Hi all. I can’t give any real assessment of this as crosswording has had to fit around life. Solving was done in pre-bed sleepy snatches, and blogging done later in a bit of a rush. I have a dim memory of using aids anyway, I think for COMPENDIOUS and maybe another. Thanks to the setter – I hope to be more awake for your next one!
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 | Case made for mummy’s confinement? (11) |
| SARCOPHAGUS — Cryptic definition | |
| 7a | Land using stone passage we hear (7,4) |
| EMERALD ISLE — EMERALD (stone) + ISLE, a homophone (… we hear) of AISLE (passage) | |
| 13a | Engineer reminds open branch to get guard dog (9,8) |
| DOBERMANN PINSCHER — Make an anagram of (engineer) REMINDS OPEN BRANCH | |
| 14a | Conservative member of the House of Lords rebuffed toady (5) |
| CREEP — C (Conservative) + PEER (member of the House of Lords) reversed (rebuffed) | |
| 15a | Journalist having something to learn by holding papers back (6) |
| EDITOR — ROTE (something to learn by) holding ID (papers), all reversed (back) | |
| 16a | Dallas Cowboy‘s dispute with Republican (8) |
| WRANGLER — WRANGLE (dispute) + R (Republican) | |
| 17a | Criticise manoeuvre moving ring in glittering array (7) |
| PANOPLY — PAN (criticise) + PLOY (manoeuvre) shifting the O (moving ring) | |
| 19a | Large settlement of rank furthers claims (9) |
| FRANKFURT — oF RANK FURThers claims the answer | |
| 21a | Repeatedly bomb China (8) |
| EGGSHELL — EGG (bomb) + SHELL (bomb), hence “repeatedly bomb” | |
| 23a | Clubs inspired by United in the past (4) |
| ONCE — C (clubs) taken in by (inspired by) ONE (united) | |
| 25a | One involved in endless task that is boring vocal group (5) |
| CHOIR — I (one) inside (involved in) CHORe (task that is boring) without the last letter (endless …) | |
| 27a | Top gangster struggled without cover (6) |
| HOODIE — HOOD (gangster) + vIEd (struggled) missing its outer letters (without cover) | |
| 28a | Trap left criminal corporation without millions (7,3) |
| LOBSTER POT — L (left), [m]OBSTER (criminal) and POT (corporation) without M (millions) | |
| 30a | Careless fielders at cover dropping ball (8) |
| SLIPSHOD — SLIPS (fielders) + HO[o]D (cover) missing an O (dropping ball) | |
| 31a | Present that’s small: maybe a foot? (8,6) |
| STOCKING FILLER — Two meanings | |
| 34a | Topic has Labour developing fear of being hemmed in (14) |
| CLAUSTROPHOBIA — An anagram of (… developing) TOPIC HAS LABOUR | |
| 35a | Host introducing song with welcome for musician (8) |
| MARIACHI — MC (host) bringing in (introducing) ARIA (song) + HI (welcome) | |
| 38a | Unhappy person reduced masculine subject matter (10) |
| MALCONTENT — Without the last letter (reduced) MALe (masculine) + CONTENT (subject matter) | |
| 40a | Charity’s first to move east to set up accommodation (6) |
| ENCAMP — MENCAP (charity) with its first letter moved to the right/east | |
| 41a | Try to persuade prisoner to avoid scorn (5) |
| TEMPT — CON (prisoner) leaving (to avoid) [con]TEMPT (scorn) | |
| 43a | Moderate support terminated prematurely (4) |
| EASE — EASEl (support) missing the last letter (terminated prematurely) | |
| 44a | Disciplinarian‘s right to stop unruly inmate (8) |
| MARTINET — R (right) going into (to stop) an anagram of (unruly) INMATE | |
| 45a | Bribe small number disrupting series (9) |
| SWEETENER — WEE (small) and TEN (number) interrupting (disrupting) SER (series) | |
| 48a | Scene involving figures primarily in office during crisis (7) |
| DIORAMA — The initials of (primarily) In Office during DRAMA (crisis) | |
| 49a | Animal puppet (8) |
| CREATURE — Double definition | |
| 50a | Vehicle in which one would arrive late? (6) |
| HEARSE — Cryptic definition | |
| 53a | Sex appeal of older men perplexes her initially (5) |
| OOMPH — First letters of (… initially) Of Older Men Perplexes Her | |
| 54a | Aide is not upset about newspaper’s transfer of ownership (17) |
| DENATIONALISATION — AIDE IS NOT anagrammed (upset) around (about) NATIONAL (newspaper) | |
| 55a | Very bright child reportedly drowned (3-8) |
| SUN-DRENCHED — SUN, homophone of (… reportedly) SON (child) + DRENCHED (drowned) | |
| 56a | Union member backing protest about time and space for rest breaks? (7,4) |
| SITTING ROOM — GROOM (union member) going after (backing) SIT–IN (protest) around (about) T (time) | |
| Down | |
| 1d | Team produces unexpected results? (4,7) |
| SIDE EFFECTS — SIDE (team) + EFFECTS (produces) | |
| 2d | Key books in religious studies: his speciality? (5) |
| RABBI — A (key) and BB (books) in RI (religious studies) | |
| 3d | What’s fitting for rower from Harvard or Yale we’re told? (7) |
| OARLOCK — Sounds like (… we’re told) OR LOCK (or Yale). “From Harvard” indicates a N American term | |
| 4d | Leader deceived about office finally (4) |
| HEAD — HAD (deceived) around (about) officE finally | |
| 5d | Taxonomic groups split into individuals of similar age (10) |
| GENERATION — GENERA (taxonomic groups) + an anagram of (split) INTO | |
| 6d | Literary genre almost fits iconic scene in novel format (7,7) |
| SCIENCE FICTION — Almost FITs and ICONIC SCENE anagrammed (in novel format) | |
| 7d | Anagram aligns with edges of eligible fodder (8) |
| ENSILAGE — Just follow the instructions: anagram ALIGNS with the edges of EligiblE | |
| 8d | Some number subtracted from lower number (5) |
| ETHER — N (some number) subtracted from [n]ETHER (lower) | |
| 9d | Killer returned and cut down European in citadel (9) |
| ACROPOLIS — ORCA (killer [whale]) reversed (returned) + POLISh (European) without the last letter (cut down …) | |
| 10d | Becoming fairly good (6) |
| DECENT — Two definitions | |
| 11d | What slows up journey having dropped off Bobby? (8,9) |
| SLEEPING POLICEMAN — Literally, the answer could be a policemen (bobby) who has dropped off to sleep | |
| 12d | Person no longer having to accommodate issue? (5-6) |
| EMPTY-NESTER — Cryptic definition | |
| 18d | Game associated with US includes quiet period of heightened activity (4,4) |
| RUSH HOUR — RU (game) and OUR (associated with us – the capitalisation is misleading) includes SHH (quiet) | |
| 20d | A ridiculous ban on women’s lib includes old lady and elusive creature (10,7) |
| ABOMINABLE SNOWMAN — A + an anagram of (ridiculous) BAN ON WOMEN‘S LIB includes MA (old lady) | |
| 22d | Get lost, missing first suitable walk (4,2) |
| HOOF IT — Without the initial letter (… missing first), [s]HOO (get lost) + FIT (suitable) | |
| 24d | Gathering welcomes little male chauvinist? Hardly (8) |
| FEMINIST — FEST (gathering) takes in (welcomes) MINI (little) | |
| 26d | One opposing current measures is tortured to some extent (8) |
| RESISTOR — MeasuRES IS TORtured to some extent | |
| 29d | Get ready to put TV channels into effect? (6,8) |
| ACTION STATIONS — Definition plus literal interpretation | |
| 32d | Secures Greek fruit (8) |
| GRAPPLES — GR (Greek) + APPLES (fruit) | |
| 33d | Way to secure deal for instrument (6) |
| SPINET — ST (way) around (to secure) PINE (deal – wood) | |
| 34d | Committee introduces conclusion in dutiful summary (11) |
| COMPENDIOUS — COM (committee) precedes (introduces) END (conclusion) in PIOUS (dutiful) | |
| 36d | Lay to rest strange cases for one new breach in rules? (11) |
| INTERREGNUM — INTER (lay to rest) + RUM (strange) contains (cases) EG (for one) and N (new) | |
| 37d | Attendant‘s vehicle, right outside, to the rear of church property (10) |
| MANSERVANT — VAN (vehicle) with RT (right) outside goes after (to the rear of) MANSE (church property) | |
| 39d | Great Dane wrecked open-air restaurant (3,6) |
| TEA GARDEN — GREAT DANE anagrammed (wrecked) | |
| 42d | Bankrupt’s case undoubtedly involves owing money (8) |
| INDEBTED — BankrupT‘s outer letters (case), which INDEED (undoubtedly) includes (involves) | |
| 46d | Insect eating through round sea cucumber (7) |
| TREPANG — GNAT (insect) taking in (eating) PER (through), all in reverse (round) | |
| 47d | State hospital opening up in due course (6) |
| LATHER — H (hospital) inserted into (opening up) LATER (in due course) | |
| 49d | Shell company originally needed Switzerland (5) |
| CONCH — CO (company) + originally Needed + CH (Switzerland) | |
| 51d | Horny individual maybe picked up mocking refusal (5) |
| RHINO — Sounds like (… picked up) WRY NO (mocking refusal) | |
| 52d | Hide structure from one following advice (4) |
| TIPI — I (one) following TIP (advice) | |
One session of 90 minutes for this, but I used aids for the unknown TREPANG as my LOI. It has appeared only once before, in a Sunday puzzle 5 years ago when I didn’t contribute to the discussion, so can’t be sure I did the puzzle.
I had a query about ENSILAGE which I took to be a verb and therefore ‘fodder’ would need to be too. I wasn’t sure that it could be, then I found that it could, but then I found that it means ‘feed with fodder’ whereas ENSILAGE I took to mean to make silage out of something other. On further investigation I found that ENSILAGE can be a noun defined by Collins as ‘a less common name for silage’. This would appear to resolve the problem except that it still doesn’t look like a noun to me!
DNF
I got ENCAMP, but didn’t know why, as NHO MENCAP. Also NHO TREPANG.
Not a bad time – 90 minutes – but with one wrong: I somehow entered EMPTY-LETTER instead of EMPTY-NESTER, for reasons that must have seemed good to me at the time.
Otherwise all good stuff. We had ENSILAGE in a Jumbo last year. That doesn’t necessarily mean I will remember it, but I had picked it up in my comments then and so it was there when I needed it now. I liked SWEETENER and EDITOR.
Thank you Kitty for the blog