | Most left wing writing material gets into trouble (7) |
| PINKEST – INK (writing material) in PEST (trouble) | |
| 15 | Abandon party, withdrawing permanently (3,4) |
| FOR GOOD – FORGO (Abandon) + reversal of DO (party) | |
| 16 | Poem oddly missing Orion? No, Daedalus (7) |
| RONDEAU – even letters of ORiOn No DaEdAlUs | |
| 17 | Stone grate, close to chimney (4) |
| RUBY – RUB (grate) + {chimne}Y | |
| 18 | Not fancying the postman, exactly, from memory! (3,3) |
| OFF PAT – OFF (Not fancying) + PAT (the postman – presumably a reference to the children’s TV character Postman Pat) | |
| 20 | Items for delivery: the way to get words of praise! (4,4) |
| GOOD SHOW – GOODS (Items for delivery) + HOW (the way) | |
| 24 | Somehow manage to find insect one’s sat on? (3,2,3,4,2,4,5) |
| FLY BY THE SEAT OF ONE’S PANTS – literal interpretation, in that a FLY BY THE SEAT OF ONE’S PANTS might be an insect that one had sat on | |
| 25 | Old rulers, within estates, maybe, do what Canute couldn’t? (7) |
| CAESARS – CARS (estates, maybe) around a reversal of SEA. Canute couldn’t turn back the sea, so the second part of the wordplay is doing what Canute couldn’t. | |
| 26 | Resort us teens perhaps would need months in (8) |
| WEYMOUTH – WE YOUTH (us teens perhaps) around M (months) | |
| 27 | Ozone’s strangely making one this? (6) |
| SNOOZE – (OZONE’S)*, and an extended definition expecting us to know that in a loose sense ozone is (Chambers) “fresh, bracing air”, which might make you want to have a nap. See Clive-oid Toothickle’s comment below for a better interpretation. | |
| 29 | Spots, on TV, farrier with a little, round black hare (8,6) |
| SNOWSHOE RABBIT – SNOW (Spots, on TV, i.e. specks on the picture caused by interference) + SHOER (farrier) + A + BIT (little) around B (black), to give (Chambers): “A N American hare, white in winter, brownish with white feet in summer”. I didn’t know this but the wordplay helped. | |
| 31 | Told great stories from memory, about church, what’s more (8) |
| ROMANCED – ROM (memory) + AND (what’s more) about CE (church) | |
| 34 | Large watering hole where harebell’s flourished (4,4) |
| BEER HALL – HAREBELL* | |
| 36 | Sound less sensitive: one’s not pi (8,6) |
| RATIONAL NUMBER – RATIONAL (Sound) + NUMBER (less sensitive, i.e. more numb). Real numbers can be either rational or irrational – pi is an example of the latter. The surface is no doubt hoping we’ll think of the sanctimonious meaning of pi. | |
| 39 | Unlikely it hurts, though it’s often wicked (6) |
| TALLOW – TALL (Unlikely) + OW (it hurts) | |
| 41 | Behave indecisively, going on to drink from the right mug (8) |
| PUSHOVER – reversal (from the right) of SUP (to drink), + HOVER (Behave indecisively) | |
| 43 | Fills chest with popular hotel beers (7) |
| INHALES – IN (popular) + H (hotel) + ALES (beers) | |
| 46 | Picture series of matches with just one sending off (4,8,3,1,7) |
| FOUR WEDDINGS AND A FUNERAL – dd, the second one cryptic and hoping to make us think of, say, football matches and a dismissal rather than weddings and a funeral | |
| 47 | Sudden appearance of our star sub turns nasty (8) |
| SUNBURST – (SUB TURNS)* | |
| 48 | I’m to gain role, appearing regularly as young socialite (2,4) |
| IT GIRL – alternate letters of I‘m To GaIn RoLe | |
| 49 | Make long story out of a short trip (4) |
| SPIN – dd | |
| 53 | In place of orchestra, is after a new musician (7) |
| PIANIST – PIT (place of orchestra), around A + N (new) + IS | |
| 54 | Coming to like people featured in a comic (7) |
| AWAKING – KIN (like people) in A + WAG (comic) | |
| 56 | Recalled old swindle by geneticists? Impossible! (2,3,2) |
| NO CAN DO – reversal of O (old) + DNA CON (swindle by geneticists?) | |
| 57 | Military staff task gig’s crew, exceptionally (7,5) |
| SWAGGER STICK – (TASK GIG’S CREW)* | |
| 58 | Alluring space traveller mostly a success with female (4-6) |
| COME-HITHER – COME{t} (space traveller mostly) + HIT (a success) + HER (female) | |
| Down | |
| 1 | Nodding as sweetener touching mouth briefly (9) |
| SOPORIFIC – SOP (sweetener) + ORIFIC{e} (mouth briefly). I had always thought that soporific meant inducing sleep but Collins has “drowsy; sleepy”. | |
| 2 | Successful old track club may vet one, surprisingly (4,3,2,4) |
| CANT BUY ME LOVE – (CLUB MAY VET ONE)*, to give the Beatles’ 1964 number one | |
| 3 | Variable support for petition in strategic area abroad (4) |
| SUEZ – SUE (petition) + Z (Variable) | |
| 4 | Whither the ambitious flying ace? (3,2,4,5) |
| OUT OF THIS WORLD – I think this is a literal interpretation of the phrase, in that an ambitious flyer might be hoping to get OUT OF THIS WORLD | |
| 5 | One making bloomer, scratching head? (3) |
| OAF – I think this is supposed to be a semi-&lit, with the wordplay {l}OAF (bloomer, scratching head), and the definition suggested by the surface reading when using another meaning of bloomer (i.e. a mistake) | |
| 7 | Visiting somewhere Down Under? Here’s a guide (1,2,1) |
| A TO Z – AT (Visiting) + OZ (somewhere Down Under), to give the manufacturer of (mainly British?) map books | |
| 8 | Some strands of orthodoxy, etc (3,2,5) |
| AND SO FORTH – hidden in strANDS OF ORTHodoxy | |
| 9 | Cross that commercial keeps getting cut (8) |
| ABRIDGED – AD (commercial) around BRIDGE (Cross) | |
| 10 | In-work attendant in hospital cut foot off old soldier (6,5) |
| SANCHO PANZA – SAN (hospital) + CHOP (cut) + ANZA{c} (foot off old soldier), with the definition referring to Sancho Panza being Don Quixote’s attendant in the (literary) work Don Quixote | |
| 11 | Rudely waken to take part in combat (9) |
| TAEKWONDO – (WAKEN TO)* + DO (take part in). I’m more used to seeing this as three separate words but Collins has the one-word version. | |
| 12 | It follows increase in fare (4) |
| SOUP – SO (It follows) + UP (increase) | |
| 13 | Music award function yet to begin somewhere in France (8) |
| BRITTANY – BRIT (Music award – the Brit Awards are (Wikipedia): “the British Phonographic Industry’s annual pop music awards”) + TAN (function, i.e. the usual shortening of the mathematical function tangent) + Y{et} | |
| 19 | Old man’s blade that’s acquired for hacking? (8) |
| PASSWORD – PAS (Old man’s) + SWORD (blade) | |
| 21 | Times Secretary’s singular skirt (6) |
| BYPASS – BY (Times) + PAS (Secretary’s) + S (singular) | |
| 22 | Skimpy attire showing leg acceptable in car (8) |
| MONOKINI – ON (leg, i.e. the cricket side) + OK (acceptable), in MINI (car) | |
| 23 | Part of letter a transmitter broadcast (8) |
| ASCENDER – A + homophone of SENDER, to give (Chambers): “(the upper part of) a letter such as b, d, h, k (printing, etc)” | |
| 28 | End argument? It might vis-à-vis league positions (4,10) |
| GOAL DIFFERENCE – GOAL (End) + DIFFERENCE (argument), and an extended definition referring to the fact that goal difference is often the deciding factor in determining which of two or more teams with the same number of points in a league table should be higher | |
| 29 | Advances money to aristocrat after exchange of letters? It’s enough to make you weep! (3,5) |
| SOB STUFF – SUBS (Advances money to) + TOFF (aristocrat), with the U and O changing positions. I didn’t know this but it wasn’t too much of a leap from sob story. | |
| 30 | Holds small book up containing Listener and unfinished Jumbo (4,4) |
| BEAR HUGS – reversal of S (small) + B (book), around EAR (Listener) + HUG{e} (unfinished Jumbo), and a nice crosswording surface | |
| 32 | Drink taken from box beneath bunk (8,5) |
| COBBLER’S PUNCH – COBBLERS (bunk) + PUNCH (box). Chambers: “A hot drink made of beer, with the addition of spirit, sugar and spice”. I didn’t know this but it didn’t seem an unreasonable answer, even if I would guess from the description that it tastes vile. | |
| 33 | Beneath one’s home, finds ruins after starting excavation (5,3) |
| INFRA DIG – IN (home) + initial letters of F{inds} R{uins} A{fter} + DIG (excavation) | |
| 35 | Taking in gangster land chief (11) |
| HOODWINKING – HOOD (gangster) + WIN (land) + KING (chief) | |
| 37 | Release of peacekeepers attracting applause (6) |
| UNHAND – UN (peacekeepers – at least in theory) + HAND (applause) | |
| 38 | It’ll be blooming awful custard dip! (6,4) |
| CUPID’S DART – (CUSTARD DIP)*, to give (Chambers): “A herbaceous plant (Catananche caerulea) of the family Compositae, with blue and white flowers”. Its name apparently derives from it being an ingredient of an ancient Greek love potion. | |
| 40 | Climber copping sanctions from the French state (9) |
| LOUISIANA – LIANA (Climber) around OUIS (sanctions from the French) | |
| 42 | Russian, possibly very slow in retreat (8) |
| VLADIMIR – V (very), + DIM (slow) in LAIR (retreat) | |
| 44 | Magnificent quality of betting: left tip for us (9) |
| SPLENDOUR – SP (betting, i.e. starting price) + L (left) + END (tip) + OUR (for us). | |
| 45 | Setter in the modern era fairer (8) |
| ADJUSTER – AD (in the modern era) + JUSTER (fairer) | |
| 50 | Composition of soapsuds you see every so often (4) |
| OPUS – alternate letters of sOaPsUdS | |
| 51 | Remains after press pack has turned up (4) |
| MARC – reversal of CRAM (pack), to give (Chambers): “Grapeskins and other refuse from wine-making” | |
| 52 | Berry used in aphrodisiac — ardour mounting (4) |
| ACAI – hidden reversed in aphrodisIAC Ardour, to give (Chambers): “The small, purple fruit of a S American tree of the genus Euterpe, valued for its nutritional qualities”. Even stripped of its diacritics (açaí), this is a hitherto Mephisto/Club Monthly-only word, albeit with generous wordplay. Not too many options for the setter with ?C?I though, apart from maybe SCSI. | |
| 55 | Turn round? It might easily stick (3) |
| GOO – GO (Turn) + O (round) | |
Though your usage of chuffed is common enough in my part of the UK, Chambers only has it as meaning “disgruntled”, ODO only has it as meaning “pleased” (and claims it dates from the 1950s), and Collins has it as both.
Edited at 2017-12-09 02:21 am (UTC)
Ong’ara,
Kenya.
I did not really understand the clue to SPLENDOUR, 44dn. Where we have SP indicated by “betting” or “of betting”. “starting price” is not, so far as I know, “betting”. Although someone might ask “What’s the betting?” meaning “What is the starting price?”… but I am unconvinced.
ODO has “The odds offered by bookmakers on the outcome of races, games, etc.” as one of its definitions for betting, which seems to equate to SP (as in the example you give).