Hi all. This was all going wonderfully smoothly … until I slowed to a crawl. After a bit I decided to take a break. When I came back I quickly got a few more so I thought my walk had done the trick. However, I then hit a brick wall which seemed so unyielding I resorted to word searches with several to go. And I was glad I hadn’t spent any more time – I didn’t find myself thinking, “d’oh, I should have got that.”
I checked my answer for 42a (TRAIN OIL) which I was unsure about and used wordfinding aids for ARBITRAGEUR (33d), LA SERENISSIMA (31d), PERCEIVE (23d, my last to parse) and finally DORMOBILE (3d).
Thanks to the setter for the brain exercise. Although I confess I got a teeny bit grumpy at the end, I enjoyed it until then!
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 | Sudden cold weather to continue slowly? That’ll do for flower (10) |
| SNAPDRAGON — SNAP (sudden cold weather) + DRAG ON (to continue slowly) | |
| 6a | Easily distracted person dropping bishop in country (12) |
| SCATTERBRAIN — SCAT (dropping) + B (bishop) in TERRAIN (country) | |
| 14a | Revised reading incorporating live material (9) |
| GABERDINE — An anagram of (revised) READING incorporating BE (live) | |
| 15a | I grow faint around love, in a manner of speaking (5) |
| IDIOM — I + DIM (grow faint) around O (love) | |
| 16a | Tiles, perhaps, stopping water coming through? Not at first (7) |
| ROOFING — Without the first letter (… not at first), pROOFING (stopping water coming through?) | |
| 17a | Trilogy that’s written? Then do fresh trilogy almost completely different (3,4,2,3,5) |
| THE LORD OF THE RINGS — THEN DO FRESH TRILOGy without the last letter (almost completely) anagrammed (different) | |
| 18a | Poet, foremost of ones in English Literature (5) |
| ELIOT — The first letter of (foremost of) Ones in E (English) LIT (literature) | |
| 19a | Observe a German female hugging Maximilian upon return (7) |
| EXAMINE — EINE (a German female – feminine German a) around (hugging) MAX (Maximilian) backwards (upon return) | |
| 21a | Part of meal incorporating a new pastry (6) |
| DANISH — DISH (part of meal) incorporating A and N (new) | |
| 22a | Way information will restrict old source of disease (8) |
| PATHOGEN — PATH (way) and GEN (information) will surround (restrict) O (old) | |
| 24a | Rural workers last to attend soccer club? (7) |
| DROVERS — The final letter of (last to) attenD + ROVERS (soccer club) | |
| 26a | Food consumed includes a lot of calamari, causing concern (8) |
| DISQUIET — DIET (food consumed) includes all but the last letter of (a lot of) SQUId (calamari) | |
| 27a | Member upset about worker repeated statement (6) |
| MANTRA — ARM (member) backwards (upset) around (about) ANT (worker) | |
| 30a | Awkward royal attire is more than unforgiving? (11) |
| RETALIATORY — An anagram of (awkward) ROYAL ATTIRE | |
| 32a | Arrange lecture about thorax after resistance (11) |
| ORCHESTRATE — ORATE (lecture) around (about) CHEST (thorax) after R (resistance) | |
| 33a | Irishman backed article probing continent, showing lack of feeling (11) |
| ANAESTHESIA — SEAN (Irishman) reversed (backed) and THE (article) going into (probing) ASIA (continent) | |
| 35a | Quantity of money given to detectives; quantity of money chief of police missed — fortuitous event? (11) |
| COINCIDENCE — COIN (quantity of money) + CID (detectives) + [p]ENCE (quantity of money) with the first letter (chief) of Police omitted (missed) | |
| 37a | Obscure times surrounding tragic king (6) |
| BLEARY — BY (times) surrounding LEAR (tragic king) | |
| 38a | On back of allotment drilling a tree, as it happens (4-4) |
| REAL-TIME — RE (on) + the last letter (back) of allotmenT going into (drilling) A and LIME (tree) | |
| 39a | First course, perhaps, with a small amount in energy (3,4) |
| PEA SOUP — A and SOU (small amount) in PEP (energy) | |
| 42a | Work to restrict drop of water in marine product (5,3) |
| TRAIN OIL — TOIL (work) surrounding (to restrict) RAIN (drop of water) | |
| 44a | Duke enthralled by a good atmosphere in African city (6) |
| AGADIR — D (Duke) surrounded by (enthralled by) A, G (good) and AIR (atmosphere) | |
| 46a | Struggle at sea with fish releasing line (7) |
| FOUNDER — F[l]OUNDER (fish) taking out (releasing) L (line) | |
| 48a | Opposing forces position North America for revolution (5) |
| ANTIS — SIT (position) and NA (North America) all reversed (for revolution) | |
| 49a | Leave possibly key athletic accessory, abandoning university programme (6,6,5) |
| DESERT ISLAND DISCS — DESERT (leave) + ISLAND (possibly key) + DISC[u]S (athletic accessory), leaving out (abandoning) U (university) | |
| 51a | European energy should involve unknown canal, I prophesied (7) |
| EZEKIEL — E (European) and E (energy) should include (involve) Z (unknown); add KIEL (canal) | |
| 52a | Careful approach handling electric current? That’s understood (5) |
| TACIT — TACT (careful approach) holding (handling) I (electric current) | |
| 53a | A record broken by American baseball team back in Florida? (9) |
| PENINSULA — All reversed (… back), A plus LP (record) with insertion of (broken by) US (American) and NINE (baseball team) | |
| 54a | Tear? Note flicker in eye during farewell — my death wasn’t what it seemed (3,3,6) |
| RIP VAN WINKLE — RIP (tear) + N (note) and WINK (flicker in eye) in (during) VALE (farewell) | |
| 55a | Immoral sort of game, smuggling dope at end of leave (10) |
| DEGENERATE — DEER (sort of game) holding (smuggling) GEN (dope) + AT + the end of leavE. | |
| I couldn’t decide between this interpretation and taking the definition as “immoral sort” with deer just indicated by “game” | |
| Down | |
| 1d | Player who hasn’t practised, one sounding resigned about pace (5-6) |
| SIGHT-READER — SIGHER (one sounding resigned) around (about) TREAD (pace) | |
| 2d | Risk missing first walk (5) |
| AMBLE — Without the initial letter (… missing first), gAMBLE (risk) | |
| 3d | Affair to get aggravated, having many people crammed in van (9) |
| DORMOBILE — DO (affair) + RILE (to get aggravated) having MOB (many people) inside (crammed in) | |
| 4d | Strauss heroine’s solo with soaring finale (7) |
| ARIADNE — ARIA (solo) + going upwards (soaring) END (finale) | |
| 5d | Completely finished with FBI man given too much to take in? (7) |
| OVERFED — OVER (completely finished) + FED (FBI man) | |
| 7d | A rich colour’s dispersed, with no large arrangement of shades (11) |
| CHIAROSCURO — A RICH CO[l]OUR’S anagrammed (dispersed), with no L (large). | |
| I had to have a couple of goes getting the vowels in the right place … | |
| 8d | Sense of occasion, raising it with former Chinese leadership (6) |
| TIMING — In reverse (raising) IT followed by MING (former Chinese leadership) | |
| 9d | Old Italian and French sport overview (8) |
| ETRUSCAN — ET (and, French) + RU (sport) + SCAN (overview) | |
| 10d | Sad, skint and close to total economic disaster, initially requiring input from husband (6-7) |
| BROKEN-HEARTED — BROKE (skint), NEAR (close to) and Total Economic Disaster initially requiring insertion of (input from) H (husband) | |
| 11d | A command not to keep a daughter waiting (7) |
| ABIDING — A + BID[d]ING (command) losing (not to keep) a D (daughter) | |
| 12d | Songbird close, thrill going around area (11) |
| NIGHTINGALE — NIGH (close) + TINGLE (thrill) going around A (area) | |
| 13d | Source of deal: I put a gloss on filthy place — immoral behaviour (10) |
| DISHONESTY — The first letter of (source of) Deal + I + SHONE (put a gloss on) + STY (filthy place) | |
| 20d | A period with female expert producing change of opinion (5-4) |
| ABOUT-FACE — A + BOUT (period) + F (female) + ACE (expert) | |
| 23d | Papa, with experience, upset about note (8) |
| PERCEIVE — P (papa) + RECEIVE (experience) in which RE (about) is upset | |
| 25d | Bandage son with two articles (6) |
| SWATHE — S (son) + W (with) + A THE (two articles) | |
| 26d | Threshold with party poster destroyed (8) |
| DOORSTEP — DO (party) + POSTER anagrammed (destroyed) | |
| 28d | Eg people on track to drain LA after storm (9) |
| TRAINLOAD — TO DRAIN LA anagrammed (after storm) | |
| 29d | Detective well-informed about a part of service (6) |
| TEACUP — TEC (detective) and UP (well-informed) around (about) A | |
| 31d | Venice’s source of light a girl in Rome finally elevated (2,11) |
| LA SERENISSIMA — LASER (source of light) + upwards (… elevated) A, MISS (girl), IN and RomE finally | |
| 33d | Elevated country mostly retaining little passion for City worker (11) |
| ARBITRAGEUR — Raised (elevated) RURAl (country) missing its last letter (mostly) holding (retaining) BIT (little) and RAGE (passion) | |
| 34d | Everyone without exception ignoring cat that’s symbolic (11) |
| ALLEGORICAL — ALL (everyone) + [cat]EGORICAL (without exception) omitting (ignoring) CAT | |
| 35d | Consequence of Labour: Conservative concealed lineage when engaging Liberal (10) |
| CHILDBIRTH — C (Conservative) + HID (concealed) + BIRTH (lineage) when around (engaging) L (Liberal) | |
| 36d | Politician in Ireland to specify New York (6,5) |
| EMPIRE STATE — MP (politician) in EIRE (Ireland) + STATE (to specify) | |
| 40d | A British film festival lacking original profusion (9) |
| ABUNDANCE — A + B (British) + sUNDANCE (film festival) without its first letter (lacking original) | |
| 41d | Bend twice, accommodating large impact of gale on forest (8) |
| WINDBLOW — WIND and BOW (bend twice) accommodating L (large) | |
| 43d | European city a source of Noilly Prat? (7) |
| ANTWERP — A + the first letter of (source of) Noilly + TWERP (prat) | |
| 45d | Goes pale recently, partly pointing up return of illness (7) |
| RELAPSE — The answer is contained in the reversal of (… partly pointing up) goES PALE Recently | |
| 46d | Very remarkable to hold an opening for cheat in money business (7) |
| FINANCE — FINE (very remarkable) containing (to hold) AN and the first letter of (opening for) Cheat | |
| 47d | Choreographer remains before fashionable society (6) |
| ASHTON — ASH (remains) before TON (fashionable society) | |
| 50d | Form of diving youngster observed in South Africa (5) |
| SCUBA — CUB (youngster) seen in SA (South Africa) | |
Thanks, Kitty. At 27ac, a typo. The worker is an ANT.
Oops, thanks Branch. I’ll correct it now.
DNF
There were several I got but couldn’t parse–PERCEIVE, DEGENERATE, ROOFING, ABIDING– but NHO DORMOBILE was beyond me.
I shared your irritation by the end, Kitty. The solve had been quite smooth if a little taxing in places until I hit a buffer in the SW corner.
NHO LA SERENISSIMA and was unable to construct it from wordplay so I had to look that one up. Ditto ARBITRAGEUR although I now see it was in a Jumbo I solved 5 years ago when I also didn’t know it.
Other than that I was just missing some parsings: DEGENERATE, PERCEIVE and ALLEGORICAL, but the answers came easily enough.
Thanks Kitty. And yes like you and jackkt I found this one had a certain unevenness!
My note said:
“V uneven – mostly v good and medium [difficulty]…
…but stinky bottom left”!
39 minutes but needed wordfinder for my last two, the unknown TRAIN OIL and rather unhelpfully clued PERCEIVE. ARBITRAGEUR got from GK and checkers, but took a bit of thought to parse. Average Jumbo, I thought and I quite enjoyed it. Thanks Kitty and setter.
Didn’t get pea soup, train oil, dormobile, chiaroscuro, perceive (receive = experience is pretty dodgy, as was fine = very remarkable in 46d), arbitrageur. Put in windblow though I didn’t know it was a word.
Favourite: 43d.
Least favourite: 53a, UK crosswords should not require knowledge of a US sport.
Thanks for the blog.
I found this a curious mix of the good, the bad and the ugly. like everyone else, we noted that the top half seemed quite easy, bottom right harder, bottom left hardest of all.
Good clues – Sight Reader and Antwerp.
Bad clues – La Serenissima and Perceive (well done Kitty for parsing that one! I thought it might be some combination of Pere (father) with vie (experience, as in c’est la vie) and C (about).
Ugly clue – Ashton … is the solver expected to know the name of a ballet choreographer who died nearly 40 years ago? Yes, we solved it from the word play but then went to Google – where’s the fun in that? And “society” doesn’t fit.
I feel a degree of sympathy over ASHTON although Sir Frederick Ashton might be said to be the leading British ballet choreographer of his generation, and possibly his finest work La fille mal gardée is still revived regularly some 65 years after he conceived it. His work on film, the charming Tales of Beatrix Potter still delights children to this day. The appearance of things like this in Times puzzles is compensated now by the recent inclusion of modern day sports people and pop singers who are completely foreign to me.
Ton for fashionable society is fine and is in the ODE with this example:
It is the most elegant establishment and half the ton was there
Interesting! Thank you jackkt.