I found this one a real toughie and limped in at around 53 minutes. There was some really good stuff but overall I found it a little lacking in something or other. There was my usual pair of clues to dislike (25a and 41d), a really novel treatment at 42 and an unfathomable one that I need your help with (40d) . Following sghanson’s lead, I’ll be loving you and leaving you this week. I’m off to the New Forest early doors tomorrow so won’t be around to answer any queries/complaints. You never know, I may venture into Dorset and bump into Jimbo. We’ll be able to moan about dodgy homophones over a pint of Dorset Piddle
| Across | |
|---|---|
| 1 | PAPER – PE in PAR |
| 4 | PUB GRUB – B(ritish) in PUG then RUB. I can’t find any evidence to support the suggestion that pugs and boxers are the same unless pug is short for pugilist, which it isn’t |
| 8 | SKINFLINT – FLIN[g] in SKINT |
| 13 | INTRIGUER – (RE[c]RUITING)* |
| 14 | NEEDLE POINTED – two defs, one a bit cryptic “compass worked like this” |
| 15 | ORESTES – hidden in fOREST EScapade. The son of Clytemnestra and Agamemnon |
| 16 | BRISTLY – (TRILBY’S)* This one took an absurdly long time to solve |
| 17 | ON TRIAL – O,L (circle line) around (TRAIN)* |
| 18 | SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER – two defs, both a little contrived “Picture of disco” “that could make one sick of a weekend”. A major 70s film and LP |
| 21 | VIE,W |
| 23 | EUPHRATES – sounds like “you freight ease” |
| 25 | OYSTER – my last in and a lousy clue. An obscure and colloquial word for a shy person and, apparently, a source of profit. I suppose if you found a pearl in an oyster and it cost you less to retrieve it than you could make from selling it, then it could be described as a source of profit. Is it me? |
| 26 | MR BEAN – BR[itish] rev in MEAN |
| 28 | SAINT BERNARD – excellent cryptic def “Big man’s best friend, a regular saver”. Huge dog, originally from the Swiss Alps, used to find people lost in the mountains |
| 30 | YA BOO SUCKS – (SO CUB’S OKAY)* |
| 33 | GREAT SCOTT – The definition is simply “My”. C (college’s principal) OTT (unrestrained) after GREATS, another name for a Classics course at Oxford. My degree wasn’t in Classics or from Oxford so this meaning somehow evaded me. |
| 34 | TRADE,SCANT,IA – IA being Iowa. Pretty obscure plant made gettable through reasonably strightforward wordplay. |
| 37 | AVALON – NO LAVA rev |
| 39 | SALIVA – SALA[d] around IV (intravenous) |
| 40 | SWEETMEAT – to go with sour vegetable ,arf arf |
| 42 | SITE – what an excellent and novel clue. “Locate connections of 47ac with other answers” 47ac is SPITTLE whose checking letters (ie connections with other answers) form SITE |
| 43 | HAVE I GOT NEWS FOR YOU – (GOES ON FAVOURITE WHY)* I don’t think I’ve seen “jockey” used as an anagrind before, very clever |
| 46 | LIMPOPO – LIMO around POP |
| 47 | SPITTLE – another cracker, “39 steps mostly lit badly” . (STEP[s] + LIT)* Then answer to 39 is SPITTLE. Cracking clue |
| 48 | ATTACKS – sounds like “A TAX”. more novelty with “on a mobile” used for “sounds like” |
| 50 | WITH RESPECT TO – another excellent clue. not meaning any rudeness= WITH RESPECT, unduly (too) spoken = “TO” , about is the definition |
| 51 | HYPOCITE – HYPE around O[ld] CRIT[icism] |
| 52 | RUNNYMEDE – where King John signed the Magna Carta in 1215 |
| 53 | CLEANER – NE[ws] in CLEAR (out of danger) |
| 54 | SHORT – H in SORT |
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| Down | |
| 1 | PAIR OF STEPS – two definitions, one referring to two paces and the other to a set of ladders |
| 2 | PA,THE – PA=Press Association |
| 3 | REINTERPRETATION – (PARTITION TENDERER)* without D (completion of bid) |
| 4 | PRUSSIA – (PARIS)* around US |
| 5 | BARE BONES – cryptic def “Details not fleshed out?” I confidently wrote in BARE FACTS which held me up somewhat |
| 6 | RUNNING, BOARD |
| 7 | BREATH TEST – “driver’s oral examination”. Today’s “this must be a chestnut but I don’t remember seeing it before” clue |
| 8 | S,ALLY |
| 9 | IMPROV,ER |
| 10 | FEISTY – 1st and last letters of FemalE ImpersonatorS TrY |
| 11 | INTUITIVE – T in INUIT + I’VE |
| 12 | TIDDLY,WINKS – “unspecified amount of sleep” for [40] WINKS made me laugh |
| 19 | TOPSIDE – OPS in SIDE |
| 20 | EMERALD – L in DARE ME rev |
| 22 | CROSS AS TWO STICKS – a rather old fashion expression for “angry”. More inspired stuff with “marker for very simple grave” |
| 24 | TRENCH[ant] |
| 27 | MOUSSE – found in venoMOUS SErpent |
| 29 | NUT,CASE – NUT=The National Union of Teachers |
| 31 | CUT,LE,RY – LE=limits of Long-distancE |
| 32 | BREASTSTROKE – EAST’S T[oughe]R in BROKE |
| 33 | GLASS BLOWER – a pretty easy cryptic def, “I use inflation to make my work a clear success” |
| 35 | ARTHUR’S SEAT – AS around R,THURS + EAT. It’s a hill overlooking Edinburgh |
| 36 | JINGOISTIC – (CIG IS JOINT)* |
| 38 | AUTOMATON – AU (in French, at the) + TOMATO + [pu]N[ch] |
| 40 | SHERE KHAN – the tiger in Kipling’s Jungle Book (ok I’ll be honest, I knew it from the Disney film). S is Southern and KH is H[ong] K[ong] rev but the rest is a complete mystery. (HEREAN=Chinese?? or SHEREAN=Southern Chinese??) Not even the mighty Google can help on this one. Unless I’m being very dim (highly possible) this makes this a shocker of a clue |
| 41 | LAROUSSE – LARGESSE with GE replaced by OU. He’s a French lexicographer. A bit too hard all round for my liking |
| 44 | S,CAMPER |
| 45 | HOORAY – R in (YAHOO)* |
| 47 | SUEDE – sounds like “SWAYED” |
| 49 | CAIRO – AIR in C[olorad]O |
Agree about Oyster, but Larousse is pretty well known.. as well known as Chambers perhaps.
In Chambers: pug4 n a boxer. [Shortened from pugilist (see under pugilism)]
Also while I’m being pedantic, the answer to 39 is SALIVA (in explanation of 47), and 51ac is HYPOCRITE 🙂