Hi all. A quick one from me this week. I’ve been a busy bee, and now my brain is so scrambled that I don’t know what kind of creature I am, let alone have anything coherent to say about the puzzle.
After a slow start I decided to use aids freely, so it’s down as a DNF, though on writing everything up it doesn’t look too bad. Finishers, how did you find it?
Definitions are underlined in the clues below. In the explanations, quoted indicators are in italics, explicit [deletions] are in square brackets, and I’ve capitalised and emboldened letters which appear in the ANSWER.
| Across | |
| 1 | Fastest time: minutes? (6) |
| RECORD — A double definition | |
| 4 | GCSE uproar — distraught organiser at sea (10) |
| SUPERCARGO — GCSE UPROAR anagrammed (distraught) | |
| 10 | Judge on Charlie’s case (5) |
| CRATE — RATE (judge) next to (on) C (Charlie) | |
| 14 | Best experience in stuffing gamey dish? (4,5) |
| HIGH POINT — IN inside (stuffing) HIGH (gamey) + POT (dish) | |
| 15 | Dark, ironic quips to die for? (7,6) |
| GALLOWS HUMOUR — A cryptic definition | |
| 16 | Mature bears on island struggle (7) |
| AGONISE — AGE (mature) contains (bears) ON (on) and I (island) | |
| 17 | Missionary position adopted by porter, perhaps (7) |
| APOSTLE — POST (position) in (adopted by) ALE (porter perhaps) | |
| 18 | Boatman’s line one’s used to drawing (7) |
| PAINTER — A double definition | |
| 19 | Private house customary for top administrators? (11-7) |
| SECRETARIES-GENERAL — A charade of SECRET (private), ARIES (house) and GENERAL (customary) | |
| 21 | Girl from a country wanting husband (4) |
| IRIS — IRIS[h] (from a country) without (wanting) H (husband) | |
| 24 | Daughter revolutionised this writer’s material (5) |
| DENIM — D (daughter) + the reversal of (revolutionised) MINE (this writer’s) | |
| 26 | Son moving to the van destroys covert operation (8) |
| STAKEOUT — With, S (son) placed at the front (moving to the van), TAKES OUT (destroys) | |
| 27 | Shot Aussie, going west, makes emergency exit (4,4) |
| FIRE DOOR — FIRED (shot) + ROO (Aussie) reversed (going west) | |
| 29 | To do groundwork is boring stage for artist (11) |
| POINTILLIST — TILL (to do groundwork) and IS (is) inside (boring) POINT (stage) | |
| 30 | Outstanding tech agency’s designed to incorporate one (3-8) |
| EYE-CATCHING — TECH AGENCY is anagrammed (designed) with the insertion of (to incorporate) I (one) | |
| 32 | Censorious man ultimately condemned authority (11) |
| CONNOISSEUR — CENSORIOUS and the last letter of (… ultimately) maN anagrammed (condemned) | |
| 35 | Substance from choice lamb I cooked? (11) |
| BIOCHEMICAL — CHOICE LAMB I anagrammed (cooked) | |
| 37 | Regular reporter‘s therapist reported (8) |
| ANNALIST — A homophone of (… reported) ANALYST (therapist) | |
| 39 | Odour left on ditch with two channels (8) |
| BINAURAL — AURA (odour) + L (left) next to (on) BIN (ditch) | |
| 40 | Medic probing group of students grows insensitive (5) |
| NUMBS — MB (medic) inside (probing) NUS (group of students) | |
| 43 | PM‘s place of lost illusions? (4) |
| EDEN — Two definitions | |
| 44 | Right turn at next junction coming up (4,5,3,6) |
| JUST ROUND THE CORNER — JUST (right) + ROUND THE CORNER (turn at next junction) | |
| 47 | Festival luminary given a little bit in advance (7) |
| WHITSUN — SUN (luminary) with WHIT (a little bit) preceding (in advance) | |
| 48 | Several days where papers were originally given spineless binding (7) |
| MIDWEEK — ID (papers) and the first letter of (… originally) Were, with MEEK (spineless) wrapped around them (binding) | |
| 50 | Time to join crowd for security (7) |
| HOSTAGE — AGE (time) next to (to join) HOST (crowd) | |
| 51 | Music from Verdi, Menotti’s arrangement (13) |
| DIVERTIMENTOS — VERDI MENOTTIS anagram (arrangement) | |
| 52 | Significant work, musical, about to be brought back (9) |
| OPERATIVE — OP (work), then EVITA (musical) and RE (about) reversed (to be brought back) | |
| 53 | Leader leaves at great cost, ahead of schedule (5) |
| EARLY — The first letter is removed from (leader leaves) [d]EARLY (at great cost) | |
| 54 | Info about past regime’s guiding principle (6,4) |
GOLDEN RULE — GEN (info) around (about) OLD (past) + RULE (regime). I can’t resist illustrating this one!
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| 55 | Five couples commit offence, returning for court action (6) |
| TENNIS — TEN (five couples) + SIN (commit offence) reversed (returning) | |
| Down | |
| 1 | Communist borders slow-moving car went through (9) |
| REHEARSED — RED (communist) goes around (borders) HEARSE (slow-moving car) | |
| 2 | Niff after cocking leg occupies heartless dog experts (11) |
| COGNOSCENTI — SCENT (niff) after the reversal of (cocking) ON (leg) all goes inside COrGI (dog) without its middle letter (heartless) | |
| 3 | Through raised roof, see diplodocus, maybe (7) |
| REPTILE — PER (through) reversed (raised) + TILE (roof) | |
| 5 | Extremist‘s last month, with troops in pursuit (5) |
| ULTRA — ULT (last month), with RA (troops) following (in pursuit) | |
| 6 | Obese fellows in hospital department for total immersion (11) |
| ENGROSSMENT — GROSS (obese) + MEN (fellows) in ENT (hospital department) | |
| 7 | Lead ring you formerly placed round cask (4,3,4) |
| CALL THE TUNE — CALL (ring) + THEE (you formerly) placed round TUN (cask) | |
| 8 | Northbound cervid crossing plain got going again (8) |
| REOPENED — The reversal of (northbound) DEER (cervid) around (crossing) OPEN (plain) | |
| 9 | Body parts of pig Hosea slaughtered without force (9) |
| OESOPHAGI — O[f] PIG HOSEA anagrammed (slaughtered) without F (force) | |
| 10 | Relative leaves home, having university to enter (6) |
| COUSIN — COS (leaves) + IN (home), having U (university) inserted (to enter) | |
| 11 | Bill must have perfect gold edging, I learnt from experience (1,10) |
| A POSTERIORI — POSTER (bill) with AI (perfect) and OR (gold) around (edging) followed by I from the clue | |
| 12 | Slip nearer door, taking even steps (5) |
| ERROR — nEaReR dOoR, selecting even letters (taking even steps) | |
| 13 | Butcher slices up meat, getting cans for preservation (4,8) |
| TIME CAPSULES — Anagram (butcher) SLICES UP MEAT | |
| 20 | I don’t like contents of best pictures (8) |
| IMAGINES — I’M AGIN (I don’t like) + the inner letters of (contents of) bESt | |
| 22 | Bath scrubber, Roman girls worked with it (7) |
| STRIGIL — GIRLS anagrammed (worked) together with IT | |
| 23 | Stalwart companion separating female from male (8) |
| HENCHMAN — CH (companion) separating HEN (female) from MAN (male) | |
| 25 | Stout, middle-aged trader cleared out just after mum (8) |
| MATRONLY — TradeR without the inner letters (cleared out) and ONLY (just), all after MA (mum) | |
| 28 | Party type‘s contribution to star comedian’s turn? (8) |
| DEMOCRAT — The answer is a part of (contribution to) sTAR COMEDian’s reversal (turn) | |
| 29 | Rugby players get on tour, of a sort (7) |
| PACKAGE — PACK (rugby players) + AGE (get on) | |
| 31 | A cold fish admitting woman’s his one weakness? (8,4) |
| ACHILLES HEEL — A (a) + CHILL (cold) + EEL (fish) containing (admitting) SHE (woman) | |
| 33 | Infidel British priest stopping under no circumstances after denial (11) |
| NONBELIEVER — B (British) and ELI (priest) inside (stopping) NEVER (under no circumstances), all after NO (denial) | |
| 34 | Prime motive for being retrained so diversely? (6,5) |
| RAISON D’ÊTRE — RETRAINED SO anagrammed (diversely) Ê | |
| 35 | Barrister’s case isn’t simplified when one’s ignored problem (5-6) |
| BRAIN-TEASER — BarristeR’s outer letters (case) + AIN’T (isn’t) + EAS[i]ER (simplified) when I (one) is removed (ignored) | |
| 36 | Church people with unopened post sticking together (11) |
| CEMENTATION — CE (church) + MEN (people) next to (with) all but the first letter of (unopened) [s]TATION (post) | |
| 38 | Visually challenged rugby player in scam (9) |
| SQUINTING — QUIN (rugby player) in STING (scam) | |
| 41 | One’s spelling more dire penning doc’s last letter (9) |
| SORCERESS — SORER (more dire) containing (penning) doC’s last, then ESS (letter, S) | |
| 42 | Contributor to replacement therapy to control market, it’s said (4,4) |
| STEM CELL — STEM (to control) + CELL, a homophone of (… it’s said) SELL (market) | |
| 45 | Speculative buyer introduced to United players here? (2,5) |
| ON STAGE — STAG (speculative buyer) inside (introduced to) ONE (united) | |
| 46 | Raptor like this regurgitated its food (6) |
| OSPREY — SO (like this) reversed (regurgitated) + PREY (its food) | |
| 47 | Club with upper hand (5) |
| WEDGE — W (with) + EDGE (upper hand) | |
| 49 | Eminence Cromwell’s given after king? (5) |
| KNOLL — NOLL (Cromwell) after K (king) | |
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