Jumbo 736

Author   petebiddlecombePosted on Categories Jumbo Cryptic
A brief report on this. I thought I’d solved it when it appeared zand then lost it, but it felt like fresh solving – especially as one answer defeated me – or I lost patience. I spent about half an hour on it. Add a comment if you have queries about other clues.

Across
13 NO=on rev.,B(B)Y
18 NONA=anaon rev.,GON(e)
20 THO’,MIST
34 GRASS,MOTH – an insect that I think I’ve seen in some other puzzle
35 SH(T)OOK – the one that defeated me from S?T?O?.
39 T.(W)A. – a pygmy tribe who are in COD but not Collins, or even Chambers
 
Down
2 RUB,I,CON – a win at Piquet in which the loser is penalised for not reaching 100 points in 6 hands – winner gets sum of points rather than difference
11 IDAHO – most of ‘who had I’ backwards – an ‘almost’ that doesn’t mean ‘all but the last letter’
24 NYASALAND – (Lad, say, Ann)* – now Malawi
34 G(UTTER)PRESS
44 R.A.,LEIGH – a town near Wigan.

5 comments on “Jumbo 736”

  1. My post of y’day seems not to have made it.
    Grateful for clarification on:
    21 ac – soupcon = suspicion but the rest?
    8 d – ringlet. Couldn’t find the butterfly in Ch.
    55 ac – horsemeat? Not too cryptic then?
    26 d – low-down. Low = mean but down = ?
    30 d – motion picture. Does picture = dead ringer?
    43 d – brassie = a golf club but the rest?
    merci d’avance
    1. 21A: wordplay seems to be S(O)UP.,CON, with CON=criminal, short outburst = O (or maybe “O!”), and SUP = court – presumably from Sup. Ct. = Supreme Court – I wondered about sup (vb.) = to ‘wine and dine’ or to ‘court’ a possible partner, but couldn’t find this meaning.
      8D: “ringlet” is a kind of butterfly in Collins
      55A: not terribly, especially if you miss the transport-related surface meaning.
      26D: mean = “low-down” too.
      30D: yes, as in “he’s the picture of his father”
      43D: er = re. rev. = “upset about” is removed from brass(er)ie.

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