Hi again everyone
I toiled with this for about 75 minutes over three sessions but was watching World Cup football at the same time. It took a while to get going as none of the early acrosses jumped out at me (although with hindsight some of them are very straightforward) hence my first in being a down clue. There are quite a lot of uncommon words / meanings knocking about, causing me to visit the dictionary a few times when writing up the explanations.
First in was ACADEMICISM and last was SUPERPOSE.
If any of my explanations don’t make sense then feel free to ask for further elucidation.
As this will be my last blog before Christmas may I wish you a very happy festive season and all the best for 2023.
The technical stuff:
Clues are in blue (unless you’re in dark mode) with the definition underlined. Anagram indicators are in bold italics.
Notation:
DD: Double definition
CD: Cryptic definition
DDCDH: DD/CD hybrid where a straight definition is combined with a cryptic hint.
&Lit: “all in one” where the entire clue is both definition and wordplay.
(fodder)* denotes an anagram of the letters in the brackets.
Rounded brackets are also used to add further clarity
Squiggly brackets {} indicate parts of a word not used
Deletions are struck out
Square brackets [] expand an abbreviation or shortening like L[arge]
| Across | |
| 1 | Tailored coat mum’s altered, done without lining (6-4) |
| CUSTOM-MADE – (coat mum’s)*, DonE | |
| 6 | What people pour into gardens with a cane and string for lashing (8,4) |
| WATERING CANS – (W[ith] a cane string)* | |
| 14 | Intimate audition for Court Theatre? (4,5) |
| SHOW TRIAL – SHOW, TRIAL | |
| 15 | Work at including queen in abstract piece (2,3) |
| OP ART – OP[us], R[egina] in AT | |
| 16 | Job involving a large American choir (7) |
| CHORALE – CHORE around A L[arge]. My Chambers app gives the choir / chorus meaning as especially N American. | |
| 17 | Elected Conservative party scold head for lack of respect (17) |
| INCONSIDERATENESS – IN, CON, SIDE, RATE, NESS. | |
| 18 | New York has speed and spirit (5) |
| NYMPH – N[ew] Y[ork], M[iles] P[er] H[our] | |
| 19 | Dog grips part of leg, exerting pressure (7) |
| PUSHING – PUG around SHIN | |
| 21 | Closed Civil Service during alarm (6) |
| TOCSIN – TO (as in a door), C[ivil] S[ervice], IN. It’s an alarm bell (or the ringing of it). | |
| 22 | Wrong spring put into lock (8) |
| TRESPASS – SPA in TRESS | |
| 24 | I am having beans? This will get one going (7) |
| IMPULSE – I’M, PULSE | |
| 26 | Financially embarrass senator holding property (8) |
| STRAITEN – SEN[ator] around TRAIT | |
| 27 | We should be away from fires (4,2) |
| LETS GO – DD, fires as in dismisses / sacks. | |
| 30 | They can up the tension to go round bends (11) |
| TURNBUCKLES – TURN, BUCKLES. “A coupling with screw-threads for adjusting tension”. I just did a Google image search and it turns out I have some in my shed. I think I harvested them from a defunct lighting set-up and hung on to them, just in case. | |
| 32 | A stone? Queen and king, say, after millions for jewel in the crown (11) |
| MASTERPIECE – A, ST[one], E.R., (chess) PIECE, all after M[illions] | |
| 33 | Kindly don outraged to be disturbed (4-7) |
| GOOD-NATURED – (don outraged)* | |
| 35 | Protest loudly about circuit crash (11) |
| THUNDERCLAP – THUNDER, C[irca], LAP | |
| 37 | Extremely clever solver’s got this (4,2) |
| EVER SO – hidden | |
| 38 | Annoying person is in touch (8) |
| NUISANCE – IS in NUANCE | |
| 39 | Attach payment: a bit off Sunday roast? (7) |
| SUBJOIN – SUB, JOINt. A “formal” word meaning to append / add at the end or afterwards. | |
| 42 | As some wild animals ate English lamb unfortunately (8) |
| TAMEABLE – (ate E[nglish] lamb)* | |
| 44 | Show off floor National Trust inlaid with gold (6) |
| FLAUNT – FL[oor], N[ational] T[rust] around AU | |
| 46 | Aperture in very large copper chimney up north (7) |
| OSCULUM – O[out]S[ize], CU, LUM. An aperture in a sponge. Who knew there was a name for that. | |
| 48 | Ruminant — I had three finally in compound (5) |
| OXIDE – OX, I’d, {thre}E | |
| 49 | Much action with bombers flying in which fuel catches fire (10,7) |
| COMBUSTION CHAMBER – (much action bombers)* | |
| 51 | Underlying theme of message from HMS Vanguard? (7) |
| SUBTEXT – DDCDH, the latest of the 13 Royal Navy vessels to have been named HMS Vanguard being a submarine. | |
| 52 | Mend incomplete iron blade (5) |
| KNIFE – KNIt, FE | |
| 53 | Poisonous plant of the underworld Persephone finally brought forth (9) |
| HELLEBORE – HELL, {Persephon}E, BORE. This plant cropped up in the 15×15 a few days after it appeared in this puzzle. | |
| 54 | Walk in sounding weary, something unprepared players may do (5-7) |
| SIGHT-READING – TREAD in SIGHING | |
| 55 | Crucial batsman’s actions — these could be character forming (10) |
| KEYSTROKES – KEY, STROKES | |
| Down | |
| 1 | Specific example of something in milk and nought in beer? (4,2,5) |
| CASE IN POINT – CASEIN, O in PINT. Casein is a protein obtained from milk, forming the basis of cheese, Gromit. | |
| 2 | Philosopher — one in short supply (5) |
| STOIC – I in STOCk | |
| 3 | Endless game in old California lasting a number of years (9) |
| OCTENNIAL – TENNIs in O[ld] CAL[ifornia] | |
| 4 | Intend to break pottery, causing damage (7) |
| MAIMING – AIM in MING | |
| 5 | United playing with learner, tending to reduce concentration (7) |
| DILUENT – (united L[earner])* | |
| 7 | Trained medics aim to follow a constant and formal way of teaching (11) |
| ACADEMICISM – (medics aim)* after A, C[onstant] | |
| 8 | Take selection from Keith? Eric? Keith or Eric? (6) |
| EITHER – hidden | |
| 9 | Cutters in navy can inflict sinkings on raiding subs from the outset (8) |
| INCISORS – initial letters | |
| 10 | US park worker crushed small ring (13) |
| GROUNDSKEEPER – GROUND, S[mall], KEEPER | |
| 11 | Cell deficiency of a new blood group English intend going over (7) |
| ANAEMIA – A, N[ew], A, E[nglish], AIM reversed | |
| 12 | Leave it on hospital round? Possibility for this? (11) |
| STETHOSCOPE – STET, H[ospital], O, SCOPE (possibility), semi-&Lit | |
| 13 | Frank put on trousers as a means of expression (5,5) |
| VOCAL CORDS – VOCAL, CORDS | |
| 20 | Great attitude to get on? (9) |
| SUPERPOSE – SUPER, POSE. To place vertically over or on something else. | |
| 23 | Concerned with fool leading river rally (8) |
| REASSURE – RE, ASS, URE. I’ve only checked Chambers but I can’t see anything in the definitions of either rally or reassure where there’s obvious overlap. | |
| 25 | Nearly left somewhere without key in move (6) |
| EXCITE – EXITE{d} outside C | |
| 26 | Notes one found in odd room with beds and lamps (8) |
| SOLARIUM – SO, LA, I in RUM | |
| 28 | Cleaner reported to run off with fleece (5,4) |
| STEEL WOOL – Homophone of STEAL then WOOL | |
| 29 | Hollow rocks of granite, ovoid, excrescences on the outside (6) |
| GEODES – G{ranit}E, O{voi}D, E{xcrescence}S. This can be a rock that has a cavity lined with ingrowing crystals. I amagine this is the sort of thing you find in pretentious gift shops, half a pebble with some purple crystally bits for £29. | |
| 31 | Riverside’s gallery chaps need time for financial report (4,9) |
| BANK STATEMENT – BANK’S, TATE, MEN, T[ime] | |
| 33 | Pensions, perhaps, you once got in speculations (11) |
| GUESTHOUSES – THOU in GUESSES | |
| 34 | Maya chasing daughter is let down (11) |
| DISILLUSION – ILLUSION after D[aughter] IS. Didn’t know the word maya. | |
| 35 | Dumb part of shoe done up like laces (6-4) |
| TONGUE-TIED – TONGUE, TIED | |
| 36 | Mammals, marine, wild — tons kept in enclosures (4,7) |
| PINE MARTENS – (marine)*, T[ons] all in PENS | |
| 40 | Raised youngster has the ability always to be a reckless adventurer (9) |
| BUCCANEER – CUB inverrted, CAN, E’ER. | |
| 41 | British have no restraint in formal wear (5,3) |
| BLACK TIE – B[ritish], LACK TIE. | |
| 43 | Post holder initially makes trouble over sack (7) |
| MAILBAG – M{akes}, AIL, BAG. | |
| 45 | Foot regularly started outside darts players’ mark (7) |
| TROCHEE – {s}T{a}R{t}E{d} outside OCHE. | |
| 46 | Hides from view round leader of crazy sects (7) |
| OCCULTS – O, C{razy}, CULTS | |
| 47 | Fumed as small donkey died (6) |
| SMOKED – S[mall], MOKE, D[ied] | |
| 50 | Stream runs inside reserve (5) |
| BROOK – R[uns] in BOOK | |
A number of DNKs: MAYA, OSCULUM, TURNBUCKLES (used aids for this, apparently), & DNK that CHORALE & GROUNDSKEEPER were specifically North American. I had ’23d def’ in the margin of my copy; also didn’t see VOCAL as meaning ‘frank’. I liked STRAITEN.
I wasted a lot of time having written in THUMBSCREWS at 30ac which worked with the 4 checkers I had available at the time. Of course I was unable to parse it completely but they’re certainly to do with upping tension. I never heard of TURNBUCKLES but somehow managed to come up with the word eventually once the arrival of more checkers had made me realise my original answer was incorrect. I didn’t know OCCULT could be a verb.
Come visit us in Astronomia
OCCULT is a common verb here
The Moon occults stars
And planets like Mars
Things vanish and then reappear
I’m a failed astrophysicist and my only contribution to the subject is the collective noun for astronomers – A “peer group”!
All green. I had similar NHOs such as MAYA, OSCULUM, and TURNBUCKLES. And also wondered about REASSURED/rally thing, although it didn’t hold me up since the wordplay was very clear. I solved most of this late at night, and then finished in the morning. I rarely solve a jumbo all the way through in one sitting.
Just over two hours, but with one pink square for misspelling both TROCHEE and OCHE with an I. I should be ashamed of myself. I ground to a halt part way through and had to wordsearch TURNBUCKLES from the first three crossers to get going again. And then I had to wordsearch TOCSIN at the end. Not one of my best
The same unknowns as others and I used my dictionary to check about 5 answers. Like jackkt I had THUMBSCREWS for 3oA until the checkers showed me it was wrong. LOI VOCAL CORDS wondering at frank = vocal, but I suppose they both mean outspoken. I took rally to mean ‘provide encouragement to’ as a means of getting to REASSURE. All done in just over 40 minutes despite the bigger helping than usual of obscurities. Thanks Penfold and setter.