Times Cryptic Jumbo 1411 – two detective inspectors and two able-bodied seamen walk into a crossword

Author   PenfoldPosted on Categories Jumbo Cryptic
For reasons I won’t go into this blog will be brief.  Normal “service” will be resumed next time.  Also I’ll be at the Championships on Saturday so won’t be able to field comments efficiently.

Under an hour, some nice stuff.  First in CROESUS, last in POTSHERDS.

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
Open wide his cell, but not completely (7)

DEHISCE – hidden

5
Mechanic‘s grand when in better shape (3,6)

GAS FITTER – G[rand], AS, FITTER

10
Sunlight makes ozone gas, initially producing this? (4)

SMOG – initial letters of first four words

14
Until David is prepared to tour India, he’s not a team player (13)

INDIVIDUALIST – (until David is)* around I[ndia]

15
Greeks exploited this devious foresight (4,5)

GIFT HORSE – (foresight)*

16
County with lots of money transferred electronically? (10)

DOWNLOADED – DOWN, LOADED

17
Remove police officers from allotment again as punishment (11)

RETRIBUTION – REDISTRIBUTION with D[etective] I[nspector]S removed

18
Prominent feature of unfinished material (5)

CHINO – CHIN O{f}

19
As many plays are to Mike touring revolutionary Havana (10)

TRAGICOMIC – TO MIC[rophone] around CIGAR reversed

21
Cleverly obtain women’s view (6)

WANGLE – W[omen’s] ANGLE

23
Fine old important ass with no name (4-5)

OKEY-DOKEY – O[ld], KEY, DOnKEY

25
Start university owing money? (5)

DEBUT – U[niversity] “in” DEBT

26
A copper breaking up rave’s beaming (7)

RADIANT – A D[etective] I[nspector] in RANT

28
Top sailor and German worker make more than enough (13)

SUPERABUNDANT – SUPER, AB (able-bodied seaman), UND, ANT

31
Drop two drinks containing last of gin (9)

DOWNSWING – DOWN, SWIG around {gi}N.  I liked the fact that the two drinks were both verbs.

33
American sent back a strong beer brought in for each fan (9)

SUPPORTER – U.S. reversed, PORT in PER.  Is this an error? PORTER is a strong beer but PORT isn’t.

35
Called bully regularly in Euston, say, for using throttle (13)

STRANGULATION – RANG, {b}U{l}L{y} in STATION

37
You brought in coffee and baby’s clothing (7)

LAYETTE -YE in LATTE

38
Cunning servicemen open case of claret (5)

CRAFT – R.A.F. in C{lare}T

40
Check what golfer does on tee to try out buggy? (4,5)

TEST DRIVE – TEST, DRIVE

42
Charge the German for trough (6)

FEEDER – FEE, DER

44
Angle to pay for drink, including duck (10)

STANDPOINT – O in STAND PINT

46
Republican university withdraws race (5)

RELAY – R[epublican] then YALE reversed

48
Study society involved in racket with your authority (11)

CONNOISSEUR – CON, S[ociety] in NOISE, UR

50
Goods in a recession ignoring City’s hostility (10)

AGGRESSION – 2 x G[ood] in A RecESSION

52
Gentleman calling for taxi briskly, good to go (9)

CABALLERO – CAB, ALLEgRO

53
Run new article about outcome of WWIII? (7,6)

NUCLEAR WINTER – (run new article)*

54
First female premier’s right wing, still (4)

EVER – EVE, {premie}R

55
Baked bits and pieces Kitty dumps across river (9)

POTSHERDS – POT, SHEDS around R[iver]

56
Battle colour (7)

MAGENTA – DD


Down

1
Stage cow, perhaps, with no tail (4)

DAIS – DAISy

2
Extremely happy vet maybe with leather needing horse compound (9)

HYDROXIDE – H{app}Y, D[octo]R OX hIDE

3
Son still muses on mundane old edifices, including a lighthouse (5,7,2,3,5)

SEVEN WONDERS OF THE WORLD – S[on], EVEN, WONDERS, OF THE WORLD (not the first meaning of mundane that springs to mind).  Did anyone else start writing “seven sisters…”?

4
Final violent demonstration missing quota (7)

ENDMOST – (demonstration)*

5
King George with cleric going round Yankee landmark (5,6)

GRAND CANYON – G[eorge] R[ex], AND, CANON around Y[ankee]

6
Cool GP, seen running round getting dehydrated fast? (4-5)

SPIN-DRIED – IN D[octo]R in SPIED

7
Season without wife’s place in ground (5)

INTER – wINTER

8
Grasping digits the FT put about (11)

TIGHTFISTED – (digits the FT)*

9
Fliers on female, one supported by a hat-maker (6)

RAFFIA – R.A.F., F[emale], I, A

11
Greeting old seafarers in China (7)

MORNING – O[ld] R[oyal] N[avy] in MING

12
A degree in martial arts restricted building here (5,4)

GREEN BELT – DDCDH or just a DD perhaps

13
Somehow understanding solids has special relish (8,6,8)

THOUSAND ISLAND DRESSING – (understanding solids has)*

18
Rich man‘s wrinkles mentioned? (7)

CROESUS – sounds like creases

20
Troops maybe fly spacecraft (7)

ORBITER – O[rdinary] R[anks], BITER

22
Mature people occasionally want to enter gangs (5-3)

GROWN-UPS – W{a}N{t} in GROUPS

24
Royal couple, taking in current blitz, left out US meddler (8)

KIBITZER – K[ing] & E[lizabeth] R[egina] around I (for current) BlITZ

27
Defence one entered, jumping bail (5)

ALIBI – I in (bail)*

29
Drug source, old man with paltry margins (5)

POPPY – POP, P{altr}Y

30
Volunteers in sailors’ home don’t drink (7)

ABSTAIN – T[erritorial] A[rmy] in AB’S IN

32
Armaments chap holding notes and ruler (7)

GUNNERY – GUY around 2 x N[ote] & ER (again)

34
Hack to back her to make waves (4,3,4)

ROCK THE BOAT – (to back her to)*

36
Vacuum old object found in northern loch (11)

NOTHINGNESS – O[ld] THING in N[orthern] NESS

37
Everyone goes through this lithium and iron carrier (4,5)

LIFE CYCLE – LI[thium], FE for iron, CYCLE

39
Noisy performer hit reindeer (3-6)

TAP-DANCER – TAP, DANCER

41
I will try Times nurse acquired under the counter? (3-6)

ILL-GOTTEN – I’LL, GO, 2xT[ime], E[nrolled] N[urse]

43
Maybe make peeress some genteel bonnets in retirement (7)

ENNOBLE – reverse hidden

45
Formula of The Golden Mean? Recall first half only (7)

THEOREM – THE, OR, ME{an} reversed

47
A former PM’s getting up numb (6)

ASLEEP – A, PEEL’S reversed

49
Spread limb, ignoring breadth (5)

RANCH -BRANCH without B[readth]

51
Swimmer that completes two of the Balearics (4)

ORCA – Majorca (Mallorca)  and Menorca (Minorca) both end thus

7 comments on “Times Cryptic Jumbo 1411 – two detective inspectors and two able-bodied seamen walk into a crossword”

  1. I had the same doubts, but just this moment it occurred to me that ‘for each’ is P not PER, as in P/A per annum.
  2. Same concerns here and I’m not really convinced by ‘p = each’ as suggested above. ‘P’ short for ‘per’ is one thing and is listed at least in Collins as a standalone abbreviation, but ‘p = each’ would require a three-point turn and is very dodgy in my view. “American brought back wine…” would have done the job, or even “American brought back a strong wine…” since port is a fortified wine.

    Edited at 2019-12-07 05:51 am (UTC)

    1. Well, I’m not going to defend it–as I said, it just occurred to me and I posted–but I did say ‘for each’ and not just ‘each’. $10 per hour=$10 for each hour, etc. So I don’t see a 3-point turn involved. I do see, however, a problem in interpreting ‘brought in’ such that P (‘for each’) is inserted between SU and PORTER.

      Edited at 2019-12-07 06:19 am (UTC)

      1. I meant to write ‘for each’ as obviously ‘for’ is the most important word when considering ‘per’, but it got lost in the typing.
  3. This took me forever, but then most Jumbi do. DNK GAS FITTER, and didn’t know EN, although I thought I had come across Something EN=nurse (it was SEN) in a cryptic once; anyway it worked. POI 47d (couldn’t remember PEEL, only PITT), LOI and my COD 55ac. I thought 39d was less than ept.
  4. I didn’t notice the SUPPORTER discrepancy. Unusually, I got through this one in under an hour at 55:28, but I did have to look up the unknown POTSHERDS. I didn’t know KIBITZER either, but it was easy enough to construct from the definition and crossers. Thanks setter and Penfold. Good luck in the competition!

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