Hi everybody. This didn’t seem hard at first, but proved to have some hidden teeth. I used a bit of dictionary help in the end, so not a finish under exam conditions. Fortunately, I don’t treat crosswords as exams. (Unless I ace them, of course!) I was also pretty slow with the longer anagrams, but that’s nothing new.
I liked 15a which, apart from being nice in itself, reminded me of a recent puzzle in another place. 39d was also novel. 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 | They dread running dry (9) |
| DEHYDRATE — THEY DREAD anagrammed (running) | |
| 6a | Type of spring (5) |
| FOUNT — Two definitions, the first relating to print. I had trouble with this until I realised fount was another spelling of font (it’s actually the first listed in Chambers) | |
| 9a | Plant is high around noon (7) |
| INSTALL — IS and TALL (high) around N (noon) | |
| 13a | What determines fate of king beginning to ask about power (5) |
| KARMA — K (king) and the first letter of (beginning to) Ask around (about) ARM (power, figurative) | |
| 14a | Military commander one’s surprised in castle courtyard (7) |
| WARLORD — LOR (one’s surprised) in WARD (castle courtyard). Another I struggled with, convincing myself the warlord was a name or a foreign term I didn’t know, and not having a clue about the courtyard – until I had it, at which point, sure, I knew it then! | |
| 15a | What might indicate it to be a poor area (5,4) |
| INNER CITY — A reverse clue: The middle of (INNER) CITY might cryptically indicate IT | |
| 16a | Consultants have money cut as outside roster (11) |
| SPECIALISTS — SPECIe (money) without the last letter (cut) + AS around (outside) LIST (roster) | |
| 17a | I target urge desperately to bring matter up again (11) |
| REGURGITATE — I TARGET URGE anagrammed (desperately) | |
| 18a | Doctor takes side of blade to explore deeper? (6) |
| DREDGE — DR (doctor) + EDGE (side of blade) | |
| 19a | Pill taken before operation here in theatre? (8) |
| TABLETOP — TABLET (pill) taken before OP (operation) | |
| 21a | Medical officer leads because of the possibility of assault (6) |
| MOLEST — MO (medical officer) precedes (leads) LEST (because of the possibility of) | |
| 25a | Catching girl leaving — not good — earlier (8) |
| LASSOING — LASS (girl) + [g]OING (leaving) without (not) the first or earlier G (good) | |
| 26a | Run round southeast in rugged old hunting land, a foolish pursuit (4-5,5) |
| WILD-GOOSE CHASE — GO (run), O (round) and SE (southeast) are in WILD (rugged) plus CHASE (old hunting land) | |
| 28a | Doubt in the capacity of learner driver before motorway (5) |
| QUALM — QUA (in the capacity of) + L (learner driver) + M (motorway) | |
| 29a | Mostly wrong backing railway system run by clockwork (6) |
| ORRERY — All but the last letter of (mostly) ERROr (wrong) reversed (backing) + RY (railway) | |
| 30a | Restricted activity near key society dance (6,4) |
| CLOSED SHOP — CLOSE (near) + D (key) + S (society) + HOP (dance) | |
| 33a | What can be done to uranium giving gold? (10) |
| ENRICHMENT — A double definition | |
| 35a | A long way into a meal (6) |
| FARINA — FAR (a long way) + IN (into) + A. A new word for me, and even with the checkers I felt moved to check it in the dictionary before entry | |
| 36a | What helps reach peak mine working (5) |
| PITON — PIT (mine) + ON (working) | |
| 38a | Noted author lacked richness somehow (7,7) |
| CHARLES DICKENS — LACKED RICHNESS anagrammed (somehow] | |
| 40a | Photographic image for example held by son (8) |
| NEGATIVE — EG (for example) inside (held by) NATIVE (son) | |
| 42a | Explanation of treachery when abducting leader (6) |
| REASON — tREASON (treachery) when taking away the first letter (when abducting leader) | |
| 43a | Determined what puzzles like this often are not? (8) |
| RESOLVED — Once these puzzles are solved, they are rarely RE–SOLVED | |
| 44a | Take away empty drainage pipe (6) |
| DEDUCT — DrainagE without the inner letters (empty …) + DUCT (pipe) | |
| 47a | Money perhaps for crude trollop — dear, unfortunately (11) |
| PETRODOLLAR — TROLLOP – DEAR anagrammed (unfortunately) | |
| 50a | Bombing raid round British ocean damaged navigation aid (5,6) |
| RADIO BEACON — An anagram of (bombing) RAID + O (round) + B (British) + an anagram of (… damaged) OCEAN | |
| 52a | Routine opera illuminated by unknown (9) |
| NORMALITY — NORMA (opera) + LIT (illuminated) + Y (unknown) | |
| 53a | Move casually, catching Liberal conspirator (7) |
| PLOTTER — POTTER (move casually) around (catching) L (Liberal) | |
| 54a | Earlier head of house (5) |
| PRIOR — Another double definition | |
| 55a | Plant is in my control (7) |
| MASTERY — ASTER (plant) is in MY | |
| 56a | Hangs around birds with a becoming uniform (5) |
| LURKS — L[a]RKS (birds) with A becoming U (uniform) | |
| 57a | Fool, upper-class, new in career shows certainty (9) |
| ASSURANCE — ASS (fool) + U (upper-class) + N (new) in RACE (career) | |
| Down | |
| 1d | What could be fast protecting king? Earthworks (5) |
| DYKES — DYES (what could be fast) surrounding (protecting) K (king) | |
| 2d | Researcher’s goal is revolutionary mode of transport (9,8) |
| HORSELESS CARRIAGE — RESEARCHER‘S GOAL IS anagrammed (revolutionary) | |
| 3d | Where to go after dinner to entice home stable boy (7,4) |
| DRAWING ROOM — DRAW (to entice) + IN (home) + GROOM (stable boy) | |
| 4d | Answer excellent for an American also (2,4) |
| AS WELL — A (answer) + SWELL (excellent for an American). I had an embarrassing amount of mental blockage for this one, albeit as part of a troublesome trio so I was lacking checkers | |
| 5d | European hope, mostly about new language (8) |
| ETRUSCAN — E (European) + TRUSt (hope) without the last letter (mostly) + CA (about) + N (new). The second of that troublesome trio. (The other was WARLORD at 14a, just in case you’re curious) | |
| 6d | Rambling stories of old men (4,8) |
| FOOT SOLDIERS — An anagram of (rambling) STORIES OF OLD. Refreshing to see the men somewhere other than their chestnutty position as wordplay components for OR | |
| 7d | One taking over part of down train (10) |
| UNDERSTUDY — UNDER (down) + STUDY (train) | |
| 8d | Fine golf gadget (5) |
| THING — THIN (fine) + G (golf) | |
| 9d | Fool to overlook what diversion does if never taken all the way (9) |
| IGNORAMUS — IGNORe (to overlook) + AMUSe (what diversion does), where neither includes the last letter (if never taken all the way) | |
| 10d | Channel 50 delivered good service with no licence? (6-5) |
| STRAIT-LACED — STRAIT (channel) + L (50) + ACED (delivered good service) | |
| 11d | Saintism regularly has a feminine side (5) |
| ANIMA — Alternate letters of (… regularly) sAiNtIsM + A | |
| 12d | Non-professionals can be idle people, not unknown (6) |
| LAYMEN — LA[z]Y MEN (idle people) without Z (not unknown) | |
| 18d | Have many branches of food shops around Quebec with this from France (10) |
| DELIQUESCE — DELIS (food shops) around QUE (Quebec) + CE (this from France). I think this may have been the first I looked up in the dictionary right away because I couldn’t wait to find out whether or not I had constructed a real word | |
| 20d | Declare in favour of state (8) |
| PROCLAIM — PRO (in favour of) + CLAIM (state) | |
| 22d | Complex ways of combining pasta, initially just with oil (9,8) |
| SPAGHETTI JUNCTION — SPAGHETTI (pasta) + the first letter of (initially) Just + UNCTION (oil) | |
| 23d | Teach — and where to do it (6) |
| INFORM — IN FORM (where to do it [teach]) | |
| 24d | Object to including mere divorce case defendant (10) |
| RESPONDENT — RESENT (object to) containing (including) POND (mere) | |
| 27d | Marches right on in fine row (8) |
| FRONTIER — R (right) and ON in F (fine) and TIER (row) | |
| 31d | Young boy‘s quiet state (6) |
| SHAVER — SH (quiet) + AVER (state) | |
| 32d | Shameful supporting vice admiral’s bragging (12) |
| VAINGLORIOUS — INGLORIOUS (shameful) under (supporting, in a down entry) VA (vice admiral) | |
| 34d | Store into which oldest cargo could be moved? (4,7) |
| COLD STORAGE — This can be anagrammed to make (into which … could be moved) OLDEST CARGO. The store/storage is a bit jarring | |
| 36d | Bit player in speech, one acting with good force? (11) |
| PEACEKEEPER — A homophone of (… in speech) PIECE (bit) and KEEPER (player) | |
| 37d | Building ark fashioned with cypress (10) |
| SKYSCRAPER — ARK is anagrammed (fashioned) together with CYPRESS | |
| 39d | Chosen junior in later stages will get it years later? (9) |
| SENIORITY — The second halves of (… in later stages) choSEN junIOR + IT + Y (years) | |
| 41d | Feud with old soldier about issue with volunteers (8) |
| VENDETTA — VET (old soldier) around (about) END (issue) + TA (volunteers) | |
| 45d | English horse, male. Black Beauty perhaps? (6) |
| EPONYM — E (English) + PONY (horse) + M (male) | |
| 46d | Sees benches in quadrangles (6) |
| COURTS — A triple definition | |
| 48d | Names, regular features of the Proms, succeeded (5) |
| TERMS — Alternate letters of (regular features of) ThE pRoMs + S (succeeded) | |
| 49d | Forged alloy providing firm support (5) |
| LOYAL — An anagram of (forged) ALLOY | |
| 51d | Steel used to form some inner vessel (5) |
| NERVE — The answer is part of (used to form some) inNER VEssel | |
I had “def?” in the margin by 18d, but I see that Collins (but not ODE) has the branching meaning as one definition for DELIQUESCE; new to me. And I had a ! next to 34d, because of the store/storage. I didn’t realize that SWELL was an Americanism, but it doesn’t surprise me. Liked 7d UNDERSTUDY and 10d STRAIT-LACED.
I had some queries whilst solving, all resolved after the event except issue = END in 41dn. Am I missing something obvious?
Not obvious, but eg ODE has sv ‘issue’: 4) a result or outcome of something;
and gives as examples
The chance of carrying such a scheme to a successful issue was small.
The successful issue of the great battle ….
Thanks. I will try to remember it!
Just under an hour and a half. Mostly fine, although some of the teeth were more irritating than impressive. I knew DELIQUESCE as a word, just not with the required meaning. End = issue still jars. At 43ac, I am sure you’re right with “not re-solved”. But as “not resolved” it would mean not completed – wordplay that works in my case. I liked CLOSED SHOP and DEDUCT (the empty drainage pipe)
Yes, resolved as a double definition would work – I hadn’t thought of that. I agree with you that re-solved is probably the setter’s intention, just because that feels a bit more cryptic.
The issue of the issue
I admit I just checked the dictionary, assumed there must be a context where the equivalence works, and moved on.
Chambers has for issue (noun, definition 13) “ultimate result, outcome” but the examples Kevin quotes from ODE (thank you!) sound distinctly odd – and old – to my ears. Maybe it’s time that definition 13 was marked obsolete.