Solving time: 19:30
An easyish Jumbo with quite a few plants in answers or wordplay – 1A, 47, 57, 45 (twice!), 31. Probably coincidence rather than an intentional theme.
| Across | |
|---|---|
| 1 | HER,B(P)AR,IS – a fairly difficult plant name which turns out to be a synonym of “True Lover’s Knot”, the title of the hardest puzzle for me in Afrit’s Armchair Crosswords, a snippet of cryptic crossword history worth picking up while still available. This fact just might help me with the mysterious unclued answers in that puzzle. |
| 6 | CRIM(inal),P – burglar = criminal. Although the required technique is easy to spot, this “not half” trick can be as difficult as subtraction clues when the word used (criminal here) is not seen straight off. |
| 16 | HOUSEKEEPER – cryptic reading of “wHO USEd”. |
| 17 | EUROSCEPTIC = (Cicero set up)* |
| 21 | fArM lOvEs BaAs – nicely done version of “alternate letters”, though “regularly” is a sore-thumb indicator for old hands |
| 25 | T(E,TOT)AL – “dry” being the def. |
| 28 | RISER – hidden in “ToweR IS ERected” |
| 29 | GEE-GEE – “My!” and “Gee” both mean the same, and of course a bet may be on a horse, as in “I made some money on the gee-gees yesterday”. |
| 38 | HAVING IT COMING – or in the cryptic one of the two defs, “Having I.T. coming”. |
| 40 | SEA(F,RON)T – nicely done surface reading |
| 42 | IS OLD,E – female half of Tristan and Isolde, now best known from the Wagner version – here’s Brigit Nilsson applying years of experience to one of the big moments. |
| 47 | GUTTA-PERCHA – TAPER=die away in CAUGHT* – a tree as well as its latex, which has various practical applications. |
| 52 | REITERATE = (treat Eire)* – apposite anagram which I don’t think I’ve seen before. |
| 53 | I,DI(AMI)N – “The Last King of Scotland” was the title of a 2006 film, and “King of Scotland” was apparently part of Ami’s self-proclaimed title – “His Excellency President for Life Field Marshal Al Hadji Dr. Idi Amin, VC, DSO, MC, King of Scotland Lord of All the Beasts of the Earth and Fishes of the Sea and Conqueror of the British Empire in Africa in General and Uganda in Particular.” |
| 55 | CRES(SE)T – here’s a cresset |
| 56 | MASS(a,g)E – the massé is a famous stroke used in billiards and similar games to avoid hitting a ball between the cue and object balls. Jimmy White shows you how. |
| Down | |
| 1 | H=hospital,ITCH=hunger |
| 2 | ROLL UP ONES SLEEVES – old-style “definition plus allusion” clue. |
| 3 | PLATE ARMOUR – this stuff, which took over from “medieval spam” (chain mail). |
| 5 | SYN=”sin”,OP.=Opus,SIS=girl. |
| 6 | CLEAR=obvious,STORIES=lies – not sure about the “American” bit, as clearstory/clerestory seem to be alternatives with no need to include US English. |
| 8 | POS(t)ER |
| 18 | AFTER MATHS = “when all the sums have been done” |
| 22 | BACHELOR OF SCIENCE – hidden as “B.Sc.” in “laBS Certainly” |
| 27 | RE,JO,ICED – someone blogging a recent daily puzzle mentioned “little woman” for one of the March sisters – here’s another usage. |
| 31 | POTHER – from “pot her(b)” |
| 32 | MOUNTAINSIDE = (I am one nudist)* |
| 36 | SOFT-HEARTED – both Sophy and Elspeth have a central p=piano=soft |
| 37 | E,MISS,ARIES – “stars kept together” seems a bit odd for Aries on reflection |
| 41 | CE,N,TIMES – “paper money” at the end is a classic “lift and separate” phrase, centimes being coins. |
| 45 | A,GAR(l)IC – plants in both answer and wordplay here! |
| 46 | B,OUNCE=cat |
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