Hope you’re all enjoying your Bank Holiday in the UK… roll on Labor Day over here!
ACROSS
1 French scientist rotating resin and juice (6)
PASCAL – reversed LAC SAP [resin | juice]
5 Diver daily getting among group of whales? (7)
POCHARD – CHAR getting among POD
9 Discard black metal boxes thus (8)
JETTISON – JET TIN “boxes” SO
13 Where vote-counting snore is so trashy? (10,4,7)
EUROVISION SONG CONTEST – (VOTE-COUNTING SNORE IS SO*) [“trashy”], cruel semi-&lit!
14 One welcomed by everyone in staff — masses (8)
CANAILLE – I “welcomed” by ALL in CANE
15 Part of arms firm seen from behind by drone (7)
HUMERUS – reversed SURE by HUM
16 Doctors attending function — all-star affair? (6)
COSMOS – M(edical) O(fficer)S attending COS(ine)
17 Crawling along, boundaries only required by cricket side (2,3,5)
ON ALL FOURS – ALL FOURS [boundaries only, in cricket], by ON [side, in cricket]
20 Record given free airtime when entertaining new single out (12)
DISCRIMINATE – DISC + (AIRTIME*) “entertaining” N
23 Bird caught in bigger net (4)
ERNE – hidden in {bigg}ER NE{t}
24 In odd parts of the prairie, cattle finding Japanese food (8)
TERIYAKI – in T{h}E {p}R{a}I{r}I{e}, YAK
26 Some glass bottles narrowly beat another instrument one blows across? (8)
PANPIPES – PANES [some glass] “bottles” PIP [narrowly beat]
29 Socialist possibly resigned, somehow not free to embrace Conservative (4-2-6)
LEFT OF CENTRE – LEFT [resigned] + (NOT FREE*) “embracing” C
30 Reportedly escape arrest, ring harbouring a killer? (4,6)
FLEA COLLAR – homophone of FLEE, plus COLLAR [arrest]
32 Blast misses lifting equipment (10)
WINDLASSES – WIND [(gusty) blast] + LASSES [(female) misses]
34 Single state prison hosted dances (12)
SPINSTERHOOD – (PRISON HOSTED*)
36 Popular Democrat in lead, dissent initially contained (8)
INCLUDED – IN [popular] + D in CLUE [lead] + D{issent}
38 A river running through foreign capital or British city (8)
ABERDEEN – A + DEE running through BERN
39 Picture that’s a match! (4)
SNAP – double def
41 Something on daddy’s face perhaps keeping Charlie and Romeo in stitches (7,5)
SHAVING CREAM – HAVING C + R, in SEAM
43 Observe God whose creation proves timely? (10)
WATCHMAKER – WATCH [observe] + MAKER [God]
44 Red powder recalled around red cut (6)
CLARET – reversed TALC around RE{d}
46 Last time some returning to tour Newfoundland on vacation (7)
ENDMOST – reversed T SOME “touring” N{ewfoundlan}D
48 Reversible bar set off at the back (8)
DORSALLY – reversed ROD + SALLY [set off]
50 Good Lord’s miracles are eternal! (7,4,5,5)
WONDERS WILL NEVER CEASE – double def, of the idiomatic/literalistic variety
51 Cool head in distress claiming lost here without a compass? (4-4)
FREE-HAND – FAN [cool] + D{istress} “claiming” (HERE*)
52 Gem maiden pockets while taking ring (7)
GIRASOL – GIRL “pockets” AS [while] + O [ring]
53 North Africans are in small boat (6)
TUAREG – ARE in TUG
DOWN
2 Piece of cake labelled a Kipling creation (5)
AKELA – hidden in {c}AKE LA{belled}. Akela is the wolf in the Jungle Book, better known through the scouting movement.
3 Docking liner’s stern blocking canal, complaint follows (11)
CURTAILMENT – {line}R “blocking” CUT [canal], + AILMENT
4 Record book upset on European relations? (4,4)
LOVE LIFE – reverse FILE VOL [record | book] on E
5 Stick English after History (5)
PASTE – E after PAST
6 He wears clown’s outfit (7)
CLOTHES – HE “wears” CLOT’S
7 Have both Latin-American and Vietnamese — this alias? (7,4)
ASSUMED NAME – reverse cryptic – both {lati}N-AME{rican} and {viet}NAME{se} have ASSUMED NAME!
8 Foot of salesman where it might be seen? Generous chap! (5)
DONOR – the foot of {salesma}N has been got in the DOOR!
9 Cricket supporter Down Under? (9)
JOCKSTRAP – cryptic definition. In cricket, one might support one’s “down under” regions with one of these…
10 Note a reviver? (5)
TONIC – double def
11 In tale that’s tragic, I head over the top — that’s unnecessary (11)
INESSENTIAL – I NESS over the top of (IN TALE*)
12 Settlement some way off in blooming job (7)
OUTPOST – OUT [blooming] + POST [job]
18 What Amundsen was wearing on travels (9)
NORWEGIAN – (WEARING ON*) [“travels”]
19 By implication, retain more pants (7)
USELESS – double def with USE LESS
21 First wild cherry, one put in to be cooked (4-5)
STIR-FRIED – (FIRST*) [“wild”] + I put in RED [cherry]
22 Second burglar 7 down (8)
MONICKER – MO NICKER [second | burglar]
25 Lacking the will, or much money, not starting car (9)
INTESTATE – {m}INT + ESTATE [car]
27 Far from simple to explain (9)
ELABORATE – double def
28 Occasionally switch options? (3,3,2)
OFF AND ON – double def with the two settings for a switch
31 Point about rising energy is most straightforward (7)
EASIEST – EAST about reversed E IS
33 Relief finding something vital under bottom of aggregate in skip (11)
DELIVERANCE – LIVER [vital organ] under {aggregat}E, in DANCE [skip]
34 Itinerant squeezing me the wrong way, admitting a crush (11)
STEAMROLLER – STROLLER “squeezing” reversed ME “admitting” A
35 Beginning in Hanoi, a chap in old Asian capital for so long (5,6)
HASTA MANANA – H{anoi} + A MAN in ASTANA [former capital of Kazakhstan]
37 Dropped, having gone to hook bouncer finally (9)
DECREASED – DECEASED “hooking” {bounce}R
40 Bob’s one for more efficient method (5,3)
SHORT CUT – or else a bob is a short (hair)cut
42 Something cold about likely extremists, with jihad (4,3)
HOLY WAR – HOAR [something cold] “about” L{ikel}Y W(ith)
43 See end of advert plugging alcoholic drink on ship (7)
WITNESS – {adver}T “plugging” WINE on S.S.
45 Times covering that man, a Greek character (5)
THETA – T T [(two) times] “covering” HE + A
47 Villain to throttle in execution (5)
DOING – DOG “throttling” IN
48 Hang out first of washing in valley (5)
DWELL – W{ashing} in DELL
49 Faithful story, genuine case (5)
LIEGE – LIE + G{enuin}E
I thought this not tough, but on the harder side of average. It has some nice clues but after solving around 60 of them, I just want it to stop ..
Thanks for explaining ASSUMED NAME – though I tried hard, I did not see the wordplay, but I knew the answer had to be right.