Apart from a Christmas special this is the first Jumbo I have done, so not sure how interested folks are in times but it took a little over an hour for me. Much of it was very gentle but inevitably there were a few at the end that I had to scratch my head over which pushed my time out somewhat.
| Across | |
|---|---|
| 1 | In sum, this disrupted narrow connection (7) |
| ISTHMUS – (SUMTHIS*). | |
| 5 | Rustic youth backed the law with no limits (7) |
| BUCOLIC – Reversal of CUB then (P)OLIC(E). | |
| 9 | Protect glass of wild creature joining party (5,2) |
| BOARD UP – BOAR + DUP.
Our familiar party from Northern Ireland. Is anyone watching Blue Lights, the BBC police drama set there? Recommended if you like that sort of thing. |
|
| 13 | One who objects to young people shouldn’t have this job! (11) |
| CHILDMINDER – Cryptic, playing on the two senses of MIND. | |
| 14 | Small jumper gripping person going round store (11) |
| GRASSHOPPER – GRASPER around SHOP. | |
| 15 | Sage postpones opening of whiskey to the end (5) |
| RISHI – IRISH with the opening I moved the end. | |
| 16 | Rapidly swallowing anger is most attractive (7) |
| FAIREST – FAST outside IRE. | |
| 17 | Sign on motorway we think very important (9) |
| MOMENTOUS – OMEN after M + TO US [we think]. | |
| 18 | Lose concentration and stop watching the dancing (4,4,3,3,3,4) |
| TAKE ONES EYE OFF THE BALL – Double definition, one offbeat. | |
| 23 | Leave behind unfashionable sports clothes (8) |
| OUTSTRIP – OUT + STRIP. | |
| 25 | Maybe a bishop is for everyone (6) |
| APIECE – A bishop is a piece on a chessboard. | |
| 27 | Without easing up, losing the lead (7) |
| LACKING – (S)LACKING. | |
| 30 | Fasten bits back (5) |
| STRAP – Reversal of PARTS. | |
| 32 | Spoil performance, introducing one crowd control measure (4,3) |
| RIOT ACT – ROT ACT around I. | |
| 33 | One’s entry into the race comes about by accident (6,3) |
| SAFETY CAR – Cryptic, playing on two senses of ACCIDENT.
Formula 1 reference. They have actual and virtual safety cars. Technically there isn’t always an accident (often the threat of an accident) but close enough. |
|
| 35 | A thousand invested in cash by obsessive for ground crop (6,3) |
| MONKEY NUT – MONEY around K + NUT. | |
| 36 | One blanket protects either side of engine in freeze (3,4) |
| ICE OVER – I COVER [blanket] around E [take your pick from the beginning or end of ENGINE]. | |
| 37 | Glacier mass would give anxiety with change of direction (5) |
| SERAC – Reversal of CARES.
This was one of the ones I really struggled with at the end, not knowing the word and convinced we were needing the compass bearing S or SE changed to another point, or a swapping of L and R. A SERAC is a block or column of glacial ice, commonly house-sized or larger. They are liable to collapse and are therefore a danger to mountaineers. |
|
| 38 | Leak suggesting diversion in volume? (7) |
| SEEPAGE – I think this is a cryptic playing on something changing in a book (volume) and the movement of a volume of water. As we know cryptics are a bit of a minefield. This one isn’t at all bad, though I only thought of the latter until coming to do the blog.
On edit: It’s “see page” X. Thanks to Kevin and John. |
|
| 40 | Record man fighting against a roofed arcade (6) |
| LOGGIA – LOG + GI + A. | |
| 41 | Huge couple of points short girl returned (8) |
| COLOSSAL – COLO(N) [couple of points, one above the other…] + reversal of LASS. | |
| 44 | Don’t be a hypocrite, and don’t give impromptu lectures (8,4,3,6) |
| PRACTISE WHAT YOU PREACH – Another double definition, with one offbeat limb. | |
| 48 | No more visiting doctors with temperature (2,3,4) |
| AT THE MOST – AT THE [visiting] + MOS + T. | |
| 50 | Physical unit of the past formerly found in the dictionary (7) |
| OERSTED – ERST [an archaic use of formerly] in OED.
The coherent derived unit of the auxiliary magnetic field H. So now you know. One for the late but dear Dorsetjimbo, bless him. (Newer readers won’t know his love for a scientific term, and his regularly expressed view that these puzzles were skewed in favour of those with a bent for the humanities.) |
|
| 53 | Playwright’s tips for writing with energy: cycling! (5) |
| IBSEN – NIBS + E with the N cycling to the end. | |
| 54 | Porter was responsible for this classy group (4,7) |
| HIGH SOCIETY – Our third double definition with an offbeat element.
Naturally, the Cole variety of PORTER, who wrote the music and lyrics to this 1956 film, boasting a fantastic cast including Sinatra, Crosby and Grace Kelly in her last role before becoming a Princess. |
|
| 55 | This grid found in New York? (5,6) |
| TIMES SQUARE – Cryptic playing on the two senses of GRID. | |
| 56 | Temptingly held out fish in a large cup (7) |
| DANGLED – ANGLE in that sort of large cup. | |
| 57 | Hawking, perhaps, female follows part of flight (7) |
| STEPHEN – HEN after STEP. | |
| 58 | Belaboured old composer died (7) |
| OVERDID – O + VERDI + D. | |
| Down | |
|---|---|
| 1 | Suffers retribution at first, framed by participant in hearing (6) |
| INCURS – R inside INCUS (one of the bones in the ear). | |
| 2 | Finally get wife, small figure, matching outfit (7) |
| TWINSET – T + W + INSET [small figure].
Specifically a cardigan and jumper more or less matching. |
|
| 3 | I had to follow mark on gate for position in field (9) |
| MIDWICKET – ID after M [as in the former German currency] + WICKET.
I thought that ON here would indicate that WICKET comes before MID, but presumably it is possible for it to be the other way round. I know Jackkt has opined on this before. On edit: Of course – a down clue! |
|
| 4 | Provided with force after stone is difficult to move (5) |
| STIFF – IF + F after ST. | |
| 5 | Daughter comes in early when we are all thinking of sleep (8) |
| BEDTIMES – D in BETIMES [unusual/literary synonym for EARLY]. | |
| 6 | Witch left out of magic group (5) |
| CIRCE – L removed from CIRCLE.
The enchantress visited by Odysseus on her island of Aeaea on the way back from the Trojan War, renowned for her ability to transform folks into animals. |
|
| 7 | Two supporters squeezing a beneficiary (7) |
| LEGATEE – LEG and TEE [both supporters of different types] around A. | |
| 8 | March off, insulting campaign to disarm (5,9) |
| CHARM OFFENSIVE – (MARCH*) + OFFENSIVE.
That sort of disarming. Chestnutty but a nice clue all the same. |
|
| 9 | Say lead time to go into cheap dinner (4,5) |
| BASE METAL – T in BASE [cheap] MEAL. | |
| 10 | A hard growth in fruit (5) |
| ACORN – A + CORN. | |
| 11 | All the representatives that can be contracted to Washington (10,5) |
| DIPLOMATIC CORPS – Presumably cryptic playing on more than one sense of CONTRACTED but I must confess to not quite seeing it.
On edit: A play on “DC”. Again thanks John. |
|
| 12 | China holds up definite examination (7) |
| PERUSAL – PAL around a reversal [up] of SURE. | |
| 19 | Letter from joker not opened and not returned (7) |
| OMICRON – (C)OMIC +reversal of NOR. | |
| 20 | Getting into cabin maybe lifted me, arranging to have one new go (9) |
| EMPLANING – Reversal of ME [lifted in a down clue] + PLANNING with one of the n’s removed.
I have seen embus before but not sure if I have seen its aircraft equivalent. Another that delayed me at the end. |
|
| 21 | Stirs up old centres of population, bar one (7) |
| EXCITES – EX + CIT(I)ES. | |
| 22 | Polishes off ice creams, eating the whole amount (8) |
| CONSUMES – CONES around SUM. | |
| 24 | Ranting etcetera out of place for British dramatist (7,8) |
| TERENCE RATTIGAN – (RANTINGETCETERA*).
Died as long ago as 1977 but I did know of him (unlike the OERSTED, providing further evidence for Dorsetjimbo’s hypothesis). His most famous plays were The Wilmslow Boy and The Browning Version. |
|
| 26 | Endless additional period, over year, in great distress (9) |
| EXTREMITY – EXTR(A) + a reversal of TIME (period) + Y.
It can (of course) also mean to the utmost limit, or the highest degree. I’m reminded of the other -ity (enormity) which only means great wickedness, pending its more usual (though technically incorrect) usage becoming accepted by the dictionaries. |
|
| 28 | A variable number released from Berlin prison, potentially start of new life (4,4) |
| GERM CELL – A N removed from GERMAN CELL. | |
| 29 | Unhelpful replies from one who is sent mad about step (7,7) |
| HOSTILE WITNESS – (WHOISSENT*) around STILE. | |
| 31 | Sort of concrete play area since covered in part (7) |
| PRECAST – REC + AS [since] all inside PT [part]. | |
| 34 | Intensity of feeling to promote in the East End (7) |
| FERVOUR – Homophone of…FURTHER [promote], if you are a Cockney.
I love a dodgy homophone and more power to the setter’s elbow for this beauty, eschewing the usual deletion of an aitch. |
|
| 39 | Comfortably settled, Charlie tucked into cake, in conclusion (9) |
| ENSCONCED – C in SCONE in END. | |
| 42 | Frequent subject for Matisse, nothing heartlessly Daliesque (9) |
| ODALISQUE – O + DALI(E)SQUE.
A female slave in a harem which for Matisse meant semi-nude images of women reclining in exotic, vaguely North African garb. He painted quite a lot of them. |
|
| 43 | Being around notes on and off someone in pink (8) |
| HUNTSMAN -HUMAN around the N T and S of NOTES [on and off].
The coats are not pink, of course, but referred to as “pinks” apparently because there was a Mr Pink who specialised in making them. |
|
| 44 | Fitness training hurt and told on one (7) |
| PEACHED -PE + ACHED.
Apparently Shakespearian, though I am pretty sure I remember it being used in this context when I was at school (not quite in the late 1500’s though it feels that long ago sometimes). |
|
| 45 | Painkiller to sort out anyone discomforted in the head (7) |
| ANODYNE – (ANYONE +D*).
As a noun, a medicine which allays pain. |
|
| 46 | Hotel New York Phil, for example, use frugally (7) |
| HUSBAND – H + US BAND [the New York Philharmonic by way of an example]. | |
| 47 | Like a vampire, all but beneath notice (6) |
| UNDEAD – UNDE(R) + AD.
Rather liked this one. |
|
| 49 | Canvassed support? (5) |
| EASEL – Cryptic.
I wanted something to do with tents but the more obvious answer soon appeared. |
|
| 51 | Heard scoundrel try to be sick (5) |
| RETCH – Homophone of wretch. | |
| 52 | Party food is cold, in short supply (5) |
| DISCO – Hidden. | |
DNK SAFETY CAR, SERAC. Didn’t understand how COLOSSAL & FERVOUR worked. I finally figured out what ‘diversion in volume’ (see page x) meant, long after biffing it. In Portrait of the Artist, Stephen Dedalus’s father, dropping him off at boarding school, advises him never to peach on a friend. I like FERVOUR, now that I get it.
This is absolutely *dodgy*! Some of these clues are positively *skewed* in favour of the humanities crowd. Trying to follow the logic behind GERM CELL was a right *headscratcher* – Im sticking to my guns on that one! And ODALISQUE? Honestly, it feels like I need a PhD just to decode these. Though UNDEAD UNDE(R) + AD was rather neat. But wheres the *practise* in these? Im definitely *not* preaching without practicing… well, maybe I am. Cheers for the brain teaser, though – now I need a *charming* cup of coffee to reset.
Top 1/3 went in very fast.
Wanted Berlin prison to be spandau without the a or n. Then was sure it would be STEM CELL.
Couldn’t parse OMICRON, and so wanted (4,3) “crowd control measure” to be “tear gas”, but turned out to be RIOT ACT.
Couldn’t parse SEEPAGE or HIGH SOCIETY
EMPLANING (horrible word), I was thinking of ships cabin, and had “Embarking”, with AB for “a bishop” in 25a (was APIECE)
NHO SERAC, thought that M(ass) was part of the fodder.
NHO INCUS, the bone in the ear
NHO of PEACHED for snitched, this was my LOI
NHO ODQLISQUE, but guessed. Didn’t know the ERST in OERSTED, had to cheat for LOGGIA to kick start middle of grid.
RISHI=sage, is this something about Sunak? Didn’t seem exactly prophetic to me.
I had just 6 left after 32 minutes, but took another 6 minutes to finish, for an about average time for me for a Jumbo. I see Kevin has already pointed out the SEEPAGE is a play on See Page x.
In MIDWICKET the “on” indicates A on (top of) B as this is a down clue, whereas in Across clues A “on” B conventionally means B then A. Confusing, I know.
As for DIPLOMATIC CORPS, the “contracted” refers to the initials, which gives you DC, hence Washington.
I too didn’t know my LOI SERAC but derived it from wordplay and checkers before looking it up.
I needed a wordfinder to get my SLOI FERVOUR.
I only knew the “harmless” meaning of ANODYNE, not that it meant a painkiller.
ODALISQUE was one of those words I vaguely remembered but couldn’t have told you what it meant.
I liked the “this grid” definition most.
Thank-you Dvynys and setter. And now for this week’s.
11d: Isn’t CD the usual abbreviation for Diplomatic Corps?
34d: I’m as fond of a dodgy ‘homophone’ as anyone, just not in a crossword, where they diminish my appreciation of the setter whenever they appear. Other opinions are of course available.
Really liked See Page and Safety Car.
Got Emplaning (horrible word!) without fully understanding the missing ‘n’ so thank you Dvynys for the enlightenment.
Canvassed Support was nearly a clever clue, but doesn’t quite work – the canvas is supported, the easel isn’t covered in canvas. Only a minor quibble though.
Sorry to be so late to the party but I’m in the throes of my annual migration to the southern hemisphere.
Enjoyed this and I must’ve been on the wavelength as it was all done and dusted in one session.
May I request a mention for “The Winslow Boy”? A play with fond memories of about 60 years ago.
Didn’t get 15a, 37a, 50a or 1d, 20d or 43d.
Favourite clue: Didn’t have one.
Worst clue: 50a. When I saw the answer I called the setter a very nasty name.
All correct but by the skin of my teeth! FERVOUR my LOI after I finally saw SAFETY CAR. Really didn’t expect ODALISQUE to be right or SERAC! Others I was unsure of included EMPLANING and PEACHING. Feel I have used a large quota of luck.
Thanks to the blogger and setter.