Times Cryptic Jumbo 1521 – The one with three reverse cryptics

Author   PenfoldPosted on Categories Jumbo Cryptic
I did this puzzle across a few sessions, probably just over an hour in all.  It was easier during the sessions when I hadn’t had a drink than during those when I had.

First in was SUMAC and last was CATABOLIC

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 T[ime]


Across

1
Problem with awkward customer knocking an electric car (13)

RECALCITRANCE – (an electric car)*

8
Church member leaving hotel, hugging a bishop, and breaking down (9)

CATABOLIC – CATHOLIC without H[otel] around A B[ishop]. an obscure biological term

13
Tot, Bill, found in a wood (5)

SUMAC – SUM, AC for AC[count]

14
Fellow at home in 100 square metres in South American country (9)

ARGENTINE – GENT IN in ARE, a unit of area.  Note the inclusion of “in” as part of the definition.

15
Old boy that’s laid into teacher not a gang member (7)

MOBSTER – O[ld] B[oy] in MaSTER

16
Woodwind player in recital isn’t ultimately that bad (12)

CLARINETTIST – (recital isn’t {tha}T)*

17
Idiot changes when tackling superior types going on the attack (10)

ASSAULTERS – ASS, ALTERS around U (superior as in U / non-U)

18
Feel bad about gift with bit chipped off at the front (6)

RESENT – pRESENT

19
Celebrity taking care of boy inside gets honour (8)

ACCOLADE – C[are] O]f} LAD in ACE.  I’m not sure about celebrity being synonymous with ace.  You can be one but not the other.

21
International group helping to provide fun escorts (6)

UNESCO – hidden

24
The woman gathering fruit notices sharp points potentially injurious (10)

SPEARHEADS – SHE around PEAR, ADS

26
This elf’s got this, regardless of others? (4-8)

SELF-ABSORBED – A reverse-cryptic type clue, whereby the words THIS ELF have SELF ABOSRBED (within them)

29
Power said to come with this bit of money (4)

MITE – sounds like MIGHT.  MITE as in widows’…

30
Speaker with heavenly body in concert item (8)

ORATORIO – ORATOR, IO (moon of Jupiter)

31
Provider of milk and hot food, a Scot? (8)

FRIESIAN – FRIES, IAN

34
Attempt to grab a bit of underwear in burlesque (8)

TRAVESTY – TRY around A VEST.  As both noun and vern TRAVESTY can mean BURLESQUE

35
A possible clue to copper being interrupted (3,5)

CUT SHORT – another reverse cryptic: CUT SHORT could clue CU = COPPER

36
Bad chaps swear endlessly (4)

CURS – CURSe

39
Underground worker to make money, we hear — man of old with a vision (5,7)

MINOR PROPHET – sounds like MINER PROFIT

40
PR type with formula for nonsense and hoax (4,6)

SPIN DOCTOR – Yet another where the clue is in the answer.  If you “spin” (reverse) DOCTOR you get ROT (nonsense) COD (hoax)

43
A bit of food and girl’s covered in spots! (6)

RADISH – DI in RASH

44
Hurries to get fuel containers (8)

SCUTTLES – DD

45
Cloak used by Ripon choristers (6)

PONCHO – hidden

49
Characters from the match organised by an agent facilitating departures? (7,3)

HATCHET MAN – (the match)*, AN

51
Chat from foolish person with time a hindrance — ex-PM endlessly going on (6-6)

TITTLE-TATTLE – TIT, T[ime], LET (hindrance), ATTLEe

53
Educational meeting in house managed the wrong way (7)

SEMINAR – SEMI, RAN reversed

54
Fish and fruit only (5,4)

LEMON SOLE – LEMON, SOLE

55
One fishing device gets mackerel finally caught in bay (5)

INLET – I NET around {mackere}L

56
Overalls with muck are ending in machine, beginning to stink (9)

DUNGAREES – DUNG, ARE, {machin}E, S{stink}

57
Is letter half sprinkled with Hosannas for people apostle wrote to? (13)

THESSALONIANS – (is let{ter} hosannas)*

Down

1
Others joining French priests for therapeutic sessions (4,5)

REST CURES – REST, CURES

2
Range offered by firm, great amount around back of shop (7)

COMPASS – CO[mpany], MASS around {sho}P

3
Service book, one laid out with clarity (10)

LECTIONARY – (one clarity)*

4
This writer’s taking a long time to create figures of speech (6)

IMAGES – I’m, AGES

5
Assistant who won’t be left alongside you? (5-4,3)

RIGHT-HAND MAN – CD

6
Ideal hour of prayer to inaugurate university church (8)

NONESUCH – NONES, U[niversity], CH[urch]

7
Exist to overthrow this wickedness (4)

EVIL – LIVE reversed

8
Au gratin bad? Makes one fed up (7,3)

CHEESED OFF – CHEESED, OFF

9
Gong repeatedly disappointing, inadequate (3-3)

TAM-TAM – TAMe x 2

10
Showing great emotion as US boy with glitzy stuff coming to maiden? (8,4)

BUBBLING OVER – BUB, BLING, OVER (cricket)

11
Happy, heading off, to be moving with ease (5)

LITHE – bLITHE

12
Adulterers showing heart spend tons foolishly (2-11)

CO-RESPONDENTS – CORE, (spend tons).  How refreshing for this not to be clued as correspondents with an R missing.

20
One apparently bent, stranger than everyone else and most sly (8)

LEERIEST – I thing this is EERIEST following L, being what the letter I would look like if you bent it at a 90 degree angle.  Any other suggestions?

22
Nickname thus needed by UK citizen — what Parisian introduced (9)

SOBRIQUET – SO, BRIT around QUE.  I’m more familiar with the spelling that has a U after the O

23
Journalist about to be met by someone at college entrance (8)

REPORTER – RE, PORTER. Anyone else get the wrong end of the stick and think this must start or end DE?

25
Soldiers first off given instruction and put on to vehicle (9)

ENTRAINED – mEN, TRAINED

27
Singer from India with fashionable folk appearing in nude (8)

BARITONE – I[ndia], TON in BARE

28
Importance to have Greek letter buried in vault maybe (8)

MONUMENT – MOMENT around NU

29
Transformed mother posed — ”ma” in new guise (13)

METAMORPHOSED – (mother posed ma)*

32
Athenian sure to be troubled by this nervous disorder of old (12)

NEURASTHENIA – (Athenian sure)*

33
Firm has a thousand allocated places for producing works of art (12)

COMPOSITIONS – CO[mpany}, M, POSITIONS

37
Exercises about to take place in various castles — events worth seeing (10)

SPECTACLES – P[hysical] E[ducation} C[irca] in (castles)*

38
Character of officer wanting men at one, getting on (10)

COLORATION – COL[onel], O[ther] R[anks], AT, I, ON

41
Crossword compiler put up with zero order in small confined spaces (9)

ROOMETTES – SETTER reversed around O O[rder of] M[erit]

42
Exhausted when going round a church to see friendship group (8)

ALLIANCE – ALL IN around A, C[hurch of] E[ngland]

46
Tree at palace mostly rotten (7)

CATALPA – (at palace)*

47
Author in street, one taking flight? (6)

STERNE – ST[reet], ERNE

48
Happened to be overlooking Lake District location? (6)

BEFELL – BE, FELL

50
Miss upset over knight being a recluse (5)

TIMON – OMIT reversed, [k]N[ight] (chess)

52
Let loose, the enemy moves north (4)

EMIT – TIME (is the enemy) reversed

10 comments on “Times Cryptic Jumbo 1521 – The one with three reverse cryptics”

  1. LOI LEERIEST. I couldn’t figure out the wordplay, and I didn’t think ‘leery’ meant ‘sly’. After running through the alphabet and determining that there wasn’t any other word, I put it in. I liked SPIN DOCTOR and CUT SHORT, both of which gave me a lot of trouble even after I’d decided on them.
  2. Reasonably straightforward, though nho tam-tam and failed to parse 40ac spin doctor, so thanks for that, P
  3. Ditto Jerry re SPIN DOCTOR. TAM-TAM is a regular in the percussion section of an orchestra.

    I parsed LEERIEST eventually exactly as our blogger suggests.

    DNK TIMON as a recluse. DNK CATALPA. T

    7dn needed a checker otherwise it could equally have been LIVE.

  4. A struggle for more than two hours to complete, then scuppered by a silly pink square for misspelling 11dn. At the time, i was totally OK with blythe = happy and lythe = moving with ease. Oh well. I know now. CATALPA and others unknown, including ROOMETTES which i particularly liked
  5. Managed this one in 69 and small change. I didn’t know CATALPA or TAM TAM, but the checkers were helpful. Have seen NEURASTHENIA before. I also assumed the L in LEERIEST came from bending an I at right angles. Thanks setter and Penfold.
  6. ….EVIL, which could have been a problem had I not started immediately with RECALCITRANCE.

    A gentle offering, seen off in just under 33 minutes (despite a poor response — I was entering answers, then waiting up to 5 seconds for the grid to display them).

    LOI ALLIANCE, COD SELF-ABSORBED

  7. One short this time, TAM TAM, still don’t see which of “ disappointing, inadequate” is “tame” and which indicates to cut off one letter. I considered this newer, but only heard of it as an Australian chocolate biscuit.

    Walked right into DEPORTER for another pink, with “ED” for “Journalist about”.

    I had to use a few aids for toughies like CATALPA and STERNE.
    COD MINOR PROPHET

    Edited at 2021-10-23 07:03 pm (UTC)

    2. Those are Tim Tams, made by Arnott’s. In Not Zimbabwe we also have Chit Chats, made by Griffins and pretty much indistinguishable
  8. 30:08. Moderate.
    I thought 26 didn’t quite work: SELF isn’t absorbed into THIS ELF, it’s stuck on the end.
    I didn’t know ‘leery’ could mean ‘sly’ as opposed to ‘suspicious/wary’.

Comments are closed.