Hi all. No time for this as I solved on my phone in bed with 40 or so winks in the middle. I thought it a brilliant puzzle with plenty of clever, cunning and well-disguised definitions. It was also a crossword for crossword lovers, with some self-referential crosswordy content. I didn’t find it easy but did find it free of any frustrating moments of being really stuck, despite a few unknowns or semi-knowns. Far too much good stuff to list here. Many thanks setter!
Definitions are underlined in the clues below. In the explanations, quoted indicators are in italics, explicit [deletions] are in square brackets, and I’ve capitalised and emboldened letters which appear in the ANSWER. For clarity, I omit most link words and some juxtaposition indicators.
| Across | |
| 1 | Blue stone circles to incorporate flint in middle (5) |
| LAPIS — LAPS (circles) going around (to incorporate) the central letter of (.. in the middle) flInt | |
| 4 | One’s RADA friend ushered in before noon (7) |
| ACRONYM — CRONY (friend) put inside (ushered in) AM (before noon) | |
| 8 | Instrument initially supplied with fish from trawler? (9) |
| CASTANETS — The first letter of (initially) Supplied is next to (with) CAST A NET (fish from trawler?) | |
| 13 | Mountain animal in North America on level (9) |
| PARNASSUS — ASS (animal) in between N (North) and US (America), all next to (on) PAR (level) | |
| 14 | Men in retreat, Dicky for one has to abandon front in corrupt constituency (6,7) |
| ROTTEN BOROUGH — OR (men) reversed (in retreat), then aTTENBOROUGH (Dicky for one) needs the first letter deleted (has to abandon front) | |
| 15 | Intelligent swimmer home after hard trudge back (7) |
| DOLPHIN — IN (home) after the reversal of (… back) H (hard) and PLOD (trudge) | |
| 16 | Technique required in piece written with quavers? (7) |
| TREMOLO — A cryptic definition | |
| 17 | About to crack the clues: determination needed (7) |
| RESOLVE — RE (about) + SOLVE (to crack the clues) | |
| 18 | Cool with literal cryptic anagrams designed to avoid offence (11,7) |
| POLITICALLY CORRECT — COOL with LITERAL CRYPTIC anagrams to give the answer. It is certainly rare to find anagram used as an anagram indicator. A cool literal cryptic anagram indeed! | |
| 21 | 2 is just too much for fairy (4) |
| PERI — 2d is PERIl, which is just too much for this answer, so we take the last letter off | |
| 23 | Those signalling when soldiers could proceed to invade shelled area? (3,6) |
| EGG TIMERS — A cryptic definition | |
| 25 | Locks procedure trapping one in harsh and unpleasant Jobcentre? (6) |
| HAIRDO — Here we are confining (trapping) I (one) in HARD (harsh and unpleasant) and O (jObcentre?) | |
| 26 | Make joke about time needed to produce identification (3,3) |
| DOG TAG — DO (make) + GAG (joke) around (about) T (time) | |
| 28 | Old system in Japanese film is generic, strangely? (6,6) |
| ANCIEN REGIME — In ANIME (Japanese film) is an anagram of (… strangely) GENERIC | |
| 30 | Secret affair an elusive universal presence (4,6) |
| DARK MATTER — DARK (secret) + MATTER (affair) | |
| 33 | Old college article is seen by male as eg Hindu doctrine? (10) |
| POLYTHEISM — POLY (old college) + THE (article) + IS + M (male) | |
| 34 | One prepared to provide care for small charge? (6,6) |
| FOSTER PARENT — Another cryptic definition. I have to admit I thought the most natural interpretation of the surface was the one actually required. Hence I was misled! | |
| 37 | Tyre tracks partially traced back, arriving at main road (6) |
| ARTERY — Part of the reversal of (… partially traced back) tYRE TRAcks | |
| 39 | Gambling perhaps without ace, so folding (6) |
| PLYING — PL[a]YING (gambling perhaps) without A (ace) | |
| 40 | Slight anger associated with malfunctioning iPads (9) |
| DISPARAGE — RAGE (anger) next to (associated with) an anagram of (malfunctioning) IPADS | |
| 42 | Frost no longer seen, the fellow having played Morse? (4) |
| THAW — Two definitions, the first referring to the late John Thaw | |
| 43 | Ordinary hybrid, one no good, or one done up like zebra? (10,8) |
| PEDESTRIAN CROSSING — A charade of PEDESTRIAN (ordinary), CROSS (hybrid), I (one) and NG (no good) | |
| 46 | King George, one defined by appetite, having increased size? (7) |
| GREATER — GR (King George) + EATER (one defined by appetite) | |
| 47 | Throttle needed where rubbish blocks entrance (7) |
| GAROTTE — ROT (rubbish) is inside (blocks) GATE (entrance) | |
| 48 | Embarrassed when no professional leader at News? (7) |
| ASHAMED — AS (when) + HAM (no professional) + ED (leader at News?) | |
| 50 | In London, landmark and singular article put on hold (7,6) |
| NELSONS COLUMN — COLUMN (singular article) following NELSON (hold) | |
| 51 | Your compiler can be silenced, not susceptible to change (9) |
| IMMUTABLE — I’M MUTABLE (your compiler can be silenced) | |
| 52 | Expression silver worker used for brawling woman (9) |
| TERMAGANT — TERM (expression) + AG (silver) + ANT (worker) | |
| 53 | Sea nymph previously nameless provided with an identity (7) |
| OCEANID — O[n]CE (previously) without N (nameless) + ID (an identity) | |
| 54 | Summons the entire population in Lewis? (5) |
| CALLS — ALL (the entire population) in CS (Lewis?) | |
| Down | |
| 1 | Order including monarchs potentially applied to ER (11) |
| LEPIDOPTERA — An anagram of (potentially) APPLIED TO ER | |
| 2 | Two school lessons taken by learner in danger (5) |
| PERIL — PE and RI (two school lessons) + L (learner) | |
| 3 | Present – with stage having collapsed – film produced for fewer dollars? (9,7) |
| SPAGHETTI WESTERN — PRESENT – WITH STAGE anagrammed (having collapsed) | |
| 4 | As more highly ranked, soldiers dropped in line (7) |
| ARSENIC — SENI[or] (more highly ranked) without OR (soldiers dropped) goes in ARC (line). I’m usually quite good at spotting chemical symbols as definitions but this one got me! Finally twigging it enabled my last one in, PARNASSUS | |
| 5 | Makes new home, having thing about Yorkshire market town (9) |
| RESETTLES — RES (thing, Latin) around (about) SETTLE (Yorkshire market town) | |
| 6 | Tender lines by Frost quoted in simple verse (7,5) |
| NURSERY RHYME — NURSE (tender) + RY (lines) + a homophone of (… quoted) RIME (frost) | |
| 7 | Mice emptied place for grain left over in big city (10) |
| METROPOLIS — MicE without inner letters (emptied) + the reversal of (… over) SILO (place for grain) and PORT (left) | |
| 8 | Cynical to start with concerning party dogma (5) |
| CREDO — The first letter of (… to start with) Cynical + RE (concerning) + DO (party) | |
| 9 | Sinking boat reportedly shadowed in dock (8) |
| SUBTRACT — SUB (sinking boat) + a homophone of (reportedly) TRACKED (shadowed) | |
| 10 | Annoyed by anagrams at first? That’s not down to solvers (6) |
| ACROSS — CROSS (annoyed) by the initial letter of (… at first) Anagrams) | |
| 11 | Thrown out, but Nellie irrepressible (9) |
| EBULLIENT — An anagram of (thrown out) BUT NELLIE | |
| 12 | School chorister accommodating the French film director (11) |
| SCHLESINGER — SCH (school) and SINGER (chorister) around (accommodating) LE (the, French) | |
| 19 | Coherent infantryman going into pub (7) |
| LOGICAL — GI (infantryman) going into LOCAL (pub) | |
| 20 | Brilliant point in tirade about charity sent up (7) |
| RADIANT — RANT (tirade) around (about) the reversal of (… sent up) AID (charity) | |
| 22 | Limited number catch on, ill at ease when manipulated (5,11) |
| LOCAL ANAESTHETIC — CATCH ON, ILL AT EASE when anagrammed (manipulated) | |
| 24 | Attention Scots hooligan deserved (6) |
| EARNED — EAR (attention) + NED (Scots hooligan) | |
| 27 | Drink in street with son in women’s clothes (6) |
| SKIRTS — KIR (drink) in ST (street) + S (son) | |
| 29 | One’s captivated by set the French needed for ballet (7) |
| GISELLE — I’S (one’s) inside (captivated by) GEL (set) + LE (the, French) | |
| 31 | Those people getting silver? One lot bringing gold (3,4) |
| THE MAGI — THEM (those people) + AG (silver) + I (one) | |
| 32 | Race such as this never having close finish? (4-8) |
| LONG-DISTANCE — Another cryptic definition | |
| 33 | Spies coming together to protect English royal line (11) |
| PLANTAGENET — PLANT and AGENT (spies coming together) going around (to protect) E (English) | |
| 35 | Actor man seated in gallery sees one such as Druantia (4-7) |
| TREE-GODDESS — TREE (actor) + DES (man) seated in GODS (gallery). Herbert Beerbohm still refuses to leave the crossword stage | |
| 36 | Press entertained by one successful old writer (6,4) |
| VICTOR HUGO — HUG (press) inside (entertained by) VICTOR (one successful) and O (old) | |
| 38 | Clerk touring French department picked up sales agent (9) |
| TRAVELLER — TELLER (clerk) around (touring) the reversal of (picked up) VAR (French department) | |
| 40 | Book by food shop on wine-producing plant (9) |
| DANDELION — DAN (Book, of the Bible) + DELI (food shop) + ON | |
| 41 | State banks are reorganising (8) |
| NEBRASKA — BANKS ARE anagrammed (reorganising) | |
| 44 | Set up marine area with new weapons? (7) |
| REARMED — REAR (set up) + MED (marine area) | |
| 45 | Saint needs gypsy man to provide biological tissue (6) |
| STROMA — ST (saint) + ROMA (gypsy man) | |
| 47 | Good media personality shows spirit (5) |
| GHOST — G (good) + HOST (media personality) | |
| 49 | Male murder victim’s name (5) |
| MABEL — M (male) + ABEL (murder victim) | |
But the word in the clue is ‘circles’, and ‘circle’ as a verb can be defined (e.g. by Lexico) as: Move all the way around (someone or something), especially more than once. That seems a pretty good description of ‘lap’.
Edited at 2022-04-30 05:43 am (UTC)
The wretched TREE had been missing from crosswords for ages and I had assumed that the editor had at last placed a ban on him since he’s been dead for 105 years and he was really only of limited importance in his day. His acting work survives in only 6 films all made before the Great War. Since this puzzle appeared he has also appeared in a 15×15.