Jumbo 1358

Author   sghansonPosted on Categories Jumbo Cryptic
Happy New Year to all my readers!

I am not sure whether it was Christmas overindulgence or not being on the setter’s wavelength but this one took me longer than it should have done. I needed to check 44D, but I do vaguely recall it from a past puzzle.


Across
1 BOGUS – BUS = coach, around O.G. = own goal = blunder by defender
4 ABIDJAN – ABID(e) = put up with, JAN(uary) = few weeks
8 PAPARAZZO – P.A., P.A. = a year, repeated, RAZZ = kid, O(ld)
13 INITIATES (TEST, A, N(ew) I, I, I)*
14 SEWING MACHINE – SWING = jazz, around E = energy, ME = note, around A CHIN = a punch
15 ELECTRO – hidden reversed in shORT CELEbrity
16 GOLDWYN – GWYN = actress, favourite of royal, around OLD = familiar
17 EULOGIA – GOALIE* around U(nited)
18 POCKET-HANDKERCHIEF – POCKET = appropriate, HAND = give, K(ing), E.R. = queen, CHIEF = most important
21 NIGH – NIGH(t) = stay in hotel
23 AILANTHUS – LIANA*, THUS = like this
25 TE-HEED – TE = note, HEED = note
26 METTLE – sounds like METAL = lead
28 EXPERIMENTAL – EX = out of, PERI(l) = danger, MENTAL = mad
30 STREETWISE – STREET = a way, WE around IS
33 STOPPING BY – STOPPING = plugging, BY = times
34 AIRPORT NOVEL – AIR = bearing, PORT = left, NOVEL = fresh
37 ABBESS – AB = muscle, BE = act as, S.S. = bodyguard
39 RIYADH – H(ot), DAY = date, I = one, R = romeo, all reversed
40 ADVISEDLY – (DVD EASILY)*
42 TONK – KNOT = turks head, perhaps, reversed
43 LOCK STOCK AND BARREL – LOCK = forward (rugby), STOCK = merchandise, AND = adding, BARREL = vat
46 TOUGHIE – TUG = yank, around O = oscar, HIE = hurry
47 RACQUET – R.A.C. = motorists, QUE = that in French, (cour)T
48 OPEN DAY – OP = work, END = objective, AY = indeed
50 WATTLE AND DAUB – (LAD NEW BUT A TAD)*
51 UP-HELLY-AA – UP = at college, HE’LL = the chap’s going to, alternate letters in pYjAmAs
52 SANTANDER – SAN = health resort, TAN = function, DER = RED = radical, reversed
53 TURNKEY – TURN = go off, KEY = principal
54 OWNED – (d)OWNED = drunk

Down
1 BOILERPLATE – BOILER = chicken, PLATE = dish. Also cryptically as a down clue BOILER is put on PLATE which could be the instruction to assemble a chicken dish
2 GRIPE – G(ood), RIPE = ready
3 SAINT BERNARD PASS – SPAS, around AINT A RD = isn’t a road, itself around BERN = Swiss capital
4 ANTIOCH – A, N.T. = books, I.O.C. = Olympic bigwigs, H = hotel
5 ISSIGONIS – I = one, (SIGN IS SO)*. The inventor/designer of the Morris Minor
6 JUST LIKE THAT – double definition, the second mildly cryptic
7 NEWSWORTHY – NEW = a stranger, SWOR(e) = cursed, THY = your
8 PINON – PIN ON = attach to
9 PAMPERED PAM = girl, P = pee, ERE = before, D(aughter)
10 RACILY – RAY = light, around C.I. = Jersey etc, and L(arge)
11 ZEITGEIST – (SEIZE, G, T)*
12 OVERACHIEVE – O(ld), VERA, EVE = ladies around C(hances) and HI = welcome
19 CALYPSO – hidden in sCALY PSOriatic
20 HEELTAP – HEEL = list, TAP = milk. This answer was in Jumbo 1348 which I also blogged, and although the wordplay split the solution the same way the cryptics were different
22 MEET ONES WATERLOO – MEET = tournament, ONES = singles, WATER = weaken, LOO = can
24 HUMANE – HUE = shade, around MAN = chap
27 HENRY V – HEN = female, R.V. = interpretation of the bible, around Y = unknown
29 NIBLICK – NIB = tip for writer, LICK = light coat
31 INVADER – (DRIVEN, A)*
32 NIGHTCLUBBER – NIGHT sounds like KNIGHT = piece, CLUBBER = striker
33 SHANTY TOWNS – SHAN’T = I’m not going to, YTS around OWN = have
35 LOYALTY CARD – (LADY CRY A LOT)*
36 GANTT CHART – (THAT GRANT, C(heque))*
38 BANTUSTAN – BAN = prohibition, TN = Tennessee, around US = American and T.A. = volunteers
40 A FAST BUCK – double definition, the first cryptic as does are female deer or rabbits, and bucks are males
41 HOMELAND – HOD = scuttle, around MELAN(choly) = black dog
44 DROSHKY – DOSH = ready, around R = queen, KY = commonwealth state (Kentucky, not Kenya, I think)
45 THALIA – hidden in truTH A LIAbility
47 RUDER – RUD(d)ER = helm
49 DOYEN – DO = note, YEN = long

11 comments on “Jumbo 1358”

  1. and I’m not surprised, now that I see the answers: NHO GANTT CHART (I did get as far as CHART). NHO 51ac either, but with UPH L Y, it was easy to look up. Also NHO, and looked up, ISSIGONIS. All I could think of for ‘black dog’ was ‘depression’, which was of no help, and not having 41d made 38d impossible. It didn’t help that I was thinking that TENNESSEE was TE not TN. (You’re right about Kentucky in 44d, sg: Kentucky, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and I think one other state still call themselves ‘commonwealths’.) There were a number of COD-worthy clues: 13ac, maybe my favorite, 18ac, 25ac, 22d.
  2. This was a rare visit into Jumboland for me and almost enough to keep me from returning ever again. The reminder note I wrote at the top of my print-out (Bloody nightmare!!!) tells it all. I resorted to aids 13 times along the way, each time hoping that the answer would give me a boost and unlock the rest of the grid for me, but each time I was swiftly back in the doldrums and floundering.

    I wasn’t sure about ‘cynical’ / STREETWISE but I see Chambers throws it in as a last-minute supplementary definition.

    Edited at 2019-01-05 06:48 am (UTC)

    1. Nice to see you here, Jack. Not a typical Jumbo by any means. Don’t let it put you off. I find there’s a nice balance between too many QC-like clues and too many obscurities. This was definitely of the “better make it difficult to keep people occupied over the holidays” type. Your average one, though, combines enough relative;y easy clues to get you going with some entertaining teasers. As a Jumbo blogger, I’ve come to appreciate the mammoth effort required of the compilers and admire their stamina in coming up with a quality puzzle week after week.
  3. Unusually tough for a Jumbo, and it took me past the hour and a half mark (though I think I had a pause along the way). AILANTHUS, THALIA and DROSHKY not in my collection of known words, and I wasted time with ISSIGONIS wondering why he was down as the inventor of the Minor rather than the Mini.
  4. I found this tough too, with a note at the top of my copy saying 100+ minutes. Running out of patience, I had to resort to aids for ISSIGONIS, TONK and ANTIOCH (and possibly a couple more). Hmm. Must visit Turkey one day. I tried hard to get 18A to be (something) HABERDASHERY, which held me up. I never managed to parse HOMELAND so thanks for that. DNK ABIDJAN, EULOGIA, AILANTHUS, ISSIGONIS, PINON or DROSHKY; rather too many DNKs for my liking. ADVISEDLY my LOI. MEET ONES WATERLOO my COD.
    1. …or watch Monty Python. I know ANTIOCH mostly from the associated Holy Hand Grenade.
  5. This took me over an hour and whilst most of it was a welcome challenge there were a few too many silly words for me, particularly as they were not all fairly clued. ISSIGONIS is far too obscure to be clued by an anagram, for instance, and when constructing a clue for a word like DROSHKY a kinder setter might avoid the need for detailed knowledge of the ‘commonwealth’ status of certain US states. I knew the latter but had to cheat for the former. I also happened to know GANTT CHART but if I hadn’t I’m far from sure I would have concluded that it had to be the answer.
    By contrast the utterly daft and unlikely-looking UP-HELLY-AA is so clearly indicated that you have to put it in even if you can’t quite believe it. Shame it couldn’t all have been like that.

    Edited at 2019-01-05 05:42 pm (UTC)

  6. Even with liberal use of aids, this took me 2:14:34. I still can’t believe I kept going. Must have been a slow day! Far too many obscurities. UP HELLY AA !!! Pshaww! As it happens I was quite familiar with Alex Issigonis, but GANNT CHART? DROSHKY? THALIA? Managed to construct EULOGIA, ABIDJAN and PINON, but had to confirm they existed. Thanks sgh.
  7. Got all correct bar GOLDWYN, I wrote it with an ‘l’ for ‘y’. As a Kenyan, never seen my country abbreviated as ‘KY’. Thanks SG.

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