Hello again. This Jumbo I thought was somewhat easier than average, solved in one session of around 50 minutes, which is about as fast as I bother to get with jumbos.. no point in rushing, is there? I can’t say I’m sorry, after having a couple of dillies before. And there are some cleverly constructed clues. What did you think?
Please, do feel free to ask questions or comment as required.
I use the standard conventions like underlining the definition, CD for cryptic definition, DD for a double one, *(anargam) and so forth. Nho = “not heard of” and in case of need the Glossary is always handy
| Across | |
| 1 | Material exploited the wrong way (5) |
| DENIM – MINED (exploited), rev. | |
| 4 | Clergyman has strength around good mate (2,5) |
| MR RIGHT – RR (right reverend, how bishops describe themselves) in MIGHT, strength. | |
| 8 | Parasites in hotel are an irritation for child (7-2) |
| HANGERS-ON – H ANGER SON | |
| 13 | Common promo on Sierra car component (5,4) |
| SPARK PLUG – S (sierra) + PARK (common) + PLUG (promo) | |
| 14 | It attracts traveller with grand after tax return at first (13) |
| ELECTROMAGNET – ELECT (return) + ROMA (traveller) + G + NET (after tax) | |
| 15 | All are excited to find energy drink (4,3) |
| REAL ALE – *(ALL ARE) + E(nergy) | |
| 16 | Craftsman has big fan not supplied with power (7) |
| ARTISAN – (p)ARTISAN | |
| 17 | Writer‘s window of time, going over play (7) |
| TOLSTOY – SLOT (window of time) rev., + TOY (play). A novelist, I believe | |
| 18 | European left in indebted state with cash cut by a French king (8,3,7) |
| ETHELRED THE UNREADY – E(uropean), + L(eft) in THE RED (indebted state) + UN (a, in French) + READY (cash). Whew! A clever clue, to get such a plausible surface reading. “Unready” in this case does not mean what it says, as the original Old English word means “Badly advised.” Even that is actually a pun on his name, Aethelred, which in Old English means “Well advised.” So now you know. | |
| 21 | African farmer’s dog, no cross (4) |
| BOER – BO(x)ER, your dog. | |
| 23 | Kind of devil cheers with crazed passion in case of sin (9) |
| TASMANIAN – TA (cheers, thanks) + MANIA in S(i)N. I thought the Tasmanian Devil was extinct but it isn’t, though it is endangered; for once not through the fault of humans but because of a nasty disease. I was thinking of the Tamanian Tiger, which is extinct, and that was our fault. | |
| 25 | Heard you very noisily entering grotty place lacking air (6) |
| STUFFY – U (heard, you) + FF inside STY, the grotty place | |
| 26 | Like member of extremist group, a loathsome person (6) |
| INSECT – IN SECT, a group of people who may or may not be extremist. | |
| 28 | Thought French composer refused second helping (12) |
| DELIBERATION – DELIBE(s) + RATION, or helping. Leo Delibes, probably best known for ballets such as Coppélia, but quite a prolific composer, so I discover. | |
| 30 | Scandalously old American in any film that’s out (10) |
| INFAMOUSLY – O(ld) US, in *(ANY FILM) | |
| 33 | Hard to bear chorus with two notes (10) |
| BURDENSOME – BURDEN (chorus) + SO + ME, two notes.
Burden = chorus, I hear you say? Yes: “a line of words recurring at the end of each verse of a ballad or similar song; chorus or refrain” (Collins). No, me neither.. |
|
| 34 | Father figure with discipline, one delivering the goods (7,5) |
| FREIGHT TRAIN – FR (father) + EIGHT, + TRAIN (discipline, as a verb) | |
| 37 | Help musician after opening note fades away (6) |
| ASSIST – (b)ASSIST | |
| 39 | Wise female subsequently among problem drinkers (6) |
| ATHENA – THEN (subsequently) in AA, Alcoholics Anonymous. Ex problem drinkers, hopefully. The Greek goddess of wisdom, who I would spell Athene | |
| 40 | Student of life drawing finally is in kind of book group (9) |
| BIOLOGIST – BIO (kind of book) + G + IS in LOT, a group. | |
| 42 | Equipment close to antique plane (4) |
| KITE – KIT + (antiqu)E. An informal word for a plane, especially an earlyish one | |
| 43 | Party enforcer’s so-so joke, getting decent opportunity (4,5,2,3,4) |
| FAIR CRACK OF THE WHIP – FAIR (so-so) + CRACK (joke) OF THE WHIP, the (political) | |
| 46 | High-ranking journalist no longer holds key (7) |
| EXALTED – ALT, a key that usually catches me out, in EX ED, a journo no longer, like Piers Morgan | |
| 47 | Firm, large and fat cabbage (7) |
| CO (firm) + L(arge) + LARD, fat. The sort of cabbage that is dull, but terribly good for you .. | |
| 48 | Troops to the west of area of land withdraw (7) |
| RETRACT – RE (Royal Engineers) + TRACT, an area of land | |
| 50 | Rick may be such a nuisance (4,2,3,4) |
| PAIN IN THE NECK – a DD. Piers Morgan springs to mind again | |
| 51 | Hard to make more beautiful equipment for a groom (9) |
| HAIRBRUSH – H(ard) + AIRBRUSH, what magazines like Vogue, Tatler, Hello supposedly do | |
| 52 | Illegal traffickers having lead? They’ll get silver (7-2) |
| RUNNERS-UP – runners, as in gun-runners, or more likely drug-runners, this being The Times, + UP, in the lead. | |
| 53 | Free to get into act that’s talked down (7) |
| DERIDED – RID (free, of a pest perhaps) in DEED, an act. | |
| 54 | Put away a goal, coming back after Derby’s second (5) |
| EATEN – (d)E(rby) + A + NET rev. | |
| Down | |
| 1 | Lost in desert, I’d moved around, drinking nothing (11) |
| DISORIENTED – *(IN DESERT I’D + O) | |
| 2 | African native in area between two US cities (5) |
| NYALA – A inside NY and LA. A species of antelope | |
| 3 | Cook a cold, fat-free meat cut and keep nothing back (4,1,5,6) |
| MAKE A CLEAN BREAST – MAKE (cook) A C(old) LEAN BREAST a fat-free cut of meat. Flavour-free too, usually.. give me a juicy thigh any time | |
| 4 | Extra inspiring story is a source of drama (7) |
| MOLIERE – LIE (story) in MORE, extra. | |
| 5 | Not keen about penning good Latin American music (9) |
| REGGAETON – G(ood) in NOT EAGER rev. Nho of reggaeton but it sounded plausible. “Music” that “combines reggae rhythms with hip-hop influences and includes rapping in Spanish.” Not my thing, I strongly suspect | |
| 6 | Ace snooker shot pocketing balls is a heavenly sight (5,3,4) |
| GREAT RED SPOT – GREAT REDS POT, I think. A heavenly sight indeed, though not to the naked eye. It is a storm in the atmosphere of Jupiter | |
| 7 | As we see it, admitting motive is criminal (10) |
| TREASONOUS – REASON (motive) in TO US (as we see it) | |
| 8 | Try to sweet talk husband, one that’s put on weight (3,2) |
| HIT ON – H + I + TON. American slang expression. | |
| 9 | Regularly tried to bore nobody when lunch may be? (8) |
| NOONTIDE – T(r)I(e)D in NO-ONE. Bit early for lunch, imo | |
| 10 | Allow bishop to enter route to the north east (6) |
| ENABLE – Hm, B(ishop) is in LANE rev. (route, to the North) + E(ast) | |
| 11 | Paper round’s beginning during fuel problem in summer (9) |
| SUNSTROKE – SUN (downmarket paper) + R(ound) in STOKE, fuel (as a verb):
Billy, in one of his nice new sashes,
Fell in the fire and was burned to ashes;
Now, although the room grows chilly,
I haven’t the heart to stoke poor Billy.
(Harry Graham. Actually it says poke not stoke, but ..) |
|
| 12 | Basic facts, possibly lousy, shown with stark realism (5-6) |
| NITTY-GRITTY – NITTY, (possibly afflicted with lice) + GRITTY, shown with stark realism, like Eastenders I suppose. Always shouting at each other.. | |
| 19 | Ruthless manoeuvring hasn’t succeeded for con artist (7) |
| HUSTLER – *(RUTHLES), ie the S(ucceeded) having been removed | |
| 20 | Rogue fed with fine Turkish gent (7) |
| EFFENDI – *(FED + FINE). An honorific, similar to Sir | |
| 22 | Certain turbos periodically installed by cool car (16) |
| INCONTROVERTIBLE – T(u)R(b)O(s), in IN (cool) CONVERTIBLE | |
| 24 | Inundation from home above waterside grass (6) |
| INRUSH – IN (home) + RUSH, the grass | |
| 27 | Keep reading about a quiet Afghan (6) |
| PASHTO – A SH in PTO (keep reading). Pashto is the language used by Pashtuns.. | |
| 29 | Time on more deserted island’s lost for enticing sort (7) |
| TEMPTER – T(ime) + EMPT(i)ER | |
| 31 | Head of state, liberal lacking originality (7) |
| SLAVISH – S(tate) + LAVISH, liberal | |
| 32 | Charlie leaves peach and biscuit (5,7) |
| CREAM CRACKER – C(harlie) + REAM (500 leaves) + CRACKER, a peach. Also CRS, cream crackered = knackered | |
| 33 | British are short of vigour and sport, right? This may spice things up (5,6) |
| BLACK PEPPER – B(ritish) LACK PEP + PE (sport) + R(ight) | |
| 35 | Worse than unacceptable clothing article given repair (3,1,5,2) |
| NOT A PATCH ON – A (article) + PATCH (repair) in NOT ON, unacceptable | |
| 36 | Favourite golfer finally holed a shot, a big driver (10) |
| PETROLHEAD – PET (favourite) + (golfe)R + *(HOLED A). | |
| 38 | Being full from day one, a vessel circling round (9) |
| SATIATION – SAT (day) + I + O in A TIN (a vessel) | |
| 40 | Violence from e.g. gents in shell of burned building (9) |
| BLOODSHED – LOO in B(urne)D + SHED, a building | |
| 41 | Toper I’d arrest after flipping bunch of crooks (8) |
| BANDITOS – SOT I’D NAB, rev. | |
| 44 | Tested frames painter turned up and hung around (7) |
| TARRIED – RA (painter), rev. in TRIED (tested) | |
| 45 | Right back welcomed by team showing pace (6) |
| STRIDE – RT (right) rev., in SIDE, a team | |
| 47 | Sound made by warbler, say, for a song on the radio (5) |
| CHEEP – sounds like cheap, on the radio. As in “going for a song” | |
| 49 | Mature female having an affair when half-cut (5) |
| ADULT – ADULT(eress) | |
I biffed ETHELRED from the D, parsed it post-submission. I also biffed LOI TOLSTOY and failed to parse it. I’m pretty sure we’ve had BURDEN before; as in “Till the dirges of his Hope that melancholy burden bore/ Of ‘Never–nevermore'”. The AA line is, once an alcoholic always an alcoholic, so I suppose that makes members problem drinkers even if they’re TT.
Just under an hour and a half. A steady solve. We had REGGAETON recently, in a Jumbo in March. I wouldn’t have known it otherwise. I liked MR RIGHT, TOLSTOY and the GREAT RED SPOT
Pretty easy this, just under 18 minutes.
I remembered REGGAETON from its previous appearance, and I’m sure we’ve had BURDEN before.
I’ve sorry to hear about Piers Morgan. Not that anything’s happened to him, I’m just sorry to hear about him.
Having a dim moment and struggling to see where the second ‘the’ in 18a comes from…
Enjoyed the puzzle and the blog, thanks!
Ah, sorry. Cash is “The ready.” I would have paid him, but I didn’t have the ready (I was in the red, perhaps) … I should correct the blog really, but…
And I should have made the link! Many thanks!