Solving time: No time recorded, but over 2 hours.
I did most of it in about an hour and 20 minutes on Sunday night, but the last dozen or so came in dribs and drabs over the course of the following day.
I found this one quite tough, with several words that were new to me. There were very few straightforward double definition type clues, but lots of complex constructions consisting of multiple elements. Some of this construction was quite clever, and some of the definitions well-disguised. Because of this, I’ve included more of the clues than I normally would, but if I’ve omitted one that’s puzzling you, let me know.
cd = cryptic def., dd = double def., rev = reversal, homophones are written in quotes, anagrams as (–)*, and removals like this
| Across | |
|---|---|
| 1 | MOBILE – dd. I was familiar with the town in Alabama, but I couldn’t have told you it was a port. |
| 14 | DI + SOB + EYED |
| 15 | UP-TO-THE-MINUTE = (HE PUT OUT IN TIME)* with an I removed. I assume ‘release’ is the anagrind, although I’ve not come across it used in this way before |
| 16 | LINEAGE – ‘EAGLE’ being L in EAGE. Very neat, and undoubtedly my COD. |
| 17 | RE(TIN)AL – Membrane’s is the definition (as opposed to just Membrane). Material threw me for a while, until I realised it was as in having substance, unimagined. |
| 18 | SCOR(( |
| 19 | MASTER OF CEREMONIES, which is usually abbreviated to MC, or 1100 in Roman numerals |
| 21 | H + ( |
| 26 | TRIM + A + ( |
| 27 | ATROPINE = A + PORT rev + IN + E |
| 29 | UNDER ARREST = (RUDE RANTERS)* A neat anagram with a partial &lit quality to it. |
| 32 | BOOT + SANDAL + L – The Bondi Beach reference indicates that the expression is peculiar to Australia. |
| 35 | ARCHDIOCESE = (DIRE COACHES)*. York is an archdiocese because it has an archbishop. |
| 37 | ASTRA(l) + GAL – A rounded molding on a piece of furniture. Not a word I knew. |
| 40 | HE + TUP – A tup is a ram, or male sheep, and crops up quite commonly in crosswords. |
| 43 | EXAM( |
| 48 | A + M(OR)OUS( |
| 51 | PANIC + STATIONS – I struggled to parse this one for quite a while, but my Dad helped me out. PANIC means ‘of the God Pan’ i.e. God’s, and STATIONS can be the Stations of the Cross, a series of 14 representations of successive incidents from the Passion of the Christ, usually in a church, which can be visited for prayer. (Thanks, Dad!) |
| 53 | LAS( |
| Down | |
| 1 | MIDDLEMAN – RoMANia having a middle ‘MAN’ |
| 3 | LAB + I + ATE – I’ve come across this meaning ‘having lips’ before, but not as a family of plants. |
| 5 | ODDER = RED + DO all rev |
| 6 | COUNTER + PART( |
| 7 | ANTINOMIANS = (A MAN INTO SIN)* This was a new word to me, but seemed the most likely arrangement of the letters. |
| 8 | DATELINE – dd. The International Date Line being where East ends and West begins (or vice versa) |
| 10 | DE(I)MOS – The smaller of the two moons of Mars |
| 11 | S + QUAND + E + RING |
| 13 | HYMENOPTERAN = MEN + O in (HEN PARTY)*. Another new addition to my vocabulary. It’s a family of (typically) winged insects. |
| 22 | ( |
| 23 | POOH-POOH – Winnie-the-Pooh often referred to himself as ‘A bear of very little brain’. It took me ages to spot this AA Milne reference. |
| 25 | E + T( |
| 28 | F(R( |
| 29 | ( |
| 33 | OUT + PAT + I(ENT)S |
| 34 | LAP OF HONOUR – A circuit being a lap, and a judge is ‘Your Honour’. |
| 35 | ATROCIOUSLY = (I ALSO CRY OUT)*. A wealth of possible anagrinds here – ‘When disturbed’ being the correct one. I was held up for a while thinking it was ‘dreadfully’. |
| 36 | EX + TERM + IN + ATE – I thought my knowledge of ancient deities was pretty good, but I’ve not come across Atë, a daughter of Zeus, before. |
| 38 | A + LIEN + A + TED |
| 41 | POST + NAT + A + L( |
| 42 | A + N + DANTE’S |
| 45 | GLADE + YE |
Thanks for explaining the MC of Master of Ceremonies. That had been worrying me.