Times Cryptic Jumbo 1339: Cracking Toast

1 Reduction in aid given to church body (7)
CHASSIS – ASSIS{t} [“reduction in” aid] given to CH [church]

5 Mazdaist works printed and published secretly (8)
SAMIZDAT – (MAZDAIST*) [“works”]

9 Cheap, silly rings he passed on (3-3)
TWO-BIT – TWIT [silly] “rings” OB [he passed on]

13 Top brickie partnering Greek miss in series of films (7,3,6)
WALLACE AND GROMIT – WALL ACE [top brickie, ha ha] + AND GR OMIT [partnering | Greek | miss]

14 Poor quality gifts? Not from Santa’s place! (6)
GROTTO – GROT TO [poor quality gifts? | not from]

16 Appropriate the second person’s no longer veiled (8)
STEALTHY – STEAL THY [appropriate | the second person’s, “no longer”]

17 Reduced pollination from the right shrub (4)
ANIL – hidden reversed in {pol}LINA{tion}

18 Left home after resolving troubles, those often exaggerated? (9)
MOLEHILLS – (L HOME*) [“after resolving”] + ILLS [troubles]. “Making mountains out of molehills”

20 Firm found to be outside law, slightly corrupt (8)
STALWART – START [found] “to be outside” (LAW*) [“slightly corrupt”]

21 Madly in love with Catholic maybe embracing pacifism (11)
NONVIOLENCE – (IN LOVE*) [“madly”], with NON-CE [Catholic maybe] “embracing” it

24 A letter from abroad, apart from anything else making you smile? (9)
AMUSINGLY – A MU SINGLY [a | letter from abroad | apart from anything else]

25 Popular session I vote to join (8)
INTERMIX – IN TERM I X [popular | session | I | vote]

26 Fruit starts off as cold as ice (4)
ACAI – A{s} C{old} A{s} I{ce}

29 Where CO passes, putting fag out in front of churchwarden? (7,4)
EXHAUST PIPE – putting EXHAUST [fag out] in front of PIPE [churchwarden?]

31 Source of energy cuts old British PM’s entertaining? (5,3,3)
NORTH SEA GAS – E [energy] cuts NORTH’S A GAS [old British PM’s entertaining], &lit.

33 Did Nick pop back before hotel closed? (11)
APPREHENDED – PA reversed [pop “back”] + PRE H ENDED [before | hotel | closed]

36 Fitting act by doctor, attending sick (11)
DOVETAILING – DO [act] by VET [doctor], attending AILING [sick]

38 Capital made out of party hat being too small (4)
DOHA – DO [party] + HA{t}. Capital city of Qatar.

39 Intended answer not exactly reflecting Oxbridge life? (8)
ACADEMIA – reverse all of AIMED A CA [intended | answer | not exactly]

41 General going with model to get plastered (9)
ROUGHCAST – ROUGH [general] going with CAST [model]

44 Got down without delay, oddly finding nothing (6-5)
DIDDLY-SQUAT – DID SQUAT [got down], “without” D{e}L{a}Y

45 Mass killer one time leaving a pair of graves (4,4)
ATOM BOMB – A + TOMB {t}OMB [pair of graves, with one T leaving]

48 Ace TV show’s without energy however (2,2,5)
AS IT COMES – A SITCOM’S [ace | TV show’s] “without” E [energy]

49 Form of agreement extended by adding a second? (4)
OKAY – OK is a form of agreement, which can be extended by adding AY, a second form of agreement, and I guess the whole is a sort of &lit?

50 Satellite receiver to come down after swapping three components (8)
MINIDISH – DIMINISH [come down], with three letters (D, M, N) moving around

52 In position I maybe must make new place base (6)
PLINTH – if position A is 1, B is 2, etc, position I is NINTH. Make N [new] into PL [place] and you have a base. Whew!

53 Old police series with Oxford DCI keen on good puzzling (5,2,4,5)
DIXON OF DOCK GREEN – (OXFORD DCI KEEN ON G*) [“puzzling”]

54 What garden’s left with after hurricane’s finished off? (6)
NOSHED – or NO SHED, what garden might be left with after a hurricane, ha ha.

55 Decline to be seen in a white coat normally (3,5)
SKI SLOPE – cryptic definition, for a usually snow-covered downhill incline

56 Shot provider of duff gen on country at war briefly (7)
SYRINGE – (GEN*) [“duff”] on SYRI{a} [country at war, “briefly”]

DOWN
1 Not merely one’s desire to be as neat? (6)
COWISH – a CO-WISH being a desire shared between two people, ha ha. Neat being a word for cows, “as neat” here = likes cows!

2 Poisoner keeps being sheltered, having got off (6)
ASLEEP – ASP [poisoner] keeps LEE [being sheltered]

3 Composer in obscurity mostly rich, at last (9)
SCARLATTI – (RIC{h} AT LAST*) [“in obscurity”]

4 Fume descending on delicate twig (3,3,5)
SEE THE LIGHT – SEETHE [fume] descending on LIGHT [delicate]

5 Perfume to be picked up and dispatched (4)
SENT – homophone of SCENT [perfume]

6 A long time in reorganising unsuccessful defence (7,4)
MAGINOT LINE – (A LONG TIME IN*) [“reorganising”]. Didn’t stop the Germans from invading France in WWII.

7 Life drifting round Australia turned idiot on, crossing desert finally (11)
ZOOPLANKTON – reversed O OZ [round | Australia, “turned”] + PLANK ON [idiot | on], “crossing” {deser}T

8 When a child one must visit the old country (4,5)
ASIA MINOR – AS A MINOR [when a child], I [one] “must visit”

10 Connecting tunnel in theory hard, without right tunneller around (8)
WORMHOLE – H [hard], W/O R MOLE [without | right | tunneller] “around”

11 String player’s jamming style? (10,6)
BOTTLENECK GUITAR – this is a style of playing guitar where bottleneck suggests a different type of jamming, ha ha!

12 Sounds a warning that is for one on foot (7)
TOOTSIE – TOOTS I.E. [sounds a warning | that is]

15 Look up conceivably rather dreadful version of Gaelic (3,5)
OLD IRISH – reversed LO [look “up”] + DIRISH [conceivably, rather dreadful]

19 Genteel field day arranged (8)
LADYFIED – (FIELD DAY*) [“arranged”]

22 Part of Cumbria legend where eg European turns into pack leader (8)
LAKELAND – take the word LEGEND, then turn the EG E in the middle into AKELA [scout pack leader]

23 Carry out raising of platforms, admitting one to have been buried (4,2,3,7)
PUSH UP THE DAISIES – PUSH UP THE DAISES [carry out raising of platforms!] “admitting” I [one]

27 More than one enlightening moment sadly isn’t (sigh) (8)
INSIGHTS – (ISN’T SIGH*) [“sadly”]

28 Sci-fi knights turned up alongside jail guards (4)
JEDI – hidden reversed in {alongs}IDE J{ail}

30 Set of 45s, maybe, but no new instruments (4)
UKES – {n}UKES [set of 45ac = atom bombs, minus N for new]

32 Water deity’s way, protecting quartet thus (5,3)
RIVER GOD – RD [way] “protecting” IV ERGO [quarter | thus]

34 Former copper and spy chief in court getting pardon (6,2)
EXCUSE ME – EX CU [former | copper] + M [spy chief] in SEE [court]

35 Old creatures trampled, breaking into bits across pond (11)
DIMETRODONS – TROD ON [trampled], “breaking into” DIMES [bits, across pond]

36 Do add a dose — a shot — and absolutely no more (4,2,1,4)
DEAD AS A DODO – (DO ADD A DOSE A*) [“shot”]

37 They can be depressed by what it takes to hitch-hike! (11)
THUMBPIECES – cryptic def, you need your thumb to hitch-hike, and you use it to press a thumbpiece

40 Piece of chicken held in the kitchen? (9)
DRUMSTICK – double def, where the “kitchen” is a percussion section

42 Fabulous example of bell doubling as buzzer? (9)
HUMDINGER – a DINGER is a bell, but a HUM is a buzz, so…

43 Formal attire not to have any connection with bishop (5,3)
BLACK TIE – LACK TIE [not to have any connection], with B [bishop]

44 Notice secretary’s put in study unable to be read? (7)
DEADPAN – AD PA [notice | secretary] is put in DEN [study]

46 Old judge of mine, reflecting over a long period (6)
GIDEON – reversed DIG [mine, “reflecting”] over EON [a long period]

47 Beef joint presented by wife (6)
WHINGE – HINGE [joint] presented by W [wife]

51 In speech, throws in something cutting (4)
ADZE – homophone of ADDS [throws in]