My turn to blog the Jumbo. I have to confess I don’t always find the time to do the Jumbo – especially when the weather is so fine, but maybe I should take to solving in the garden. I was glad to have to solve this one, though. I thought it a bit tricky, taking a while to get going, but I was surprised to find I had completed it 5 minutes under my target of 1 hour. An enjoyable solve with plenty of thought required and some lovely bits of wordplay to enjoy. 49a is a prime example and I rather liked 35a, 42a, 13d, 41d, 43d and 7d (My COD) too. I couldn’t resist quibbling about 43d, but that is a maybe a nicety beyond common parlance. So a good test with lots of fun along the way. Thanks setter! How did you all like it?
Definitions underlined in italics, (ABC)* indicating anagram of ABC, {} deletions and [] other indicators.
| Across | |
| 1 | Of local interest in capital: hard to press for answers (6,4) |
| PARISH PUMP – PARIS (capital) + H + PUMP (press for answers). Not a phrase I’d come across, but related to and similar in meaning to “parochial”. | |
| 6 | A doctor goes to the country holding a large body part (7,5) |
| ADRENAL GLAND – A DR + ENGLAND (country), inserting A L (a large), to get the “endocrine gland that produces a variety of hormones including adrenaline and the steroids aldosterone and cortisol“. | |
| 14 | Captain’s junior is to change name on boat (9) |
| SUBALTERN – SUB (boat) + ALTER + N to get “an officer in the British army below the rank of captain, especially a second lieutenant“. | |
| 15 | Wise to go on a bender, having consumption? (5) |
| USAGE – U (bender) + SAGE (wise). No. Not the disease. | |
| 16 | Charge levied by the bank that suggests mad cow disease? (7) |
| MOORAGE – The charge when you tie your boat to the side of a river or canal. I suppose if you had a MOO (cow) in a RAGE (mad), you might think it had Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy. | |
| 17 | Porter’s admission a second person’s given him the boot (1,3,1,4,3,2,3) |
| I GET A KICK OUT OF YOU – Cryptic Definition.The famous Cole Porter song. Listen to Ella Fitzergald sing it here. | |
| 18 | Intact empty boxes are alluring (5) |
| TEMPT – Hidden in IntacT EMPTy [boxes]. | |
| 19 | Get moving, engaging Queen for rock (7) |
| GRANITE – (Get)* around RANI (wife of a Raja or Rana). | |
| 21 | Before entering London college briefly encounter eg Emma again (6) |
| REREAD – ERE (before) inside RAD{a} [briefly]. I’m afraid I’ve not read the Jane Austen book Emma once, let alone re-read it. | |
| 22 | Time to replace power in magical figure, one feels (8) |
| TENTACLE – The magical figure is a PENTACLE. Replace the P (power) with a T (time). | |
| 24 | Scuttle round little old man (7) |
| HOMINID – HOD (scuttle) around MINI (little). This takes me back. My grandparents had a scuttle for bringing in the coal for the fire. | |
| 26 | In speech, express disapproval of wood in small store (8) |
| BOUTIQUE – sounds like BOO TEAK. | |
| 27 | I, a pretentious person, rejected oriental art (6) |
| BONSAI – I A SNOB all reversed [rejected]. | |
| 30 | Twist that, or shake at first (2,5,4) |
| TO START WITH – (Twist that or)* [shake]. | |
| 32 | Ability to appreciate a feature in old law (3,3,2,3) |
| EYE FOR AN EYE – Double definition, first cryptic. | |
| 33 | Become pregnant? Me too (4,3,4) |
| JOIN THE CLUB – Double definition. | |
| 35 | Drama of marshal’s death, after his day (8,3) |
| JOURNEYS END – The marshal (of the French Empire) is Michel NEY. As a frenchman his day is un JOUR. Put the latter in front of the former and add END (death) to get the 1928 play by R.C. Sherriff. | |
| 37 | Run from hypocrite? (6) |
| CANTER – Double definition. | |
| 38 | Be the reason for speaking too honestly? (8) |
| UNDERLIE – If you are too honest you might under-lie. | |
| 39 | Be successful in each class (7) |
| PERFORM – PER (each) + FORM (class). | |
| 42 | Trumpet shearer’s success? (4-4) |
| RAMS-HORN – A shearer, if successful, would make a RAM SHORN. I smiled at this one. | |
| 44 | Firmly installs modern technology in room (6) |
| BEDSIT – BEDS (Firmly installs) + IT (modern technology). | |
| 46 | In church, stand erect, teetering between rear of chancel and front of nave (7) |
| LECTERN – (erect)* inside {chance}L and N{ave}. | |
| 48 | King is backing youngster given leadership (5) |
| SIXER – REX (King) + IS, reversed. I was sixer of Grey Six in the 1st Umbogintwini Cub Scouts some time in the 1960’s. | |
| 49 | Made to go back through small desert in mild, pleasant manner (9,3,5) |
| SWEETNESS AND LIGHT – The wordplay’s a bit complicated for this one. Did you just biff the answer with help from the checkers (like I did)? Here’s how it works. It’s a double containment… Made to go is SENT. Reverse it [back] and put it inside [through] WEE (small) SAND (desert) and put all that inside [in] SLIGHT (mild). Phew! | |
| 51 | Doesn’t touch key cut by son (7) |
| ESCHEWS – ESC (keyboard key) + HEW (cut) + S. | |
| 52 | Chapter by prolific author in body of literature (5) |
| CANON – C (Chapter) + ANON (prolific author – ha ha!). | |
| 53 | Importance of an appealing nature (9) |
| ACUTENESS – A + CUTENESS. A visitor from QC land, I think. | |
| 54 | Tedious, like the sword in the stone years into Arthur’s reign? (4-5-3) |
| LONG-DRAWN-OUT – Double definition, second cryptic. | |
| 55 | By Ann, a thread is woven (4,2,4) |
| NEAR AT HAND – (Ann a thread)* [woven]. | |
| Down | |
| 1 | Winner in court is dying, riddled with bullets (7,4) |
| PASSING SHOT – A nod to it being Wimbledon fortnight. PASSING (dying) + SHOT (riddled with bullets). | |
| 2 | Judge sequesters billions in money (5) |
| RUBLE – RULE (Judge) including B (billions) to get the Russian currency. | |
| 3 | Rescue one from dribbling (9) |
| SALVATION – SAL{i}VATION. | |
| 4 | A sin to confine neighbours at table and take the chair (7) |
| PRESIDE – The sin is PRIDE insert E and S, an adjacent pair of the four seats in Bridge. | |
| 5 | Name: sounds like a girl’s (7) |
| MONIKER – Sounds like MONICA. | |
| 7 | Criminal evildoer a DA wants brought in so? (4,2,5) |
| DEAD OR ALIVE – (evildoer a DA)* [criminal]. I’m not sure DA’s request that any more! Nice surface. | |
| 8 | Regularly putting note to the last name (6) |
| EVELYN – Regularly is EVENLY. Take the N (note) and put it at the end [to the last] to get the name that can be either of forename or surname and male or female. | |
| 9 | Endlessly keen to skewer a socialist in mail (8) |
| ARMOURED – To keen is to MOUR{n} [endlessly]. Insert into [skewer] A RED (a socialist) and look like a knight going into battle. | |
| 10 | Apparently unmoving negotiator, say, is making moves (13) |
| GEOSTATIONARY – (negotiator say is)* [making moves]. As in those satellites which stay above a fixed point on the surface. | |
| 11 | Base captured by spies, turning pale (7) |
| ANAEMIC – Take MEAN (base), insert into CIA (spies) and reverse [turning]. Captured as in a bloodless coup, perhaps? | |
| 12 | Used ruler perhaps to have fixed a limit (4,3,4) |
| DREW THE LINE – Double definition, first cryptic. | |
| 13 | Show anger, seeing damaged area of golf course (3,2,5) |
| CUT UP ROUGH – The ROUGH is an area where you don’t want your ball to land on a golf course. If it was CUT UP, it would be damaged and you might get annoyed at having an even harder shot to play. | |
| 20 | Entry price concession (9) |
| ADMISSION – Double definition. | |
| 23 | Short set of questions: study in peace (8) |
| QUIETUDE – The [short] set of questions is QUI{z}. Add ETUDE (study). | |
| 25 | Trench digger losing heart in agitated state (6) |
| DITHER – A Trench digger is a DIT{c}HER [losing heart] to get a state of indecision. | |
| 26 | For fish, British white wine, not European (8) |
| BRISLING – B (British) + RI{e}SLING (white whine) without the E (European) to get the fish also known as a European sprat or skipper. | |
| 28 | Run into frantic devotees? He deals with loads (9) |
| STEVEDORE – (devotees + R)* [frantic]. Loading and unloading ships is largely done by cranes these days. | |
| 29 | Assume uniform link (4,2) |
| JOIN UP – If you join up, enlisting in the forces, you would put on (assume) a uniform. | |
| 31 | Writer stops in visiting London landmark in most dangerous place (2,3,5,3) |
| AT THE SHARP END – My LOI as I struggled to parse it. This being a Times crossword, though, I should have thought of the London landmark next door to HQ more quickly… PEN (writer) inside AT (visiting) THE SHARD (London landmark). See lots of you there in November? | |
| 33 | Pet philosopher follows the flag (4,7) |
| JACK RUSSELL – JACK (flag) with the philosopher Bertrand RUSSELL following. | |
| 34 | Of course, having been in tune, first of discords dreadful (4,7) |
| BIEN ENTENDU – (been in tune + d{iscords})* [dreadful]. Certainly. | |
| 35 | Author‘s wild revels in midsummer (5,5) |
| JULES VERNE – [wild] (revels)* in side JUNE (midsummer) to get the French author of a number of Voyages extraordinaires. | |
| 36 | Stigmatised as evil, alien arrested and taken out of circulation (11) |
| DEMONETISED – DEMONISED (Stigmatised as evil) including our regularly cited alien friend ET. What India did in 2016 to their 500- and 1000-rupee banknotes | |
| 40 | Bring to mind soldiers supported by prayer (9) |
| RECOLLECT – RE (soldiers) + COLLECT (prayer) underneath [supported by]. | |
| 41 | Forecast area is one to go up shortly — prophet has nothing to lose (5,3) |
| IRISH SEA – I (one) + RIS{e} (go up) [shortly] + H{o}SEA {profit) without the O [nothing to lose]. The forecast in question being the Shipping Forecast. As I write this, the foreacst for Irish Sea is: Wind – Variable 3, becoming northwest 4 or 5 later, Sea state – Smooth or slight, Weather – Fair, Visibility – Good. | |
| 43 | N American team caught in the middle (7) |
| MEXICAN – XI (eleven = team) + C (caught) inside MEAN (middle). <smartypants comment>Mathematically, the middle is the median, not the mean, which is the average, and can be skewed by large outlying values away from the middle of the range.</smartypants comment>. Sorry. My excuse is that Mrs Interred is a Maths teacher and Miss Interred junior is planning on studying maths at university, so I need to know this stuff. | |
| 45 | Opera allowed to be shortened, accurately miniaturised (2,5) |
| TO SCALE – TOSCA (Opera) + LE{t} (allowed) [shortened] to get how to do a good model. Not the name of an opera starting “LE”, as I originally sought. | |
| 46 | Filled with love, monkey is pining (7) |
| LANGUOR – The monkey is a LANGUR (a new one on me). Insert O (love). | |
| 47 | To adopt right-wing views is a warning signal (6) |
| BEACON – BE A CON{servative}. | |
| 50 | Girl‘s name omitted from hastily-arranged wedding venue (5) |
| GRETA – GRET{n}A Green was traditionally a popular place for elopement being conveniently just across the border into Scotland. “In the middle of the 18th-century English law, lords approved new laws to tightened marriage arrangements. Couples had to reach the age of 21 before they could marry without their parents’ consent and their marriage had to take place in a church. Scottish law, however, was different: you could marry on the spot, in a simple ‘marriage by declaration’, or ‘handfasting’ ceremony, only requiring two witnesses and assurances from the couple that they were both free to marry“. Lose the N for name to get the girl’s name. | |
I rather like the clue for UNDERLIE, rather better than the more facile one I blogged on Thursday, which was “Form the basis of nameless stress?”. Mind you, as with its homophone carpeting (if you’re a Brummie) I find it hard to resist following it with ¡arriba, arriba!
ONG’ARA,
KENYA.