Hi all. For once I have a proper solving time to report as I put my head down for a single jumbo session. I started well, with lots done after 20 minutes, but after that was surprised to finish in (just) under 45 minutes, which is good for me for a Jumbo. Had to trust the wordplay in quite a few places, and the last quarter of an hour or so could have easily taken twice as long and ended with gaps or wrong answers, so I was lucky. 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 | Youngster initially enthused by Indonesian climber (5) |
| CUBEB — CUB (youngster) + the first letters of (initially) Enthused By. One of those where I had to trust the wordplay: it’s a tropical shrub of the pepper family bearing pungent berries | |
| 4a | Struck, holding wife inside animal shelter (7) |
| COWSHED — COSHED (struck) containing (holding … inside) W (wife) | |
| 8a | Stew made by shy Liverpudlian (9) |
| LOBSCOUSE — LOB (shy, as in throw) + SCOUSE (Liverpudlian). I vaguely recalled scouse as a stew but don’t think I’ve met lobscouse before | |
| 13a | Book of words governor’s kept in house (9) |
| THESAURUS — HE’S (His Excellency’s; governor’s) inside (kept in) TAURUS (house) | |
| 14a | Where courses may be provided along certain lines (10,3) |
| RESTAURANT CAR — A cryptic definition: food courses along railway lines | |
| 15a | Owns gallery shaped like a spear (7) |
| HASTATE — HAS (owns) + TATE (gallery). Yet another new word for me, but nice clear wordplay | |
| 16a | British soldiers given pay for preparing drinks (7) |
| BREWAGE — B (British) + RE (soldiers) + WAGE (pay) | |
| 17a | Happiest, surprisingly, when son leaves grave message (7) |
| EPITAPH — An anagram of (… surprisingly) HAPPIE[s]T when S is removed (when son leaves) | |
| 18a | Face a hard task? As a popular journalist one might (4,4,4,3,3) |
| HAVE ONES WORK CUT OUT — A popular journalist might have their article(s)/work clipped or cut out from the publication – to keep, not to discard, which momentarily confused me! | |
| 21a | Tyneside graduate goes west? So be it (4) |
| AMEN — NE (Tyneside) and MA (graduate) is reversed (goes west, in an across answer) | |
| 23a | Sailor originally involved in Beds town’s cleaning process (9) |
| ABLUTIONS — AB (sailor) + the first letter of (originally) Involved in LUTON‘S (Beds town’s) | |
| 25a | Extend downward dimension of enclosure by river (6) |
| DEEPEN — PEN (enclosure) by DEE (river) | |
| 26a | Medic swallowed by big fish in Arctic territory (6) |
| TUNDRA — DR (medic) inside (swallowed by) TUNA (big fish) | |
| 28a | Broken hearts originally haunting a ruler of great importance (12) |
| EARTHSHAKING — An anagram of (broken) HEARTS + the initial letter of (originally) Haunting + A + KING (ruler) | |
| 30a | Final Greek poet beheaded in confines of bare cell (10) |
| BLASTOMERE — LAST (final) plus hOMER (Greek poet) without the first letter (beheaded), all of which goes in the outer letters of (confines of) BarE | |
| 33a | Give excessive work to old priest returning cross (10) |
| OVERBURDEN — O (old) + REV (priest) reversed (returning) + BURDEN (cross) | |
| 34a | Endless moral rectitude concerning ship’s owner (12) |
| PROPRIETRESS — PROPRIETy (moral rectitude) without the last letter (endless …) + RE (concerning) + SS (ship) | |
| 37a | Partner finally secures employment on European river (6) |
| SPOUSE — The last letter of (finally) secureS + USE (employment) next to (on) PO (European river). It’s been a while since I’ve seen our old friend the Po in a crossword | |
| 39a | Property in East, say (6) |
| ESTATE — E (east) + STATE (say) | |
| 40a | European prince, carrying cape, left social venue (9) |
| DANCEHALL — DANE (European) and HAL (prince) containing (carrying) C (cape), followed by L (left) | |
| 42a | Relax, having letters read aloud (4) |
| EASE — This sounds like (… read aloud) Es (letters) | |
| 43a | Part of US which briefly employs leaders in Denver, Colorado (8,2,8) |
| DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA — The abbreviation for the answer is given by the first letters of (leaders in) Denver Colorado | |
| 46a | Reportedly regret dig in simulated conversation (7) |
| RHUBARB — The first syllable of the answer, RHU, sounds like (reportedly) RUE; the second is BARB (dig). Extras in the UK might say “rhubarb” repeatedly when pretending to converse or making crowd noise. Other words are available for use in different countries | |
| 47a | Verse in ancient language also inspiring a NE European (7) |
| LATVIAN — V (verse) in LATIN (ancient language), also taking in (also inspiring) A | |
| 48a | Officers with notices, in French to begin with (7) |
| ENSIGNS — SIGNS (notices) with EN (in, French) first (to begin with) | |
| 50a | French writer, chap with castle at end of wood (13) |
| CHATEAUBRIAND — BRIAN (chap) next to (with) CHATEAU (castle) + the end of wooD. The writer the dish is named after | |
| 51a | Plotter, one who fascinates? (9) |
| INTRIGUER — Two definitions | |
| 52a | Modern way to dip into coffee? Certainly (6-3) |
| LATTER-DAY — RD (way) going inside (to dip into) LATTE (coffee) and AY (certainly) | |
| 53a | US city taking ages to accept a British monarch (7) |
| YONKERS — YONKS (ages) taking in (to accept) ER (a British monarch) | |
| 54a | Perceived as only a subsidiary journalist? (5) |
| NOTED — A journalist who is only subsidiary one, not the boss, would be NOT ED | |
| Down | |
| 1d | Net wears thin, we hear? It’s something often delivered (11) |
| CATCHPHRASE — CATCH (net) + a homophone of (… we hear) FRAYS (wears thin) | |
| 2d | Consecrate land originally held by good queen (5) |
| BLESS — The initial letter of (… originally) Land inside (held by) BESS (good queen: “Good Queen Bess”) | |
| 3d | Prevaricate, but attend a fight over the Aussie outback (4,5,3,4) |
| BEAT ABOUT THE BUSH — BE AT (attend) + A + ROUND (fight) + THE BUSH (Aussie outback) | |
| 4d | Funeral procession my sheep ultimately impede (7) |
| CORTEGE — COR (my) + TEG (sheep) + the last letter of (ultimately) impedE | |
| 5d | Used to be game, installing hotel’s facilities for 23 (9) |
| WASHBOWLS — WAS (used to be) and BOWLS (game) taking in (installing) H (hotel). 23 = 23a ABLUTIONS | |
| 6d | Hard bargaining involving Arabs and Andalusians, perhaps? (5,7) |
| HORSE TRADING — A cryptic definition, the Arabs and Andalusians being horses | |
| 7d | Underworld boss having quick fix is bumped off (10) |
| DISPATCHED — DIS (underworld boss) + PATCHED (having quick fix) | |
| 8d | Give up holiday (5) |
| LEAVE — A double definition | |
| 9d | Pub sign covering live outdoor meal (8) |
| BARBECUE — BAR (pub) and CUE (sign) around (covering) BE (live) | |
| 10d | Plain as peel may be, releasing energy (6) |
| CANDID — CANDI[e]D (as peel may be) omitting (releasing) E (energy) | |
| 11d | Object taken in by pawnbroker, note, awaiting applicant (9) |
| UNCLAIMED — AIM (object) inside (taken in by) UNCLE (pawnbroker) + D (note) | |
| 12d | Turbulent weather near pottery (11) |
| EARTHENWARE — An anagram of (turbulent) WEATHER NEAR | |
| 19d | Woman heading for vessel on a large lake (7) |
| VALERIE — The first letter of (heading for) Vessel + A + L (large) + ERIE (lake) | |
| 20d | Part of pedal pilot used going north round City (7) |
| TOECLIP — PILOT written in reverse (used going north) outside (round) EC (City) | |
| 22d | Impossible? Not in the search I mount regularly (3,2,3,8) |
| OUT OF THE QUESTION — OUT OF THE QUEST (not in the search) + regular letters of (… regularly) I mOuNt. (You could also take the I first and then take the regular letters of mount, which works equally well) | |
| 24d | Neat woman’s daughter, an animal minder (6) |
| OXHERD — OX (neat) + HER (the woman’s) + D (daughter) | |
| 27d | A function for the speaker to fix (6) |
| ASSIGN — A + SINE (function), sound-alike (for the speaker) | |
| 29d | Joints English rejected, laid for foreign parliament (7) |
| KNESSET — KNE[e]S (joints) missing an E (English rejected) + SET (laid). Another parliament to add to my list: the parliament of Israel | |
| 31d | Prize possession we associated with English essayist (3-4) |
| EWE-LAMB — WE next to (associated with) E (English) followed by LAMB (essayist, Charles Lamb) | |
| 32d | Fishermen’s club freed study dominated by ministers (6-6) |
| PRIEST-RIDDEN — PRIEST (fisherman’s club) + RID (freed) + DEN (study). I didn’t know priest as a club or mallet for killing fish, but what else was it going to be? | |
| 33d | Like the treatment of those expecting somehow to steal crib (11) |
| OBSTETRICAL — An anagram of (somehow) TO STEAL CRIB | |
| 35d | Confident lasses Freud mismanaged (4-7) |
| SELF-ASSURED — LASSES FREUD anagrammed (mismanaged) | |
| 36d | Wise men initially supporting female law administrators collectively (10) |
| MAGISTRACY — MAGI (wise men) + the first letter of (initially) Supporting + TRACY (female) | |
| 38d | Alumni blunt about an opposer of enlightenment (9) |
| OBSCURANT — OBS (alumni) + CURT (blunt) around (about) AN | |
| 40d | Protective of duck crossing eastern marshes (9) |
| DEFENSIVE — DIVE (duck) around (crossing) E (eastern) and FENS (marshes) | |
| 41d | Detectives certain to be removed from cover (8) |
| DISBOUND — DIS (detectives) + BOUND (certain) | |
| 44d | Mycenaean prince of old relaxes, conserving energy (7) |
| ORESTES — O (old) + RESTS (relaxes) containing (conserving) E (energy). He sounded likely; on looking him up I find Orestes is a figure in Greek mythology | |
| 45d | Flower-cluster European male kept in stock (6) |
| RACEME — E (European) and M (male) kept in RACE (stock) | |
| 47d | Truck, possibly, taking parrot across river (5) |
| LORRY — LORY (parrot) written around (taken … across) R (river) | |
| 49d | Scrawny relative holding up beginning of game (5) |
| GAUNT — AUNT (relative) under (holding up) the first letter of (beginning of) Game | |
DNK HASTATE, of course, PRIEST, DISBOUND; DNK that CUBEB was Indonesian or a climber, or that Andalusians were horses. No COD.
I knew the priest (we had it, years and years ago, as part of a clue), but not Lobscouse or Hastate. I’ll probably remember them, but likely I’ll just let Cubeb drift away. Nice blog, kitty, and nice time
Also solved in one session but I didn’t time myself.
I made a note on my copy that I found the top half easy but the lower half less so. Looking back on it now and seeing unknown words such as CUBEB, HASTATE and BLASTOMERE in the top half I can only conclude that their transparent wordplay must have led me to the answers with complete confidence.
Further down the grid I was not so fortunate and ended with an error by writing CANEME, at 45dn based on ‘stock = CANE’, thinking of ‘stock’ as a walking stick, a meaning I can’t now find in an English dictionary although I know it can mean that in German.
We do have ‘alpenstock’, borrowed of course from German, but.
1:05:22. At last, an end to my run of very slow solves, with a personal best by 18 seconds. Mostly the same unknowns as others, but the cluing was very helpful. Most trouble I think with BLASTOMERE. I don’t like the idea of clubbing fish to death, but it’s good to know they use a PRIEST to administer the last rites. Thank you Kitty for the blog
On the easier side of average, I thought, finishing in 38:45. Held up at the end by the unknown BASTOMERE my LOI by having WEE LAMB for 31D. Also DNK HASTATE, the horse or fish-beating stick but I did know CUBEB as it’s one of my aromatics for my gin-making. I had appreciative ticks for EPITAPH, HAVE ONES WORK CUT OUT, LATTER-DAY and UNCLAIMED. Thanks Kitty and setter.