Hello all. In a departure from routine I solved this one in a relaxed mood listening to music, so the 55 minutes on my clock includes some time not focussed on the puzzle. A few answers on the left hand side held out a bit, but no real problems. No absolute stand-out favourites either, but I liked 25a (OF A PIECE) and smiled at “barking at the moon” (15a), which I will be when this blog is published. Thanks setter!
Definitions are underlined in the clues below. In the explanations, I generally italicise indicators unless it seems clearer not to. Where the removed letter is specified, [deletions] are in square brackets, and I’ve capitalised and emboldened letters which appear in the ANSWER. I sometimes omit link words and juxtaposition indicators if it doesn’t feel necessary to explain them. If you have any questions, please ask in the comments section.
| Across | |
| 1a | Endless last-minute stirring for pick-me-up (9) |
| STIMULANT — Without the last letter (endless) LAST-MINUTe anagrammed (stirring) | |
| 6a | State Post Office? It’s confused (5) |
| POSIT — PO (Post Office) + IT’S anagrammed (confused) | |
| 9a | Flowing westwards, a river also falls? (7) |
| NIAGARA — Going right to left (flowing westwards) A, R (river) and AGAIN (also) | |
| 13a | Mountains, Scottish ones either side of Dee (5) |
| ANDES — ANES (Scottish ones) around (either side of) D (dee) | |
| 14a | Crew chasing miles to fill fish order (7) |
| COMMAND — MAN (crew) after (chasing) M (miles), all going inside (to fill) COD (fish) | |
| 15a | Out and barking at the moon (3,2,4) |
| NOT AT HOME — An anagram of (barking) AT THE MOON | |
| 16a | Bond outside Royal Navy is after underworld intelligence? (11) |
| DISCERNMENT — CEMENT (bond) around (outside) RN (Royal Navy) is after DIS (underworld) | |
| 17a | Support getting ready for holiday hiking (11) |
| BACKPACKING — BACK (support) + PACKING (getting ready for holiday) | |
| 18a | Disease besetting rook and crow? (6) |
| CORVID — COVID (disease) besetting R (rook) | |
| 19a | Northeast supporter pens petition for area surrounding Lincoln (8) |
| NEBRASKA — NE (northeast) + BRA (supporter) contains (pens) ASK (petition) | |
| 21a | Still fast, keeping in condition (6) |
| PACIFY — PACY (fast) holding (keeping in) IF (condition) | |
| 25a | Uniform belonging to a knight? (2,1,5) |
| OF A PIECE — OF (belonging to) + A + PIECE (knight?) | |
| 26a | Stop sorry household cooking (4,4,6) |
| HOLD YOUR HORSES — SORRY HOUSEHOLD anagrammed (cooking) | |
| 28a | Sidney and Edward casually associated (5) |
| SIDED — Familiar forms of (… casually) SID (Sidney) and ED (Edward) | |
| 29a | This fellow involved in Conservative speculation (6) |
| THEORY — HE (this fellow) involved in TORY (Conservative) | |
| 30a | Disputant breaking tiny child’s flower (10) |
| MARGUERITE — ARGUER (disputant) inside (breaking) MITE (tiny child) | |
| 33a | Unprofessional partner invested in gold from Eire losing capital (10) |
| AMATEURISH — MATE (partner) invested in AU (gold) + iRISH (from Eire) dropping the first letter (losing capital) | |
| 35a | Showed sadness for parking I restricted (6) |
| PITIED — P (parking) + I + TIED (restricted) | |
| 36a | Island’s accepting European funds (5) |
| MEANS — MAN’S (island’s) taking in (accepting) E (European) | |
| 38a | Work by Bach Hallé reproduced mostly badly? (7,7) |
| CHORALE PRELUDE — An anagram of (… badly) HALLÉ REPRODUCEd mostly | |
| 40a | Joyous months over in woodland space (8) |
| GLADSOME — MOS (months) backwards (over) in GLADE (woodland space) | |
| 42a | Commercial division lacking direction (6) |
| ADRIFT — AD (commercial) + RIFT (division) | |
| 43a | Drug’s taken about a minute for chemical to affect brain (8) |
| DOPAMINE — DOPE (drug)’s taken around (about) A and MIN (minute) | |
| 44a | Everything except headless fish’s left for one (3,3) |
| ALL BUT — Missing its first letter (headless) hAL[i]BUT (fish) has L (left) in place of (for) I (one) | |
| 47a | Cast had garbled English play (5,6) |
| HEDDA GABLER — Make an anagram of (cast) HAD GARBLED and E (English) | |
| 50a | Unusual to convert local (11) |
| ALTERNATIVE — ALTER (to convert) + NATIVE (local) | |
| 52a | Boat race team shortly set off in rowing boat (9) |
| OUTRIGGER — OU (boat race team shortly – i.e. its abbreviation) + TRIGGER (set off) | |
| 53a | Part of embryo from red oxen shows this returning (7) |
| EXODERM — Reverse hidden: froM RED OXEn shows the answer backwards (returning) | |
| 54a | Briefly feverish, going after love from a Gulf state (5) |
| OMANI — Without the last letter (briefly) MANIc (feverish) going after O (love) | |
| 55a | Note backing covering skirt for man? (7) |
| HOMINID — DOH (note) reversed (backing) around (covering) MINI (skirt) | |
| 56a | Discourage chap avoiding soap (5) |
| DETER — GENT (chap) avoiding DETER[gent] (soap) | |
| 57a | Pride of Aragorn bothered Celeborn and Elrond initially (9) |
| ARROGANCE — ARAGORN anagrammed (bothered) + Celeborn and Elrond initially | |
| Down | |
| 1d | Street with spot for taxis (5) |
| STAND — ST (street) + AND (with) | |
| 2d | What can be used to cut stone under River Test (10,7) |
| INDUSTRIAL DIAMOND — DIAMOND (stone) under INDUS (river) and TRIAL (test) | |
| 3d | Mysterious mushrooms springing up in one (11) |
| UNSPECIFIED — CEPS (mushrooms) reversed (springing up, in a down entry) in UNIFIED (one) | |
| 4d | Air-conditioning with a bit of American intensity (6) |
| ACCENT — AC (air-conditioning) + CENT (a bit of American) | |
| 5d | Moderated rage pursued by editor (8) |
| TEMPERED — TEMPER (rage) followed by (pursued by) ED (editor) | |
| 6d | Smear managers for item sold by builders’ merchant (12) |
| PLASTERBOARD — PLASTER (smear) + BOARD (managers) | |
| 7d | British unknown joining two teams adjoining each other (4,2,4) |
| SIDE BY SIDE — B (British) and Y (unknown) going between (joining) SIDE and SIDE (two teams) | |
| 8d | Refresher working in very little time, not needing all of it (5) |
| TONIC — ON (working) in TICk (very little time) without the end (not needing all of it) | |
| 9d | Theatre to copy style when mounting writer’s material (9) |
| NOTEPAPER — REP (theatre), APE (to copy) and TON (style) when written upwards in the grid (mounting) | |
| 10d | Antony Cecil being treated for circulation (11) |
| ANTICYCLONE — ANTONY CECIL being anagrammed (treated) | |
| 11d | What’s wrapped round in filo? I add flavoured mayo (5) |
| AIOLI — The solution is hidden backwards in (wrapped round in) fILO? I Add | |
| 12d | Retaliate for special constable killed in search (6) |
| AVENGE — SC (special constable) removed from (killed in) [sc]AVENGE (search) | |
| 18d | Mix and invent shade (10) |
| CROSSHATCH — CROSS (mix) + HATCH (invent) | |
| 20d | Having a whiff of a habitual response around travellers (8) |
| AROMATIC — A TIC (a habitual response) around ROMA (travellers) | |
| 22d | National celebration Bolivia at first arranged in Slough (8,2,7) |
| FESTIVAL OF BRITAIN — BOLIVIA AT FIRST anagrammed (arranged) in FEN (slough) | |
| 23d | Duck! Vehicle’s lost what looks like wheel (6) |
| SCOTER — SCO[o]TER (vehicle)’s lost O (what looks like wheel) | |
| 24d | Tax beasts of burden dispatched carrying mass (10) |
| ASSESSMENT — ASSES (beasts of burden) + SENT (dispatched) around (carrying) M (mass) | |
| 27d | Even decided to enter old field (8) |
| MEASURED — SURE (decided) going into (to enter) MEAD (old field) | |
| 31d | Puff during good sprint is something annoying (6) |
| GADFLY — AD (puff) in (during) G (good) and FLY (sprint) | |
| 32d | Auden memoirs recollected bad behaviour (12) |
| MISDEMEANOUR — AUDEN MEMOIRS anagrammed (recollected) | |
| 34d | Just, say, came down on heretic (11) |
| EGALITARIAN — EG (say) + ALIT (came down) + ARIAN (heretic) | |
| 36d | How to make Logan manage more or less satisfactorily (6,5) |
| MUDDLE ALONG — To make LOGAN, form an anagram of (MUDDLE) ALONG | |
| 37d | Tense model following a lot of publicity (10) |
| PLUPERFECT — PERFECT (model) following all but the last letter of (a lot of) PLUg (publicity) | |
| 39d | Disaffected nuisance crashed, neglecting power and pressure (9) |
| ESTRANGED — [p]EST (nuisance) [p]RANGED (crashed) omitting (neglecting) P (power) and P (pressure) | |
| 41d | Curse article found in hat — not the topper (8) |
| ANATHEMA — THE (article) found in pANAMA (hat) without its first letter (not the topper) | |
| 45d | Which people, keeping nothing quiet, go quickly? (6) |
| WHOOSH — WHO (which people) holding (keeping) O (nothing) + SH (quiet) | |
| 46d | Beginner’s book of paint (6) |
| PRIMER — Two definitions | |
| 48d | What archaeologist is casually said to do to discoveries in fact? (5) |
| DATUM — The answer sounds like: DATE ’EM, what an archaeologist does to discoveries, if said casually | |
| 49d | Sensational hat getting regularly furry inside (5) |
| LURID — LID (hat) with even letters of (regularly) fUrRy inside | |
| 51d | Drunk in the middle of week for choice (5) |
| ELITE — LIT (drunk) in the middle letters of (the middle of) wEEk | |
Unusually, I had no DNKs in this Jumbo. But a MER at defining ALTERNATIVE as ‘unusual’, and UNSPECIFIED as ‘mysterious’. I couldn’t parse AVENGE. I liked 22d (DNK the festival) and 38ac.
My only query was the definition of SIDED but I guess it’s okay. My printout is remarkably free of notes and workings other than a few anagram circles.
Just over 30 minutes for me, so on the easy side. My only unknown was “mead” for field. CROSSHATCH and CORVID my last two in only because they were the last two left to revisit. Thanks Kitty and setter.
Beaten by the flower that I’ve never heard of at 30a and the obscure play at 47a.
Favourite clue: 50a
Least favourite: 13a. I don’t speak Scottish so bunged in the answer, because it couldn’t be much else. Also not convinced that ‘Dee’ with a capital can mean ‘d’ the letter.
No drama here! Liked Barking At The Moon, and also thought A R Again was neat. Never keen on clues that rely on deletion, so didn’t like “plu” for “a lot of publicity”.