Hello everybody. It felt like I had to work quite hard at this but I surprised myself by having all but a handful of entries at the hour mark. Two intersecting pairs (8a/10d and 47a/43d) caused me some head-scratching at the close though.
BAKSHEESH/HYDRA felt impossible until I thought of the right monster, after which I could complete the tip from the wordplay only. It took even more pondering to get TOGETHER/ANGEVIN. No real excuse for the former except that the checkers weren’t spectacularly helpful (unlike with BAKSHEESH whose pattern was driving me bonkers). Once I’d got [it] TOGETHER I carefully dug through my brain for the right treasure to (nearly) precede the VIN until I finally hit gold. Phew!
All in all, 71:23 of concentrated concentration but also of concentrated enjoyment. I thought this was full of good stuff and am glad I dedicated a proper sitting to it rather than grazing, as I sometimes do with Jumbos. Thanks setter!
Definitions are underlined in the clues below. In the explanations, quoted indicators are in italics, specified [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 | Reconsidered a processed flavour enhancer (9,4) |
| CORIANDER SEED — An anagram of (… processed) RECONSIDERED A | |
| 8a | That woman cooks hot wraps, giving tip (9) |
| BAKSHEESH — SHE (that woman), which BAKES (cooks) and H (hot) surrounds (wraps). A new word for me, constructed (eventually) from wordplay and checkers |
|
| 13a | Heavy metal piece from The Smiths? (5) |
| ANVIL — A cryptic definition | |
| 14a | Make popular display one’s installed in old car (11) |
| DEMOCRATISE — DEMO (display) + I’S (one’s) inside (installed in) CRATE (old car) | |
| 15a | Bore medic with symptoms (5) |
| DRILL — DR (medic) + ILL (with symptoms) | |
| 16a | Fruit in a lot of muesli monk distributed (9) |
| MUSKMELON — A lot of MUESLi and MONK anagrammed (distributed) | |
| 17a | Spaniard’s words for the lady (4) |
| ELLA — EL and LA (Spaniard’s words for the) | |
| 18a | Protested about working, given a little work (8) |
| SONATINA — SAT IN (protested) around (about) ON (working) + A | |
| 20a | Character left out of neutral ground (6) |
| NATURE — L (left) comes out of an anagram of (… ground) NEUTRAl | |
| 21a | Large volume of metal found in day by keen competitors (5,11) |
| DAVID COPPERFIELD — COPPER (metal) is inside (found in) D (day) by AVID (keen) and FIELD (competitors) | |
| 24a | Greedy king of an enormous size losing face (9) |
| RAPACIOUS — R (king) + cAPACIOUS (of an enormous size) missing its first letter (losing face) | |
| 26a | Fancy receiving education in modern language (7) |
| SWEDISH — SWISH (fancy) containing (receiving) ED (education) | |
| 27a | Moulding, very large, interspersed with spheres (5) |
| OVOLO — V (very) and L (large) interspersed with O O O (spheres). Nice construction |
|
| 29a | Is a teacher at Hogwarts perhaps in anorak? (12) |
| TRAINSPOTTER — TRAINS POTTER (is a teacher at Hogwarts perhaps). I’ve seen this before more than once and knew I knew it, yet still couldn’t think of it on first pass – grr! |
|
| 31a | Hurry to catch a film I will leave playing (3,1,4,2) |
| GET A MOVE ON — GET (to catch) + A + MOV[i]E (film) without I (I will leave) + ON (playing) | |
| 33a | Corrupt MP, alas, with urge for sweetener (5,5) |
| MAPLE SUGAR — An anagram of (corrupt) MP, ALAS, with URGE | |
| 35a | One surprisingly got up in a bad mood with furniture item (5-7) |
| CROSS-DRESSER — CROSS (in a bad mood) + DRESSER (furniture item). I like the definition |
|
| 38a | November in the past or current period (5) |
| NONCE — N (November) + ONCE (in the past) | |
| 39a | Superior feeling policeman’s ace, stopping racket (7) |
| DISDAIN — DI’S (policeman’s) + A (ace) inside (stopping) DIN (racket) | |
| 40a | After whiskey, eat fish sandwiches, being rude (9) |
| BAWDINESS — After W (whiskey) is DINE (eat); BASS (fish) goes around (sandwiches) this | |
| 42a | Unfortunately Cinderella got fat whilst transgressing (9,7) |
| FLAGRANTE DELICTO — An anagram of (unfortunately) CINDERELLA GOT FAT | |
| 44a | Investigated no amateur teacher (6) |
| PROBED — PRO (no amateur) + BED (teacher) | |
| 47a | Understood about number in sum (8) |
| TOGETHER — GOT (understood) backwards (about) + ETHER (number). I hardy ever get caught out by this kind of number, but today it didn’t occur to me and I kept trying to shoehorn TEN in there – d’oh! |
|
| 49a | Either end of terrific old necklace (4) |
| TORC — T OR C (either end of TerrifiC) | |
| 50a | Passage in French performance intended for the radio (9) |
| ENACTMENT — EN (in, French) + ACT (performance) + MENT, which sounds like (… for the radio) MEANT (intended) | |
| 52a | Little fish constantly circling lake (5) |
| ELVER — EVER (constantly) going around (circling) L (lake) | |
| 53a | Almost begrudge tough guys time in living space (11) |
| ENVIRONMENT — Almost ENVy (begrudge) + IRON MEN (tough guys) + T (time) | |
| 54a | Sailor also called for port where sake’s served? (5) |
| OSAKA — OS (sailor) + AKA (also called) | |
| 55a | Carol revealed one’s footloose and fancy-free (9) |
| SINGLETON — SING (carol) + LET ON (revealed) | |
| 56a | Exposure to current kind of blue and white clothing succeeded (8,5) |
| ELECTRIC SHOCK — ELECTRIC (kind of blue) and HOCK (white) around (clothing) S (succeeded) | |
| Down | |
| 1d | Labourer, one making money receiving lots of charity (4,5) |
| COAL MINER — COINER (one making money) taking in (receiving) all but the last letter of (lots of) ALMs (charity) | |
| 2d | Newly examine gun, is that right? (7) |
| REVISIT — REV (gun) + IS IT (is that right?). Took me a while to get the right gun: to gun/rev an engine |
|
| 3d | Call a marine out, which is ideal across the ocean (3-8) |
| ALL-AMERICAN — CALL A MARINE anagrammed (out) | |
| 4d | Comedian with case of lemonade for picnic (6) |
| DODDLE — DODD (comedian, Ken) + the outer letters of (case of) LemonadE | |
| 5d | Europeans who could come from San Marino (9) |
| ROMANIANS — The answer is an anagram of (could come from) SAN MARINO | |
| 6d | Book fancy sites around area in Manchester town (12) |
| ECCLESIASTES — An anagram of (fancy) SITES around A (area) all in ECCLES (Manchester town) | |
| 7d | Unable to move without resistance like a Rastafarian (10) |
| DEADLOCKED — Without R (resistance) D[r]EADLOCKED (like a Rastafarian) | |
| 8d | Jingoistic colonel missing Mass is an aberration (4) |
| BLIP — BLI[m]P (Jingoistic colonel) missing M (mass) | |
| 9d | Avoid trouble with drink — remain calm at first (4,4,4,4) |
| KEEP ONES HEAD DOWN — DOWN (drink) with KEEP ONE’S HEAD (remain calm) at first | |
| 10d | Monster shrubs with flower clusters half cut (5) |
| HYDRA — HYDRAngeas (shrubs with flower clusters) half cut | |
| 11d | Hendrix, regularly loud, rocks building (7) |
| EDIFICE — Alternate letters of (… regularly) hEnDrIx + F (loud) + ICE (rocks) | |
| 12d | Secretive husband and old, legendary lover pinching ear? (4-3-6) |
| HOLE-AND-CORNER — H (husband) + O (old) + LEANDER (legendary lover) around (pinching) CORN (ear?) | |
| 19d | Swag bags extortioner emptied, giving clues to plot (8) |
| SPOILERS — SPOILS (swag) contains (bags) ExtortioneR without the inner letters (emptied) | |
| 22d | Tolkien character following ring, clutching staff (5) |
| FRODO — F (following) and O (ring) holding (clutching) ROD (staff) | |
| 23d | Business concern banking millions with sterling financial reward (8,8) |
| COMPOUND INTEREST — CO (business) and INTEREST (concern) around (banking) M (millions) with POUND (sterling) | |
| 25d | What dramatist may do, cycling in safe enclosure (7) |
| PLAYPEN — PEN PLAY (what dramatist may do) moving the component parts round (cycling) | |
| 28d | Run faster than the speed of light, we hear (7) |
| OVERSEE — OVER C (faster than the speed of light), homophone (we hear) | |
| 29d | Misanthrope to skip around with skinny birds only? (5,2,6) |
| TIMON OF ATHENS — OMIT (to skip) reversed (around) + NO FAT HENS (skinny birds only?). Nice |
|
| 30d | Move faster, travelling around head of Niger River (8) |
| TRANSFER — An anagram of (… travelling) FASTER around the first letter (head) of Niger + R (river) | |
| 32d | Open nark’s Yuletide gift (12) |
| FRANKINCENSE — FRANK (open) + INCENSE (nark) | |
| 34d | Muslim VIP — poet’s always around this person (5) |
| EMEER — E’ER (poet’s always) around ME (this person) | |
| 36d | Supply air time with song for departures (11) |
| EMIGRATIONS — An anagram of (supply) AIR TIME with SONG | |
| 37d | Bolt part of meal in Doncaster or York? (10) |
| RACECOURSE — RACE (bolt) + COURSE (part of meal) | |
| 40d | Most resentful German’s request to take it easy (9) |
| BITTEREST — BITTE (German’s request) + REST (to take it easy) | |
| 41d | Perhaps left dog, getting lead off elsewhere (9) |
| SIDETRACK — SIDE (perhaps left) + TRACK (dog) | |
| 43d | E.g. King John‘s treasure mostly foreign wine (7) |
| ANGEVIN — ANGEl (treasure) without the last letter (mostly) + VIN (foreign wine). A member of the house of Anjou, especially one of the kings of England from Henry II to John. Last in by some way, but I was just happy to get it! |
|
| 45d | Look after grouse, a source of meat (7) |
| BEEFALO — LO (look) after BEEF (grouse) and A | |
| 46d | Heard what’s round my neck is a rum concoction (3,3) |
| MAI TAI — Sounds like (heard) MY TIE (what’s round my neck) | |
| 48d | Briefly ordered to have year in Innsbruck region (5) |
| TYROL — Without the last letter (briefly) TOLd (ordered) containing (to have … in) YR (year) | |
| 51d | Terrible autocrat hiding diamonds in sofa (4) |
| IVAN — We are hiding the D (diamonds) in [d]IVAN (sofa) | |
I can’t remember anything about this. FOI 15acDRILL, LOI 37d RACECOURSE; DNK that either one was one. Knew ECCLES (6d), as always DNK where it is. I liked BAKSHEESH.
I needed aids to polish off the last two intersecting answers, TOGETHER and ANGEVIN. I must have missed something at school as I don’t recall ever hearing of ANGEVIN let alone that King John was one. I’m sure I was taught he was Plantagenet. If I’d looked that answer up first, the G-checker might have brought TOGETHER to mind at 47ac, but unfortunately I tackled them the other way round.
A rather disturbing thing is that I deduced the unknown MUSK MELON from wordplay and looked it up later to see what it was. Yet when the same answer came up mid-week in a Guardian puzzle I didn’t remember it and looked it up again!
A pink square as I got a letter wrong on transcribing ANGEVIN from my paper copy entering online. Grr. DNK HOLE-AND-CORNER and had HAND AND …. for a long time based on the wordplay, fixed only when I got DRILL. LOI BAWDINESS after SIDETRACK. All done in 43:49. COD to REVISIT. Thanks Kitty and setter.
Yes. A surprisingly hard one. It took me 2 hours 25 minutes in total but well worth the struggle.
The ones holding out at the end included TOGETHER and TRANSFER, which I just couldn’t see. And of course ANGEVIN. Even if I’d known the House of Anjou I still wouldn’t have known it. The PDM came from spotting angel as treasure. Nor did I know that Timon of Athens was a misanthrope, but I loved the construction of the clue, my COD.
Thank you, Kitty, for the blog