Times cryptic Jumbo 1351

Author   PenfoldPosted on Categories Jumbo Cryptic
This was tricky wasn’t it?  I needed an hour to complete it and needed a bit of assistance to tease out some Mephisto-ish words.

First in was GOUACHE and I forgot to note the last entry but it was probably CRAPPIE

Clues are in blue with the definition underlined.  Different brackets mean different things:

Square to expand a standard crossword abbreviation: L[eft]

Wiggly to denote letters not used:{afterthough}T

Rounded followed by a * to indicate anagram fodder: (forded)*

Rounded to add clarification: cool (as in trendy)

New for this season, anagram indicators in bold italics: supply

Deletions are denoted by strikeout

CD = cryptic definition, DD = double definition, I guess other stuff is spelled out for you.


Across

1
Vivacity initially held back mischief-maker (6)

SPRITE – ESPRIT with the E chucked to the end.  It’s a pity this was 1 across and not 7 up.

5
Artist’s medium discomfort after short illness (7)

GOUACHE – ACHE after GOUt.  Apparently Viagra is very good for gout… it doesn’t relieve the symptoms as such but it helps keep the duvet off your toe in the night.

9
Meandering soldiers put in charge (8)

INDIRECT – R[oyal] E[ngineers] in INDICT

13
It’s evident prison transmuted a modern criminal (4,4,13)

QUOD ERAT DEMONSTRANDUM – QUOD + (transmuted a modern)*.  I didn’t know QUOD could mean prison and I intially had QUAD, underlining my lack of a classical education.

14
Chinese finally sought after car dealer (8)

MERCHANT – HAN {sough}T after MERC[edes]

15
Satellite rattles when blown about (7)

TELSTAR – (rattles)*

16
Sweet nothing, with husband being ace (6)

NOUGAT – NOUGHT with H[usband] replaced with A[ce]

17
Sharp stuff from fault-finder having delayed resistance with drug (6,4)

CITRIC ACID – CRITIC with the R[esistance] moved back + ACID (LSD)

20
Tense one working and failing (12)

IMPERFECTION -IMPERFECT + I + ON

23
Evens out site of a portico (4)

STOA – S{i}T{e}O{f}A

24
River bird one’s seen on a ship (8)

TAFFRAIL – TAFF + RAIL.  My daughter was offering her help with this and I told her that the definition had to be either River or Ship.  Nope.

26
Sacked on Thursday, was very sore? (8)

THROBBED – ROBBED on (after in an across clue) TH[ursday]

29
Totter up with beer, welcoming old musical style (12)

COUNTERPOINT – COUNTER + O[ld] in PINT

30
School subject one grasped by quiet determination (10)

RESILIENCE – R[eligious] E[ducation] + I in SILENCE

32
Man stops erring by a crude vice (10)

DEBAUCHERY – HE in (byacrude)*

34
Riding train, the setter’s giving nothing away (12)

INEXPRESSIVE – IN, EXPRESS, I’VE

36
Bit by bit, returned animals with good sense (8)

STEPWISE – PETS reversed + WISE

38
Referred to broadcast, ignoring one’s daughter (8)

ADVERTED – ADVERTisE + D[aughter].  Don’t recall seeing ADVERT as a verb before.

39
Ball and function from the right country club (4)

NATO – O TAN[gent] reversed

41
For high tea, do supply alcohol (4,2,3,3)

HAIR OF THE DOG – (for high tea do)*

43
Fake news to support a leaderless country (10)

PROPAGANDA – PROP, A, uGANDA

44
He won’t accept obsolete coin (6)

DENIER – DD

46
Live in perfect tower (7)

MINARET – ARE in MINT

48
On the point of retiring, cut expenditure (8)

OUTGOING – OUTGOINGs

50
Very effusive towards semiotician, with hard journey nearly done (3,4,3,3,8)

ALL OVER BAR THE SHOUTING – ALL OVER + BARTHES + H[ard] + OUTING.  Roland Gérard Barthes was a French literary theorist, philosopher, linguist, critic, and semiotician.  Never heard of him.

51
French novel all told briefly after the beginning (8)

GERMINAL – IN ALl after GERM.  A novel by Émile Zola.  Even with the answer in I wasn’t sure if the definition was French novel or after the beginning.

52
Article by poet is going slowly (7)

ANDANTE – AN, DANTE

53
Revealing hypocrisy in empty society (6)

SCANTY – CANT in SocietY

Down

2
Announcer’s maximum annoyance (5)

PIQUE – Sounds like (announcer’s) peak

3
Press impatient with a current political barrier (4,7)

IRON CURTAIN – IRON, CURT, A, IN

4
Agreed to don rotten cheat’s pirate garb? (8)

EYEPATCH – YEP in (cheat)*

5
President with the heart for angry demagogy (5)

GRANT – {an}G{ry} RANT

6
Modernised vans from urban parade went out together (7)

UPDATED – First letters (vans) of U{rban} P{arade} + DATED

7
Appeal in protest, offering help (11)

COMPLAISANT – S[ex] Appeal] in COMPLAINT

8
Artist is in Paris, taking in Rodin on vacation (5)

ERNST – EST (French for is) around R{odin}N (on vacation meaning having been vacated).  Max of that ilk, the German surrealist.

9
Pen triter works to read (9)

INTERPRET – (pentriter)*

10
Dog’s head drops down (5)

DRAIN – D{og} RAIN

11
Increase housing bill, inspiring fear (11)

REDOUBTABLE – REDOUBLE around TAB

12
Recalled old party host holding English stringed instrument (7)

CEMBALO – reversal of O[ld] LAB[our] and E[nglish] in M[aster of] C[eremonies]

18
A shy person, traveller stops during races (9)

INTROVERT – ROVER in IN T[ourist] T[rophy]

19
Fish caught by one in paper, wriggling (7)

CRAPPIE – C[aught] + I in (paper)*.  These aren’t on the menu in our chippy.

21
Animal in parable, or in another form (5,4)

POLAR BEAR – (parable or)*

22
Recruiter in French car (8)

ENROLLER – EN (French for in) + ROLLER (slang for Rolls Royce)

25
Female to get around breezy, fantastic place (9)

FAIRYLAND – F[emale] LAND around AIRY

27
Old wine unruly adolescent brought up (9)

EXCAVATED – EX, CAVA, TED (I can hear Dorest Jimbo growling from here, teds weren’t necessarily unruly)

28
Covering king and a couple of leaders (8)

KERCHIEF – K[ing], E.R., CHIEF

31
Boss has drink, on second (7)

SUPREMO – SUP, RE, MO

33
According to girl I don’t know, this is a sprinkler (11)

ASPERGILLUM – AS PER, GILL, UM…  for a holy water sprinkler

34
Lively home by Spanish city esteemed highly (11)

INVIGORATED – IN, VIGO, RATED

35
Visitor for Christmas day, one around US resort (5,6)

SANTA MONICA – SANTA, MON[day], I, C[irc]A

37
Passing border in record time, heading for Laos (9)

EPHEMERAL – HEM in E.P. ERA, L{aos}

40
Trust man to train pets (8)

TANTRUMS – (trustman)*

42
Mean, say, to be getting on (7)

AVERAGE – AVER, AGE

43
Technique for selling new design (7)

PATTERN – PATTER, N[ew]

45
Flier‘s welcome in armed service (5)

RAVEN – AVE in R[oyal] N[avy]

47
US cities hosting a creature from Africa (5)

NYALA – N[ew] Y[ork] & L[os] A[ngeles] around A

48
Missile launch site shelters right in the shade (5)

OCHRE – OCHE around R[ight].  Oche as in darts as in Sid Waddell as in:

“William Tell could take an apple off your head, Taylor could take out a processed pea.”

“Cliff is off and looking for something yellow in a tall glass – and I don’t mean daffodils”

“Eric’s chops covered in lipstick – like he’d been mugged by an Avon lady.”

“Hitting that bull – as good a feeling as Jason and the lads finding the fleece.”


49
Almost time for parting word (5)

NIGHT – NIGH, T[ime].  And it’s goodnight from me.

6 comments on “Times cryptic Jumbo 1351”

  1. I had 13ac right away, knowing QUOD, but I thought it was DEMONSTRATUM–I have no classical ed either. A couple of definitions I thought odd: ‘determination’ is hardly the same thing as RESILIENCE, and a pet is hardly a TANTRUM. Also a couple of pretty ugly surfaces, like 17ac. 50ac more or less jumped out at me from ‘semiotician’ and the enumeration (I like Sperber and Wilson’s characterization of semiotics: “academic success and intellectual bankruptcy”). COD to NATO.
    1. I quite liked pet in the sense that, like a tantrum, it is a childish fit, but you are right that sulking is not the same as throwing your toys out of the pram. I’m sure I’ve see a similar clue somewhere recently so I wasn’t fooled by the potential misdirection. I enjoyed NATO too, although O for ball is a bit cheeky.
  2. Yes. I found this tricky too, taking an hour and quarter to finish. Several unknowns needed checking… GOUCHE I knew of only as a chocolate filling in posh chocs, never heard of semiotics, let alone M BARTHES, ADVERT as a verb, GERMINAL and ASPERGILLUM – so a similar experience to you. At least I got the definition right at 24a at the first attempt. Thanks for the reminder of the legendary darts commentator. REDOUBTABLE my favourite. It’s time I took up bridge again.
  3. Yet another veil required as I struggled for 126:32 with occasional use of Google, and still managed to get TERMINAL for GERMINAL. I didn’t know the book and could make no sense of the wordplay. Thanks setter and Penfold, especially for the reminder of Sid!

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