A rather more run of the mill offering than the last gem I got. This one went in quite quickly from memory and in a fairly uniform manner (which for me is NW, NE, SE, SW!). 26A was the only clue that I starred as notable, and it was quite a good one I thought.
| Across | |
| 1 | SOPHISTICATED – (docs hepatitis)* |
| 8 | CATAMARAN – CA=about, TAMAR=river, A N=name. “must be” is perhaps superfluous since “is” would have been fine on all levels. |
| 13 | ROAST – R(ight) in front of OAST=kiln. A true chestnut this one, the roast/oast combination. |
| 14 | ARBORETUM – MUTE=quiet, ROB=chap, RA=artist, all reversed. The whole is “large garden”. Given the first and last checkers the answer was always obvious, so reverse filling the word play becomes interesting when the “quiet chap” starts as the BORE!!! |
| 15 | COLLIER – COLLIE=dog, R=run. Did not know the ship so much as the miner, but there had to be one! |
| 16 | PEACEFULNESS – (face sun sleep)*, semi &lit |
| 17 | BRILLIANCE – (can i be)* outside of RILL=stream, for the sparkle. |
| 18 | LOTION – TI = titanium, inside LOON=fool |
| 19 | TOILSOME – OILS=paintings in TOME=book |
| 21 | TAHITI – A HIT=blow, inside T(sunam)I – this island comes up far more often in crosswords than statistics should permit! |
| 24 | BUDGERIGAR – BUDGER=one moving, around RIG=equipment, and A=ace. The whole is “flyer” which should have been lifted and separated from ace. |
| 26 | COUSIN GERMAN – USING=exploiting, ER=queen, MA=mother, all in CON=swindle. The whole is just “relative”. Big thumbs up here for getting a lot of word play into a very short surface, matching up the exploiting and swindle parts, and the subtle underlier that the queen mum was german. |
| 29 | VISA – VI=virgin islands, SA=sex appeal=it |
| 30 | CREDIBLE – C(ustome)R then EDIBLE=”food is so tolerable”. Whole is “convincing” |
| 31 | ARPEGGIO – (opera gig)* |
| 34 | CARNIVAL – CAR=vehicle, IN (reversing) (o)VAL = ellipse, not circle. Definition is fiesta, which happily for the surface is also a make of car. |
| 35 | ALOE VERA – A LOVER (girlfriend perhaps) about E(asily) then A, for the cosmetic. |
| 36 | WARD – D(emocrat) on WAR, for the voting area. |
| 39 | PSYCHOTROPIC – (copy ostrich)* after P(it) (or perhaps all together in the anagrist) |
| 40 | WELLINGTON – WELL=very much, IN, G=good, TON=style |
| 43 | EDDIED – ED=editor DIED=passed on |
| 44 | VEGETATE – GET AT=attack, in VEE=flying formation. Def = do very little. |
| 45 | MIRROR – first letters of M(ongrel) I(n) R(hodesian) R(idgeback) O(r) R(ottweiler) |
| 49 | INDUSTRIAL – IN=at home, DUST=remains, RIAL=middle eastern money |
| 51 | FIT AS A FIDDLE – double def, one just being “very well” |
| 53 | EVIDENT – ID inside, EVENT=public occasion. |
| 54 | PRECEDING – P(arishioners) RE=concerned with, CE=church, DING=bell’s sound. Whole=introducing. |
| 55 | ARENA – hidden reverse – egA RENAel |
| 56 | TOKEN VOTE – TO KEN=chap, (veto)*, for the whole which I had to look up afterwards – “parliaments way of proposing money” |
| 57 | DISINTERESTED – (edited inserts)* |
| Down | |
| 1 | STRIP CLUB – cryptic definition |
| 2 | PEASANT – ANT=worker perhaps, with PEAS=vegetables. Whole is RUSTIC (not rustic worker) |
| 3 | IN THE MONEY – IN=among, THEM=those people, ONE=individual, (ver)Y. Whole is wealthy |
| 4 | TEACUP – PUT (reversed) around (r)EAC(h) |
| 5 | CABINET MAKER – T=tonnes, inside CARBINE MAKER, without its third letter. Whole is “craftsman” |
| 6 | TURNSPIT – TURNS=goes, PIT=mine |
| 7 | DUTY – I guessed this must be DUSTY, that has had its heart removed, but didnt quite sit well for me as “old fashioned” |
| 8 | COMPROMISE – COME, outside PROM=concert IS. for the bargain |
| 9 | TACKLE – TALE=story, about (ba)CK. |
| 10 | MULTIFACETED – F=fine, inside (die cut metal)*. Definition is “Diamonds are so” |
| 11 | REIGN – G=good inside REIN=check, for prevail. |
| 12 | NORWEGIAN WOOD – fairly weak double/crytic definition hybrid. More like a clue out of a general knowledge jumbo. |
| 20 | SHOULDER – SMOULDER=burn slowly, with H=hot for M=mins. |
| 22 | IMMIGRANT – I’M MIT(e) around GRAN=nana. Cannot hear this word without thinking about Stewart Lee’s EMIGRANT joke, along the lines of “Emigrants Eh? who needs them, going over THERE, taking THEIR jobs, sleeping with THEIR women !! ” |
| 23 | AIRCRAFT – AIR=broadcast, CAR AFT = car behind (less A for area) |
| 25 | DESTROYED – S=small TROY=city of old, in DEED= heroic exploit. |
| 27 | NORMALLY – NO = not one, M=motorway in RALLY=car race. |
| 28 | HILLSIDE – ILLS=problems, inside HIDE = concealed shelter. |
| 29 | VICE PRESIDENT – (respect divine)* |
| 32 | LICHTENSTEIN – LEICHTENSTEIN being the country, take the E=english away for the pop art artist Roy. |
| 33 | REGENERATION – RE=concerning GENERATION=teenagers perhaps. Bit of an odd clue this one all in all. |
| 37 | FOR EXAMPLE – FO=foreign office, AMPLE=more than enough, around REX=king. Whole is just “say”. |
| 38 | INVIGILATE – INVITE=encourage, (gail)* inside |
| 41 | NURSEMAID – (am insured)* |
| 42 | GAMINESS – GAMINES=boyish girls. around S=son. |
| 46 | RED MEAT – sounds like READ, MEET ! |
| 47 | GROTTO – GROTT(y), O=round |
| 48 | WANGLE – W=women’s ANGLE=viewpoint |
| 50 | DRINK – (serve)D, with RINK=piece of ice |
| 52 | TEND – CONTEND=struggle, without the cON=prisoner. |
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