Times Boxing Day Jumbo 1069

Author   helenoughamPosted on Categories Jumbo Cryptic
I thought this was on the challenging side, with some clever but complex clues.

As ever, * indicates an anagram.

Across
1 BUDGETING – BUDGE + TIN + G
6 BAILIFF – AIL in BIFF
10 BIPED – I + P, in BED
13 SOUTHEND-ON-SEA – hidden in crosS OUT HENDON SEArching. Quite a feat to come up with a phrase long enough to conceal this 13-letter place-name!
14 GLENGARRY – (gang rarely)*. A GLENGARRY is a traditional Scots cap
15 ILLNESS – stILLNESS
16 ACETONE – ACE + TONE
17 SKIMMED – KIM, in S + MED (short for Mediterranean)
18 OLD SCHOOL TIE – (oilcloth does)*
20 SWEATPANTS – SEAT (indicated by ‘have places for’) around W, + PANTS (indicated by ‘rubbish’)
23 DOGMA – god (reversed), + MA
24 KIWI FRUIT – IF in WRU, + I, in KIT
25 PARVENU – PAR + VENUs. ‘star’ in the broader sense can indicate a planet
26 WITH KNOBS ON – WIT + H + KNOBS, + no (reversed)
28 STOMACH PUMP – STOMACH, + PUMP (as in ‘pumping iron’)
30 COME TO A HEAD – COME TO + AHEAD
32 SITTING DUCK – IT surrounded by STING, + DUCK (avoid)
34 MONGREL – MOREL around NG
36 EXFOLIANT – (leaf toxin)*. I’m not sure I would have described an exfoliant as a cosmetic. Nice anagram, though!
38 AMBER – cAMBER
39 RAINFOREST – IN FOR, + EST (short for established), by RA, who was regarded as the creator god by some ancient Egyptians
41 REGIME CHANGE – (EGM cheering a)*
45 BY THE BY – TH in BYE-BYe
46 WYOMING – sounds like ‘why owe Ming’
47 GORIEST – GlORIES + T
49 DEATH BELL – cryptic definition
50 DIGITAL CAMERA – another cryptic definition
52 MOTET – MOTE + That’s
53 SHADOWY – AD (short for advertisement, defined by ‘flier’), in SHOWY
54 EMPIRE DAY – (aimed prey)*

Down
1 BUSHIDO – B + US, + HID O. BUSHIDO is an old Japanese military code of honour
2 DOUBLE-DIGIT – cryptic definition, referring to a V-sign
3 ETHNE – hidden in teETH NEed
4 IONESCO – I + O + uNESCO
5 GOO – GOOf
6 BAS-RELIEF – BELIEF around A SR
7 IN A ROW – INA + ROW
8 IT GOES WITHOUT SAYING – IT (sex appeal) + GOES WITHOUT + SAYING
9 FREESIA – FREES, + AI (reversed)
10 BIG DIPPER – BAG + DAPPER, with A replaced by I in both words
11 PORTMANTEAU – (o apartment)* + U
12 DRYAD – DRY, + AD (advertisement again)
16 ABLE WAS I ERE I SAW ELBA – a well-known palindrome referring to Napoleon
19 CRACK IT – CRACK, + IT (information technology)
21 STUD POKER – POKER (‘stabbing person’), after STUD
22 TUTSIS – TUT, + SIS (Secret Intelligence Service)
23 DOWNCOMER – CO, in DOWN + MERe. This word, meaning a kind of pipe in a boiler, isn’t in Chambers
24 KNOWALL – parK, + NO WALL. I’m not sure about ‘One’s unlikely to pass’ as the definition – some people who think they know it all are actually pretty knowledgeable!
25 PIANIST – cryptic indication
27 NOD OFF – NO (type of Japanese drama), + DO + FF
29 HOGWASH – HOG (indicated by appropriate, as in keep for oneself) + W + ASH
31 MENAI STRAIT – (in E I am start)*
33 URBAN LEGEND – URBAN (pope) + LEG-END
35 RIFLE SHOT – FLESH in RIOT
37 LEERINGLY – (ill energy)*. But doesn’t ‘Looking unpleasantly’ in the clue indicate LEERING rather than LEERingly?
40 RHYMERS – RHYS, around MER (French for ‘sea’)
42 EGG FLIP – EG + Game + FLIP
43 ESTUARY – (a rusty shade)*. ‘Flower’ here has the good old crossword meaning of ‘river’
44 HOODOO – sounds like ‘who do’
45 BEDIM – alternate (even) letters of ‘breed bit me’
48 RE-AIR – I in REAR
51 TIE – double definition

8 comments on “Times Boxing Day Jumbo 1069”

  1. Thanks, setter and blogger – yes a tough, challenging and entertaining, puzzle that provided much enjoyment over the holiday. KNOWALL had me stumped for a while as I thought a KNOWALL would surely pass (an exam) – then quite a bit later I thought of Mastermind and I guess that is what is intended.
  2. is indeed a cosmetic. For the removal of dead skin – not leaves, as the name might suggest.
    1. With its ‘dead skin’ meaning, I would have classified an exfoliant as a toiletry rather than a cosmetic, since I would look for it with the cleansing products, not in the ‘cosmetics’ section of a shop. However I agree that according to most dictionary definitions, the terms ‘cosmetic’ and toiletry are more or less synonymous, so the above is just a personal opinion!
  3. This was a new word for me that I managed to work out from the wordplay and verified after. It’s in both Collins and the Concise OED. If memory serves from the clue-writing competitions on the Times site, these were indicated as the dicts used by Times setters. Still rather surprising though that it is not in Chambers.
    1. Downcomer is not in my Chambers, but down-come is, so I suppose the extra r is not a huge leap of the imagination
      The Times policy on sources is deliberately unclear, since although they do cite the COD and Collins as main references, they won’t say they use them exclusively. don’t much mind that myself, since I think it’s best just to get used to solving clues whether or not you have met the word before, as anyone who does the mephisto etc must…
      1. I don’t think one would be advised to ignore Chambers. I’d say the Times policy is necessarily flexible, rather than deliberately unclear
        1. one man’s necessary flexibility is another’s deliberate unclarity. I meant no criticism and in this context see those motives as synonymous.
          don’t much like anonymous comments, btw; they seem discourteous
    2. Yes – although I never assume that all answers in a Times puzzle can be found in Chambers, I did think that this was a surprising omission.

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