Times Cryptic Jumbo 1514: Show Me First Your PDM

A quarter hour of really, really good fun. I was impressed by a great number of the clues: some lovely cryptic and double definitions and I loved the Cockney homophone, the SLIM SLAM, and the elegant decompositions of long words like 11dn and 34dn. A really top quality Cryptic Jumbo all in all: great work, setter!

Definitions underlined, (ABC)* indicating anagram of ABC, {} deletions and [] other indicators.

Across
1 Lamb tender second-rate old butcher’s taken secretly (2,4)
BO PEEP – B [second rate] O [old] PEEP [butcher’s (…hook = look) taken secretly]
5 Daughter abandoning plans to adopt new standards (7)
ENSIGNS – {d}ESIGNS “to adopt” N
9 Cars here needing to be broken in systematic investigation (8)
RESEARCH – (CARS HERE*)
13 Cash for confidences: not an offer Simple Simon could have made? (1,5,3,4,8)
A PENNY FOR YOUR THOUGHTS – Says the pieman to Simple Simon,
Show me first your penny;
Says Simple Simon to the pieman,
Indeed I have not any.
14 Revolutionary husband taking place in long assignment (8)
MARATHON – MARAT H ON [revolutionary | husband | taking place]
15 Inuit occasionally corrected legal woman (7)
NIGELLA – {i}N{u}I{t} + (LEGAL*)
16 Try to catch start of hockey or bit of cricket? (6)
THORAX – TAX [try] “to catch” H{ockey} OR. Part of a cricket or any other insect
17 Violent criminal blocks way with extremely scary axe (10)
PSYCHOPATH – PATH “blocked” by S{car}Y CHOP
20 Tight from booze in northeast having wine brought round (4-8)
MEAN-SPIRITED – SPIRIT [booze] inside NE inside MEAD [wine]
23 Julie’s content to consume grammes in fruit (4)
UGLI – {j}ULI{e} “to consume” G(rammes)
24 Bad after short attack of sickness, regularly taking soup (8)
BOUILLON – ILL after BOU{t}, plus ON [regularly taking, as in “on medication”]
26 Comprehensive action where detective makes entrance (8)
DETAILED – DEED “entered” by TAIL
29 Too eager to press for expulsion from chambers? (7-5)
TRIGGER-HAPPY – cryptic definition, the chambers being chambers of a gun
30 Player paid news boss to keep brochure overlong (10)
PROTRACTED – PRO [player paid] + ED [news boss] “to keep” TRACT [brochure]
32 Reformed rat with monocle seen in casino town (5,5)
MONTE CARLO – (RAT + MONOCLE*)
34 Lord investing pound accepted monetary system (4,8)
GOLD STANDARD – GOD “investing” L, plus STANDARD [accepted]
36 Slight criticism when each son gives way to female deception (4-4)
FLIM-FLAM – take SLIM SLAM [slight criticism] and convert each S(on) to F(emale)
38 Column only remaining in support for bridge (8)
PILASTER – LAST [only remaining] in PIER
39 Wrong when coming west to entertain second-rate writers (4)
NIBS – reversed SIN “entertaining” B [second-rate]
41 Nancy’s indefinable quality? (2,2,4,4)
JE NE SAIS QUOI – cryptic def, Nancy being a place in France
43 Issue lacking clear boundaries for intelligence (4,6)
GREY MATTER – literalistic/metonymic double def
44 Officer shot landowners (6)
GENTRY – GEN(eral) + TRY [shot]
46 Justify upright character being drawn into old scheme (7)
EXPLAIN – I [upright character] “drawn into” EX-PLAN
48 Refuse to become sad (4,4)
TURN DOWN – double def with TURN [become] DOWN [sad]
50 Wag from Portland twice as flash? (3,6,2,1,5,4)
TWO SHAKES OF A LAMB’S TAIL – A Portland is a sheep, though not necessarily a lamb
51 Call for help involving black politician in pathetic tale (3,5)
SOB STORY – S.O.S. “involving” B + TORY
52 Fox pelt we hear of in Bow? (7)
REYNARD – homophone of RAIN ‘ARD [pelt, in Cockey parts]
53 Horror-struck scallywag has turned to bottle (6)
AGHAST – “bottled” by {scallyw}AG HAS T{urned}
Down
2 City in South Africa in quite nice area (5)
OSAKA – S.A. in OK A
3 Impressive — as grey eminence evidently is? (3-8)
EYE-CATCHING – reverse cryptic: {gr}EY E{minence} cryptically “catches” EYE
4 God as necessary consequence guarding over temple (8)
PANTHEON – PAN, THEN “guards” O
5 Small and delicate female rising river claims (5)
ELFIN – F “claimed” by reversed NILE
6 Screw up introduction to calculus course in school (7)
SCRUNCH – C{alculus} RUN in SCH.
7 Handel for one humming needs no second singer (6,5)
GEORGE MELLY – GEORGE [Handel] + {s}MELLY
8 French philosopher enduring pain at length (5)
SOREL – SORE at L. Not the best-known French philosophe perhaps
9 Went through stop light circling vehicle used for late trip? (9)
REHEARSED – RED [stop light] “circling” HEARSE [vehicle containing a late person]
10 Short and low building taken over (5)
SQUAT – double def
11 Ace local bar is one with a constant stimulant (11)
APHRODISIAC – A P.H. ROD IS I + A C
12 Lawsuit about rotter in dramatic fall (7)
CASCADE – CASE about CAD
18 Dish needs sweetheart to send delivery (5,4)
SUGAR BOWL – SUGAR [sweetheart] + BOWL [send delivery, in cricket]
19 One more article with books leading lady sent round hotel (7)
ANOTHER – AN with O.T. + E.R. [leading lady of our nation] “around” H
21 State capital level as on plain (9)
ANNAPOLIS – (AS ON PLAIN*). Capital of Maryland
22 Domestic a learner following orderly sequence announced (8)
INTERNAL – A L following homophone of IN TURN
25 I’m to assist an erring actor, posh, lacking script? (9)
IMPROMPTU – I’M + PROMPT [to assist an erring actor] + U
27 Dreadful crustacean in river drained lake (9)
EXECRABLE – CRAB in EXE L{ak}E
28 I’m sorry copper interrupting restaurant date with old man (3,5)
MEA CULPA – CU “interrupting” MEAL with PA
31 Dirty bones scattered round church (7)
OBSCENE – (BONES*) around CE
33 Seems put out, wildly passionate (11)
TEMPESTUOUS – (SEEMS PUT OUT*)
34 Mixture left by girl, one married to the French cook (11)
GALLIMAUFRY – L by GAL, plus I M + AU [to the, French] + FRY [cook]
35 Hackneyed rubbish to include poem Henry finished first (4,2,5)
DONE TO DEATH – TAT “to include” ODE + H(enry), with DONE first
37 Superior clue might one readily admit? (6,3)
MASTER KEY – double def
40 Before noon wild boar is heavenly food (8)
AMBROSIA – A.M. [before noon] + (BOAR IS*)
42 Choose gold mounting for plate (7)
ELECTRO – ELECT + reversed OR
43 Concentrations of strength seen in good old England (7)
GANGLIA – G + ANGLIA [old England]
45 Philistine always knocked over? Goliath finally ducks (5)
YAHOO – reversed AY + {goliat}H + O O [two ducks]
47 One to sit with vexed question? (5)
POSER – double def
48 Man with credentials retiring (5)
TIMID – TIM with I.D.
49 Falters under pressure in southern county (5)
WILTS – double def with WILTS(hire)