Times Cryptic Jumbo 1522 – 16th October

Author   JohninterredPosted on Categories Jumbo Cryptic

I found this an entertaining Jumbo of about average diffculty; (almost) nothing to frighten the horses and a number of clues that had me smiling. I was finished all bar 1 in about 37 minutes, but then got stuck on 47D, where I knew neither of the two definitions and after another 7 fruitless minutes staring perplexedly at it eventually had to look for help. I don’t know if it was just me, but there seemed to be a lot of letter deletion clues. Maybe that’s what 1A was trying to tell us! Ticks went on my copy for several clues, and there were a few where I enjoyed teasing out the wordplay (e.g.17D) or I word I didn’t know (e.g. 42D), but my favourite was 49A. Thank-you setter. How did everyone else get on?

Definitions underlined in bold italics, (Abc)* indicating anagram of Abc, deletions and “” other indicators.

Across
1 Libellous attack in letter: “Two fools, one leading country” (9,13)
CHARACTER ASSASSINATION – CHARACTER (letter) ASS ASS (two fools) I (one) NATION (country).
13 Go after contract, keeping united (6)
PURSUE – PURSE (contract) “keeping” U (united).
14 Some children love one to make lines on paper (3,4)
RAG DOLL – DO (make) L L (lines) “on” RAG (paper).
15 In church, a simple minister (8)
CHAPLAIN – CH (church) PLAIN (simple).
16 One put on a few pounds: one result of major operation that should get my vote (5-4,4)
THREE-LINE WHIP – I (one) “put on” THREE (a few) L (pounds), NEW HIP (result of major operation). I think we have one too many “one”s here, or have I parsed it wrong?
18 Boat needing coat of paint perhaps round front of hull (6)
DINGHY – DINGY (needing a coat of paint perhaps) “round” “front of” Hull.
20 Damaged sheet not soft, extremely thin? (3-7)
SEE-THROUGH – (sheet)* “damaged” ROUGH (not soft).
21 Finally suffered deportation, after fiddling financial product (6,6)
TRADED OPTION –  “Finally” suffere (d + deportation)* “after fiddling”.
24 Hymn garden, briefly maintained by corporation (2,4)
TE DEUM – EDEn (garden) “briefly”, inside, “maintained by”, TUM (corporation).
26 Delicate fabric, price cut (8)
LACERATE – LACE (delicate fabric) RATE (price).
28 Study a line of ten (6)
DENARY – DEN (study) A RY (railway; line).
30 Sort of bomber whose failing is to attract all attention (5,3,4)
STEAL THE SHOW – STEALTH (sort of bomber), (whose)* “failing”.
31 Arrange where to get train after opening tree nursery (10)
PLANTATION – PLAN (arrange) sTATION (where to get train) “after opening”.
33 In which one may rally to transport the Beaujolais Nouveau? (7,3)
VINTAGE CAR – Cryptic definition. I think I’ve seen this before.
34 Short story The Monarch is first for TV debaters? (7,5)
TALKING HEADS – TALe (story) “short”, KING (The Monarch) HEADS (is first). Nice one.
35 As it were, not merely wrong? (6)
UNJUST – UN (not) JUST (merely).
37 Team I must leave, out of practice and deceitful (8)
UNTRUSTY – UNiT (team) “I must leave”, RUSTY (out of practice).
38 Dreadful ordeal put back in memory? (6)
RELOAD – (ordeal)* “dreadful”. Put back in computer memory, that is.
40 Swap confidences that are kept out of “any other business” (5,7)
TRADE SECRETS – TRADE (swap) SECRETS (confidences). A bit of an odd definition, I thought.
41 Conveyance, not for women, green, inadequately long (10)
STAGECOACH – STAG (not for women) ECO (green) ACHe (long) not finished, “inadequately”.
43 Cut — disrespected, having name ignored (6)
SCORED – SCORnED (disrespected) without the N, “having name ignored”.
45 WW1 version of Dig for Victory? (6,7)
TRENCH WARFARE – Cryptic definition.
48 Deduce sodium light’s beginning to be obnoxious (8)
INFERNAL – INFER (deduce) NA (chemical symbol for sodium) Light’s “beginning”.
49 Sound of bouncing around fine? Caution! (7)
BOOKING – BOING (sound of bouncing) “around” OK (fine). Resulkt of a caution on the football pitch. That one made me laugh. My favourite.
51 Run, in a feigned retreat (6)
ASHRAM – R (run) “in” A SHAM (feigned).
52 Cat and goat, perhaps, alert insect (13,9)
TORTOISESHELL BUTTERFLY – TORTOISESHELL (type of cat) BUTTER (goat, perhaps) FLY (alert).
Down
2 Loot is from big house, according to informer (4)
HAUL – “According to informer”, sounds like, HALL (big house).
3 Be tempted, but risk being hooked? (4,2,3,4)
RISE TO THE BAIT – Double definition, the second a cryptic hint.
4 Bank is less foggy (7)
CLEARER – Double definition.
5 Lug some extra equipment around (3)
EAR – “Some” extRA Equipment, “around” -> EAR.
6 Distress as pine loses its top (7)
ANGUISH – LANGUISH (pine) “loses its top”.
7 A short distance north-west, so get moving (6,5)
STONES THROW – (north-west so)* “get moving”.
8 Pretty girl extremely shy at large pub (5)
SYLPH – “Extremely” ShY, L (large) PH (public house; pub).
9 Taken in with poor deception, nothing less (8)
INCEPTED –  “Poor” (deception)* without the O, “nothing less”. I didn’t know the meaning “(of organisms) to ingest (food)” only inception = beginning.
10 Died after a military operation, getting VC perhaps (5)
AWARD – D (died) “after” A WAR (military operation).
11 Is fish not brought up here in London? (9)
ISLINGTON – IS LING (fish) NOT “brought up” -> TON.
12 Security association say no British spy can keep covering for us (13,5)
NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH – NEIGH sounds like, “say” NAY (no), B (British) WATCH (spy), outside “can keep” OUR HOOD (covering for us).
17 High spirits of persecutors almost squashed by barrier female dropped (10)
EBULLIENCE – BULLIEs (persecutors) “almost”, inside, “squashed by” fENCE (barrier) without the F, “female dropped”.
19 Inspect red carpet in newly traffic-free zone (10,8)
PEDESTRIAN PRECINCT – (Inspect red carpet in)* “newly”.
22 Opposed places prejudiced against some Europeans? (9)
ANTIPOLES – ANTI (prejudiced against) POLES (some Europeans). A new word on me, but fairly obvious.
23 Experienced person collapsing alerts dog (3,6)
OLD STAGER – “Collapsing” (alerts dog)*.
25 Within college confines, one softens (9)
MITIGATES – I (one) “within” MIT (college) GATES (confines).
27 Consistency in this place in chapter not repeated? (9)
COHERENCE –  HERE (in this place) “in” C (chapter) ONCE (not repeated).
29 Novel sort of case for lady, blonde (6,4)
VANITY FAIR – VANITY (sort of case for lady) FAIR (blonde). This novel by Thackerey, as I’m sure you all know, but I didn’t… and no I’ve never read it or watched any dramatisations of it., philistine that I am.
32 In which exposed state athlete got beaten by some woman (3,10)
THE ALTOGETHER – (athlete got)* “beaten” HER (some woman).
34 May she make poets richer? Not her art-form (11)
TERPSICHORE –  “Make” (poets richer)*. One of the 9 muses, her art is Dance not Poetry. Erato was the muse of love poetry and Polyhymnia was the muse of sacred poetry.
36 Don’t get enough use out of some of one’s clothes? (9)
UNDERWEAR – Double definition, fist a cryptic hint. Ho ho!
39 Baskets of small molluscs (8)
SCUTTLES – S (small) CUTTLES (molluscs). As in baskets of coal. I never knew cuttlefish were molluscs, but I do now.
41 Spotted demand for money? Duck! (7)
SAWBILL – SAW (spotted) BILL (demand for money). Hello to a regular TfTT commenter and Weekend QC compiler.
42 Shocking recording upset social worker (7)
EPATANT – TAPE (recording) “upset” -> EPAT, ANT (social worker). A new word for me, I think.
44 I can’t help you press for money, indeed not (5)
DUNNO – DUN (press for money) NO (indeed not).
46 Pay my fare, turning to climb aboard (5)
EMBUS – SUB ME (pay my fare) “turning” -> EMBUS.
47 Part in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the fourth often referred to in theatre? (4)
WALL – Double definition. I needed aids to get this. ” In the play-within-a-play, Tom Snout plays the wall which separates Pyramus’ and Thisbe’s gardens” for the first and “The fourth wall is a performance convention in which an invisible, imagined wall separates actors from the audience. While the audience can see through this “wall”, the convention assumes the actors act as if they cannot“. Blimey! Are both of those that meant to be general knowledge?
50 African creature just born, it’s properly announced (3)
GNU – Sounds like, “it’s properly announced”, NEW (just born). The G is silent when you pronounce the word properly…. which I now know I don’t. And neither did Flanders and Swann (as you can hear here). Go on. Listen to it. It’s a classic.

13 comments on “Times Cryptic Jumbo 1522 – 16th October”

  1. A couple of DNKs: the butterfly, SUB, and BOOKING in the relevant sense. I’ve never seen EPATANT, but I knew ‘epater les bourgeois’. In my dialect, ‘hall’ and ‘haul’ aren’t homophones, but they’re near as dammit. No problem with WALL, but then one man’s GK is another man’s esoterica.
  2. I think the second “one” (the *one* after the colon – ho ho), is just saying that hip replacement is only one possible type of major operation.

    Edited at 2021-10-30 02:52 am (UTC)

    1. Yes. That’s what I concluded. My point was that I didn’t think it was necessary for the clue to work.
      1. The setter was helpfully trying to indicate that other major operations do exist, that’s all …
  3. ….while simultaneously watching TV. Again the response time from the Times site was abysmal, and my recorded 54 minutes is not a true reflection.

    No real problems, though I thought TRENCH WARFARE was in rather poor taste. COD STEAL THE SHOW.

  4. I managed to get this correct in a few seconds over the hour. A few new words for me including EPATANT. Had to confirm WALL. Thanks setter and John.
  5. Sort of completed with some aids used on the last few

    UNJUST doesn’t really work for me
    49a I went with BROKING, as did not think of “boing”, only word that fitted was “bring”. Earlier I had CHOKINg with the sound of bouncing “CHING” (bouncing money) and choking=caution.

    Did not parse THREE LINE WHIP, NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH

    27d INHERENCE held me up as I think it also means “consistency”, and “in here” was very tempting

    EXUBERANCE looked really good for EBULLIENCE, kept it longer than I should.

    34d TERPSICHORE, I need to learn those Muses

    NHO EPTATANT

    COD IN THE ALTOGETHER, although I liked WALL, a long but clever clue for a short word

  6. Very nice. Around the usual time for me (just over 100 minutes). Some unfamiliar stuff: UNTRUSTY, INCEPTED, ANTIPOLES, EPATANT and DUN (only two of which were accepted by the spell checker as I typed them just now).

    Not happy with 3dn RISE TO THE BAIT which, in my book, does not qualify as a double definition. The two parts do not lead to the answer from different directions: the second definition is just an extension of the first.

    Liked THREE LINE WHIP, STAGECOACH and BOOKING (at least partly because boing has long been one of my favourite words).

    Thank you for the blog, johninterred, and for the wonderful g-nu link

    2. As I read it, the first of these definitions is figurative and the second literal. Of course the first derives from the second but they’re still describing different phenomena.
  7. Have a peep at it: good reading and maybe anticipates the crossword world (which was later) with puns eg Becky Sharp
  8. I’m surprised people don’t know of the 4th wall in both theatre and TV. When, like in House of Cards, Francis Urquart talks direct to camera, it’s referred to as “breaking the fourth wall”. I’m sure there are lots of examples in theatrical plays too. I don’t recall anything especially memorable about this and I’m all correct. There may be clues I couldn’t parse but I’ve forgotten by now if so.
  9. I found this quite easy. I would have thought the fourth wall was common knowledge too but then one tends to think that of the stuff one knows.

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