Unless I’m very much mistaken this is my 100th Jumbo blog. Thanks for reading over the years and particular thanks to those of you regularly comment, or who have dropped by to comment from time to time. Thanks to the setter for the doubtless accidental easter egg at 49d. Maybe further research will reveal that Koran / cricket / loincloth, adulterous / octroi / gismo and result / placebos / ground are all What Three Words locations in my back garden.
I knocked off this enjoyable puzzle comfortably within an hour, parsing as I went and somewhat distracted by garden sights and sounds.
I rather liked the preponderence of idiomatic phrases. I wonder if some of them caused overseas solvers a spot of bother. I’m talking about what of it, go commando, here’s mud in your eye, ask me another, get cracking, nutty as a fruitcake (and off one’s trolley) and get knotted.
First in was JOKER and last was DEICER.
If any of my explanations don’t make sense then feel free to ask for further elucidation.
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 T[ime]
| Across | |
| 1 | Explorer heads across the Atlantic heading for China: boat lost! (4,5) |
| JOHN CABOT – JOHN (US slang for toilet, HEADS being naval speak for the same), C{hina}, (boat)* | |
| 6 | Storage space costing this oddly: a hundred (5) |
| ATTIC – AT (think bananas at £2 a bunch), T{h}I{s}, C | |
| 9 | Loss is assigned to the past, time and time again (7) |
| WASTAGE – WAS (past tense of is), T[ime], AGE | |
| 13 | Stunner published, revered work (5) |
| KORAN – K[nock]O[out], RAN | |
| 14 | Game, chirpy little thing (7) |
| CRICKET – DD | |
| 15 | Unlikely to chill, no brief garment (9) |
| LOINCLOTH – (to chill no)* | |
| 16 | Value of eg real estate, real precise after negotiation (6,5) |
| RESALE PRICE – (real precise)* | |
| 17 | Inappropriate as an idle pageboy? (8-3) |
| UNCALLED-FOR – DDCDH | |
| 18 | Music genre, grime about right (6) |
| GRUNGE – GUNGE around R[ight]. I lke some grunge (e.g. Nirvana). I don’t like any grime. | |
| 19 | Drawing clear, one clarified originally after publication (8) |
| MAGNETIC – NET, I, C{larified} after MAG[azine] | |
| 21 | Warhol’s colour frames in photos so indistinct? (6) |
| GRAINY – GRAY around IN. This had me scratching my head for a bit but I think Warhol is just there as an Americacator for the colour grey/gray. | |
| 25 | Punch consumed, a drink (5,3) |
| CHINA TEA – CHIN, ATE, A. Although I don’t like violence I do like the word chin in that context. | |
| 26 | Plant can drink gallon that’s drained into land (8,6) |
| STINGING NETTLE – TIN, GIN, G{allo}N in SETTLE (land). A few weeks ago I got stung by a nettle for the first time in probably decades. I’d forgotten how much it hurts. It was just a brush on my thumb. Rubbing with a dock leave did naff all. | |
| 28 | Nectar collector briefly on blossom, perhaps (5) |
| MAYBE – BE{e} on (after in an across clue) MAY. | |
| 29 | Boy in blue and reddish-brown (6) |
| COPPER – DD. For any overseas solvers unfamiliar with the term, “the boys in blue” is an affectionate (if sexist) term for the police. | |
| 30 | Rabbit and larger animal found on small islands back-to-back, eating tons (7-3) |
| YACKETY-YAK – YAK on CAY revser and KEY with T[ons] bunged in. | |
| 33 | A grotesque slur, due to cheating (10) |
| ADULTEROUS – A, (slur due to)* | |
| 35 | Duty company recalled with dispersal of riot (6) |
| OCTROI – CO[mpany] reversed, (riot)*. NHO for me, “a toll or tax levied at the gates of a city on articles brought in”, among other things. I deduced it from the wordplay and figured it might have summat to do with giving one eighth of your stuff to the French king, which it doesn’t. | |
| 36 | Contraption is breaking my back (5) |
| GISMO – IS in a reversal of O[h] M[y] G[od]. | |
| 38 | A rigged trial? (5,9) |
| DRESS REHEARSAL – CD | |
| 40 | Big deal in scrap, a dandy cut into it (4,2,2) |
| WHAT OF IT – WHIT around A TOFf. The answer and “big deal” may be peculiarly British versions of “so what?” | |
| 42 | Score’s ultimately showing it? (6) |
| RESULT – hidden &Lit | |
| 43 | Tablets not really working, boy almost entirely covered in spots (8) |
| PLACEBOS – BO{y} in PLACES | |
| 44 | Stadium reduced to dust? (6) |
| GROUND – DD | |
| 47 | Previously abuse someone applauding Conservative rule (11) |
| CLAPPERCLAW – CLAPPER, C[onservative] LAW | |
| 50 | Settler in Croatia upset about Jack residing in Dudley (11) |
| ADJUDICATOR – (Croatia)* around J[udge] in DUD[ley] e.g. Dudley Moore as in Pete & Dud. | |
| 52 | Skim over a strategy in a crusade that saint’s forsaken (9) |
| AQUAPLANE – A QUEst around A PLAN | |
| 53 | European port tastes terrible, no stomach for it… (7) |
| TRIESTE – TRIES, TerriblE | |
| 54 | it’s here, it has a lady discontented (5) |
| ITALY – IT, A, LadY. Discontented ans in with the content removed, it referring back to TRIESTE. This clue helped me with 53, rather than the other way round. | |
| 55 | Zero transported by flier from Los Angeles further down the line (5,2) |
| LATER ON – O in L.A. TERN | |
| 56 | Small show, little one (5) |
| SPROG – S[mall] PROG[ramme] | |
| 57 | Tree, even hedges run through border (9) |
| EVERGREEN – E’EN around R[un] in VERGE | |
| Down | |
| 1 | Card in card game, jack for opener in pontoon (5) |
| JOKER – POKER with J[ack] replacing P{ontoon} | |
| 2 | I’m hurling insults at one looking in good health! (5,3,2,4,3) |
| HERE’S MUD IN YOUR EYE – DDCDH | |
| 3 | Study standard cost for light (11) |
| CONFLAGRATE – CON, FLAG, RATE | |
| 4 | British venture I set up for powerful contractor? (6) |
| BICEPS – B[ritish] then reversal of SPEC[ulation] I | |
| 5 | Island where three houses sound upside down (8) |
| TRINIDAD – TRIAD around DIN reversed | |
| 6 | God knows namesake Thor is furious! (3,2,7) |
| ASK ME ANOTHER – (namesake Thor)* | |
| 7 | No good supporting old king, everyone together expressing disapproval (3-7) |
| TUT-TUTTING – N[o] G[ood] under TUT[ankhamun] TUTTI | |
| 8 | Something painful written up in pencil, occasionally (5) |
| COLIC – reverse hidden. First grandchild is on the way so I’m expecting to be reacqainted with this. | |
| 9 | Top insect (9) |
| WHIRLIGIG – DD a beetle and seemingly pretty much anything than spins round, including a (toy) spinning top. | |
| 10 | Green cat set out to get mole (6,5) |
| SECRET AGENT – (green cat set)* | |
| 11 | Ladies or gents aboard raft when naked, cold (5) |
| ALOOF – LOO in rAFt | |
| 12 | Urge in old flame burning, lover finally bedded (6) |
| EXHORT – EX, HOT around {love}R | |
| 18 | Forget bottom gear trooper, you can do it! (2,8) |
| GO COMMANDO – DDCDH | |
| 20 | I’m into drink, time an illusion (8) |
| CHIMAERA – I’M in CHA ERA. I wasn’t aware of this spelling with the extra A but it wasn’t hard to infer. CHIMERA seems to come up all the time in crosswords, with much variation in the definition. | |
| 22 | Like something off the sweet trolley — or off one’s own? (5,2,1,9) |
| NUTTY AS A FRUITCAKE – DDCDH. The answer and off one’s trolley are both euphemismas for mad. | |
| 23 | Antifreeze essential initially in chopper (6) |
| DEICER – E{ssential} in DICER. This looks odd unhyphenated. | |
| 24 | Take a hike, as might granny? (3,7) |
| GET KNOTTED – The answer and take a hike are mildly offensive ways of telling someone to go away. The cryptic hint leans on there being a granny knot. | |
| 27 | Pretty tree ahead (6,2) |
| SPRUCE UP – SPRUCE, UP. Pretty as a verb. | |
| 31 | Piece to hear when nocturne played? (6) |
| KNIGHT – Sounds like NIGHT. | |
| 32 | Force not creating a measure of ability to withstand compression (6,6) |
| OCTANE RATING – (not creating a)*. I didn’t know exactly what an octane rating was, but I know it’s something to do with petrol and that some kind of compression goes on in a ICE. | |
| 34 | Difficulty with pressure cutting narrow, thin material (6,5) |
| TISSUE PAPER – ISSUE P[ressure] in TAPER | |
| 36 | Go and prepare a frittata? (3,8) |
| GET CRACKING – DDCDH. Making a frittata requires eggs to be broken. | |
| 37 | A tad wet swimming round river… um — just stay afloat (5,5) |
| TREAD WATER – (a tad wet)* round R[iver], then ER | |
| 39 | Register cheers in delight (9) |
| ENTERTAIN – ENTER, TA, IN | |
| 41 | Little piece has nailed simply perfect thing to say (3,5) |
| MOT JUSTE – MOTE around JUST | |
| 45 | Sloppily inscribe second stroke (6) |
| SCRAWL – S[econd], (front or back) CRAWL | |
| 46 | Fresh head on stick (6) |
| ADHERE – (head)*, RE | |
| 48 | Mature gorgonzola tempted you all right, every last bit (5) |
| ADULT – last letters of {gorgonzol}A {tempte}D {yo}U {al}L {righ}T | |
| 49 | United team is a goal up, reportedly? (5) |
| LEEDS – sounds like LEADS. How thoughtful of the setter to throw in a clue about my favourite team. | |
| 51 | Fibre in light illuminated (5) |
| RAYON – RAY, ON | |
Like Penfold, I wondered about Warhol, but came to the same conclusion. No problem with the various idioms P mentions, some of which (like ‘big deal’) are not specifically UK. (GO COMMANDO would have been a problem, but it appeared here recently and I actually remembered it.)
Congratulations, Penfold, and thanks, on your 100 (being Jumbos, more like 300).
Well done on achieving your milestone Penfold.
I have no notes on my print-out but I remember having some problems along the way with this one. For instance I knew 30ac should be YACKETY-YAK but missed the island reference so was trying to fit two YAKs into the answer which led to me to doubting my spelling. WARHOL puzzled me for a long time preventing me getting the answer, but once I’d found it I understood it was a reference to US spelling.
NHO CLAPPERCLAW.
Revisiting the puzzle today I realised why CABOT came to mind so readily when an explorer’s name was needed earlier this week.
CLAPPERCLAW is yet one more example of a word ODE doesn’t have but my English-Japanese dictionary does.
the ODE is a (deliberately) limited dictionary. Collins has it..
Congrats to you on your more impressive recent milestone. I haven’t yet done the puzzle in question (saving it for championship practice) so missed the opportunity to congratulate you at the time.
Many thanks
Congratulations on the milestone! That’s a lot of blogging time with the number of clues per puzzle.
I enjoyed this one a lot, especially the idiomatic phrases. It took me about 47 minutes, done on the paper paper (rather than printout from the puzzle club) as I was visiting my sister in Scotland at the time, and then entered online once I got home.. Sadly I failed to check the parsing of 30A and entered YAKKITY-YAK, getting 2 pink squares. HERES MUD IN YOUR EYE was my favourite, but I also liked the hidden RESULT, GROUND, TRINIDAD, LEEDS, ASK ME ANOTHER and CHINA TEA. LOI was OCTANE RATING which I’d falsely assumed was the amount of octane in the fuel, but I’ve now read up on it. Thanks Penfold and setter.
Congratulations on the milestone, P. Crumbs!
I stuffed this one up. I followed the wordplay religiously to get to YAK, KE(T)Y, YEK. Observing that this didn’t work I concluded that KAY must be an alternative spelling of KEY and corrected to YAKKATY YAK. That didn’t look right either but seemed a bit better and it never occurred to me that the back-to-back small islands might be different small islands. Drat.
And that after agonising over WHIRLYGIG/WHIRLIGIG (with no help from the clue, I note in passing) and plumping for the right option entirely by chance.
Congrats on your ton Penfold.
I found this one quite tricky, not helped by having a Pathé News voice in my head saying “what of it” for most of the solve.
I saw some whirligigs in a pond at a stately home the other week and decided to, ahem, liberate a few in a paper cup and rehouse them in my own pond. I think the shubunkins have eaten them all. What of it???
Started this but never quite got round to finishing it .. so will only comment to say congratulations Penfold, that is about 6,000 or more clues explained and parsed. Well done!