My first official blog post so I wasted no time in trying to solve the crossword on the day it was published.
A number of new words and phrases came out of the solutions, but luckily the wordplay was fairly clear on them. I did resort to Chambers to check them afterwards, however. The longer solutions are, I suppose, a positive aspect of the size of the Jumbo grid, giving the setter more flexibility. There were also a number of clues I found quite simple to balance the puzzle.
Please let me know if I have omitted any solutions you would like clarifying. However, I am away for a few days.
Solving time – less than 30 minutes, which I was pleased with, given the unfamiliar words.
| Across | |
|---|---|
| 1 | INDETERMINATE – (matter,i,in,need)* |
| 8 | RA(SCALD,O)M – unfamiliar, but a lovely word. I shall try and use it more. |
| 13 | ABBOT – referring to the Devon town of Newton Abbot |
| 14 | CO(CHIN-CHIN)A – COA are the alternate letters of sChOlAr, and “chin-chin” is a version of “cheers” as a toast. Cochin China was an old French territory, now part of Vietnam. |
| 15 | CO,VEN – Ven. is an abbreviation for Venerable, referring to an Archdeacon |
| 18 | P(EDANT)IC – EDANT is Dante with the last letter moved to the start |
| 20 | AU,R(OR)A – two versions of gold, but only one clued as such |
| 21 | VOTE WITH ONES FEET – I was initially trying to make this start with MOVE, given the checking letters, but then I worked back from FEET as supporters |
| 24 | ANTITYPES – (pets in Tay)* |
| 27 | (w)EASEL |
| 29 | CO(USIN-G)ER,MAN – simply a cousin, but not a word I had met before |
| 31 | JIMS,ON WEED – another new word. Jim is from Kingsley Amis’s “Lucky Jim”, and jimson weed is a member of the datura family |
| 33 | NEG,LI(GEN.)CE – NEG = GEN(information) reversed, and GEN appears again as an abbreviation for the book of Genesis – neat and inventive |
| 35 | LONGS,HOR(s)EMAN |
| 38 | EYR(I)E |
| 40 | ALEXANDER – Alexander’s Ragtime Band, composed by Irving Berlin |
| 42 | CAMBERWELL BEAUTY – a butterfly, unfortunately uncommon in London |
| 47 | NO(TEC,A)SE |
| 50 | A,W(A,KEN)ING |
| 53 | ELUC,I,DATIVE – ELUC = clue* |
| 55 | GOLD,F,IN,CH |
| 56 | ROYAL STANDARD – a royal is a small sail |
| Down | |
| 1 | INAMORATA = A,TAR,OMANI all rev. |
| 3 | TUTTI-FRUTTI – tutti is the musical instruction for all players |
| 5 | INCURIOUS – INCU(b)US around RIO, our favourite (?) port |
| 6 | ARITHMETICAL – the sort of skill needed for addition |
| 7 | ENCY(C)LI,CAL – ENCYLI = nicely* |
| 8 | RUIN(g) |
| 9 | SHAKE IN ONES SHOES – I can understand the “personal trainers” leading to ONES SHOES, but I am unconvinced about any cluing for SHAKE IN apart from the overall definition |
| 10 | AC(CR)A – ACA can either be A,CA (an accountant) or ACA (accountant, and a qualification I hold) |
| 11 | DE(VOTE)E – “something cast” for VOTE is neat |
| 12 | MONOCOTYLEDON – another unfamiliar word referring to a botanical grouping. The wordplay was not difficult, however – MONO (single), COT (bed), Y (youth leader), LED (brought), ON |
| 22 | STEIN(way) |
| 23 | SPAGHETTI WESTERN = (with stage present)*. Unusually, the word with is used in full, rather than just the letter W. |
| 25 | T,RUDGE,R – stump as in walk heavily |
| 28 | STEMMED – busy Lizzie refering to the Impatiens plant |
| 29 | CON,DESCENDING – the same word was clued in a very similar way in the daily Times Cryptic number 24350 only 3 days earlier! |
| 30 | RO(CH)D,ALE – my father’s birthplace |
| 32 | CONSTABULARY – a clever reference to the Metropolitan Police |
| 36 | REACH-ME-DOWN = (men who cared)*. Another new expression |
| 37 | B(O.M.,BARD)IER |
| 40 | ACTUA(RIA)L – RIA = air reversed (wind up). |
| 45 | C(HIM)E,RA |
| 48 | CHAFF(inch) – intersecting with another member of the finch family |
| 51 | LUSH – Double definition |
I, too, would like to know how ‘shake in’ is accounted for; and ‘protected by’.