Times Cryptic Jumbo 1476 – Let’s. Play. Crosswords.

Author   PenfoldPosted on Categories Jumbo Cryptic
This was a leisurely New Year’s Day solve, done in a single session with no hangover whilst simultaneously watching football and joining in family conversations.  Not too easy (possibly because many of the definitions were not straightforward) but certainly nowhere near as hard as the following day’s cracker.

1ac END UP went straight in and I finished with the unknown BANDERSNATCH

If any of my explanations don’t make sense then feel free to ask for further elucidation.  Hopefully this week I actually finished typing them all

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[ew];


Across

1
Parody lacking singular finish (3,2)

END UP – SEND UP with S[ingular] omitted

4
Website comment on committee that might be a load of manure? (7)

COMPOST – POST on (a reminder that this means “after” in an across clue) COM[mittee].  Does anyone else remember Compost Corner on TISWAS?

8
Information document supports keeping performers happy at the outset (9)

FACTSHEET – FEET around ACTS & H{appy}

13
Delay lunches consumed by sailors (9)

TARDINESS – DINES in TARS

14
Channels carrying light-hearted reminder for farm output? (5,8)

DAIRY PRODUCTS – DUCTS around AIRY & PROD

15
A saint will protect Biblical leader in onslaught (7)

ASSAULT – A S[ain]T around SAUL

16
Someone disinclined to speak for us produces uproar (7)

CLAMOUR – CLAM, OUR

17
Armed forces I landed within target making return trip (7)

MILITIA – I LIT in AIM reversed

18
Program misled graduates about conceptual numerical discipline (7,11)

APPLIED MATHEMATICS – APP, LIED, M.A.s around THEMATIC

21
A regular selection of bread in a position to rise? (4)

ABED – A, B{r}E{a}D

23
Arrogance takes a tumble where put-downs occur? (9)

AIRSTRIPS – AIRS, TRIPS

25
Stipulate quantity to be eaten daily in following paleo, ultimately (6)

ORDAIN – R[ecommended] D[ietary] A[llowance] IN following {pale}O.  If, like me, you were left wondering as to the relevance of paleo to the surface reading it’s a diet based on foods presumed to have been eaten by early humans, so meat, fish, veg, fruit etc. but no dairy, cereal, pizza, custard creams etc.  I imagine it’s hard to find mammoth steaks and sabre-toothed tiger twizzlers nowadays, even in the middle aisle at Lidl.

26
Most of France no longer accepting drink or cake (6)

GATEAU – GAU{l} around TEA

28
Famously tall building sabotaged below for a bet (5,2,5)

TOWER OF BABEL – (below for a bet)*

30
Part of speech in feisty urban novel (6,4)

VERBAL NOUN – (urban novel)*

33
Retriever retriever? (3-7)

DOG-CATCHER – CD

34
Group starts to examine rough shape of course — it’s monstrous (12)

BANDERSNATCH – BAND, E{xamine}, R{ough}, S{hape}, NATCH. From Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking Glass and The Hunting of the Snark.

37
Fixer essential to renovate the room (6)

TETHER – hidden

39
Piece of music: performing in it will get cheers (6)

SONATA – ON in S[ex] A[ppeal] (“it”), TA

40
Animator working with first of animations one’s loved (9)

INAMORATA – (animator)* + A{nimations}

42
King removed from power, perhaps, in one-sided battle (4)

ROUT – R[ex], OUT

43
Hold an election — keep nobleman happy with Tory? Not half (6,2,3,7)

APPEAL TO THE COUNTRY – APPEAL TO THE COUNT, toRY

46
I am mostly supporting it having secured new publisher’s details (7)

IMPRINT – I’M, PR{o}, IT around N[ew].  It’s that bit in a book that tells you when & where published and by whom etc.

47
Bag run after start of bowling (7)

BLADDER – LADDER after B{owling}

48
A stone may be found in untouched meadow (7)

PASTURE – A ST[one} in PURE

50
Sort of visiting boutiques? (5,1,7)

AFTER A FASHION – DDCDH

51
Scrutinising reversal of cut applied to military activity (9)

EXAMINING – AXE reversed, MINING (laying mines rather than digging up stuff.  That had me confused for a while).

52
Man one observed entering small lake in waterproof (9)

TARPAULIN – PAUL & I in TARN

53
Intriguing people dismissing school supported by US thinker (7)

EMERSON – schEMERS, ON. I assume the setter had RALPH WALDO of that ilk in mind.

54
Observation requiring switch in direction: it’s becoming dark (5)

NIGHT – SIGHT with the S[outh] switched with N[orth]

Down

1
Outrageous wanderer avoiding run after run (11)

EXTRAVAGANT – VAGrANT after EXTRA (a run in cricket earned from a wide, bye, leg-bye or no-ball)

2
Daughter and son retaining skill in sport (5)

DARTS – D[augher] and S[on] around ART

3
Standard adopted by super minister, possibly (6,5,5)

PRIMUS INTER PARES – PAR in (super minister)*, &Lit.  First among equals.

4
Made time to follow article in statement of belief (7)

CREATED – T[ime] after A all inside CREED

5
Band, in capturing spies, engaged in disorder (9)

MUSICIANS – A Russian doll clue appropriately.  IN around CIA in MUSS

6
Drunk mostly off his noddle with a cocktail (3-9)

OLD-FASHIONED – (of{f} his noddle)*.  Whisk(e)y, sugar (syrup) and bitter.  I recently had one made with Four Roses bourbon,  Delicious.

7
How to make Edam to order (6-4)

TAILOR-MADE – If you tailor (adapt) “MADE” you can get EDAM.

8
Antique article brought in for hall (5)

FOYER – YE in FOR

9
Most of ice cream’s distributed in pots (8)

CERAMICS – (ic{e} creams)*

10
Second muddle in tax? (6)

SADDLE – S[econd], ADDLE.  Tax as in “make heavy demands on”

11
Times probing City board after one gets volatile (9)

EXCITABLE – X (times / multiplied by) in EC (City of London postcode), TABLE following I

12
Cast with performer to get no repose (4,3,4)

TOSS AND TURN – TOSS, AND, TURN

19
Antique rug messy sort used to cover flex up (7)

PERIWIG – PIG around WIRE reversed

20
The last thanks I provide (4-3)

TAIL-END – TA, I, LEND

22
Have suspicions about visit to help with inquiries? (4,4,8)

CALL INTO QUESTION – DDCDH (separating IN and TO in the cryptic hint)

24
Soccer organisation about to block international, actually (2,4)

IN FACT – F[ootball] A[ssociation] C[irca] in INT[ernational]

27
I breathe the atmosphere, climbing in peninsular region (6)

IBERIA – I, BE then a reversal of AIR. One definition of breathe is exist.

29
Excellent quality organic compound (7)

ACETONE – ACE, TONE

31
Working oven maintains temperature: so beans served? (2,5)

ON TOAST – ON, OAST around T[emperature].  I don’t imagine the culinary delight that is baked beans on toast has spread far beyond these shores.

32
Eggs overturned in cab bounce about — a dereliction of duty? (3,9)

TAX AVOIDANCE – OVA reveresd in TAXI, DANCE

33
Resolving evidence of accident around airport building — not learner driver (11)

DETERMINANT – DENT around TERMINAl

35
The guy getting very into novel way with crew of substance (11)

HEAVYWEIGHT – HE, V[ery] in (way)*, EIGHT

36
Looking sickly, swallowing up one vital new painkiller (10)

PALLIATIVE – PALE around (I vital)*

38
One praising odd power retained by head of French Resistance (9)

TRUMPETER – RUM, P[ower] in TETE, R[esistance]

40
Has new reins arranged, working together (2,7)

IN HARNESS – (has n[ew] reins)*

41
Nasty, small and contemptible, requiring change of heart (8)

SPITEFUL – S[mall], PITIFUL with E for I in the middle

44
US police officer acceptable to probe murderer (7)

CAPTAIN – APT in CAIN

45
Climbing is to go wrong on a mountain range (6)

SIERRA – IS reversed, ERR, A

47
Odd bits of boat found on wrong coastal feature (5)

BASIN – B{o}A{t}, SIN

49
Being an employer, thinking to dismiss 1000 (5)

USING – mUSING

6 comments on “Times Cryptic Jumbo 1476 – Let’s. Play. Crosswords.”

  1. I don’t have many notes on my copy, but I see it took me about 53 minutes, which is a little longer than average. LOI was AIRSTRIPS and I had a question mark against PRIMUS INTER PARES failing to spot it was an &lit and APPEAL TO THE COUNTRY, which I failed to parse, so thanks for sorting those out. BTW you are missing the underlining of the definition at 53A and have lost the H from his first name.
  2. I don’t have many cryptic jumbos under my belt. This is my first all green in under 2 hours. A triumph. It earned me 622 points and a personal best time of 1:51:02.

    And I enjoyed it. There were some really nice long complex ones including TRUMPETER, EXCITABLE, PALLIATIVE, MUSICIANS and BANDERSNATCH natch
    I needed the PDM to make TAILOR-MADE. At 39ac I had TONATA for a while – a musical form I had apparently invented which seemed plausible – but second thoughts prevailed and I saw why it was SONATA. COD AFTER A FASHION for such an inscrutable clue.

    Thanks to the setter for a doable Jumbo. And thank you Penfold_61 for the blog

  3. Many thanks for the excellent blog and thanks to the setter esp for BANDERSNATCH, totally unknown to me, but confidently worked out from the wordplay. Google then explained its provenance. A puzzle a little bit on the easier side, for sure, but no less enjoyable for that.

  5. My first ever solve of a Jumbo, and at the first attempt! And in a reasonable time (maybe 90 mins). Since I’ve only ever done the 15×15 maybe three times I was so pleased with this effort I actually sent it in.

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