I found this Jumbo a little trickier than average, with plenty of clever wordplay that rewarded persistence when the pennies dropped. In all, it took me nearly an hour with the last handful of clues taking nearly 10 minutes of that. But there are plenty of straightforward clues to give helpful checkers. Thank-you setter. How did you all get on?
Definitions underlined in bold italics , ( Abc )* indicating anagram of Abc, {deletions} and [] other indicators.
| Across | |
| 1 | Rockers maybe have parts to belt out (7) |
| SEATING – EAT (have) inside [to parts] SING (belt out). A tricky one to start. | |
| 5 | Biggest aphid possibly on fruit (8) |
| PLUMPEST – PEST (aphid, possibly) [on] PLUM (fruit). | |
| 9 | First trace of this compound comprises carbon and silicate (6) |
| TALCUM – Easier to biff than to parse! I think it’s this… First letter of [first trace of] This, ALUM (compound) outside [comprises] C (carbon). TALC or TALCUM being, chemically, hydrated magnesium silicate. | |
| 13 | Line — or lines — tracking said form of transport (11,5) |
| ARTICULATED LORRY – L (line) OR RY (railway lines) after [tracking] ARTICULATED (said). | |
| 14 | Nap following a strong drink (6) |
| PERNOD –NOD (nap) [following] PER (a). | |
| 16 | Attack remake of extremely bad B-movie (4-4) |
| DIVE-BOMB – [remake] of ( bd B-movie )*, with BD from [extrmely] BaD. | |
| 17 | Big predator in Oregon and California (4) |
| ORCA –OR (Oregon) CA (California). Aka the killer whale. | |
| 18 | Poverty seen to recede with the consumption of lunches? (9) |
| NEEDINESS – SEEN reversed, [to recede], -> NEES outside [with the consumption of] DINES (lunches). | |
| 20 | Do something distinctive with beer bottles (5,3) |
| STAND OUT – STOUT (beer) [bottles] AND (with). Nice wordplay. | |
| 21 | Boy or girl also, cheerful with time away from African port (11) |
| ALEXANDRIAN – ALEX (boy or girl’s name) AND (also) RIAN{t} (cheerful) without the T [time away]. | |
| 24 | Pictures in the centre are conserved by gallery’s chemicals (9) |
| TARTRATES – ART (pictures) [in the centre] aRe, all in [conserved by] TATE’S (gallery’s). | |
| 25 | Cheat excessively called out instructions from the back (3-5) |
| TWO-TIMER – TWO, sounds like TOO (excessively) [called out], REMIT (instructions) reversed [from the back] -> TIMER. | |
| 26 | Female , 18, somewhat taken aback (4) |
| ENID -Reverse hidden [somewhat taken aback] in NEEDINESS (answer to 18A). | |
| 29 | For health reasons, heated disputes are ugly (11) |
| PASTEURISED – ( disputes are )* [ugly]. Neatly deceptive definition. | |
| 31 | Plant found in delightful Italian region, say (5,6) |
| SWEET CICELY – SWEET (delightful), CICELY sounds like [say] SICILY (Italian region). Aka Garden Myrrh among other names. See here. | |
| 33 | Bring in books to fill a library’s case, crucially (11) |
| IMPORTANTLY – IMPORT (bring in) NT (New Testament; books) inside A LibrarY [‘s case]. | |
| 36 | Contemplates ditching mass and running from a Christian group ? (11) |
| PENTECOSTAL – ( Conte {m} plates )* [running], [ditching] the M (mass). | |
| 38 | On one’s own and thus endlessly sad (4) |
| SOLO –SO (thus) LO{w} (sad) [endlessly]. | |
| 39 | Impressive, posh starters of rabbit excited several foodies (8) |
| EPICURES – EPIC (impressive) U (posh) [starters of] Rabbit Excited Several. | |
| 41 | Single, rubbish pastry item rejected by a restaurant (9) |
| TRATTORIA –I (one; single) ROT (rubbish) TART (pastry item) all reversed, [rejected], A. Entertaining surface. | |
| 44 | Building up hospital crew with nurse in middle of surgery (11) |
| HEIGHTENING – H (hospital) EIGHT (rowing crew), EN (enrolled nurse) IN, [middle of] surGery. Clever. | |
| 45 | Issue facing staff and head of US organisation (5,3) |
| POINT MAN – POINT (issue) MAN (staff, the verb). | |
| 48 | Stuff you may have a good mind to eat ? (9) |
| BRAINFOOD – Cryptic definition. | |
| 49 | Black cloth put over clothes (4) |
| GARB -B (black) RAG (cloth) [put over] -> GARB. | |
| 50 | Sportswear that’s easy to slip on? (3,5) |
| ICE SKATE -Double definition, the second a cryptic hint. | |
| 52 | Cops having work cut out containing rebel troubles (6) |
| CRISES – CopS having OP (work) [cut out], [containing] RISE (rebel, the verb). | |
| 53 | Clinic with secret room designed for small tech components (16) |
| MICROELECTRONICS – ( clinic secret room )* [designed]. | |
| 54 | Type of coal initially failing to catch fire (6) |
| IGNITE – {l}IGNITE (type of coal) without the first letter [initially failing]. Another nice surface. | |
| 55 | Element in any way reduced from a recent delivery (8) |
| NEONATAL –NEON (element) AT AL{l} (in any way) [reduced]. | |
| 56 | Shape of game piece given to players (3-4) |
| DIE-CAST –DIE (game piece) CAST (players in the theatre). | |
| Down | |
| 1 | Low alcohol product is ultimately useful (6) |
| SHANDY – iS [ultimately] HANDY (useful). | |
| 2 | Brisk , later part of play gets tiresome at the end (6) |
| ACTIVE –ACT IV (later part of play) (I like it), tiresomE [in the end]. | |
| 3 | It helps new businesses in Communist state to run (9) |
| INCUBATOR – IN CUBA (communist state) TO R (run). | |
| 4 | Lizard runs after mate, losing ground (4,7) |
| GILA MONSTER -This was an unknown for me, but I got it from the wordplay… R (runs) [after] ( mate losing )* [ground]. As it says here, they are poisonous. | |
| 5 | Stone with hard innermost part (4) |
| PITH –PIT (stone) H (hard). I didn’t know this 2nd meaning of the word. | |
| 6 | Subtle fact hidden by subordinate journalist (11) |
| UNDERSTATED –STAT (fact) [hidden by] UNDER (subordinate) ED (journalist). | |
| 7 | Breeders stay close to iguana and other reptiles (11) |
| PROPAGATORS –PROP (stay) [close to] iguanA, GATORS (other reptiles). | |
| 8 | Untroubled by time, I take in grand World Heritage site (9) |
| SERENGETI –SERENE (untroubled) T (time) I, [takes in] G (grand). | |
| 10 | Indigenous people ’s minds are extraordinary (8) |
| AMERINDS -( minds are )* [extraordinary]. | |
| 11 | Shop where people go to rummage on vacation (11,5) |
| CONVENIENCE STORE –CONVENIENCES (where people go) TO RummagE [on vacation]. One of my PDMs when I spotted what “where people go” was. | |
| 12 | Very enthusiastic boy claiming second part of kid’s bike race (7) |
| MADISON – MAD (very enthusiastic) SON (boy) [claiming] [second part of] kId. A sort of relay race – see here. | |
| 15 | Overheard club give evidence in trial (4,4) |
| BETA TEST – BETA TEST sounds like, [overheard], BEAT (club) ATTEST (give evidence). | |
| 19 | Home Office employs computers, etc to watch over property (5-3) |
| HOUSE-SIT – HO (home office) USES (employs) IT (computers, etc). | |
| 22 | They contract various typists to collect conveyances at first (8) |
| STYPTICS – [Various] ( typists )* [collect] Conveyances [at first]. Another definition I didn’t know, but its how styptic pencils stop bleeding. | |
| 23 | Busy solicitors plan on transfer of workers ? (5-11) |
| CROSS-POLLINATION -[Busy] ( solicitors plan on )*. A bit of a sneaky definition that had me puzzled at first – it refers to worker bees transferring pollen. | |
| 27 | Not drinking, drug-free and rid of spots ? (3-5) |
| DRY-CLEAN – DRY (not drinking) CLEAN (drug-free). | |
| 28 | Attempt to grasp Inland Revenue payment system (4) |
| GIRO – GO (attempt) [to grasp] IR (Inland Revenue). Another nice surface. Some of (now HMRC)’s processes are quite arcane… or they were when I worked on their IT several years ago. | |
| 30 | Regularly set a trend and make money (4) |
| EARN -Alternate letters [regularly] of sEt A tReNd. | |
| 32 | A genius from Germany , or a mug from there (8) |
| EINSTEIN –EIN (a, in German) STEIN (German mug). | |
| 34 | Small computer program supported by a physicist (8) |
| APPLETON –APPLET (small computer program) ON (supported by). I was stuck on this one thinking APP for small computer program. Does anyone use the term applet any more?I also didn’t know the physicist. Edward Appleton was a pioneer in radiophysics known for his proof of the existence of the ionosphere. | |
| 35 | Pioneering traveller — a guy raring to go wild around India (4,7) |
| YURI GAGARIN – Another pioneer. (A guy raring)* [to go wild] [around] I (India in the NATO phonetic alphabet). The first man in space. | |
| 36 | Meat pie — mostly excellent — had crumbled, for example (4,7) |
| PAST PERFECT – PAST{y} (meat pie) [mostly] PERFECT (excellent). | |
| 37 | Happy to accept a punishment, mainly with resilience (11) |
| ELASTICATED – ELATED (happy) [to accept] A STIC{k} (punishment) [mostly]. I wasn’t keen on that definition until I read this definition of resilience in the dictionary… “the ability of a substance or object to spring back into shape; elasticity”. | |
| 40 | Innocent Democrat embraced by cool old president (9) |
| CHILDLIKE – D (democrat) [embraced by] CHILL (cool) IKE (Eisenhower; old president). | |
| 42 | So, parents contrived to change (9) |
| TRANSPOSE -( So parents )* [contrived]. | |
| 43 | Most counterfeit rings tend primarily to contain tin in the centre (8) |
| PHONIEST –PHONES (rings) Tend [primarily], [to contain] tIn [in the centre. | |
| 44 | Welcomes eating certain pork, but not on a barbecue (7) |
| HIBACHI –HI HI (welcomes) [eating] BAC{on} (certain pork) without the ON. I didn’t know this. | |
| 46 | Pretentious youth starts to ignore dad’s advice (2-2-2) |
| LA-DI-DA – LAD (youth) [starts to] Ignore Dad’s Advice. I can relate to that! | |
| 47 | Service facility occupying empty tenement (3,3) |
| TEA SET –EASE (facility) [occupying] [empty] T{enemen}T. | |
| 51 | Soft wood is the reason for some shaking? (4) |
| DEAL -Double definition, the second a cryptic hint. | |
I don’t time my Jumbo solves but since I have very few notes or workings in the margins of my print-out this one evidently didn’t give me too much trouble. There were a few unknowns, the physicist (of course!) and the barbecue, both deduced from wordplay, but the one I gave up on as LOI and looked up was DEAL. I didn’t know this as a particularly soft wood and I couldn’t see the cryptic hint in the wordplay. I know I shall be kicking myself when somebody explains, but I still can’t.
Yes you will kick yourself…. when you make a deal with someone you shake their hand.
Thank you. Well you’re right, but doubly so because now you have pointed it out I’ve remembered I understood it perfectly after I’d looked the answer up but had forgotten it in the meantime and was unable to see it this morning!
DNK SWEET CICELY, MADISON, and DNK POINT MAN, who is not to my knowledge the head of an organization, US or otherwise. The setter likes picking one letter from a word: 43d “t/i/n in the centrre”, 12d “second part of k/i/d’s”, 24ac “in the centre a/r/e”, 44ac “middle of sur/g/ery”. Also gutting words: 52ac “c/op/s having work cut out”, 47d “empty /t/enemen/t/”, 33ac “/l/ibrar/y/’s case”. I liked HIBACHI (we had one when I was a kid, I don’t know why), but COD to STAND OUT.
For POINT MAN, Collins has “n (chiefly US)… 2. the leader or spokesperson of a campaign or organisation”.
Definition 1 being the fall guy they send up ahead to reveal the landmines/snipers in Vietnam war films.
My printout has written on it “Took a while!” .. over several sessions as I recall.
No problems with Hibach as I actually possess one. No problems either with Appleton, who has not only a Nobel Prize, but also his own layer of the ionosphere, the Appleton Layer.
NHO sweet cicely, or point man.. Collins has “Mainly US: the leader or spokesperson of a campaign or organization,” which seems good enough.
When she was at Cambridge my same grandmother, concocted a recipe for ‘Appleton Layer Cake’! in honour of Edward. Her ‘secret ingredient’ was Appleton’s Jamaica Rum.
Nice one, but it took me more than 3 hours. l must have just sat back and enjoyed it. I never saw where ENID came from. I thought I must have known MADISON from previous crosswords but it seems not; a search only shows the President and the Avenue (and a dance michelinpoitier learned 50 years ago). My favourites include STAND OUT, CRISES, ACTIVE and others
Thanks for the blog. This was tough, taking nearly two hours.
I thought the “a”s in a couple of clues were unnecessary and misleading. In 34d, it gave the impression that “a” was the last letter, while 44d had me trying to think of a kind of pork ending in “ona”. Maybe that’s fair misdirection but I found it a bit irritating.
Extra “a”s. I sort of agree with you, but I believe the convention is that it is OK to prepend a noun with an “a” if it improves the surface – ref Don Manley’s Chambers Crossword Manual p 101. An excellent book, by the way.
Thanks for the tip, I’ll have a read.