Times Cryptic Jumbo 1516 – anyone fancy having lunch for lunch?

Author   PenfoldPosted on Categories Jumbo Cryptic
All being well, as this write-up magically appears on LJ, I’ll be in the land of nod in a lovely spa hotel on a Mallorcan clifftop.  So I’ll field any comments as and when I damn well feel like it.  I’m on holiday.

I found bits of this puzzle very tough, largely I think due to instances of tricky wordplay and /or not-so-obvious definitions.  I also think there’s an error in the definition at 49a.  It was good though.  Some inventive stuff and no preponderance of any particular clue type made this a proper challenge.

First in was ACROSS THE BOARD and last was BLISS

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 S[mall]


Across

1
As some guns may be for concealment, small wonder shed is needed (5-3)

SAWED-OFF – S[mall], AWE, DOFF.  How Cleatus or Billy-Bob would say sawn-off.  I didn’t know it was done for concealment (howver much that makes sense).  I thought it was to maximise the effect.  Too much watching The Sweeney as a teen I guess.

5
Gas piping with vent (3,3)

HOT AIR – HOT, AIR

9
One called on jockey to hold place (7)

VISITEE – VIE around SITE.  One of those words that probably has no life outside dictionaries.

14
As may be, possibly, a perfect health report? (3,4,4)

ALL VERY WELL – DDCDH

15
One involved with rector in case (11)

RECONNOITRE – (one rector in)*

16
Thus case made for cable transport (5)

BLISS – It took me ages to fathom the wordplay for this.  It probably didn’t help that I wasn’t entirely confident that BLISS was the answer as transport can mean other things.  The cryptic grammar is a bit funny too.  Anyway, it’s one of those sort of reverse substitution clues.  If you turn CABLE into CASE then BL is S.

17
What hunter does is behind the times (7)

FORAGES – FOR, AGES.  Surely you forage if you don’t want to hunt? Unless hunt is being used in a non-shooting slash trapping animals sense.  Maybe Cleatus and Billy-Bob go out shooting mushrooms and loganberries with their sawed-off shotguns.

18
Pointing out plates might be false type in need of replacing (5,4)

SPLAY FEET – (false type)*.  I prevaricated here wondering if PALSY FEET was a thing.

19
Letter from Greek quartermaster, with Britain’s backing, bearing fruit (7)

KUMQUAT – reversal of TAU, Q[uarter]M[aster] U[nited] K[ingdom]

20
Send out bowler to get ready? (4,3,3,5)

PASS THE HAT ROUND – CD

22
What we basically learn from article: agricultural machinery cuts belt up (3,5,2)

THE THREE RS – THR, THREshERS (belt up as in keep quiet)

23
Mock old nurse in front of Irish politicians (4,2)

SEND UP – S[tate] E[nrolled] N[urse], D[emocratic] U[nionist] P[arty]

25
Something on stave almost split (4)

CLEF – CLEF{t}

28
Kid to remove quickly on being constrained by age (4,1,4,3,2)

PULL A FAST ONE ON – PULL, then FAST ON in AEON

30
Weapon I fear I left close to minor carelessly (3,5)

AIR RIFLE – (I fear I L[eft] {mino}R)*

32
A record-breaking fizzy drink with energy gets award (8)

ACCOLADE – A, COLA in C[ompact] D[isc], E[nergy]

34
Detective woman with right advice for combating break-ins, we understand? (8,6)

SHERLOCK HOLMES – SHE, R[ight], homophone of LOCK HOMES.

37
Some power I apply to wheel brace (4)

PAIR – revserse hidden

38
Old Dutch XI few English fancy (2-4)

EX-WIFE – (XI few E[nglish])*

39
Stole a piece of bread, and intended to tuck in? (10)

WRAPAROUND – WRAP (stole as in neckwear), A, ROUND

43
Associate with endless video game to a negligible degree (15)

INFINITESIMALLY – ALLY with INFINITE SIM

45
Close relation around one in retirement? (7)

NIGHTIE – NIGH, TIE.  One of those definitions where the part of speech doesn’t quite appear to be right or is missing something like a “that’s”.

47
When thousands beheaded — and character abroad the opposite, by mistake (3,6)

THE TERROR – THETa (the character with its tail rather than head removed), ERROR

49
Cafeteria finally leaving rolls out for lunch (7)

LUNCHES – LAUNCHES with {cafeteri}A removed.  The definition looks like an error and should probably have been MEALS or similar.

51
Observe plot in segments? (5)

LOBED – LO!, BED

52
Ruins suffer when entered by heavy metal plant (5,6)

MARSH MALLOW – MARS, ALLOW with H[eavy] M[etal] in between.  Not an abbreviation I knew.

53
A seal with teeth eats fern after chewing on a duck (3,8)

ZIP FASTENER – (eats fern)* after ZIP (nothing)

54
Investigating officers confronting evasive traveller (7)

DIDICOY – D[etective] I[nspector] x2, COY

55
Solution’s framed in way that’s most cunning (6)

SLYEST – LYE’S in ST[reet]

56
Supported allowing bishop out of bed, but keeping her indoors? (8)

ESPOUSED – B[ishop] removed from BED with SPOUSE put in.


Down

1
Whip initially should be fine for containing crowd (7)

SJAMBOK – S{hould} B{e} OK around JAM.  Not a word I knew which made picking the right “crowd” very difficult.

2
Is one to reveal all about a married man endangering son? (7,4)

WILLIAM TELL – WILL I TELL? around A M[arried]

3
Controversially up the dose for certain states (4,5)

DEEP SOUTH – (up the dose)*

4
Smart of newspaper chap to deal with rage (3,3,3,6)

FLY OFF THE HANDLE – FLY, OF, F[inancial] T[imes], HE, HANDLE

6
“I am the egg man” John reflected has zero meaning (8)

OOLOGIST – LOO reversed, O, GIST.  A clever play on the Beatles song I am the Walrus, just in case you didn’t know.  I wonder what his reflections on semolina pilchard were?

7
A vote by directors affecting everyone (6-3-5)

ACROSS-THE-BOARD – A CROSS, THE BOARD

8
Music that’s slow to produce yet sad? (10)

ROCKSTEADY – reverse anagram: if you rock STEADY you get YET SAD

9
Reduced rainfall in a valley — rising in plain (7)

VANILLA – reverse hidden

10
Broke pen after sticking leg in (5)

STONY – STY around ON (cricket)

11
Throwing the FT out, one finds phrase linked with financial sums (2,3,4,2)

TO THE TUNE OF – (the FT out one)*.  Here’s Jeremy Hardie singing Kung Fu Fighting to the tune of Scarborough Fair.

12
A couple of “drawings”, one only spoken of late in the day (8)

EVENTIDE – EVEN, homophone of TIED.  Draws as in sports results.

13
Attention given to women’s sport (4)

WEAR – EAR after W[omen]

20
Not being spotted in Ruth, city appearing in Genesis (6)

PURITY – PITY around UR

21
Bible teaching by eccentric old Italian, perhaps (7)

RICARDO – R[eligious] I[nstruction], CARD, O[ld]

22
Bang on about pub’s formal dress requirement? (3,3)

TOP HAT – TO A T around P[ublic] H[ouse]

24
Attend to harvest one’s corn, perhaps, crossing river (5,2,4,4)

PRICK UP ONES EARS – PICK UP ONES EARS around R[iver]

26
Expecting relations to stop being obstructive (2,3,6,3)

IN THE FAMILY WAY – FAMILY in IN THE WAY

27
Ate together with doctor, being invited in (6)

MESSED – M[edicinae] D[octor] around ESSE

29
Maybe one having trouble performing, in a flap (7)

AILERON – AILER, ON

31
Top that’s short and light? It can go with hips (6)

HOORAY – HOO{d}, RAY

33
Drove kid around university, and cardinal across much of Europe (11)

CHAUFFEURED – CHAFF around U[niversity] with RED all around E[uropean] U[nion]

35
Swindlers establish facilities for online saving? (11)

MOUNTEBANKS – MOUNT, E-BANKS

36
After race, car’s cylinders to be put away (5,5)

SWISS ROLLS – SWISS, ROLLS

40
Got it wrong with role for opera (9)

RIGOLETTO – (got it role)*

41
Unseasonable fog descending on island at sea (8)

MISTIMED – MIST, I[sland], MED[iterranean]

42
Pancakes with black dressing and chopped orange peel (8)

BLINTZES – B[lack], LINT, ZESt

44
Husky which is outside runs round front of yurt (7)

THROATY – THAT around R[uns] O, Y{urt}

46
Goal by United Liverpool player let happen? (7)

ENDURED – END, U[nited], RED

48
Ideal Burgundy and something drinker goes after? (5)

ETHIC – ET (French for and), HIC

50
Jabber, endless overpromotion coming to nothing (4)

HYPO – HYPe, O.  Hypo as in dermic.  I vaguely recall an outtakes show on TV featuring someone saying “hypodeemic nerdle”

6 comments on “Times Cryptic Jumbo 1516 – anyone fancy having lunch for lunch?”

  1. I never did figure out BLISS, I NHO DIDICOY, ETHIC seemed wrong for ‘ideal’, and of course LUNCHES. Clearly an error, but shouldn’t the underline include ‘rolls out for [a meal?]’? I had the same MER as Penfold re FORAGES, but assumed that the setter could mean simply ‘searcher’. In the US, not just in Billy-Bob territory, SAW is a regular verb. I liked SJAMBOK, MESSED, & BLINTZES.
    1. Hi Kevin, no, rolls out is part of the WP (launches) and for is a link word so just the last word needs underlining as the def.
  2. ….and I resorted to aids on more than one occasion before submitting at 75 minutes.

    Shotguns are usually sawn off as Penfold says, and the cock-up at 49A was obviously exactly that. BLISS was particularly sneaky.

    I didn’t parse INFINITESIMALLY, and SIM as a video game was new to me. I knew DIDICOI but not the spelling used here. I still don’t really get ETHIC.

    I couldn’t have told you what kind of music ROCKSTEADY is.

    36D reminded of my much loved favourite clue from an early Times Championship (but in the singular) :

    “This cylinder is jammed !”

    I knew SJAMBOK from a 1960’s scandal, where South Yorkshire Police (yes, them again) allegedly used one to beat a confession out of a suspect. I remember going to Hillsborough with mates to watch Manchester United against Sheffield Wednesday (they weren’t so crap back then). One of “our” supporters was removed from the crowd by three officers. As he was led away, we repeatedly chanted “Rhino Whips……”

    However, my COD has to be OOLOGIST (goo goo ga joob).

  3. Well over the hour, double what these things usually take, which was a surprise as the same day’s normal size was also a beast. A lot of very clever cluing, especially the reverse-cryptic ones ROCKSTEADY and BLISS (which I did figure out).
    Additional time spent (of course) trying to work out why the lunch clue must be something other than LUNCHES, eventually giving up and putting it in anyway.
  4. I had the same issue as everyone else with LUNCHES since the wordplay was clearly LAUNCHES without an A but then “lunch” appeared explicitly in the clue and wasn’t quite right even then (plural vs singular). Like everyone else, I shrugged and put it in anyway, worrying I was missing something subtle.

    VISITEE reminds me of the signs on public transport here in San Francisco limiting the number of “standees”. Wouldn’t they be people being stood on?

    Anyway, I was all correct but in several sessions so a ridiculous time since I don’t bother to stop the timer when I go away and come back later in the week. I prefer to do the jumbo that way rather than trying to concentrate intensely for an hour or more in one session.

  5. just over an hour for this: a tough challenge and one that I enjoyed enormously.
    I don’t know what kind of music ROCKSTEADY is, but the word reminds me of this seminal track:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIe4qmwcBVU
    So ahead of its time! Or rather of its time but such an interesting signpost to how this kind of music was going to develop.

    Edited at 2021-09-19 01:03 am (UTC)

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