Jumbo 931 – A Tasmanian Lie-in?

Author   fathippy2Posted on Categories Jumbo Cryptic
I feel that so far, bar one notable exception, most of my jumbos have been uninspiring and this was another one which was middle of the road. A mixture of various forms of standard fare. At a push 53 was a decent clue, 34D was a nice concise surface, and 46D contained some inventive word play, but other than that nothing jumps out.

Across
1 HOSTA – HOIST minus I then A for the plant.
4 BLIND ALLEY – BLIND=drive fast(?) then A YELL reversed. definition cul-de-sac. Not sure about the drive fast bit but it does suggest recklessness, careering so I guess that works.
9 TRIBAL – TRIAL=ordeal around B=british
14 TAE KWON DO – (at kenwood)*
15 NON-RESISTANCE – (Racine sonnets)*
16 CHEERIO – Double definition, although I thought CHEERS was the toast, apparently CHEERIO is one also, albeit one I have never heard of.
17 IDEE RECUE – Needs attention to the exact wordplay with (curie)* outside DEE=flowing water, then E=source of energy at the end. Once the flowing water was in mind it was fairly easy to assume it to be (curie)* around DEE + R=river.
18 INCAN – chestnut using some description of something being IN a CAN for the INCAN civilization.
19 COBELLIGERENTS – (rebel etc losing)* for a word you dont see every day, but whose meaning should be quite obvious.
22 HARRIED – H=husband, ARRIED sounds like ARID=in need of water
25 INSPECTION – I,N, then P in SECTION
27 EVENING CLASS – cryptic definition, although as often happens it is sometimes harder to work out the misleading surface than the correct definition!
30 AWAIT – A(utumn) inside A WIT
31 SCRABBLE – S + RABBLE around C for the game
32 DEMARCHE – DEM=US politician, ARCH=superior, E=european, with the definition just “political initiative”
35 DEFRAYAL – DEAL=agreement, to maintain FRAY=fight for the payment.
36 HERSCHEL – E(xciting) L(essons) after HER=girl’s, SCH=school for Herschel.
37 THEIR – sounds like THERE=thats the place
39 IN CONFIDENCE – IN=among, CON,FENCE=criminals, around ID=identity. def=secretly
41 APPRENTICE – A P(tiny amount of money) PR, ENTICE=lure, def=new worker
43 SET DOWN – (release)D in S.E. TOWN for which DOVER is an example. def=Record (as verb)
45 VESTED INTEREST – (I send vet)* then (setter)*
48 APACE – APACHE=indian without H=horse for “at speed”
49 INCURSIVE – IN + CURSIVE=form of writing for “making attacks”
51 EXPOUND – EX=old, POUND=Ezra, US poet, for “interpret”
53 DISASTER MOVIE – DI=policeman, SAS=troops, (metro)*, VIE=struggle. Never quite sure whether this is classed as an &lit, or a semi &lit, due to the use of the “What” at the beginning?
54 QUAINTEST – QU=question, A=answer, IN TEST=exam
55 RUSHED – SHED=dropped off after RU for game – it seems to be a crossword favourite for “game”. I wonder if anyone has any stats for any of these “perm any one of three” type replacements.
56 ANCESTRESS – (D)ANCE then STRESS=anxiety
57 CLEAR – double definition

Down
1 HI-TECH – hidden in wHITECHapel.
2 SKELETON STAFF – cryptic def based on skeleton being a type of key
3 ANWAR – A, N(ew), WAR=conflict. Anwar Sadat was president of Egypt. Trouble is for many people, you could not see the word Sadat without writing in Anwar, so it becomes a bit of a GK question.
4 BONE OIL – BOIL=be angry, around ONE=a certain. BONE OIL is the pungent liquid,
5 IRONING BOARD – cryptic def
6 DANSEURS – A=area inside (undress)*, def=”they leap around”
7 LONER – hidden inside jaiL ONE Resents.
8 EXERCISING – EXCISING=cutting out, around ER=hesitation.
10 RATTIER – RATTER = hunting dog, around I for “more annoyed”
11 BONE CHINA – B=bishop, ONE=individual, CH=front of church, IN=during A. def is just “service”
12 LIE IN – NIL=love, reversed around I and E=energy.
13 VICE CHANCELLOR – VICE=one getting a grip, CHANCE=unexpected, ROLL=number on register where rise indicates reversal
20 EYESTRAIN – YES=of course, inside E=english, TRAIN=school(verb). Slight cryptic def using different pupils for surface and meaning
21 NOVELIST – V,ON = volume about, upcoming indicates reversal, E-LIST=very minor celebrities.
23 DISHEARTEN – DISH=food, EATEN=tucked in around R=middle of afteRnoon. def = put off.
24 HIT AND MISS – HAND=help, MISS=teacher, around IT=computer technology.
26 TASMANIAN TIGER – (treating animas)* where the L=large has been removed
28 CHASTENER – CHASER=hunter holding NET=catch upwards def=”one castigates”
29 ABSENCES – ACES=experts about BSE=bovine spongiform echthecwiddlypeck (I cannot remember the exact phrasing)=cattle disease + N (note)
33 CREDIT SQUEEZE – CREDIT=swallow, SQUEEZE=milk gives you the period of economic difficulty.
34 CHAPLINESQUE – CHAP=man, (in sequel)* def=”like a tramp”. I am not sure whether this is definition by example, even if it is adjectival, there are arguments both ways.
38 SERVICEMAN – double definition with the soldier and the mechanic.
40 CATHARSIS – CATHARS=christians, IS=one’s, to give the release.
42 SEDIMENT – (ten dimes)* – definition works well for the surface with the financial/geographical alternatives.
44 OVERSEE – VERSE=rhymes, in OE which is the central section of POEM. def=”keep a check on”
46 TOERAGS – ARE reversed inside TOGS – ie fully clothed.
47 EDITOR – RODE=travelled, northwards implies up, so reversed on a down clue, around IT.
48 AIDER – (r)AIDER for the headless marauder.
50 REVUE – sounds like REVIEW
52 PUNIC – PUN = play on words, I(sn’t) C(omprehensible.)

4 comments on “Jumbo 931 – A Tasmanian Lie-in?”

  1. 51′; I rarely finish a Jumbo in under an hour, so I suppose I’d agree with your assessment of the puzzle, although I rather liked 39 & 53ac, and 33 & 44d. LOI was 32ac: I spent a long time thinking that ‘superior European’= UE, and trying to come up with a specific US politician whose name ends in C. I hope I’m not the only one who threw in TASMANIAN DEVIL without bothering to check; that helped slow me down a good deal. And I definitely hope I’m not the only one who objects to treating “‘arried” as homophonous with “arid”; if these are homophones, so is sheep/ship.
  2. Agree this was mostly standard fare with one or two shining lights. 25 minutes for all but three clues then another 12 on DEMARCHE, DISHEARTEN and finally TOERAGS (excellent clue). I did check the letters for TASMANIAN TIGER but it still took a ceratin amount of concentration and willpower not to write in DEVIL. I’m usually one of the first to moan at non-homophonousness but I can’t see anything wrong with “‘arried” and “arid” and certainly can’t see the comparison with “ship” and “sheep”.
    1. Well, I won’t make claims about all British dialects, but certainly in all US dialects I know the distinction between so-called lax I ([I]: hit, ship, kin) and tense I ([i]: heat, sheep, keen) is maintained in pairs like (h)arried/arid. It’s not as easy to notice the distinction when, as here, the syllable isn’t stressed, but it’s there.
  3. 26:57 for me. Perhaps I’m not critical enough, but I enjoyed this one, as I enjoy almost all Times puzzles, both dailies and jumbos.

    Chambers (2003) includes “to drive extremely fast and recklessly (sl)” among its definitions of “blind”.

    Note that 34dn has a question mark at the end of it (in the paper version at any rate) so that the definition is effectively “like a tramp?”, making the clue (IMO) completely sound.

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