I completed this in one untimed session which suggests I didn’t have too many problems. I seem to remember there was a barren patch in the middle of the solve.
As usual definitions are underlined in bold italics, {deletions and substitutions are in curly brackets} and [anagrinds, containment, reversal and other indicators in square ones]. “Aural wordplay” is in quotation marks. I now use a tilde sign ~ to indicate an insertion point in containment clues. I usually omit all reference to juxtaposition indicators unless there is a specific point that requires clarification.
 Across |
|
| 1 | Supply with load of seafood after initial feline cry (9) |
| CATERWAUL | |
| CATER (supply), W (with), {h}AUL (load of seafood) [after the initial letter] | |
| 6 | Bloke in film, say, broken by female villain (10) |
| MALEFACTOR | |
| MALE~ACTOR (bloke in film, say) containing [broken by] F (female). The tilde ~ indicates the insertion point. | |
| 12 | Finery on girl AI rendered backwards (7) |
| REGALIA | |
| RE (on), GAL (girl), then AI reversed [rendered backwards] | |
| 13 | Dinosaur droppings covered by current lecturer (9) |
| IGUANODON | |
| GUANO (droppings) contained [covered] by I (current) ~ DON (lecturer) | |
| 14 | Overheard priest, or beast? (5) |
| LLAMA | |
| Aural wordplay [overheard]: “Lama” (priest) | |
| 16 | Eg Byzantine ploy to import historian (12) |
| EGYPTOLOGIST | |
| EG, anagram [Byzantine – complicated] of PLOY TO, then GIST (import – salient point). ODE (P) has this example: the import of her message is clear. | |
| 17 | Living stats revised when temperature’s taken? (5,5) |
| VITAL SIGNS | |
| Anagram [revised] of LIVING STA{t}S [temperature’s taken] | |
| 19 | As some workloads are divvied, zone out? (14) |
| DEPARTMENTALLY | |
| DEPART MENTALLY (zone out). ‘Divvie’ is UK slang for divide up / share out. | |
| 22 | Run-down horse’s knocked over sibling (8) |
| SYNOPSIS | |
| PONY’S (horse’s) reversed [knocked over], SIS (sibling) | |
| 24 | Mark margins of hefty Polish edition (6) |
| HYPHEN | |
| H{eft}Y + P{olis}H + E{ditio}N [margins of…] | |
| 25 | Increasingly sneaky way to secure duck, one sheltered by female (10) |
| STEALTHIER | |
| S~T (way – street) containing [to secure] TEAL (duck), then I (one) contained [sheltered] by H~ER (female) | |
| 26 | Stars essentially disliked supporter (5) |
| LIBRA | |
| {dis}LI{ked} [essentially], BRA (supporter) | |
| 29 | Kitty Olympics venue (4) |
| POOL | |
| Two meanings, the second by example | |
| 30 | Record cached in tribute somewhere online (4,4) |
| HOME PAGE | |
| EP (record) contained by [cached in] HOM~AGE (tribute) | |
| 32 | Popular setter keeps fifth of puzzle harsh (9) |
| INCLEMENT | |
| IN (popular), C~EMENT (setter) contains [keeps] {puzz}L{e} [fifth letter of…] | |
| 34 | Sauce’s turned mostly full and sweet (9) |
| SUGARPLUM | |
| RAGU’S (sauce’s) reversed [turned], PLUM{p} (full) [mostly] | |
| 35 | One obstinate horse (as it were), we hear? (8) |
| NAYSAYER | |
| Aural wordplay [we hear]: “neigh”-sayer (horse, as it were) | |
| 36 | OK by you, I understand (4) |
| YEAH | |
| YE (you), AH (I understand) | |
| 39 | Rebel incorporating new hair product (5) |
| RINSE | |
| RI~SE (rebel) containing [incorporating] N (new) | |
| 40 | In hearing, recognises extremely tall story close behind others (4,2,4) |
| NOSE TO TAIL | |
| Aural wordplay [in hearing]: “knows” (recognises) + “too” (extremely), “tale” (tall story) | |
| 42 | Bird back to jeer guy holding rifle (6) |
| SNIPER | |
| SNIPE (bird), {jee}R [back to…] | |
| 44 | Desperate when minimal understanding vanishes in seconds (4-4) |
| LAST-GASP | |
| L{e}AST G{r}ASP (minimal understanding) [vanished in seconds – losing the second letters]. I had some help with this one, originally parsed tentatively as a double definition that didn’t entirely convince me. | |
| 46 | Mallards and owl sit, performing Disney song (3,1,5,5) |
| ITS A SMALL WORLD | |
| Anagram [performing] of MALLARDS OWL SIT. Reputed to be the most publicly performed song of all time, this one was written in the early 1960s to be played at various attractions across the world-wide Disney theme park empire. Somehow I have managed to live until today without ever hearing it, but I just made the mistake of playing it on YouTube and wish I hadn’t The wordplay element of the clue captures perfectly the sort of scene expected in Disney cartoons. | |
| 48 | I’m in bed, still with opposite sex’s clothes on (10) |
| SNAPDRAGON | |
| SNAP (still – photo), DRAG (opposite sex’s clothes), ON. I’m glad the answer wasn’t the flower’s other name, the antirrhinum. |
|
| 49 | A gentle heavyweight, judicious on the counter, quite frequently (2,5,2,3) |
| AS OFTEN AS NOT | |
| A, SOFT (gentle), then TON (heavyweight) + SANE (judicious) reversed [on the counter] | |
| 53 | Club make slow progress on wickets (5) |
| WEDGE | |
| W (wickets – cricket), EDGE (make slow progress) | |
| 54 | Retiring rambler enters cool motor event (9) |
| INTROVERT | |
| ROVER (rambler) contained by [enters] IN (cool) + T~T (motor event – tourist trophy) | |
| 55 | Always defending politician or monarch (7) |
| EMPEROR | |
| E~ER (always ) containing [defending] MP (politician), then OR | |
| 56 | Each child sports fur matching the time of year (10) |
| SEASONABLE | |
| EA (each) + SON (child) is contained by [sports] S~ABLE (fur) | |
| 57 | Wicked lady darts off (9) |
| DASTARDLY | |
| Anagram [off] of LADY DARTS | |
| Down |
|
| 1 | Reserved day in carvery, needing filling (5) |
| CAGEY | |
| AGE (day) contained by [in] C{arver}Y [needing filling] | |
| 2 | Mean business to discuss over Christmas dinner? (4,6) |
| TALK TURKEY | |
| A cryptic hint supports the main definition. The origin of the saying is disputed and ranges between turkey hunters making gobbling noises (Brewer’s) to disputes between Native Americans and settlers (various on-line sources). | |
| 3 | Light changing pre-alarm (4,4) |
| REAR LAMP | |
| Anagram [changing] of PRE-ALARM | |
| 4 | Chicken shop offering to support area that’s daunting (5) |
| AWING | |
| A (area), WING (chicken shop offering) | |
| 5 | Largely garish island spoiled Asian state (9) |
| LOUISIANA | |
| LOU{d} (garish) [largely], I (island) anagram [spoiled] of ASIAN | |
| 6 | Intellectual dug up for broadcast (4) |
| MIND | |
| Aural wordplay [for broadcast]: “mined” (dug up) | |
| 7 | Young man in course of salad diet (6) |
| LADDIE | |
| Hidden [in course of] {sa}LAD DIE{t} | |
| 8 | Face nasty trick, playing game of team selection (7,7) |
| FANTASY CRICKET | |
| Anagram [playing] of FACE NASTY TRICK | |
| 9 | Conservative must let me think about former slight (4,8) |
| COLD SHOULDER | |
| C (Conservative)~ SHOULD (must) + ER (let me think) containing [about] OLD (former) | |
| 10 | Stove crushed by outsize fruit (7) |
| ORANGES | |
| RANGE (stove) contained [crushed] by O~S (outsize) | |
| 11 | Intimacy? Friday concludes with it (10) |
| FRIENDSHIP | |
| FRI (Friday), ENDS (concludes), HIP (with it) | |
| 15 | Fool has sprayed bronzer on himself and face of top aide (9) |
| ASSISTANT | |
| ASS (fool), IS TAN (has sprayed bronzer on himself), T{op} [face of…]. The second piece of wordplay seems a bit odd but it may make sense if read as: (Fool) has sprayed bronzer on himself and IS now the colour TAN. | |
| 18 | You might say, more shallow-ish sweet talk? (8) |
| FLATTERY | |
| FLATTER-Y (more shallow-ish). ‘You might say’ indicates a bad pun that relies on the suffix ‘-ish’ being equivalent to ‘-y’ as commonly found in entries in the fictional Uxbridge English Dictionary. As with the previous clue I don’t think this works particularly well. | |
| .20 | Ranks here groan, shattered after constant training (4,5) |
| PIPE ORGAN | |
| PI (constant), PE (training), anagram [shattered] of GROAN. In a pipe organ, a rank is a complete set of pipes that all produce the same tone colour or timbre. |
|
| 21 | Fisherman’s gear snags vessel at the bottom (10) |
| NETHERMOST | |
| NE~T (fisherman’s gear) contains [snags] THERMOS (vessel – vacuum flask) | |
| 23 | One on staff conserving nation’s art style (10) |
| MINIMALISM | |
| MINI~M (one on staff) containing [conserving] MALI’S (nation’s). A minim is a type of note in music, and the staff aka stave is the set of lines on which music is notated. | |
| 27 | Purveyor possibly managing stingy customers? (9) |
| BEEKEEPER | |
| Cryptic. ‘Purveyor’ seems an odd choice of word here because it means a trader, but I suppose beekeepers may trade in honey. | |
| 28 | Cut up fish and immediately start to ice on casting site (7,7) |
| POLLING STATION | |
| LOP (cut) reversed [up], LING (fish), STAT (immediately), I{ce} [start to…], ON. Where votes are cast in an election. ‘Stat’ written on a medical direction or prescription means immediately. | |
| 31 | Comment on endless trouble at gallery (8) |
| ANNOTATE | |
| ANNO{y} (trouble) [endless], TATE (gallery) | |
| 33 | Emergency response to burning eggs, endorsed liberally (5,7) |
| GREEN GODDESS | |
| Anagram [liberally] of EGGS ENDORSED. This is the colloquial name for a particular type of fire-engine long since defunct or moth-balled. | |
| 34 | Cutter was capsized under first couple of scones and bun (6,3) |
| SCROLL SAW | |
| SC{ones} [first couple of…], ROLL (bun), then WAS reversed [capsized]. NHO this. | |
| 37 | Pronoun change fairly regularly taken in family (10) |
| HEREDITARY | |
| HER (pronoun), EDIT (change), {f}A{i}R{l}Y [regularly taken] | |
| 38 | Singular in style, given national team jersey with frosted tips? (10) |
| SNOWCAPPED | |
| S (singular), NOW (in style), CAPPED (given national team jersey). Collins has: now – (informal) of the moment; fashionable – the now look is street fashion. | |
| 41 | Leave behind darn scent that’s spreading (9) |
| TRANSCEND | |
| Anagram [spreading] of DARN SCENT | |
| 43 | Plant articles framing drug-smuggling mistress (4,4) |
| ALOE VERA | |
| A~A (indefinite articles) containing [framing] LO~VER (mistress) itself containing [smuggling] E (drug) | |
| 45 | Wife tucked into large portion of eg lamb wrap (7) |
| SWADDLE | |
| W (wife) contained by [tucked into] S~ADDLE (large portion of e.g. lamb). ‘Swaddle’ usually refers to the wrapping of tiny babies in garments or cloth. It’s mentioned in biblical accounts of the nativity. | |
| 47 | Derriere of American I see rising outside bath (3,3) |
| HOT TUB | |
| BUTT (derriere of American) + OH (I see) reversed [rising] | |
| 50 | Classical trio, big closers for the Proms (5) |
| FATES | |
| FAT (big), {th}E + {Prom}S [closers for…]. The three goddesses of destiny in classical mythology. | |
| 51 | Crossword-obsessed, perhaps out of inner dysfunction (5) |
| NERDY | |
| Hidden in [out of] {in}NER DY{sfunction}. Hm! | |
| 52 | Kebab nearly (4) |
| DONE | |
| DONE{r} (kebab) [nearly] | |
Love how this cryptic crossword challenges the mind while offering that satisfying thrill when each clever clue finally clicks!
About 45 minutes.
– Didn’t parse LAST-GASP
– Don’t think I’ve ever heard IT’S A SMALL WORLD either, though maybe it’s one of those you’ll-know-it-when-you-hear-it songs
– Had to trust that a SNAPDRAGON is a flower, or something else that might be found in a bed
– Needed all the checkers before I got GREEN GODDESS, which is a term I’d heard of without knowing what it was (I plead the ‘before my time’ defence, your honour)
Thanks Jack and setter.
FOI Regalia
LOI Yeah
COD Departmentally
Thanks jackkt for the blog, and particularly the parsing of 15dn ASSISTANT. It was really winding me up. I thought it was a rule-breaker and I would have to come here and lay down the law, and we don’t want too much of that. The only way I could see the necessary ISTAN was an anagram (sprayed) of stain (bronzer). Thank goodness your parsing came to my rescue.
I do like your tilde device. Very neat
Many thanks for your kind comments. As mentioned in the blog, I’m not overly keen on the IS TAN device or necessarily convinced that my interpretation is the best available, but squinting hard it seems to do the job – just about.
As for the tilde, I’ve been thinking about indicating insertion points for some time but my problem was how to do it. Traditionally this would involve the use of a carat sign but I couldn’t find a keyboard shortcut for that and my best effort at it didn’t look right anyway, so I went through other options. The tilde is easy to insert and seemed the most appropriate and least intrusive. I’m glad you like it. It’s a bit late for innovations after nearly 1100 blogs but I plan to use it from now on.
Mostly okay, but could not work out “is tan” until I saw your explanation (thank you). And like you, don’t quite see that a beekeeper is a purveyor.
Raised eyebrows for “last gasp”. I never like those clues that depend on a deletion, ie. the setter thinks of a word, removes one letter, and we have to guess. So a double deletion is double-plus ungood.
In the 1977 Firemans strike, the government called up the army using their green goddess fire engines.
My favourite clue was Depart Mentally.
Thanks Jack for your efforts here. A rare complete solve for me so very pleased and satisfied. HEREDITARY and YEAH were the last to yield. Thanks to the setter for an enjoyable and solvable puzzle.
Mainly ok but still a ‘didn’t finish’ for me. Haven’t heard of the song at 46a though I guessed it, didn’t know the meaning of ‘stat’ in 28d, 33d is long forgotten, thought the definition ‘Ranks here’ at 20d was weak, and still not sure that ‘age’ and ‘day’ are synonyms (1d). Otherwise ok if not particularly inspired.
Thank you for the blog.