Times Cryptic Jumbo 1386 – just how much work is a QM expected to do?

Author   PenfoldPosted on Categories Jumbo Cryptic
Not much to say about this.  It was perfectly acceptable, occasionally witty, fare (albeit with a couple of rather odd CDs), taking around 35 minutes.

First in was MISINFORM at 1a, last was STALL.

Clues are in blue with the definition undelined.  Anagram indicators are in bold italics.

Notation:

DD: Double definition

CD: Cryptic definition

DDCDH: DD/CD hybrid where a straight definition is combined with a cryptic hint.

&Lit:  “all in one” where the entire clue is both definition and wordplay.

(fodder)* denotes an anagram of the letters in the brackets.

Rounded brackets are also used to add further clarity

Squiggly brackets {} indicate parts of a word not used

Deletions are struck out

Square brackets [] expand an abbreviation or shortening like N[orth]


Across

1
Head of Sixth leaving teacher in class to teach wrongly? (9)

MISINFORM – MISS IN FORM with S{ixth} removed

6
Fat cat running courses (7)

CROESUS – (courses)*.  Some rich king from somewhere ancient.

10
Passage in tabloid is rejected (5)

SINUS – IN SUN reversed

13
Information not available about what constitutes place of punishment (7)

GEHENNA – GEN, N/A around EH?  Precicely what form of punishment you’d get here depends on which religion you follow.  Wikipedia helpfully advises us not to confuse it with Gahanna, Ohio, where they probably object to Kings of Judah sacrificing their children by fire at the golf academy.

14
Block digital protection (5)

STALL – DD.  A finger stall wasn’t at the forefront of my mind so this was last to fall.

15
A criminal catching disease being loaded (9)

AFFLUENCE – A FENCE around FLU

16
TV ad that’ll cause some to switch over to the other side (5,9,9)

PARTY POLITICAL BROADCAST – CD

17
Bird having ring ouzel’s head and eagle’s tail (6)

HOOPOE – HOOP, O{uzel}, {eagl}E

18
Device giving go-ahead for soldiers to penetrate area that’s been shelled (3,5)

EGG TIMER – CD

19
Paint a pack of hounds with vermin cut off (7)

ACRYLIC – A, CRY, LICe.  I didn’t know that a CRY was a pack of hounds but knowledge of the paint was enough to assume that it must be.

22
Scruffy pair? Mend it and press (5,5)

PRINT MEDIA – (pair mend it)*

23
No right to get Chemistry, say, without one’s submission (12)

ACQUIESCENCE – ACQUIrE SCiENCE

27
Waste from metal symbolically rendered (5)

OFFAL – OFF, AL[uminium]

29
Mobile or mikes for bugging (7)

IRKSOME – (or mikes)*

30
Not initially fleeced, smaller lamb will be (8)

HORNLESS – sHORN, LESS. Some might he unhappy that there’s no “what a” “…” or “this” to complete the definition but I was fine with it

32
Idle fellow entertaining religious scholar with his belief system (8)

BUDDHISM – BUM around D[octor of] D[ivinity], HIS

34
A racehorse with energy in first place, one hears (7)

EARDRUM – A RED RUM with the E[nergy]moved to the front

36
Cleo cut short halfway through snake’s embrace (5)

CLASP – CLeo, ASP.  I liked the combo of Cleo and the ASP

39
Not a landowner — one with under a dozen workers? (6,6)

TENANT FARMER – He’s only got ten ants.  Geddit?

41
Artist’s endless row with journalist ultimately in newspapers (10)

SCULPTRESS – SCULl, {journalis}T in PRESS

44
Potter receiving stick for Black going down? (3,4)

CUE BALL – Whilst the surface works in terms of Harry Potter and Sirius Black the question mark is doing an anful lot of work to get the “literal” to work.  At a stretch a cue ball “receives” the stick (cue) then hits and pots the black but the “potter” is surely the player rather than the ball?  Very odd.  I spent a while trying to make B = black in some clever wordplay but don’t think I’m missing anything.

46
Sap parasites returning to infest wood, edges chewed off (8)

IMBECILE – More LICE (have we got an infestation?), this time reversed in tIMBEr

48
No longer healthy to produce emissions (6)

EXHALE – EX, HALE

50
Web firm resolved perverse incentive to rid content of art (8,7,8)

INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDER – (perverse incentive to rid)*, {a}R{t}

53
Pony tour down to exclude beginners? That’ll be without me! (2,4,3)

ON YOUR OWN – pONY tOUR dOWN.  Neat.

54
Useless writer held back by sex (5)

INEPT – PEN reversed in IT

55
Append final note — one of these? (7)

ADDENDA – ADD, END, A, semi &Lit

56
Quaint end of old cloth (5)

TWEED – TWEE {ol}D

57
Unconscious after drink, having to leave society? (4,3)

DROP OUT – OUT after DROP

58
Soldier to change sides twice (6,3)

DESERT RAT – DESERT, RAT

Down

1
Study of foolish character on horse (3,2)

MUG UP – MUG, UP

2
Swingball in one’s backyard? (6,2,9)

SPHERE OF INFLUENCE – Hmm.  Another CD where the question mark is doing a lot.  Swing is influence, a ball is a sphere, ones sphere of influence might extend to ones backyard…

3
Over-protective, vigorously criticise butter (5,4)

NANNY GOAT – NANNY (as in state), GO AT

4
Speaker setting out opposing sides of argument between two alternatives (6)

ORATOR – A{rgumen}T in OR, OR

5
Very old relative‘s problem with web page? (7,4)

MISSING LINK – DDCDH, and a good one at that.

6
Things once drawn from events worse than Boston tea party? (8)

CHARIOTS – CHA RIOTS.  Boom-boom

7
Give bribe, perhaps, for source of cosmetic ingredient (3,4)

OIL PALM – DDCDH

8
Nasty smell between cliff and unpleasant seaside resort (11)

SCARBOROUGH – B[ody] O[dour] in SCAR, ROUGH

9
Stifle vocal county rowing team (9)

SUFFOCATE – homophone of Suffolk Eight

10
Vibration from milk production centre, quiet at first (7)

SHUDDER – UDDER after SH

11
Killer policeman in Jamaica is hiding (5)

NINJA – hidden

12
Departs after show with rings round the eyes? (10)

SPECTACLED – D[eparts] after SPECTACLE

17
Fruit on Italian flower, one that’s large and fleshy (5)

HIPPO – HIP on PO

20
Outside design contractor secures head, up-and-coming Frenchman with pull (9,8)

LANDSCAPE GARDENER – LANDS, CAPE then RENE DRAG reversed.  I asked a landscape gardener to come and give me a quote for some work but he said he couldn’t help me as my garden is portrait.

21
House of stone in India (6)

GEMINI – GEM, IN, I[ndia]

24
Fruit for woman to shout about (6)

CHERRY – HER in CRY

25
Mostly hit it off, embracing love in gut reaction (5)

COLIC – CLIC{k} around O

26
Leave me out of summons, to be consistent (6)

COHERE – COme HERE

28
Young man being featured regularly in Loaded (5)

LADEN – LAD, {b}E{i}N{g}

31
Run, walk, walk (6)

RAMBLE – R[un], AMBLE

33
Mounted strike, getting unexpected rise — enthusiastic about gains via union (7,4)

MARRIES INTO – RAM reversed, (rise)*, INTO

35
Remembered to gather in grass (11)

RECOLLECTED – COLLECT in REED

37
Group of friends sit around smoking in van (5)

POSSE – POSE around S{moking}

38
Don’t give up project to introduce computers (5,2,3)

STICK IT OUT – STICK OUT around I.T.

40
Deception of one pretending to be criminal? (9)

FALSEHOOD – DDCDH.  A pretend criminal might be a false hood.

42
Socialist, the first character to get cross at elevating one cheating exchequer (3,6)

TAX EVADER – reversal of RED, A, VEX, AT

43
Wrong blood group supplied to crash in West End? (8)

OCCIDENT – ACCIDENT with O replacing A

45
A good circuit — but you won’t be able to move after running it! (7)

AGROUND – A G[ood] ROUND

47
Our Brit cooking that’s eaten in Mexico (7)

BURRITO – (our Brit)*

49
Wetland thoroughfares (6)

BROADS – B ROADS.  Never been to the Norfolk Brods, really need to put that right.

51
Your old setter, one going to pot? (5)

THYME – THY, ME

52
Tripe keeping when cooked a certain way (5)

ROAST – ROT around AS

4 comments on “Times Cryptic Jumbo 1386 – just how much work is a QM expected to do?”

  1. I didn’t know CRY either, but as Penfold says. I also didn’t get 44ac, and biffed from checkers; but now I feel OK about ‘potter’ being the ball. I was impressed by 50ac, and smiled at 6d once I got it.
  2. 35:42. I found this quite tricky. I agree on the CDs: they kind of make sense but you have to squint a bit.
  3. I also didn’t know CRY as a pack of hounds but knew the paint. I had a mer at cue ball for potter, but shrugged and moved on. My 56:16 was in vain though, as I accidentally failed to use the correct blood group at 43 down. Thanks setter and Penfold.

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