Late again, mea culpa. I have a tendency to solve the Jumbo, make notes, then forget about it…
No great problems here, apart from a single new word (43 ac) makes this a Q0-E7-D5.
As usual with the Jumbo, where the solution is available alongside (or indeed before) the blog, comment is confined only to references that might remain obscure to overseas / inexperienced solvers even with the answer visible, or anything I thought notably good or deserving a question mark; other clues discussed by request!
| Across | |
|---|---|
| 7 | NECROMANCER – NEC(k)+ROMANCER; Madame Arcati, created by Noel Coward in Blithe Spirit, now also appears to be a noted blogger. |
| 14 | LIVID – perhaps a little imprecise if you examine it in isolation, but with three checking letters it’s obvious what combination of I, V, X, L, C, D and M is required. |
| 21 | SNOWCLAD – (SAD CLOWN)* with a nice cryptic def. |
| 27 | TAILOR – TAIL O(ther) R(anks); I imagine the rhyme may be obscure outside the UK. |
| 28 | FOSTER HOME – once ‘issue’ is replaced by ‘children’ the meaning becomes clear, though the word ‘kind’ strikes me as slightly odd… |
| 30 | AUSTRIAN – ATRIA + N round (US); I began by trying to convince myself of the existence of CUSURIA somewhere in the Balkans. |
| 40 | GOT OFF – GO + TOFF, a word suddenly back in political vogue for use when you need to describe a man who not only has a moat, but allegedly gets it cleaned at public expense. |
| 43 | CLEW – =”CLUE”; not being of a nautical bent, I was unfamiliar with this part of a sail. |
| 55 | ROYAL ASSENT – two bits of knowledge required, a) that a bill going through the British Parliament requires the monarch’s seal of approval before becoming law and b) said monarch traditionally refers to herself in the plural, using the “Royal We” (except when referring to My Husband and I, of course). |
| Down | |
| 1 | BAKED ALASKA – (coo)K(swor(E) in BAD + ALASKA; easier to see what the solution was than to break it down instantly. |
| 4 | ALLY – a self-referential clue about how one clues adverbs, very nice!. |
| 6 | WINDOW-SHOPPING – WINDOWS + HOP(P)ING: I wonder if anyone keeps a record of when things such as this meaning of Windows become so prevalent as to be acceptable in the Times? |
| 10 | AT LAST – i.e. A “T” LAST letter. |
| 20 | CROSS CHANNEL FERRY – CROSS + (FRENCHNEARLY)*, a very neat part anagram forming part of the definition. |
| 24 | BRANDISH – BRAND + IS H(ard); I deduced that there must be a play character called Brand without knowing him, which I can’t say I’m too sorry about. Ibsen: not light entertainment. |
| 36 | STICK INSECT – cryptic def. which I enjoyed |
| 37 | NON-STRIKER – wordplay from being “out” i.e. on strike, and “not out” in the cricketing sense, meaning “still at the wicket”; of the two batsmen on the pitch, one has the strike, the other is the non-striker or off-strike; something of a chestnut for English / Commonwealth solvers, but cricket-based clueing always deserves an explanation just in case! |
| 42 | GLASNOST – NO in GLASS + secre(T) |
| 47 | PORTAL – PORT(i)A + L; if there is to be a quibble today, I’d say it’s describing Shakespeare’s Portia as “lady of the court” and expecting us to work out without any doubt who that means. |
| 49 | MOVIE – MO + V(erse) + I.E. – the movie in question is this one; not sure what criteria make a film eligible for use in a clue such as this. Box office success? Oscar recognition? |
| 52 | BALI – VERBALISE minus the VERSE. |
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