Times Cryptic Jumbo 1461 – To Saint Joseph of Arimathea, the patron saint of tinsmiths

Author   PenfoldPosted on Categories Jumbo Cryptic
This puzzle kept me occupied for about 55 minutes, longer than normal so something must have been tricky.  First in was LAMB and last was DIE HARD. My square bracket keys took a right hammering typing up the blog so it seems there were a lot of abbreviations at play.

If any of my explanations don’t make sense then feel free to ask for further elucidation.

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 U[nited];


Across

1
One may expand broadcast quiz (3,4)

AIR PUMP – Air, pump

5
Guy stranded without employment? (5,3)

BEACH BUM – CD based on the strand / beach equivalence

9
Not many backed retaining old centre of Hull — that’s sad (6)

WOEFUL – FEW reversed around O[ld], {h}UL{l}

13
Madly imperil secret plan, dispatching one undercover operator (7,9)

SCARLET PIMPERNEL – (imperil secret plan)*

14
It’s not really a souvenir of the Parisian experience (4,2)

DEJA VU – I’ve already told you it’s a CD

16
One picks the French to invest in part of industry? (8)

SELECTOR – LE in SECTOR

17
Source of meat initially modified in research centre (4)

LAMB – M{odified} in LAB[oratory]

18
Nagged, having concern about new quantity of grain? (9)

HENPECKED – HEED around N[ew] PECK (of which there are four in a bushel)

20
Metal worker preserves it in casing in March (8)

TINSMITH – TINS, IT in M{arc}H

21
A constant matter about to be adopted by a US city business course (11)

ACCOUNTANCY – A, C (the speed of light), COUNT, C[irca] in A N[ew] Y[ork].  Almost as complicated as accountancy itself.

24
Medical specialist in Paris to go with main point (9)

ALLERGIST – ALLER, GIST

25
Stifling any sense of air, time and energy, except when outside (8)

TUNELESS – T[ime], E[nergy] in UNLESS

26
Record of payment providing backing for objections (4)

STUB – BUTS reversed

29
Vital current — not electric current — in mortal bodies, possibly (11)

BLOODSTREAM – (mortalbodies) (I being the symbol for current).  How quaint to have two anagrams with an I stripped out of the fodder.

31
Feeling of home — it’s recalled in feature of cathedral city (11)

DOMESTICITY – ITS reversed in DOME, CITY

33
Fake very soon scaled down, university subsequently getting involved (11)

INAUTHENTIC – IN A TICk around U[niversity] THEN

36
Enchant with a lot of sensation? There’s a cost (8,3)

ENTRANCE FEE – ENTRANCE, FEEL

38
Article dismissed by a European source (4)

GERM – GERMan

39
Larger part of river includes one form of water (8)

MOISTURE – MOST, URE around I

41
Sign of winter? Many people adopting hairstyle protecting wearer ultimately (9)

HOARFROST – HOST around AFRO around {weare}R

44
Reveal all Earth is following food article (4,3,4)

DISH THE DIRT – DIRT after DISH, THE

45
Tormented and unfeeling, hogging seats near the front? (8)

HARROWED – GARD around ROW E

48
Article in Spanish justifying online study (1-8)

E-LEARNING – EL, EARNING

49
Rabbit not coming forward round end of garden (4)

CONY – COY around {garde}N

50
Hoping I will participate in a period of growth (8)

ASPIRING – I in A SPRING

52
City girl calling in medic (6)

MADRID – MAID around D[octo]R

53
Give up and offer a free cake? (5,2,3,6)

THROW IN THE SPONGE – DDCDH.  I’m more familiar with towels being checked than sponges, but then I don’t watch any boxing.  I like the cryptic hint element of this, shades of car salesemen throwing in a set of floor mats. Is any part of this peculiarly British?

54
Place to slightly shift commitment (6)

PLEDGE – PL[ace], EDGE

55
Plan sending back some puddings for one year (8)

STRATEGY – reversal of TARTS then E.G. Y[ear]

56
Democrat attack involving that man repelled conservative (3-4)

DIE-HARD – reversal of D[emocrat], RAID around HE

Down

1
Making no changes without singular source of temporary help (6)

ASSIST – AS IS around S[ingular], T{emporary}

2
Recover after injection of illegal drug? Come off it! (6)

REALLY – RALLY around E[cstacy].  Is come off it a Britishism?

3
United, note, more daring but losing lead — that’s less fortunate (9)

UNLUCKIER – U[nited], N[ote], pLUCKIER

4
Supportive influence that may be not partisan (6,5)

PATRON SAINT – (not partisan)*.  Did you know that ice skating, disappointing children and bearded ladies had their own patron saints?  Of course you did.

5
Naval prison has transport to release indefinite number (4)

BRIG – BRInG

6
First star, rich, with yacht gutted, heads for his marina, having brainwave (5,6)

ALPHA RHYTHM – ALPHA,

7
Foolish to run a quantity of water into the sack (4-7)

HARE-BRAINED – HARE then RAIN in BED

8
Not fair, misprinting a clue and hint (9)

UNETHICAL – (a clue hint)*

10
About to interrupt unhappy poet with cheers for lyrical work (8)

OPERETTA – RE in (poet)*, TA

11
Genuine onions, feted after modification — becoming this? (12,4)

FRANKENSTEIN FOOD – FRANK, (onions feted)*. A semi &Lit I guess.  GM and that.

12
Country railway bringing in uniform for washing (7)

LAUNDRY – LAND, R[ailwa]Y around U[niform]

15
Investigations start to identify lodges as accommodation for Queen (8)

INQUESTS – I{dentify}, NESTS around QU[een]

19
Abuse is matter dealt with criminally (8)

MISTREAT – (is matter)*

22
Speculation publication reflected on kitschy jewellery (8)

GAMBLING – MAG[azine] reversed on BLING

23
A significant point for sightseers in three different cities (10,6)

CLEOPATRAS NEEDLE – CD. Pais, London and, er, somewhere else.

27
Cry with pity about English in German city (8)

BAYREUTH –  BAY (as in houuuuuuuuuund), RUTH around E[nglish].  Wikipedia says it’s a town rather than a city, but what do they know?

28
Start of chat with police officer’s on record (4)

DISC – C{hat} with D[etective} I[nspector]’S put on the front

30
Old-fashioned, overlooking small charge (4)

DUTY – DUSTY missing S[mall]

32
American subject not entirely uninteresting, having embraced a spy (4,4)

MATA HARI – MATH, ARI{d} around A.  I assume it’s ARID.  Seems like a bit of a Thesauraus u-turn via dry.

34
Drunk in middle of week? Lush endlessly mysterious (8)

ESOTERIC – SOT in {w}EE{k}, RICh

35
Scathing over soft drink — not something to be swallowed (7,4)

CAUSTIC SODA – CAUSTIC, SODA.  For the benefit of our American cousins SODA in the UK only means soda water.  Other carbonated soft drinks are generally called pop or just fizzy drinks.

36
Flying in the plane behind European jumbo (11)

ELEPHANTINE – (in the plane)* after E[uropean]

37
Unoccupied toilet observed in a bit (2,1,5,3)

AT A LOOSE END – LOO SEEN in A TAD.

40
Supports popular weapon (9)

SLINGSHOT – SLINGS, HOT

42
Sense initially employed when going about small scamp’s inheritance (3,6)

FEE SIMPLE – FEEL, E{mployed} around S[mall] IMP.  Without getting too technical this is a permanent and absolute tenure in land with freedom to dispose of it at will, especially in full fee simple absolute in possession a freehold tenure, which is the main type of land ownership (continued on page 76)

43
Looking to trap large bird (8)

STARLING – STARING around L[arge]

44
Imagine challenge, avoiding a big cat climbing (5,2)

DREAM UP – DaRE, PUMA reversed.

46
Contend girl’s name should be taken up for city (6)

VIENNA – VIE, ANN reversed.  Freezing breath on the window pane.

47
America’s first intent to acquire is not in dispute (6)

AGREED – A{merica}, GREED

51
Runs from random check (4)

STAY – STRAY without R[uns]

10 comments on “Times Cryptic Jumbo 1461 – To Saint Joseph of Arimathea, the patron saint of tinsmiths”

  1. LOI PATRON SAINT; I should have noticed the odd word order. I liked MISTREAT, HARROWED, STRATEGY. I don’t think I’ve ever seen FRANKENSTEIN FOOD, only ‘Frankenfood’. I first came across FEE SIMPLE in Chaucer, and thought it was an archaism until I lived in Hawai’i, where it’s still a factor in real estate transactions. Herbert Pocket throws in the sponge to end his fight with Pip in “Great Expectations”; I thought that maybe sponge/towel was a UK/US thing, but I gather not.
    1. In the highly unlikely event that the opportunity arises, I would throw in a towel, not a sponge. However in the circs I guess you just go for whatever is closest to hand?
  2. I had no outstanding queries but a huge exclamation mark in the margin against 31ac where CITY is clued by…er …’city’!!
  3. Yes, I thought it a very fine clue, good surface and the city having to be separated and all ..
  4. I thought this was quite hard .. got there in the end, though NHO Frankenstein food and don’t really approve of the phrase.
  5. 53:00 and a similar experience to our blogger. DNK the 3 cities with a CLEOPATRA’S NEEDLE. What is the third? NHO FEE SIMPLE so that came from wordplay. LOI INQUESTS. I liked AT A LOOSE END and ELEPHANTINE. I saw in the news this week that BA have parked their Jumbos in an elephant’s graveyard.
  6. I just want the whole world to know about this spell caster I met
    two weeks ago, wisdomspiritualtemple@gmail.com I cannot say everything he has done for me my wife
    left me 3 years ago left with my kids I was going through online
    when I meant this wonderful man’s testimony online I decided to
    give it a try and my wife is back to me now and we ar1e happily
    married again cause is too much to put in writing all I can say is
    thank you very much am very happy .and does alot of spell
    including Love Spell
    Death Spell
    Money Spell
    Power Spell
    Success Spell
    Sickness Spell
    Pregnancy Spell
    Marriage Spell
    Job Spell
    Protection Spell
    Lottery Spell
    Court Case Spell
    Luck Spell etc. In case you need his help contact him on this email
    address wisdomspiritualtemple@gmail.com he is a good man
    thanks.whatsapp number +234813 648 2342

Comments are closed.