Hello everyone. The year is becoming less new, but I hope it is proving happy for you.
I solved this on my phone in bed, gently falling asleep, but still the grid was full in around half an hour. I don’t race the clock but am pretty sure I’ve never solved a Jumbo faster than that. Naturally I managed to spoil it all by making a silly spelling error.
While solving my mood was mainly sleepiness plus surprise that it was all so tractable, so I have little else to add here, but I have jotted a few comments by individual clues below. Many thanks setter!
Definitions are underlined in the clues below. In the explanations, quoted indicators are in italics, explicit [deletions] are in square brackets, and I’ve capitalised and emboldened letters which appear in the ANSWER. For clarity, I omit most link words and some juxtaposition indicators.
| Across | |
| 1 | Small home in the middle of Glamorgan (5) |
| MINOR — IN (home) is in the middle of GlaMORgan | |
| 4 | I am leading queen into tea — an impossible dream (7) |
| CHIMERA — I’M (I am) before (leading) ER (queen), both going into in CHA (tea) | |
| 8 | Cruel oppressor of soldiers trapped between hills (9) |
| TORMENTOR — MEN (soldiers) trapped between TOR and TOR (hills) | |
| 13 | Aware of arguments against Conservative debt records (9) |
| CONSCIOUS — CONS (arguments against) + C (Conservative) + IOUS (debt records) | |
| 14 | Go-cart happily crashed? Concerning how this looks (13) |
| TYPOGRAPHICAL — GO–CART HAPPILY anagrammed (crashed) | |
| 15 | Ham left unused by function (7) |
| OVERACT — OVER (left unused) by ACT (function) | |
| 16 | What measures flow encountered in a lake mostly (7) |
| AMMETER — MET (encountered) in A MERe (lake) without the last letter (mostly) | |
| 17 | Worked in steel able to be drawn into wire (7) |
| TENSILE — An anagram of (worked) IN STEEL | |
| 18 | Fruitful interaction smashing socialist frontiers (5-13) |
| CROSS-FERTILISATION — An anagram of (smashing) SOCIALIST FRONTIERS | |
| 21 | Accommodation in archaeological sites (4) |
| DIGS — A double definition | |
| 23 | Mine utterly, I admitted, is in a poor way (9) |
| PITIFULLY — PIT (mine) and FULLY (utterly) with I inserted (admitted) | |
| 25 | The setter after knowledge — nothing for recipe for life, perhaps (6) |
| GENOME — ME (the setter) after GEN (knowledge) and O (nothing) | |
| 26 | Chaperone expected girl back (6) |
| DUENNA — DUE (expected) + ANN (girl) reversed (back) | |
| 28 | One whose pics are grotesque and scare rich naturists when stripped (12) |
| CARICATURIST — sCARe rICh nATURISTs without outer letters (when stripped) | |
| 30 | Hurry pudding perhaps where plates can be taken by fast finishers? (10) |
| RACECOURSE — RACE (hurry) + COURSE (pudding perhaps). At time of solving I thought the plates in the definition referred to photos, taken when there is a photo finish. Unconvinced by that in the light of day, I investigated and found that a plate is a light racing horseshoe. Then a friend pointed out that plates can be trophies, and I would put my money on this being the intended meaning. Place your bets below | |
| 33 | London, say, is Marx’s first subject of his book (10) |
| CAPITALISM — CAPITAL (London, say) + IS + Marx’s first letter | |
| 34 | Again give out warning sign one second before salute (12) |
| REDISTRIBUTE — RED (warning sign) + I (one) + S (second) + TRIBUTE (salute) | |
| 37 | Optical lab equipment — number dead to be returned (6) |
| ETALON — NO (number) and LATE (dead) is to be reversed (returned). A new word for me, although I did know about (and have memories of answering exam questions on) the Fabry-Pérot interferometer, which appears to be essentially the same thing | |
| 39 | Attitude of man heading up church (6) |
| STANCE — STAN (man) preceding (heading up) CE (church) | |
| 40 | Formatted text in page before a newspaper strike had advert removed (9) |
| PARAGRAPH — P (page) + A + RAG (newspaper) + RAP (strike) + H[ad] with AD (advert) removed | |
| 42 | Scruff needing new mirror (4) |
| NAPE — N (new) + APE (mirror). The surface here made me smile | |
| 43 | Banned chemical initially shared with Chelsea Football Club? (18) |
| CHLOROFLUOROCARBON — Chelsea Football Club shares its initials, CFC, with the answer. Speaking of memories, there was a large spray-painted “CFC” on a wall by my old school playground for years, and I always assumed it was a reference to the medium used until I became aware of the second possibility | |
| 46 | Try catching the ling (7) |
| HEATHER — HEAR (try) around (catching) THE. Weird to see our old friend “ling” in plain sight in the clue instead of being part of the answer! | |
| 47 | Obsessive, yes, suffering break down (7) |
| ANALYSE — ANAL (obsessive) + YES anagrammed (suffering) | |
| 48 | Agency transport (7) |
| VEHICLE — Two definitions | |
| 50 | See company returning a small sofa, in short a thing to watch (5,8) |
| VIDEO CASSETTE — VIDE (see, Latin) + CO (company) reversed (returning) + A + S (small) + SETTEe (sofa) without the last letter (in short). My parents still have a few of these, but I would struggle to find a working video player now! | |
| 51 | Very urgent, I have to accept court order (9) |
| DIRECTIVE — DIRE (very urgent) and I’VE (I have) with the insertion of (to accept) CT (court) | |
| 52 | Say, Oregon and Washington‘s net worth’s staggering! (9) |
| NORTHWEST — NET WORTH‘S anagrammed (staggering) | |
| 53 | Perhaps club losing three seconds cost series (7) |
| COTERIE — Without thee S’s (losing three seconds), CO[s]T [s]ERIE[s] | |
| 54 | Smallest son seen in millstream (5) |
| LEAST — S (son) is seen in LEAT (millstream) | |
| Down | |
| 1 | Routines on computer busy with integrated circuit, as may be easily seen (11) |
| MACROSCOPIC — MACROS (routines on a computer) + COP (busy, slang) + IC (integrated circuit) | |
| 2 | No new cents and euros initially coined for a specific occasion (5) |
| NONCE — NO + N (new) + C (cents) and the first letter of (… initially) Euros | |
| 3 | Putting in a new order clarifies actions unusually (16) |
| RECLASSIFICATION — CLARIFIES ACTIONS anagrammed (unusually) | |
| 4 | Laugh as little time left in tedious job (7) |
| CHORTLE — T (little – abbreviation of – time) and L (left) in CHORE (tedious job) | |
| 5 | Where many Falklanders are missing English, tons invading at once (9) |
| INSTANTLY — IN STANL[e]Y (where many Falklanders are) without E (missing English), with T (tons) inserted (invading) | |
| 6 | Who might study moths flying on gloomiest night, ultimately (12) |
| ENTOMOLOGIST — An anagram of (flying) ON GLOOMIEST + the last letter of (… ultimately) nighT. This was my careless error – “entymologist” even though the fodder is clear and I do know the right spelling | |
| 7 | Yum-Yum, a favourite I perform in operetta after pressure (10) |
| APPETISING — A + PET (favourite), I and SING (perform in operetta), after P (pressure) | |
| 8 | Dynamic individual initially got involved in row (5) |
| TIGER — The first letter of (initially) Got involved in TIER (row) | |
| 9 | Feedback concerning first part of play being performed (8) |
| REACTION — RE (concerning) + ACT I (first part of play) + ON (being performed) | |
| 10 | Gas more than ever needs to be produced (6) |
| ETHANE — To produce this embedded answer from the clue we need a source that contains it, which in this case is morE THAN Ever | |
| 11 | Careful planner‘s account on getting into wreck of Titanic (9) |
| TACTICIAN — AC (account) once inserted into (on getting into) an anagram (wreck) of TITANIC | |
| 12 | Wheeling smoothly, this bird gets fish (6,5) |
| ROLLER SKATE — ROLLER (bird) + SKATE (fish). Does this definition quite match with the answer? I would have it as roller skate = wheel smoothly or roller skating = wheeling smoothly | |
| 19 | What sticks up on land? Blooming oil-seed rape, perhaps (7) |
| OUTCROP — OUT (blooming) + CROP (oil-seed rape, perhaps) | |
| 20 | Instrument I’m cutting in a part that’s turned up (7) |
| TIMPANI — I’M inside (cutting) the reversal of (… turned up) IN + A + PT (part). The definition should be instruments, I think | |
| 22 | Like books originally set out by subject? (16) |
| AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL — A cryptic definition | |
| 24 | Small fib about not drinking before start of lunch (6) |
| LITTLE — LIE around (about) TT (not drinking, teetotal) before the first letter (start) of Lunch | |
| 27 | Delicious drink at hand keeping cold temperature (6) |
| NECTAR — NEAR (at hand) containing (keeping) C (cold) and T (temperature) | |
| 29 | Italian dish with crisp bottom but not the sides (7) |
| RISOTTO — cRISp bOTTOm missing the outer letters (but not the sides) | |
| 31 | One of the docks runs pub in central region (7) |
| RHUBARB — R (runs) + BAR (pub) in HUB (central region) | |
| 32 | Poem tenderly composed — a moving undertaking? (12) |
| REDEPLOYMENT — POEM TENDERLY anagrammed (composed) | |
| 33 | Vulgar lad seen regularly outside inclines to be barefaced (5-6) |
| CLEAN-SHAVEN — CHAV (vulgar lad) and sEeN regularly go around (outside) LEANS (inclines). Chav is derogatory slang, defined by Chambers as “Someone who appears to have access to money but not necessarily to taste” | |
| 35 | Eastern and northern Chinese people unite for beneficial change (11) |
| ENHANCEMENT — E (eastern) and N (northern) + HAN (Chinese people) + CEMENT (unite) | |
| 36 | Not loving one Italian grabbing queen wildly excited about tango (10) |
| UNROMANTIC — UNO (one, Italian) around (grabbing) R (queen) + MANIC (wildly excited) around (about) T (tango). I feel moved to point out that you can be loving without being romantic – of course, it is one perfectly valid definition, so I am now further moved to point out that this is not a quibble with the clue! | |
| 38 | One showing appreciation of a very quiet music hall comedian (9) |
| APPLAUDER — A + PP (very quiet) + LAUDER (music hall comedian, Harry Lauder) | |
| 40 | Food aerated by yeast perhaps rose up (9) |
| PROVENDER — PROVEN (aerated by yeast perhaps) + RED (rose) reversed (up). I think the “perhaps” is there because this would normally be “proved” | |
| 41 | Want game for children in beach area (8) |
| SHORTAGE — TAG (game for children) in SHORE (beach area) | |
| 44 | Heads of old British poetry (7) |
| OBVERSE — O (old) + B (British) + VERSE (poetry) | |
| 45 | Noisy movement beginning with horns over oboes sounding harshly (6) |
| WHOOSH — An acrostic of (beginning) With Horns Over Oboes Sounding Harshly. Does “beginning” work grammatically as the indicator here? | |
| 47 | Something valuable in a small collection (5) |
| ASSET — A + S (small) + SET (collection) | |
| 49 | Country in feature article (5) |
| CHINA — CHIN (feature, of the facial kind) + A (article, of the grammatical kind) | |
I agree you can be loving, without being romantic, it’s usually called being a man. The ones to watch out for are those who are romantic without loving ..
CFC seems to be quite a common abbreviation .. for example not just Chelsea but Celtic, Cowdenbeath, Chesterfield ..
Thought CHLOROFLUOROCARBONS was COD.
Edited at 2022-01-16 05:14 pm (UTC)