I rather enjoyed this Jumbo which has a certain amount of quirkiness and whimsy enlivening the wordplay and definitions, with some taking me a while to work out…. and the style makes me think I know who our compiler is. As usual with the Jumbo there were a couple of unknowns, but nothing I couldn’t derive from the wordplay. I see on checking, though, that I have one pink square, having spelt a word wrong. Aaargh! Favourites include 16A, 17A, 54A, 12D, 32D and 34D. I was vaguely disappointed that the answer to 13A turned out not to be the tinkly TINTINNABULATION. Perhaps another day. In all, with some of the head-scratching, my solve stretched to just over 52 minutes. Great stuff. Thank-you setter. How did you all like it?
Definitions underlined in bold italics, (Abc)* indicating anagram of Abc, deletions and [] other indicators.
| Across | |
| 1 | Official agreement to accompany law (7) |
| COMPACT – COMP (accompany) ACT (law). Biffed from the checkers and left with a questionmark on my copy until I looked up COMP in my dictionary – I hadn’t come across comp=accompany before. | |
| 5 | Shore warning, perhaps about century’s future claim (8) |
| PROPHECY – PROP (shore; as in shore up), HEY (warning, perhaps) [about] C (century). The first of several clues today where you have to split a phrase – in this case “shore warning”. | |
| 9 | Pacific protester’s not all shouting and histrionics (6) |
| GANDHI – Hidden in [not all] shoutinG AND HIstrionics.Pacific, but not in the geographical sense, of course. | |
| 13 | Discord in note splits bronze bell’s sound (16) |
| MISUNDERSTANDING – MI (second note of the sol-fa scale) SUNDERS (splits) TAN (bronze) DING (bell’s sound). Hmm. I’m not sure the surface makes sense. Did anyone else think “splits” was a wordplay indicator at first? | |
| 14 | Glasses containing potassium in tiny amounts (6) |
| SPECKS – SPECS (spectacles; glasses) [containing] K (chemical symbol for potassium). | |
| 16 | Definitely having no end of petulance? (5) |
|
SURLY – An &lit… SUR |
|
| 17 | I’m bored hearing of dry grass and weed (5-2) |
| HEIGH-HO – Sounds like, [hearing of] HAY (dry grass) and HOE (weed). | |
| 18 | Stiff, high-quality polythene, maybe hiding leads (9) |
|
INELASTIC – |
|
| 19 | My complexion’s purplish around half-hidden cheek (9) |
| IMPUDENCE – I’M PUCE (my complexion’s purplish) [round] [half] hidDEN. I enjoyed “my complexion’s purplish”. | |
| 21 | Gas bothered baby (7) |
| NEONATE – NEON (gas) ATE (bothered). | |
| 22 | City shop selling special meat including horse (5) |
| DELHI – DELI (shop selling special meat) [including] H (horse). Do they eat horsemeat in India. I wondered? | |
| 23 | Shade and air conditioning, plainly in regular use at the front (5) |
| LILAC – AC (air conditioning), preceded by alternate letters [in regular use] of pLaInLy. | |
| 25 | Country home’s secure life, but not if keeping video system back (9) |
| NASHVILLE – NAIL (secure) LifE [not if], [keeping] VHS (video system) [back] -> SHV. Home of Country and Western music. | |
| 27 | Men win nothing in classic feminist book (7) |
| ORLANDO – OR (other ranks; men) LAND (win) O (nothing). This book by Virginia Woolf which, of course, philistine that I am, I haven’t read. | |
| 29 | Scottish novelist welcomes review of outstanding graft (9) |
| SPADEWORK – SPARK (Muriel; novelist) outside [welcomes] reverse, [review], of OWED (outstanding) -> DEWO. The Scottish novellist most famous for The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie. No I haven’t read that either. | |
| 31 | Happier times left people equable, somehow forgetting pressure (2,5,6) |
| LA BELLE EPOQUE – (L people equable)* [somehow], without, [forgetting], one of the Ps (pressure) “La Belle Époque (French for “Beautiful Epoch”) is the term often given to a period of French and European history, usually dated to between 1871–80 and the outbreak of World War I in 1914. Occurring during the era of the Third French Republic, it was a period characterised by optimism, regional peace, economic prosperity, colonial expansion, and technological, scientific, and cultural innovations. In this era of France’s cultural and artistic climate (particularly within Paris), the arts markedly flourished, with numerous masterpieces of literature, music, theatre, and visual art gaining extensive recognition. ” Well now I know what it refers to. | |
| 34 | Set in views produced from colourful yarn (4-2-3-4) |
| DYED-IN-THE-WOOL – Double definition, the second a cryptic hint. | |
| 35 | Second Pimm’s you mixed for classic drinking party (9) |
| SYMPOSIUM – S (second) (Pimm’s you)* [mixed]. Well I never knew that original meaning. I am being educated today. | |
| 37 | Be forward, moving almost half to the middle or top (7) |
| SUPREME – PRESUME (be forward) [moving] the first 3 letters, PRE, [almost half] to the middle of the rest SU ME. Clever. | |
| 39 | Put right and put down, ace took public transport (9) |
| DISABUSED – DIS (put down) A (ace) BUSED (took public transport) | |
| 42 | Bigwig missing the opening, too (5) |
| SWELL – aS WELL (too) [missing the opening]. | |
| 43 | River out of place in trivial talk — but not in Stirling (5) |
| FORTH – FROTH (trivial talk) moving the R (river) [out of place] -> FORTH. The River Forth passes through Stirling so it’s not out of place to talk about it there. I would call this semi-&lit, although some might demur as the bit of the clue that’s not the wordplay isn’t a single word like “this”. | |
| 45 | Mundane truth without content breaking too soon (7) |
| EARTHLY – TrutH [without content] inside, [breaking], EARLY (too soon). | |
| 47 | Engineer in European carmaker retracted protective gear (4,5) |
| OVEN GLOVE – E (European) VOLVO (carmaker) [retracted] -> OVLOVE. Insert ENG (engineer). | |
| 49 | Trades are pending in endless glut (9) |
| EXCHANGES – HANG (are pending) in [endless] EXCESs (glut). | |
| 50 | Divine poetry’s always to follow regarding woodland creature (3,4) |
| RED DEER – DD (Doctor of Divinity; Divine) EER (poetry’s always) [to follow] RE (regarding). | |
| 52 | After drama, approves cosy spots (5) |
| NOOKS – NO (Japanese drama) OKS (approves). | |
| 54 | In centre of stye, it’s sore and easily irritated (6) |
| TOUCHY – OUCH (it’s sore) [in] [centre of] sTYe. Nice surface. | |
| 55 | Round trip’s constant touring via manic scrambling (16) |
| CIRCUMNAVIGATION – C (constant), (touring via manic)* [scrambling]. | |
| 56 | Dull, humourless organ stops (6) |
| DREARY – ERA (organ) inside, [stops], DRY (humourless). | |
| 57 | Spilt oil sadly is treacherous (8) |
| DISLOYAL – (oil sadly)* [spilt]. | |
| 58 | One needing sanctuary from match official and United man (7) |
| REFUGEE – REF (match official) U (united) GEE (man; an exclamation)… at least think that’s how it’s supposed to work. | |
| Down | |
| 1 | Food arrives on slates, say, black on the inside (11) |
| COMESTIBLES – COMES (arrives), TILES (slates) outside B (black) [on the inside]. | |
| 2 | I’m keen on saving time away from man’s address (5) |
|
MISER – MIS |
|
| 3 | Anodyne wavering was vexing (7) |
| ANNOYED – (anodyne)* [wavering]. | |
| 4 | Slim people conclude frequently split lip is what may lead to something worse (3,4,3,2,3,5) |
| THE THIN END OF THE WEDGE – THE THIN (slim people) END (conclude) OFT (frequently) HEW (split) THE EDGE (lip). | |
| 5 | Aggressive ambition is conspicuous in the matter (9) |
| PUSHINESS – SHINES (is conspicuous) [in] PUS (matter). | |
| 6 | Some from a ghost town in Tyrone (5) |
| OMAGH – Hidden in, [some], frOM A GHost. | |
| 7 | Fast boat’s extremely heavy devourer of fuel (9) |
| HYDROFOIL – [Extremely] HeavY DevoureR, OF OIL (fuel). | |
| 8 | Wine shop has metal container in place with miraculous wine production (7) |
| CANTINA – TIN (metal container) [in] CANA (place with miraculous wine production). Reference to the wedding where Jesus turned water into wine. | |
| 10 | Cheer answer with very faint praise (7) |
| APPLAUD – A (answer) PP (pianissimo; very faint) LAUD (praise. | |
| 11 | Heat and cold spoiled new combination of events (9) |
| DECATHLON – (Heat, cold)* [spoiled], N (new). | |
| 12 | Belonging to extreme group, I have to eat alternatively: only invertebrates for me! (11) |
| INSECTIVORE – IN (belonging to) SECT (extreme group), I’VE (I have) outside, [to eat], OR (alternatively). Nice surface but that sect is too extreme for me. | |
| 15 | Crafty explanation of time-saving (5,3,1,4,7) |
| HERES ONE I MADE EARLIER – Cryptic definition. | |
| 20 | Turned up holding son, dead beat (7) |
| PULSATE – UP [turned] -> PU, LATE (dead) [holding] S (son). | |
| 21 | New look for writer of musicals (7) |
| NOVELLO – NOVEL (new) LO (look!). Ivor Novello was a Welsh composer and actor who became one of the most popular British entertainers of the first half of the 20th century. His first hit was “Keep the home fires burning“. | |
| 24 | Last in line for end of lab worker’s shift (7) |
| CHEMISE – Replace last letter [end of] CHEMISt (lab worker) with last letter of, [last in], linE. You need to separate “worker’s shift” to get this. | |
| 26 | With iron-hard casing, this wicked genie would be a bit frail (5) |
| EBLIS – Ooh look. A clue where the definition isn’t at either end. But it’s clear enough. Add FE (iron) H (hard) around the outside of, [casing], the genie and you get FEEBLISH (a bit frail). Nice one. But not a word I knew. | |
| 28 | Hacks besetting suitable computers (7) |
| LAPTOPS – LOPS (hacks) outside, [besetting], APT (suitable). | |
| 30 | Press call for auditor (5) |
| KNEAD – Sounds like NEED (call for) [for auditor]. Hmm. The clue apears to require “for” to do double duty in the wordplay. Or have I got the parsing wrong? | |
| 32 | Semi-bold in bulging front page (7) |
| BELLBOY – First half [semi-] of BOld in BELLY (bulging front). I love the “bulging front”. | |
| 33 | I agree S American capital must import French art (5,2) |
| QUITE SO – QUITO (capital of Ecuador), outside, [must import], ES (french for (you) are or art). | |
| 34 | Alienated duke has an artificial manner (11) |
| DISAFFECTED – D (duke) IS AFFECTED (has an artifical manner), | |
| 36 | Doctor cans a female for misdeed in office (11) |
| MALFEASANCE – [Doctor] (cans a female)*. Rats! A pink square for me as I spelt the word wrong… I thought it was spelt with an I instead of the second A. No need to check if I’ve won the rpize this week, then. | |
| 38 | Secretary with career involving small building’s canopy (9) |
| PARACHUTE – PA (secretary) RACE (career) [involving] HUT (small building). Not a building’s canopy, then. | |
| 40 | Share clip that’s tossed round (9) |
| SPHERICAL – (share clip)* [tossed]. HKeep on separating.. this time “tossed round”. | |
| 41 | Block street mostly lacking bidirectional traffic lines (9) |
|
STONEWALL – ST (street) ONEWA |
|
| 44 | Perhaps one putting away knife, having cut small shrub (7) |
|
HEATHER – |
|
| 46 | Second violinist’s bow preparation carries opening of intermezzo for composer (7) |
| ROSSINI – ROSIN (violinist’s bow preparation) includes, [carries], S (second), [opening of] Intermezzo. | |
| 48 | Signal raised to gather together with wizard (7) |
| GANDALF – FLAG (signal) [raised] -> GALF, outside [to gather] AND (together). | |
| 51 | Squat resembling a rubbish tip? (5) |
| DUMPY – Double definition, the second a cryptic hint. | |
| 53 | Unsettled score for the opponents limits victory (5) |
| OWING – OG (own goal; score for the opponents) outside, [limits] WIN (victory). | |
This took me just over half an hour, but I put in KNEED. And I even checked my answers. Hey ho, as I would spell it.
In that clue incidentally I don’t think ‘for’ is doing double duty as need and call can both be nouns with the same meaning (there is no need/call for…).
I was at a dinner earlier this week in which we sampled wines made in NOVELLO. More my scene than the entertainer chappie.
I was a bit surprised by HERE’S ONE… not really a lexical unit, if you ask me, Blue Peter notwithstanding.
I would definitely say 43 is a semi-&Lit as the whole clue is the definition but not the wordplay.
Personal resolution to revive this meaning of SYMPOSIUM.
Edited at 2022-03-05 08:23 pm (UTC)