Hello everyone. I hope that you have been managing to stay cool. I’ve just noticed that my last Jumbo blog was written in the last heatwave, which wasn’t as bad as this one has been. I fervently hope that in five weeks’ time I won’t be saying the same thing!
Again, no time for this as I solved when it was still far too hot and took my time over a few sessions. I didn’t have too many difficulties, but did have to trust to the wordplay in places. It’s satisfying when you can do that but still have reasonable confidence in your answers. 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 | |
| 1a | Opposed to horned creature endlessly puncturing strange plant (11) |
| ANTIRRHINUM — ANTI (opposed to) + RHINo (horned creature) without the last letter (endlessly) inside (puncturing) RUM (strange). I knew this plant only by its more common name of snapdragon | |
| 7a | Wave, seeing vagrant scavenging at shore (11) |
| BEACHCOMBER — Two definitions | |
| 13a | Barracks old archbishop keeping male African snake (9) |
| BOOMSLANG — BOOS (barracks) and LANG (old archbishop) containing (keeping) M (male) | |
| 14a | Bowler from small area in Greater London (7) |
| SPINNER — S (small) + PINNER (area in Greater London). A spin bowler | |
| 15a | Name American or European river (5) |
| TAGUS — TAG (name) + US (American) | |
| 16a | Cunning creature with tail following bovine animal (3,3) |
| DOG FOX — DOG (tail) + F (following) + OX (bovine animal) | |
| 17a | Seagoing soldier digesting advertisement for pickle (8) |
| MARINADE — MARINE (seagoing soldier) around (digesting) AD (advertisement) | |
| 18a | Revolting contestants in the defenders’ area? (7) |
| UPFIELD — UP (revolting) + FIELD (contestants) | |
| 20a | As a tied-up animal may be — desperate! (2,3,3,2,4,6) |
| AT THE END OF ONES TETHER — A literal interpretation of the answer plus a straight definition of the idiom | |
| 23a | Novel demand brought back varnish (7) |
| SHELLAC — SHE (novel) + CALL (demand) reversed (brought back) | |
| 24a | Police department member’s requirement for sailing boat (7) |
| YARDARM — YARD (police department) + ARM (member) | |
| 26a | Cloudlike patches, a blue blurring in north-east (7) |
| NEBULAE — An anagram of (… blurring) A BLUE in NE (north-east) | |
| 28a | Part of church hall ultimately abandoned by mistake (4) |
| APSE — The last letter of (… ultimately) halL is left out of (abandoned by) [l]APSE (mistake) | |
| 29a | Window a knight used in hasty departure (8) |
| FANLIGHT — A and N (knight) inside FLIGHT (hasty departure) | |
| 32a | Snack prepared by poor actor reflecting about food (9) |
| HAMBURGER — HAM (poor actor) + the reversal of (reflecting) RE (about) and GRUB (food) | |
| 35a | Insectivorous bird fed by female employee at Tower (9) |
| BEEFEATER — BEE-EATER (insectivorous bird) containing (fed by) F (female) | |
| 36a | On which some may receive extended greeting (4,4) |
| LONG WAVE — LONG (extended) + WAVE (greeting) | |
| 37a | Runner, possibly, taking drug in bar (4) |
| BEAN — E (drug) in BAN (bar) | |
| 39a | One who delivers part of Shakespeare’s cue regularly (7) |
| RESCUER — Part of ShakespeaRE‘S CUE Regularly | |
| 41a | Subordinate on board carrying guerrilla leader’s bladed weapon (7) |
| MACHETE — MATE (subordinate on board) containing (carrying) CHE (guerrilla leader) | |
| 44a | Behaving rowdily, from Brazilian port to America (7) |
| RIOTOUS — RIO (Brazilian port) + TO + US (America) | |
| 45a | Present for daughter with type of porcelain in old county (8,3,9) |
| HEREFORD AND WORCESTER — HERE (present) + FOR + D (daughter) AND (with) WORCESTER (type of porcelain) | |
| 49a | Old vehicle a posh actor recollected (7) |
| AUTOCAR — A + U (posh) + ACTOR anagrammed (recollected) | |
| 50a | Almost broke, with expensive-sounding material for jacket (8) |
| DEERSKIN — All but the last letter of (almost) SKINt (broke) is next to a homophone of DEAR (expensive-sounding) | |
| 51a | Part of message is too discriminatory (6) |
| AGEIST — Part of messAGE IS Too | |
| 53a | Birthmarks no Scottish woman displays? (5) |
| NAEVI — NAE (no, Scottish) + VI (woman) displays the answer | |
| 54a | Repulsive old man originally involved in racket (7) |
| NOISOME — Initial letters of (… originally) Old Man inside (involved in) NOISE (racket) | |
| 55a | Recent film having impact in horse-racing centre (9) |
| NEWMARKET — NEW (recent) and ET (film) containing (having … in) MARK (impact) | |
| 56a | Clarify view on protest Society dropped (11) |
| DISENTANGLE — ANGLE (view) next to (on) DI[s]SENT (protest) with an S (society) omitted (dropped) | |
| 57a | Worn-out woman pelted with stones (11) |
| DILAPIDATED — DI (woman) + LAPIDATED (pelted with stones) | |
| Down | |
| 1d | Morning song a university graduate finally composed here (6) |
| AUBADE — A + U (university) + BA (graduate) + the last letters of (finally) composeD herE | |
| 2d | Lack of consideration, albeit not so new in Miss Durbyfield (15) |
| THOUGHTLESSNESS — THOUGH (albeit) + LESS (not so) and N (new) in TESS (Miss Durbyfield – actually Durbeyfield) | |
| 3d | Second old man involved in subterfuge, a country lover (10) |
| RUSSOPHILE — S (second), O (old) and PHIL (man) inside (involved in) RUSE (subterfuge) | |
| 4d | Sea mist enveloping drivers in sixty minutes (4) |
| HAAR — Here we are enveloping AA (drivers) in HR (sixty minutes) | |
| 5d | Parsimonious lady finally donating ring, surprisingly (9) |
| NIGGARDLY — An anagram of (… surprisingly) LADY, the last letter of (finally) donatinG and RING | |
| 6d | Old woman with arthritic dog? (7) |
| MASTIFF — MA (old woman) + STIFF (arthritic) | |
| 7d | Female warrior‘s supporter touring Italy with 8, briefly (9) |
| BRITANNIA — BRA (supporter) around (touring) IT (Italy) and ANNIe (8, 8d) without the last letter (briefly) | |
| 8d | Musical girl‘s note upholding article on Northern Ireland (5) |
| ANNIE — E (note) underneath (upholding) AN (article) on NI (Northern Ireland) | |
| 9d | Daunting clue he ran off (9) |
| HERCULEAN — CLUE HE RAN anagrammed (off) | |
| 10d | Misguided fool initially using the tube, unexpectedly (3,2,3,4) |
| OUT OF THE BLUE — An anagram of (misguided) FOOL together with the first letter of (initially) Using and THE TUBE | |
| 11d | Listening device primarily encountered in pub, a cause of horror (7) |
| BUGBEAR — BUG (listening device) + the first letter of (primarily) Encountered in BAR (pub) | |
| 12d | Lie on left or right, perhaps (6) |
| RESIDE — RE (on) + SIDE (left or right, perhaps) | |
| 19d | Inclination to compose music for psalm (8) |
| PENCHANT — PEN (to compose) + CHANT (music for psalm) | |
| 21d | Farm animal guarding new home, one way or another (7) |
| SOMEHOW — SOW (farm animal) surrounding (guarding) an anagram of (new) HOME | |
| 22d | Position of speculator in General Staff (8) |
| BEARINGS — BEAR (speculator) + IN + GS (General Staff) | |
| 23d | Set up dull method of paying for sheath (8) |
| SCABBARD — Reverse (set up) DRAB (drab) plus BACS (method of paying) | |
| 25d | Gear used by the Spanish star (5) |
| RIGEL — RIG (gear) + EL (the, Spanish) | |
| 27d | Initially limited by weakness, it’s a way to get out (3,6,6) |
| LEG BEFORE WICKET — Initially Limited By Weakness gives LBW, the abbreviated form of the solution | |
| 30d | Former metalworker‘s goodness inspiring old poem (7) |
| LORIMER — LOR (goodness) taking in (inspiring) RIME (old poem) | |
| 31d | Nerve-racking future, for example (5) |
| TENSE — A double definition | |
| 33d | Chap outside to declare an individualist (8) |
| MAVERICK — MICK (chap) around (outside) AVER (to declare) | |
| 34d | Rebirth of Republican building almost certain to be included (12) |
| RESURRECTION — R (republican) and ERECTION (building) with all but the last letter of (almost) SURe (certain) to be inlcuded | |
| 38d | Act as drug obstructors primarily at sea? This force would (10) |
| COASTGUARD — An anagram of (… at sea) ACT AS DRUG with Obstructors primarily | |
| 40d | Judge takes a long time securing aim in polls (9) |
| REFERENDA — REF (judge) + ERA (a long time) holding (securing) END (aim) | |
| 42d | Guard in Rome that protects a South American dictator (9) |
| CHAPERONE — CHE (in Rome, that) goes around (protects) A and PERÓN (South American dictator) | |
| 43d | Moving topic for debate in eastern Alabama (9) |
| EMOTIONAL — MOTION (topic for debate) in E (eastern) and AL (Alabama) | |
| 45d | Loathes son crossing lake without headgear (7) |
| HATLESS — HATES (loathes) and S (son) around (crossing) L (lake) | |
| 46d | Some police officers are inclined to expand (7) |
| DISTEND — DI’S (some police officers) + TEND (are inclined) | |
| 47d | Frenzied woman crazy about another (6) |
| MAENAD — MAD (crazy) around (about) ENA (another [woman]) | |
| 48d | Duke supporting body politic, it’s said (6) |
| STATED — D (duke) under (supporting) STATE (body politic) | |
| 50d | Longing to be staining fabric, do we hear? (5) |
| DYING — DYEING (staining fabric), homophone (do we hear?) | |
| 52d | Exchange prisoners going north (4) |
| SWOP — POWS (prisoners) reversed (going north) | |
I worked steadily through this but had to resort to aids for my LOI, the unknown MAENAD. I may have met the name before but not who she was or that she was frenzied. I probably considered MAD for ‘crazy’ but the random woman’s name wasn’t obvious to me.
I was very pleased that the wordplay at 1ac was so helpful because I knew the name of the plant but had no idea of the exact arrangement of letters in its middle.
As always, a couple of DNKs: ANTIRRHINUM, HEREFORD AND WORCESTER (they do seem to rearrange counties a lot over there), BACS, LBW, DOG FOX, PINNER. Kitty, I think ‘African’ needs underlining at BOOMSLANG.
I had forgotten that PINNER featured in this puzzle. A rare appearance. I lived there for 5 years 1978-1983 when I first moved out of the family home in Stanmore, only a couple of miles down the road. I guess its main claim to fame now is as the birthplace and childhood home of Sir Elton John. Before he became famous he occasionally played piano in one of the local hostelries.
Thanks Kevin. Yes, I will correct the underlining now. I feel like I never even clocked the word “African” at all!
Just over an hour and a half with one wrong. Not that many unknowns (except the spelling of ANTIRRHINUM) and MAENAD. I can’t now think how I could have been confident enough with it to just write it in from the wordplay. At 38dn the drug in the clue led me to horse, which I could not then give up, so I had HORSEGUARD instead of COASTGUARD. It doesn’t make much sense but it seemed obviously to be the only word that would fit those crossers.
Thanks for the blog
Not too hard but I can’t spell DILAPIDATED. I’m up to six errors on the leaderboard 🙁
Happily, I’m so far behind with Jumbos that I solved this and read your blog on the same day. Thanks for the blog!
I am having trouble understanding why UPFIELD is the defensive end. Is that a British thing?
I did like the appearance of Miss Durb(e)yfield, although I of course haven’t read the book.
UPFIELD – I think it is just that if you are Upfield you are in the opposing team’s defenders’ area.
Thanks John. I have to admit I hadn’t really given a thought to which end of the field would be which. Each end is the defensive end for one or other of the teams, after all.
Nothing too tricky here, I thought, although the term DOG FOX was new to me. I remember as a schoolboy in South Africa having to beware of BOOMSLANGs on the walk to and from school… not that I ever saw one in the wild, but we did find a black mamba in the garage once. I had a bit of a MER at HAMBURGER as a snack… it is a main meal to me. COD to COASTGUARD. Thank-you Kitty and setter. 30:42.
Thanks for the great blog. Especially on DOG FOX, where I tried all sorts of parsing, but did not think of f=followed. Was tempted by DOG COW, or DOG TOD.
Leeds United’s Peter Lorimer was a former metal worker, that explains a lot.
Some great clues as always! And thanks, Kitty, for the extensive blog.