Hello everyone. This was a tricky one, I thought – and I hope you did too, because I had to use solving aids in places. Moreover, the whole thing took me a time which I could not record because, as I have now discovered, the clock on my preferred solving app stops at 99m59s …
I may make it to the champs in a week’s time for the social, but clearly would never make it to the main event! I hope all those of you lovely folk who will be attending have a great day, whether in competition or in pub – or both!
Thanks to the setter, and onwards to the parsing.
Definitions are underlined in the clues below. In the explanations, quoted indicators are in italics, [deletions] in square brackets, and I’ve capitalised and emboldened letters which appear in the ANSWER.
| Across | |
| 1 | Reach crisis point? Wake up! (4,2,1,4) |
| COME TO A HEAD — COME TO (wake) + AHEAD (up) | |
| 7 | He‘s one United put in control (6) |
| HELIUM — I (one) and U (United) put in HELM (control) | |
| 10 | Not a thing associated with involuntary movement of the ear (4) |
| OTIC — O (not a thing) next to (associated with) TIC (involuntary movement) | |
| 14 | Doctor’s endless search for places to pray (7) |
| MOSQUES — MO’S (doctor’s) and all but the last letter of (endless) QUESt (search) | |
| 15 | Fifty-peseta contracts for work as printer (7) |
| TYPESET — FifTY–PESETa loses some outer letters (contracts) to give the answer | |
| 16 | Green diesel, maybe, turning blue, if old (7) |
| BIOFUEL — An anagram of (turning) BLUE IF + O (old) | |
| 17 | Story in French of a skating hazard claiming archdeacon (5,2,6) |
| DEATH IN VENICE — DE (in French, of) + A (from the clue) + THIN ICE (skating hazard) containing (claiming) VEN (archdeacon) | |
| 18 | Pants ladies and gents put on itch (4,5) |
| LONG JOHNS — JOHNS (ladies and gents, toilets) appended to (put on) LONG (itch) | |
| 19 | Girl‘s watch in red from Latin America (5) |
| CHLOE — LO (watch) in CHE (red from Latin America) | |
| 21 | One into renewable energy, local veg? (3-7) |
| ECO-VILLAGE — I (one) goes into an anagram of (renewable) E (energy) + LOCAL VEG | |
| 23 | Pattern of fur, silver, revealed by one (6) |
| AGOUTI — AG (silver) + OUT (revealed) next to (by) I (one) | |
| 25 | Cutting plants, as Don Quixote once did on the plain (8) |
| SAWMILLS — Don Quixote SAW — and tilted at — (wind)MILLS | |
| 26 | Park in Paris, close to chateau — soon be obliged to move (4,2,8) |
| BOIS DE BOULOGNE — The last letter of (close to) chateaU and SOON BE OBLIGED are to be anagrammed (to move) | |
| 29 | Drop of drink, after song (3,4) |
| LAY DOWN — DOWN (drink) after LAY (song) | |
| 30 | Word that’s silly name adopted by posh people (9) |
| ASSURANCE — ASS (silly, as a noun), then N (name) in (adopted by) U (posh) + RACE (people) | |
| 31 | Drag people in front of film — to watch here? (2,3) |
| TV SET — TVS (drag people, transvestites) before (in front of) ET (film) | |
| 32 | Word of praise in first half for Manchester’s players (5) |
| HALLE — HALLElujah (word of praise) with just the first half taken. The Manchester-based Hallé Orchestra | |
| 34 | Island in Med, large, hyped by America (9) |
| LAMPEDUSA — L (large) and AMPED (hyped) next to (by) USA (America) | |
| 37 | In general, duck passes for gander (4-3) |
| LOOK-SEE — In LEE (General Lee), we have O (duck) and OKS (passes) | |
| 39 | Protected from rain, say, if picked up and quietly covered (14) |
| WEATHERPROOFED — WEATHER, which sounds like (… picked up) WHETHER (if), then P (quietly) and ROOFED (covered) | |
| 41 | Prolific poet failing to finish on a roll (8) |
| ABUNDANT — DANTé (poet) without the last letter (failing to finish) following (on, in an across answer) A (from the clue) + BUN (roll) | |
| 43 | Patriarch exercises back, cracking rib (6) |
| JOSEPH — PE (exercises) reversed (back) inserted into (cracking) JOSH (rib) | |
| 44 | After ripping up my card, I left party (5,5) |
| PLAID CYMRU — An anagram of (after ripping) UP MY CARD I + L (left) | |
| 45 | Mostly, spa hotel area is for the stars (5) |
| HYDRA — Mostly HYDRo (spa hotel) + A | |
| 48 | Eccentric Dickens characters starting on lamb and cheese (9) |
| CAMBOZOLA — CAM (eccentric) + BOZ (Dickens) and the initial letters of (characters starting) On Lamb And | |
| 49 | Unassisted TV broadcast outside ending in panic and disorder (2,6,5) |
| ST VITUS’S DANCE — UNASSISTED TV anagrammed (broadcast) around (outside) the last letter of (ending in) paniC | |
| 51 | Half of our capital: two grand to keep in yen (7) |
| LONGING — Half of LONdon (our capital), then G + G (two grand) containing (to keep) IN | |
| 52 | Small child can count on granny, ultimately (4,3) |
| TINY TOT — TIN (can), then TOT (count) after (on, in an across answer) the last letter of (… ultimately) grannY | |
| 53 | Notes Home Counties firm concealing tax returns (7) |
| OCTAVES — SE (Home Counties) and CO (firm) containing (concealing) VAT (tax); this is all reversed (returns) | |
| 54 | Welshman‘s huffing and puffing, say, putting me out (4) |
| RHYS — RHY[me]S (huffing and puffing, say) with the deletion of (putting … out) ME | |
| 55 | Jazz can be so beneficial: understandable, say, on vacation (6) |
| BLUESY — Outer letters only of (… on vacation) B[eneficia]L: U[nderstandabl]E, S[a]Y | |
| 56 | They’re carried by women: one visiting Oz a lot (7,4) |
| DOROTHY BAGS — DOROTHY (one visiting Oz) + BAGS (a lot) | |
| Down | |
| 1 | Not the only one to treat you as a joke? (7) |
| COMEDIC — A CO–MEDIC would not be the only medic at work | |
| 2 | Virginia’s work, turning over boy’s room: mean, indeed (3,8) |
| MRS DALLOWAY — The reversal of (turning over) LAD’S (boy’s) + RM (room), followed by LOW (mean) + AY (indeed) | |
| 3 | Old Testament book at the heart of Matthew’s gospel (5) |
| TRUTH — RUTH (Old Testament book) next to (at) the middle letter of (the heart of) MatThew’s | |
| 4 | Presumably no accompanying letter (8,8) |
| ABSENTEE LANDLORD — A cryptic definition, playing on the fact that an accompanying letter normally means something different | |
| 5 | Apartment resold, after narrowing floor (8) |
| ENTRESOL — The answer is lurking in (… after narrowing) apartmENT RESOLd | |
| 6 | Deceiving political party not quite legal, as we see it (11) |
| DUPLICITOUS — DUP (political party), most of (not quite) LICIt (legal), and TO US (as we see it) | |
| 7 | Rush, once you’ve got close to home (5) |
| HASTE — HAST (once you’ve got, an old form of (you) have got) + the last letter of (close to) homE. I can’t really find a place for the “you” here, so may be missing something … | |
| 8 | Visitor from afar supposedly appearing to allow safe passage? (6,5,3) |
| LITTLE GREEN MAN — The stereotypical depiction of an alien also describes something which illuminates on pedestrian crossings showing that it is safe to walk | |
| 9 | Courteous short text accusing a pest? (6) |
| URBANE — U R BANE — txt spk style msg (short text) declaring a recipient to be a pest | |
| 11 | Hint book is needed for linesmen (5,6) |
| TOUCH JUDGES — TOUCH (hint) + JUDGES (book) | |
| 12 | Huge figures in army officer circles, one’s reflected (7) |
| COLOSSI — COL (army officer) and OS (circles) followed by I’S (one’s) reversed (reflected) | |
| 13 | Marriage of prisoner by prison wall, on the inside (8) |
| CONJUGAL — CON (prisoner) + JUG (prison) + wALl, inner letters only (on the inside) | |
| 20 | European poised for throwing event (7) |
| EPISODE — E (European) plus an anagram of (… for throwing) POISED | |
| 22 | I’ve gone down: but I’ll be up in 5! (5) |
| LOSER — I, the answer, speaking in riddle-style first person as occasionally happens, am to be found reversed (up) in 5d | |
| 24 | Delights perhaps in Tory election victory drama (5,7,4) |
| LOVE’S LABOUR’S LOST — LOVES LABOUR’S LOST might express delights that Labour has lost, meaning presumably that the other main party has won | |
| 25 | Scoff after female makes you jump and turn (7) |
| SALCHOW — CHOW (scoff) after SAL (female) | |
| 27 | Petition opening briefly put an end to fast? (7) |
| ENTREAT — ENTRy (opening) without the last letter (briefly) + EAT (put an end to fast?) | |
| 28 | Something comforting, said cornerpiece, in grand residence (8,6) |
| BALMORAL CASTLE — BALM (something comforting) + ORAL (said) + CASTLE (cornerpiece, corner piece in chess). Cornerpiece as one word isn’t in my dictionary, and the required split is not something I’d expect here, so I’m wondering if this was intentional | |
| 31 | Nick would only be a quarter as long? (3-4) |
| TWO-INCH — To nick, or pinch, would be to half-inch, a quarter the length of our answer | |
| 33 | Analyse mood that’s transformed uncouth rich kid? (11) |
| LOADSAMONEY — ANALYSE MOOD that’s anagrammed (that’s transformed) gives us this Harry Enfield character who through popular use has made the grand leap into the dictionary | |
| 35 | What triggers eating complaint, or longer illness? (1,4) |
| E COLI — What are the first letters of (what triggers) Eating Complaint, Or Longer Illness? | |
| 36 | Third of income tax due: Evan’s wrong? Not so mine! (11) |
| UNEXCAVATED — The third letter of inCome + TAX DUE EVAN is anagrammed (‘s wrong) | |
| 38 | Some of Europe‘s small capitals also in a way classical (11) |
| SCANDINAVIA — SC (small capitals) + AND (also) + IN A (from the clue) + VIA (way, classical) | |
| 40 | Sending off pitch, no yellow initially having been waved (8) |
| HYPNOTIC — An anagram of (… having been waved) PITCH NO + Yellow initially | |
| 42 | I hand across a yellow parrot (8) |
| IMITATOR — I (from the clue), MITT (hand) around (across) A, and OR (yellow) | |
| 43 | Round copper bowl’s ending in grate, full of cracks (7) |
| JOCULAR — O (round), CU (copper) and bowL’s last letter (ending) all in JAR (grate) | |
| 46 | Being germ-free, say, extended players’ lives (7) |
| ASEPSIS — A charade of AS (say), EPS (extended players), and IS (lives) | |
| 47 | Stupendous amount of sentimental stuff on record recalled (6) |
| GOOGOL — GOO (sentimental stuff) preceding (on, in a down answer) LOG (record) reversed (recalled) | |
| 49 | Auditor’s bright lad! (5) |
| SONNY — A homophone of (auditor’s) SUNNY (bright) | |
| 50 | Irrational number’s using variable for second time (5) |
| DITZY — DIT[t]Y (number) with Z (variable) in place of (using … for) the second T (time) | |
I think the “you’ve” in HATH, Kitty, is needed to indicate it is the old 2nd person singular form of the verb (HAVE, HATH, HAST).
Cornerpiece is not in my dictionary either, but I think it’s play on the word centrepiece.
See you next Saturday, I hope.
One I didn’t get but should have was LOADSAMONEY, and felt a bit cheated after looking it up because the character wasn’t a ‘kid’, he was a jobbing builder-cum-plasterer who for enough money would turn his hand to any task whether he knew how to do it or not (bosh, bosh bosh). “Shut your mouth and look at my wad!”
I think John is right about ‘cornerpiece’ being a play on ‘centrepiece’ but FWIW it’s in Merriam-Webster as one word.
Edited at 2019-11-30 06:37 am (UTC)
I also thought that cornerpiece would work as one word in the same way as centrepiece, and in fact may not even have checked it had the spellchecker not given it the red squiggle of questionability. Thanks for confirming that it’s in at least one dictionary.