I found this Jumbo very straightforward, taking only 24 1/2 minutes, which is possibly my fastest, maybe because, for once, there was nothing unknown. But it was no less fun for that. Clues that got ticks on my paper copy included 8D, 21D 39D and 44D. I also enjoyed the reference to one of my favourite French composers and, with a first degree in Metallurgy, the two metals. 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 | A new coin eclipsing one from long ago (7) |
| ANCIENT – A N (new) CENT “eclipsing” I (one). | |
| 5 | This writer’s finished old painting (7) |
| IMPASTO – I’M (this writer’s) PAST (finshed) O (old). | |
| 9 | Yearbook article stored in a large computer (7) |
| ALMANAC – AN (article) in A L (large) MAC (computer). | |
| 13 | Head office used Rover for training course (4,7) |
| HORS DOEUVRE – H.O. (Head Office) (used rover)* “for training”. | |
| 14 | Fish circles one very loud tug, an engineering marvel (6,5) |
| EIFFEL TOWER – EEL (fish) “circles” I (one) FF (fortissimo; very loud) TOWER (tug). | |
| 15 | Victor leaves club towel perhaps (5) |
|
DRIER – DRI |
|
| 16 | Well-known extract in English books (7) |
| EMINENT – MINE (extract) “in” E (English) NT (New Testament; books). | |
| 17 | Pick up article about current distress (9) |
| HEARTACHE – HEAR (pick up), THE (article) “about” AC (alternating current). | |
| 18 | Unexpectedly, Nepal is reconstructing IT hub (7,10,4) |
| CENTRAL PROCESSING UNIT – “Unexpectedly” (Nepal is reconstructing)*. | |
| 23 | Sheep enclosure by church that’s not worth much (8) |
| TUPPENCE – TUP (sheep) PEN (enclosure) CE (Church of England). | |
| 25 | Old firm collecting tax returns book (6) |
| OCTAVO – O (old) CO (company; firm) “collecting” VAT (tax), “returns” -> TAV. | |
| 27 | Daisy reorganised beer garden having removed study (7) |
|
GERBERA – “reorganised” (beer gar |
|
| 30 | Fertilise a lot to protect first of lettuce (5) |
| MULCH – MUCH (a lot) outside “first of” Lettuce. | |
| 32 | Old PM hugs a secretary, fluttering (7) |
| PITAPAT – PITT (old Prime Minister) “hugs” A PA (Personal Assistant; secretary). As one’s heart goes when excited. | |
| 33 | One’s utmost — or even better! (5,4) |
| LEVEL BEST – LEVEL (even) BEST (better, the verb). | |
| 35 | Reportedly only Mike defends American tunes (4,5) |
| SOUL MUSIC – SOUL sounds like, “reportedly”, SOLE (only), MIC (mike) “defends” US (American). | |
| 36 | Couple arranged to house new Gallic barman (7) |
| POULENC – (Couple)* “arranged” outside N (new). Francis Poulenc, one of Les Six. His G minor mass became a favourite of mine after singing it, although sight-reading the tenor line at an audition before I knew it was a bit scary. | |
| 37 | A drunkard devours cold course (5) |
| ASCOT – A SOT (drunkard) “devours” C (cold). My eldest was born at the hospital there. | |
| 38 | Obliterate some Parisian system of weights (7) |
| DESTROY – DES (some, in French) TROY (system of weights). The Troy system originated in 15th-Century England and was mostly used for precious metals. | |
| 40 | Try to catch each cook swigging whiskey (6) |
| EARWIG – EA (each) RIG (cook), “swigging” W (Whiskey in the NATO phonetic alphabet). | |
| 41 | Put emphasis on sweets going west (8) |
| STRESSED – DESSERTS (sweets) reversed, “going west”. A bit of a chestnut this one. | |
| 44 | Instinctive broadcast that assists motorists (9,12) |
| AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION – AUTOMATIC (instinctive) TRANSMISSION (broadcast). | |
| 48 | Bans speaker backing target limits (9) |
| MORATORIA – ORATOR (speaker) with AIM (target) “backing” -> MIA outside, “limits”. | |
| 50 | Rewrite medical lecture (7) |
| DECLAIM – “Rewrite” (medical)*. | |
| 53 | Heroin features in cocaine gag (5) |
| CHOKE – H (heroin) in COKE (cocaine). | |
| 54 | Associate to bury china with foreign article (11) |
| INTERMINGLE – INTER (bury, as in my username) MING (china) LE (foreign article). China, for once, not clueing MATE or PAL. | |
| 55 | Like top man and his unnamed son giving cost before haggling (6,5) |
|
ASKING PRICE – AS (like) KING (top man), PRI |
|
| 56 | Colt maybe raised wretchedly by side of mountain (7) |
| SIDEARM – (raised)* “wretchedly”, “side of” Mountain. | |
| 57 | Delay writer following our group in South Dakota (7) |
| SUSPEND – PEN after US (our group), all in S.D. (South Dakota). | |
| 58 | Slander constant smoker in a city (7) |
| CALUMNY – C (constant), LUM (scottish word for chimney; smoker) in A N.Y. (New York; city). | |
| Down | |
| 1 | A research graduate’s catching current pests (6) |
| APHIDS – A PH.D.’S (Doctor of Philosphy, as my daughter has just become; research graduate’s) “catching” I (current). | |
| 2 | Club maybe regularly finance person with pump problem? (7) |
| CARDIAC – CARD (club, maybe), “regularly” fInAnCe. | |
| 3 | Finish university event around north showing stamina? (9) |
| ENDURANCE – END (finish) U (university) RACE (event) “around” N (north). | |
| 4 | Second person once arresting male subject (5) |
| THEME – THEE (second person once) “arresting” M (male). | |
| 5 | Dupe wearing mask takes in good European (8) |
| INVEIGLE – IN VEIL (wearing mask) “takes in” G (good) E (European). | |
| 6 | Part of receipt sent up with margins trimmed (5) |
|
PIECE – |
|
| 7 | One who has doubts about filling sort of tank (7) |
| SCEPTIC – C (circa; about) “filling” SEPTIC (sort of tank). | |
| 8 | Bid to secure article ought to be somewhat revealing (3-3-8) |
| OFF-THE-SHOULDER – OFFER (bid) outside THE (article) SHOULD (ought to) | |
| 9 | State becoming older, losing energy and getting mean (9) |
|
AVERAGING – AVER (state) AG |
|
| 10 | Books in opera house for choral piece (5) |
| MOTET – OT (Old Testament; books) in MET (opera house in New York). | |
| 11 | Where reporters gather fresh small pears (4,11) |
| NEWS CONFERENCES – NEW (fresh) S (small) CONFERENCES (pears). | |
| 12 | County right concerning court rebuke (7) |
| CORRECT – CO (county) R (right) RE (concerning) CT (court). | |
| 19 | Distributed precise formulae (7) |
| RECIPES – “Distributed” (precise)* | |
| 20 | Initially roll then twice decorate bakery item (4,5) |
| RICE PAPER – “Initially” Roll, ICE and PAPER (twice types of decorating). | |
| 21 | In Indian state burn primate (7) |
| GORILLA – RILL (burn; stream) in GOA (Indian state). | |
| 22 | Like fine spray, so made it elsewhere (8) |
| ATOMISED – (so made it)* “elsewhere”. I don’t think I’ve seen elsewhere as an anagrind before. | |
| 24 | Sort of fat old college with room for more students? (15) |
| POLYUNSATURATED – POLY (old college) UNSATURATED (with room for more, like a partially full sponge). | |
| 26 | Old king’s from day one into knitwear! (9) |
| ARTHURIAN – THUR (Thursday, day) I (one), in ARAN (type of knitwear)… like this. | |
| 28 | A quiet bird you’d heard displaying flair (8) |
| APTITUDE – A P (piano; quiet) TIT (bird) UDE, sounds like YOU’D. | |
| 29 | Routine chats where bulls and bears gather (5,9) |
| STOCK EXCHANGES – STOCK (troutine) EXCHANGES (chats). | |
| 31 | Dull sound made by certain workers on cylinder (7) |
| HUMDRUM – HUM (sound made by certain workers, i.e. bees) DRUM (cylinder for storing oil, for example). | |
| 34 | Relinquishes duty importing a hundred tablets (7) |
| VACATES – VAT (duty) “importing” A C (hundred), ES (tablets of Ecstasy). | |
| 39 | Addition to table Betty Muir designed (9) |
| YTTERBIUM – (Betty Muir)* “designed”. Sneaky definition, the table being the periodic one. Ytterbium is a soft metallic element, atomic number 70. | |
| 42 | Bishop’s huge stone embodying saint (9) |
| EPISCOPAL – EPIC (huge) OPAL (stone) “embodying” S (saint). | |
| 43 | Got on British vessel in eastern sea (8) |
| EMBARKED – B (british) ARK (vessel), in E (eastern) MED (sea). | |
| 44 | Hairy locations where weapons are hidden? (7) |
| ARMPITS – Double definition, the second a cryptic hint. | |
| 45 | Engineers line up compensation (7) |
| REDRESS – RE (Royal Engineers) DRESS (line up). | |
| 46 | Metal miners employ old boy in islands (7) |
| NIOBIUM – A double nesting… NUM (National Union of Miners) outside OB (old boy) in I, I (islands). Another metallic element, this time atomic number 41. | |
| 47 | Plant that would need IT installed to generate speed (6) |
| CELERY – A reverse cryptic. Add IT inside this plant to generate CELERITY (speed). | |
| 49 | Land legally grabbed by Walter Raleigh (5) |
| TERRA – Hidden in WalTER RAleigh, a latin word used in various legal terms describing land. | |
| 51 | First of couturiers to flatten fashion (5) |
| CRAZE – “First of” Couturiers, RAZE (flatten). | |
| 52 | Demented bloke in charge (5) |
| MANIC – MAN (bloke) I.C. (in charge). | |
Ytterby is a little village on a Swedish island that must be entirely inhabited by research chemists. No less than four elements are named after it and a further four first discovered there.