Times Cryptic Jumbo 1660 – 24 February 2024. D’oh! A deer!

Posted on Categories Jumbo Cryptic

Hi all.  A DNF for me due to 34d, ANATOLIA, for which I enlisted the help of a colleague.  This is actually quite handy from a reporting perspective as I haven’t any real idea how long the rest took because I dipped into it sporadically.  I think I can safely say I wouldn’t have broken any records.  Of the answers I managed unaided, the crossing 2d/16a (MUTUAL/SEABIRD) were my two last in, and I smiled at the latter once I twigged.  Overall I thought there was lots of good stuff here: some nifty definitions and intricately woven wordplay.  Thanks setter!

Definitions are underlined in the clues below.  In the explanations, most 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 Reverse carriage and damage wall (7)
RAMPART Reverse TRAP (carriage) and MAR (damage)
5a Saw guide with German about to fight (5,3)
MITRE BOX MIT (with German) + RE (about) + BOX (to fight).  Saw guide = a guide for a saw
9a Singular characteristic difficulty (6)
STRAIT S (singular) + TRAIT (characteristic)
13a Naive and weak Tory responsible for visibly distressed male? (3,6,3,4)
WET BEHIND THE EARS WET (weak Tory) + BEHIND (responsible for) HE in TEARS (visibly distressed male, cryptically)
14a Plot is reconstructed for this part of Henry V (6)
PISTOL — An anagram of (… reconstructed) PLOT IS, giving this character
16a A couple of such fliers can be downloaded from Internet (8)
SEABIRDS — A couple of SEABIRDS can be extracted (downloaded) from the final word of the clue thus: inTERNet and intERNEt
17a Stout one’s included in arbitrary order (4)
FIAT FAT (stout); I (one)’s included
18a Easily win a fight in pedestrian appearance (9)
WALKABOUT WALK (easily win) + A BOUT (a fight)
20a Like voices raised in argument after brief tumble (8)
FALSETTO SETTO (argument) after FALl (tumble) without the last letter (brief …)
21a Time to stop bad behaviour characteristic of French academicians (11)
IMMORTALITY T (time) going into (to stop) IMMORALITY (bad behaviour).  I wondered a little about the definition: I did think of the Académie Française but didn’t know – until now – that their members are called les immortels (the immortals)
24a Give more details after English dog appears to speak (9)
ELABORATE After E (English), LAB (dog) appears, followed by ORATE (to speak)
25a Behaving badly about power in revolutionary movement (8)
SPINNING SINNING (behaving badly) around (about) P (power)
26a Crawl one of those babies does produce (4)
FAWN — Two definitions.  I’m not usually misled by does for female deer, but this one took a while to see.  As Homer and Lisa Simpson once said, d’oh! – a deer!
29a In cruel way, call demanding attention traps innocent learner (11)
HEARTLESSLY HEY (call demanding attention) contains (traps) ARTLESS (innocent) and L (learner)
31a Awful thing one encountered in swamp, truly awful (11)
NIGHTMARISH — Anagram of (awful) THING + I (one) seen inside (encountered in) MARSH (swamp)
33a Conversely, copies out what led to first dismissal (8,3)
ORIGINAL SIN — Opposites of (conversely) COPIES + OUT = ORIGINALS + IN.  Or you could interpret it more holistically (as I did first): if copies (are) out, then conversely ORIGINALS (are) IN!
36a Should, for example, state almost everything (11)
CONDITIONAL CONDITION (state) + almost ALl (everything)
38a Draw conclusions from Laurence Olivier portraying Othello so (4)
ERGO — Select the final letters of (draw conclusions from) LaurencE OlivieR portrayinG OthellO
39a Slam, beat badly (8)
LAMBASTE — An anagram of (… badly) SLAM BEAT, &lit
41a Combinations of sayings oddly selected about articles referenced (9)
SYNTHESES — Odd letters of (… oddly selected) SaYiNgS around (about) THESE (articles referenced)
44a Partners securing success with arrest for nonviolent kind of crime? (5-6)
WHITE-COLLAR WE (partners – in bridge) around (securing) HIT (success) + COLLAR (arrest)
45a Cooked rice came for dessert (3,5)
ICE CREAM — An anagram of (cooked) RICE CAME
48a How one sees things in struggle with head (9)
VIEWPOINT VIE (struggle) with POINT (head)
49a Attending promotion, recalled information (4)
DATA AT (attending) and AD (promotion) reversed (recalled)
50a Create diversion from Land’s End, with vehicles heading West in it (8)
DISTRACT — LanD’s last letter (end) + reversal of (… heading West) CARTS (vehicles) in IT
52a Routine that’s central to spirituality (6)
RITUAL — Hidden in the middle of (central to) spiRITUALity
53a Part of annual event in which some stand and face the music (9,7)
PROMENADE CONCERT — Cryptic definition
54a Shed less light on rescue vessel in study (6)
DARKEN ARK (rescue vessel) in DEN (study)
55a Disturbed by result, becoming windy (8)
BLUSTERY — An anagram of (disturbed) BY RESULT
56a Full of fight after goal in final part of match (7)
ENDGAME GAME (full of fight) after END (goal)
Down
1d Red or green in the extreme (6)
RAWEST — Cryptic definition, or perhaps two intertwined double definitions, referring to two meanings of “raw”
2d Laid up most of season, left and returned (6)
MUTUAL Most of AUTUMn (season) reversed (laid up …) + L (left)
3d On camera, broadcast about one kind of coffee (9)
AMERICANO ON CAMERA, anagrammed (broadcast) around (about) I (one)
4d Common people in one way contained by the government (5,6)
THIRD ESTATE I (one) and RD (way) in (contained by) THE STATE (the government)
5d Kind of skirt from part of France (4)
MIDI — Two definitions
6d Musical great has tea put out — covered by television channel (11)
TCHAIKOVSKY CHAI (tea) and KO (put out) in (covered by) TV (television) + SKY (television channel)
7d Expert on current issues amended nice article (11)
ELECTRICIAN — An anagram of (amended) NICE ARTICLE
8d Females with pulling power in shell company? (9)
OARSWOMEN — Cryptic definition (a shell is a type of rowing boat)
10d Smart kind of knitwear for boat (8)
TRIMARAN TRIM (smart) + ARAN (kind of knitwear)
11d Dictatorial approach that I confused with our heresy (16)
AUTHORITARIANISM — An anagram of (… confused …) THAT I with OUR + ARIANISM (heresy)
12d Author revised lots in play (7)
TOLSTOY — Anagram of (revised) LOTS in TOY (play)
15d Restructured recital around new instrument (8)
CLARINET — Anagram of (restructured) RECITAL around N (new)
19d Disbelieving people present during robberies (8)
ATHEISTS — Present during robberies = AT HEIST
22d Remove power from shirker shielding the drunk (8)
DETHRONE DRONE (shirker) around (shielding) an anagram of (… drunk) THE
23d Boss I had upset with university head following older fellow? (8,8)
MANAGING DIRECTOR — Reversal of (… upset) ID (I had) + RECTOR (university head) all following MAN AGING (older fellow?)
27d Totally unprincipled type in part of UK greeting problem for crew (8)
NIHILIST NI (part of UK) + HI (greeting) + LIST (problem for crew)
28d Garment necessarily trimmed more on left than right (4)
SARI — A hidden answer: necesSARIly is trimmed more on left than right
30d Change of heart for beginner in crowd, supposedly (4)
TRIO — A swap of the central letters in (change of heart for) TIRO (beginner), referencing “two’s company, three’s a crowd”
32d Bad person that’s good? Awfully strange (8)
GANGSTER G (good) + an anagram of (awfully) STRANGE
34d A Western team turned up trouble in part of Asia (8)
ANATOLIA A + NATO (Western team) + reversal of (turned up) AIL (trouble)
35d Prophet holding crazy skills the wrong way in mind (11)
NOSTRADAMUS MAD (crazy) ARTS (skills) reversed (the wrong way) inside (holding … in) NOUS (mind)
36d Peaceful kind of life one can never have (11)
COEXISTENCE — A cryptic definition: it takes more than one to coexist!
37d Part of target set in board for exclusive group (5,6)
INNER CIRCLE — Two straight indications; the second is the dictionary meaning
40d Both left and right, at historical time, covered by draft law (9)
BILATERAL AT and ERA (historical time) covered by BILL (draft law)
42d Be told by nurse about drug that’s given boost (9)
HEARTENED HEAR (be told) + TEND (nurse) around (about) E (drug)
43d Quickly look up drink in personal aide-memoire (8)
KEEPSAKE PEEK (quickly look) up + SAKE (drink)
44d Hesitated to get married outside state (7)
WAVERED WED (to get married) surrounding (outside) AVER (state)
46d Means of producing pictures appeared before recognized artist (6)
CAMERA CAME (appeared) before RA (recognized artist)
47d Figure in law passed, apart from third time (6)
STATUE STATU[t]E (law passed) without (apart from) the third T (time)
51d It’s not stress-free, being avant-garde (4)
EDGY — Double definition

5 comments on “Times Cryptic Jumbo 1660 – 24 February 2024. D’oh! A deer!”

  1. I know I needed more than one session for this but can’t recall if I found it particularly difficult.

    I missed the parsing of SEABIRDS and never got round to looking up what IMMORTALITY had to do with French academicians, so thanks for clearing those up for me, Kitty. My only unknown was MITRE BOX, but the answer had to be.

    1. And yet I put in ‘row’.
      My LOI was ANATOLIA, which I only put in because it fit, and nothing else I could think of did; never parsed it.

  2. Oh dear, such a shame to have only two comments on the Jumbo today! I hope that many more read your fine blog, Kitty, and enjoyed it as I did.

    1. A fine blog indeed, not least for the link to probably the best ever Simpsons episode!

      I finished in around 1:08 with four unparsed, so many thanks for the explanations Kitty. ANATOLIA was an easy one for me as I know at least three Turkish restaurants with that name.

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