I can safely say that this was one of the best Jumbos I’ve had the pleasure to blog. There were cracking clues galore, exhibiting wit and invention in spades, clever definitions (a pleasing mix of short and long), silky-smooth surface readings, the works. If you’re looking in setter, thank you for the entertainment. More like this please editor, if you’re reading this.
First in was COUP D’ECLAT and last was MEDICINE.
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 O[ld] B[oy]
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 FRI[day]
Across | |
1 | Christian joined daughters in lift (9) |
METHODIST – MET, D[aughters] in HOIST | |
6 | Bold move, Conservative changing old EU pact (4,6) |
COUP DECLAT – C[onservative], (old EU pact)* | |
12 | Criminal needing medical assistance in city, avoiding NY somehow (7) |
ILLICIT – ILL (needing medical assistance), (in city)* excluding NY. The letters left don’t actually need scrambling but I guess this solves the problem of how to indicate that the excluded N and Y aren’t consecutive. | |
13 | Enjoy Moonstruck very much (4,5) |
LIKE CRAZY – LIKE, CRAZY | |
14 | End producer’s plans (5) |
MEANS – DDCDH based on “a means to an end” | |
16 | Minister’s office undecorated on tea clipper, say (12) |
CHAPLAINSHIP – PLAIN on CHA then SHIP. Lift and separate very much has to be applied to tea clipper. | |
17 | Regular publication of poetry beginning to appear in danger (10) |
PERIODICAL – ODIC A{ppear} in PERIL | |
19 | Suspect English cat pees, jumping on laps? (14) |
STEEPLECHASING – (English cat pees)* | |
22 | The way scarf occupies empty seat in grandstand (8) |
SHOWBOAT – HOW BOA in SeaT. The definition and answer can both mean to show off, usually in some sporting context. Lovely surface reading. | |
24 | Wearing big top for one purpose (6) |
INTENT – IN (wearing) TENT (big top for one). I was kept on by a travelling circus for a few years. I didn’t have any circus skills but I was the only one who could get the tent back in the bag. | |
25 | 24 hours too long without company (10) |
FRIENDLESS – FRI[day], ENDLESS | |
26 | German before unification coming back through Ossi’s sewer (5) |
WESSI – reverse hidden. An informal term for a West German. | |
29 | 950 year-old in several books, not one that explains it (4) |
NOAH – I interpret this as NO (not one) AH (that explains it, e.g. “You’re late”, “I had a puncture”, “ah”). | |
30 | Big craft project involves me carrying work around (5,3) |
JUMBO JET – JUT around JOB reversed in ME | |
32 | Split pin opening for steelworker? (5,4) |
RIVET HOLE – RIVE, THOLE (a pin in the side of a boat to keep the oar in place). I couldn’t see anything other than this being a barely cryptic CD but that didn’t makes sense given the overall quality of the puzzle. I therefore asked around and thanks are due to QC blogger Galspray for providing the parsing. | |
34 | A little smoke from oil and garlic cooking (9) |
CIGARILLO – (oil garlic)*. Another great surface. | |
35 | One’s tablet possibly reduced channels for movies (8) |
MEDICINE – MEDIa, CINE- (for movies). This was my LOI as I could see the answer but not the parsing. | |
36 | Exchange prisoners sent over (4) |
SWOP – reversal of P.O.W.s | |
39 | River king leaves during twilight (5) |
INDUS – IN DUSK minus K[ing] | |
40 | Rum toffee Charlie put down as secret weakness (4,2,4) |
FEET OF CLAY – (toffee C[harlie])*, LAY | |
42 | Nearly all plugs function as solution for drips, perhaps (6) |
SALINE – AL{l} in SINE | |
44 | British countryside somewhat flatter (8) |
BLANDISH – B[ritish], LAND, ISH | |
46 | Rambling on, press one’s point, showing sensitivity (14) |
RESPONSIVENESS – (on press)*, I’VE, NESS | |
48 | Mind boudoir having limited shower pressure? (10) |
BRAINPOWER – BOWER around RAIN P[ower] | |
49 | Leak in tin cask concerning — one sounds the alarm shortly (6,6) |
SNOOZE BUTTON – OOZE in SN BUTT ON | |
53 | Environmentally friendly lithium cells we have inside, naturally (1,4) |
E COLI – ECO LI | |
54 | Knock out every other pair in semi-finals — top class fencing that (9) |
ELIMINATE – seMIfiNAls in ELITE | |
55 | Someone who gets their post through you? (7) |
IMPALER – CD | |
56 | Fastener that’s melted on Spooner’s cycling bags (7,3) |
SEALING WAX – Spoonerism of WHEELING SACKS | |
57 | Din curtailed school debate, on giving away uniform free (9) |
DISCHARGE – DIn SCH[ool], ARGUE minus U[niform] |
Down | |
1 | Island whisky that’s top of the list? (5) |
MALTA – MALT A (cf Blended Z) | |
2 | Mark slept naked — something artist might draw with delight (6,4) |
TICKLE PINK – TICK, sLEPt, INK | |
3 | Escort on the road in unacceptable condition (8) |
OUTRIDER – OUT (unacceptable), RIDER (condition in a contract or list of requirements from a performing artist) | |
4 | During day in Rome, lira has no purpose (5) |
IDLES – L[ira] in IDES. | |
5 | Accept children disagree (4,5) |
TAKE ISSUE – TAKE, ISSUE | |
6 | Chicken half-hearted chef eats cold (4) |
COCK – COoK around C[old] | |
7 | Fearless abseiler’s head splits having not tied the knot (6) |
UNAWED – A{bseiler} in UNWED | |
8 | Drunk’s face certainly cheerful — bar adding an hour to time? (8-6) |
DAYLIGHT-SAVING – D{runk}, AY, LIGHT, SAVING (bar) | |
9 | Contract’s approach we really dislike (4,4,4) |
COME DOWN WITH – COME then DOWN WITH! as in “Down with this sort of thing” in Father Ted. “We really dislike” is really clever. | |
10 | Unexpected ciao welcomes sailor docked in French port (7) |
AJACCIO – (c iao)* around JACk. Corsica rather than mainland France. | |
11 | Record translation of Sino-US conference (10) |
DISCUSSION – DISC, (Sino-US)* | |
15 | Very drunk Irish in A&E showing patience (9) |
SOLITAIRE – SO LIT, IR in A (and) E | |
18 | Edward made one sandwiches, still needing improvement? (8) |
UNEDITED – ED[ward] sandwiched by UNITED | |
20 | Set off and wandered widely, now distant (9) |
ESTRANGED – (set)*, RANGED | |
21 | Sailor’s house given navy telephone (10) |
HORNBLOWER – HO[ouse] R[oyal] N[avy] BLOWER | |
23 | Tiny chap one can only imagine developing herculean power (10) |
LEPRECHAUN – (herculean P[ower)* | |
27 | Different twins who start to examine who’s the fairest? (4,5) |
SNOW WHITE – (twins who E{xamine})* | |
28 | Fall out of bed, turning over fourteen pounds towards scam (4,1,4,3,2) |
PULL A FAST ONE ON – FALL UP reversed, A STONE, ON | |
31 | Party stuff put up with energy (8) |
JAMBOREE – JAM, BORE, E[nergy] | |
33 | Parking suitable for homes of top US executive (12) |
PRESIDENTIAL – P[arking], RESIDENTIAL | |
34 | Rope around branch could make tree this (9) |
CLIMBABLE – CABLE around LIMB | |
37 | Learner interrupts agricultural class making joke (10) |
PLEASANTRY – L[earner] in PEASANTRY | |
38 | Vile knitwear one drops in chute (4,6) |
BASE JUMPER – BASE, JUMPER | |
41 | Better being taken care of with humility (3,2,4) |
CAP IN HAND – CAP, IN HAND | |
43 | Malicious flying bomb to be destroyed (8) |
VIPERISH – V1, PERISH | |
45 | Shellfish baby shelled unaided (7) |
ABALONE – bABy, ALONE | |
47 | Critique to do with struggle for superiority — women’s (6) |
REVIEW – RE, VIE, W[omen’s] | |
50 | Lots of deliveries during term for boarders? (5) |
OVERS – OVER, {boarder}S | |
51 | Mark in Spanish up to 40% of grade (5) |
TILDE – TIL, {gra}DE | |
52 | Judge elected, by bad luck (4) |
JINX – J[udge], IN, X (by as in multiplied by) |
DNF
Couldn’t get NHO BASE JUMPER, IMPALER, & VIPERISH. And I couldn’t figure out how RESPONSIVENESS worked.
BASE JUMPER was one of several never heard of. I missed the parsing of SHOWBOAT – very good – and RIVET HOLE, which even having seen the explanation seems excessively complex. Probably me (almost certainly) but I still don’t understand what’s going on re OVERS.
Hi John
Re OVERS, the def is cricket-related, OVER = during (e.g. he decorated the room over a period of three weeks) and then term (last letter) of boarderS.
Many thanks. Well done for spotting it! I’m not sure I’d ever have got the first part of the wordplay.
Is “term” a recognised way of indicating the last letter, then?
Many thanks for the blog, I couldn’t parse 54ac either.
Indeed. The first definition of term in the Chambers app is “an end”. Think of things like terminate, terminus etc.
Yes, a good one, and a nice Goldilocks level of difficulty. RIVET HOLE my only unknown although I wouldn’t have been able to define THOLE.