I think this was a slightly harder than average puzzle that I made more difficult courtesy of some brainlessness all of my own making. However after wading through this self-imposed mire, it was gratifying to find a little gift from the setter in the completed grid.
1A went in straight away, which is always a boost, but then I couldn’t see anything else in the NW and had to solve the rest of the puzzle before coming back and putting in SAFE-CRACKER at 1D, even though it didn’t seem to fit the wordplay (because it didn’t), which caused further delays. I think 17A may well have been my LOI, as I’ve encountered the expression almost always in the past tense and I just couldn’t bring anything to mind even when the last word looked as though it was going to be SCIENCE.
1A went in straight away, which is always a boost, but then I couldn’t see anything else in the NW and had to solve the rest of the puzzle before coming back and putting in SAFE-CRACKER at 1D, even though it didn’t seem to fit the wordplay (because it didn’t), which caused further delays. I think 17A may well have been my LOI, as I’ve encountered the expression almost always in the past tense and I just couldn’t bring anything to mind even when the last word looked as though it was going to be SCIENCE.
The setter has managed to sneak in a related Nina – if you can’t see it, click on the following:[Spoiler (click to open)]
the unchecked letters in the 10th row spell out ELEPHANTINE.
Thanks, setter, for a good challenge with an unexpected bonus (I think the last Jumbo Nina was 4 years ago).
Definitions are underlined, * = anagram, {} = omission
| Across | |
| 1 | Hide away, taking look inside bureau (10) |
| SECRETAIRE – AIR (look) in SECRETE (Hide away) | |
| 6 | Celia, miscast in play, makes necessary adjustments (12) |
| ACCLIMATISES – (CELIA MISCAST)* | |
| 14 | Superficial applications to tackle rugby players (4,5) |
| FACE PACKS – FACE (to tackle) + PACKS (rugby players) | |
| 15 | Keen on wife being dragged along (2,3) |
| IN TOW – INTO (Keen on) + W (wife) | |
| 16 | Ducks stuffed by daughter ungrateful for herb (7) |
| OREGANO – OO (Ducks, i.e. two zeros) around REGAN (daughter ungrateful – referring to the middle daughter in King Lear) | |
| 17 | Learner, in tapes accompanying labwork, produces technobabble (6,4,7) |
| BLINDS WITH SCIENCE – L (Learner) in BINDS (tapes), + WITH (accompanying) + SCIENCE (labwork) | |
| 18 | Place to speak from, quelling initial repugnance (5) |
| ODIUM – {p}ODIUM (Place to speak from, quelling initial) | |
| 19 | English course is within my understanding (7) |
| EMPATHY – E (English), + PATH (course) in MY | |
| 21 | Discipline in branch of natural science not unknown (6) |
| OOLOGY – {z}OOLOGY (branch of natural science not unknown), to give (Chambers): “the science or study of birds’ eggs” | |
| 22 | Uncompromising actor may stumble over it (8) |
| HARDLINE – a HARD LINE might be difficult for an actor to say | |
| 24 | Knight besieging German town rejected foreign diet (7) |
| KNESSET – KT (Knight) around reversal of ESSEN (German town), with diet used in the parliamentary sense, specifically that of Israel. I’d probably call Essen a city, but both town and city have assorted meanings of varying degrees of specificity which occasionally overlap. | |
| 26 | During function, grand academic became committed (6,2) |
| SIGNED ON – G (grand) in SINE (function, i.e. trigonometrical function), + DON (academic) | |
| 27 | Key broadcast that sheds little light here? (6) |
| ALTAIR – ALT (Key) + AIR (broadcast), and a slightly oblique definition for (Chambers): “A first-magnitude star in the constellation Aquila” | |
| 30 | Lacking guts, German workers in fact shortened shift (11) |
| REALIGNMENT – G{erma}N (Lacking guts, German) + MEN (workers), in REALIT{y} (fact shortened) | |
| 32 | Harmful crackers placed on lectern regularly seized by cop (11) |
| DETRIMENTAL – DI (cop, i.e. Detective Inspector) around {l}E{c}T{e}R{n} (lectern regularly), + MENTAL (crackers) | |
| 33 | Foreign character with recent inclination to become collector (11) |
| PHILATELIST – PHI (Foreign character) + LATE (recent) + LIST (inclination) | |
| 35 | Person relishing scam developed neurosis (11) |
| CONNOISSEUR – CON (scam) + NEUROSIS* | |
| 37 | Scrap oldest US sleeping bags (6) |
| TUSSLE – hidden in oldesT US SLEeping | |
| 38 | Sage‘s old communication covering main chapter (8) |
| WISEACRE – WIRE (old communication), around SEA (main) + C (chapter). I think this word is generally used in a sarcastic sense. | |
| 39 | Neo-Nazi maybe, thus returning, has stuck around (7) |
| FASCIST – reversal of SIC (thus), in FAST (stuck) | |
| 42 | Touching posh fur that’s OK to wear again? (8) |
| REUSABLE – RE (Touching) + U (posh) + SABLE (fur) | |
| 44 | Parisian is snatching my date! (6) |
| ESCORT – EST (Parisian is) around COR (my) | |
| 46 | Affected ear and large gland (7) |
| ADRENAL – (EAR + AND + L (large))* | |
| 48 | Oversized motor wins award (5) |
| OSCAR – OS (Oversized) + CAR (motor) | |
| 49 | Two Scottish soccer teams, one English (6,4,7) |
| QUEENS PARK RANGERS – QUEEN’S PARK + RANGERS. Not just two Scottish teams, but two Glaswegian ones, and a nasty clue if you don’t follow football. Claims to fame are: the first plastic pitch in English professional football (Queens Park Rangers), the only amateur team in the Scottish Professional Football League (Queen’s Park), and the most successful Scottish club side (Rangers). | |
| 51 | Role reversal facility it’s said high flyer may depend on (7) |
| TRAPEZE – reversal of PART (role), + homophone of EASE (facility). I might have liked an “it” at the end of the definition. | |
| 52 | Lack of land set back African nation (5) |
| GABON – reversal of NO (Lack of) + BAG (land – as in earn or win) | |
| 53 | Stars with capital rejected publicity (9) |
| ANDROMEDA – AND (with) + ROME (capital) + reversal of AD (publicity) | |
| 54 | One British pacifist in retirement goes to keep old archives (12) |
| REPOSITORIES – reversal of I (One) + SOPER (British pacifist, i.e. Donald Soper), + TRIES (goes) around O (old). I couldn’t honestly say that I knew who Soper was but the name rang a faint bell, though on reflection I was probably thinking of naturalist Tony Soper … | |
| 55 | Route taken by American lacking will to cross river? (10) |
| INTERSTATE – INTESTATE (lacking will) around R (river) | |
| Down | |
| 1 | Criminal that poses no threat to surfer? (4-7) |
| SAFE-BREAKER – a BREAKER (i.e. a breaking wave) would pose no threat to a surfer if it was SAFE | |
| 2 | Types of bacteria — over 200 found in Channel Islands (5) |
| COCCI – O (over) + CC (200), in CI (Channel Islands). Didn’t know this existed as a word in its own right but it was familiar enough from streptococci, staphylococci, etc. | |
| 3 | Hastens lifting of current pressure among divorcees (9) |
| EXPEDITES – reversal of TIDE (current) + P (pressure), in EXES (divorcees) | |
| 4 | Through which one passes in superior manner (7) |
| ARCHWAY – ARCH (superior) + WAY (manner) | |
| 5 | Food: seconds during orgy ‘eated up (7) |
| RISOTTO – S (seconds) in RIOT (orgy) + reversal of ‘OT (‘eated) | |
| 7 | Ignoring regretful admission from greenhouse gardener? (7,4) |
| CUTTING DEAD – what a terse gardener might say if they’d killed off one of their cuttings | |
| 8 | Large — outstanding — output from dairy herd? (6) |
| LOWING – L (Large) + OWING (outstanding) | |
| 9 | James Wood’s wayward daughter quits Canadian city (5,3) |
| MOOSE JAW – (JAMES WOO{d})* to give the city in Saskatchewan famous for being the fourth largest population centre in the province, which is less than the capacity of Rangers’ stadium (though bigger than QPR’s) | |
| 10 | Quirky English rooted for home-grown opera (3,10) |
| THE GONDOLIERS – (ENGLISH ROOTED)*, to give the G&S creation | |
| 11 | Language and humour is lacking initially in Westminster area (7) |
| SWAHILI – A{nd} H{umour} I{s} L{acking} (… initially) in SW1 (Westminster area, i.e. the postcode) | |
| 12 | Tremor spelt trouble for ground-nesting bird (5,6) |
| STORM PETREL – (TREMOR SPELT)* Perhaps more commonly known as the stormy petrel. | |
| 13 | The earliest opportunity to see 1 across? (5,5) |
| FIRST LIGHT – in a crossword, a light is (Chambers): “the word … on the diagram that is the answer to a clue”, hence 1 across is the FIRST LIGHT | |
| 20 | Special arrangement to hold RE in church offices (9) |
| PRELACIES – RE in SPECIAL* | |
| 23 | Last upset for EU undermining two-thirds of Europe, maybe (8) |
| CONTINUE – CONTIN{ent} (two-thirds of Europe, maybe) + reversal of EU | |
| 25 | Under more pressure, it’s necessary to shorten sermon (6) |
| TENSER – hidden in shorTEN SERmon | |
| 26 | Particular fictional genre about to secure record turnover (8) |
| SPECIFIC – SCI-FI (fictional genre) + C (about) around reversal of EP (record) | |
| 28 | Worker, male hero, displaying faint halo (9) |
| ANTHELION – ANT (Worker) + HE (male) + LION (hero), to give (Chambers): “A luminous coloured ring seen on a cloud or fog bank opposite the sun” | |
| 29 | Endless clue? (3-3) |
| TIP-OFF – something endless could be said to have its TIP OFF | |
| 31 | What blondes have first put together, eliminating bias (2,3,8) |
| IN ALL FAIRNESS – IN ALL (put together) + FAIRNESS (What blondes have) | |
| 33 | Lift a seabird that’s broken bill (11) |
| PATERNOSTER – A + TERN (seabird), in POSTER (bill), to give the surprisingly frequent Crosswordland visitor that is (Chambers): “A lift for goods or passengers, consisting of a series of cars moving on a continuous belt, the floors remaining horizontal at the top and bottom of travel” | |
| 34 | False logic adopted by board (11) |
| TREASONABLE – REASON (logic) in TABLE (board), and a perhaps not so common definition | |
| 35 | Plant producing red berries, nuts and some liquid (6-4) |
| CUCKOO-PINT – CUCKOO (nuts) + PINT (some liquid). Not hyphenated in any of the usual sources. | |
| 36 | US poisoner discomfits nude getting bottom pinched (11) |
| RATTLESNAKE – RATTLES (discomfits) + NAKE{d} (nude getting bottom pinched). I’m a fan of bonkers imagery in the surface reading. | |
| 40 | Demanding sutures with no twists (9) |
| STRENUOUS – (SUTURES + NO)* | |
| 41 | Forceful, heartless ruler in Eastern group (8) |
| ELOQUENT – QU{e}EN (heartless ruler) in E (Eastern) + LOT (group) | |
| 43 | Clans moving in on horseback, free from restraint (7) |
| UNCLASP – UP (on horseback) around CLANS* | |
| 45 | Aquatic reptile avoiding soft ground (7) |
| TERRAIN – TERRA{p}IN (Aquatic reptile avoiding soft) | |
| 46 | Actor’s first to go over contract (7) |
| ABRIDGE – A{ctor} (Actor’s first) + BRIDGE (to go over) | |
| 47 | Elevated priest bringing in quantity of work for his aide (6) |
| VERGER – reversal of REV (priest), around ERG (quantity of work), with the “his” in the definition referring back to the priest | |
| 50 | Workers in A&E reversed invasive procedure (5) |
| ENEMA – reversal of MEN (Workers) in A&E | |
In the early ’80s, Thomas Dolby had a bit of a hit with “She Blinded Me With Science” but otherwise I can’t say I’ve encountered the expression much in real life.
(Donald) SOPER was quite a surprising (but welcome) addition to the catalogue of clergy we’re expected to know alongside Archbishops of Canterbury. Possibly the most famous Methodist since the Wesleys, he was a fearless and outspoken regular at Speaker’s Corner and for years the acceptable Christian face of radical socialism, and therefore both admired and mistrusted by my parents’ generation.
If only the ANCONA CSOS would stand up to be counted, there’d be another one, perhaps not so apposite.
Ong’ara,
Nairobi.