Times Cryptic Jumbo No 1432 – 4th April

Author   JohninterredPosted on Categories Jumbo Cryptic

I found this a bit of a curate’s egg. I was all but done in 30 minutes, but then took ages over my last 6 or so clues. The downs were definitely easier – I managed the first 9 if them on the trot. Some nice clues, such as 15A, my COD, 52A, 29D and 35D. But there are more then the usual number of unknowns for me; not least my LOI – a foreign phrase I didn’t know and had to look up, although I bet Verlaine does. I also needed an alphabet trawl to get the composer at 20D. What held me up most, though, is, I think, a misprint at 56A [Edit: I meant 50A, of course. Thanks Jerry for pointing out I had typo in my reference to the typo]. I also had a couple of other MERs at some odd surfaces. Never mind. It was mostly fun. Thank-you setter.  How did the rest of you get on?

Definitions underlined in bold italics, (Abc)* indicating anagram of Abc, deletions and [] other indicators.

Across
1 Opportunity to alter putting clubs for golf (6)
CHANCE – CHANgE (alter)  replacing the G (golf) with C (clubs).
4 Shorten and reduce, holding one part of speech back (10)
ABBREVIATE – ABATE (reduce) [holding] I (one) VERB (part of speech) [back] -> BREVI.
10 Pressure to mount gay festival? (5)
PRIDE – P (pressure) RIDE (mount).
14 Unfashionable clothing worn by queen — coat, perhaps (9)
OUTERWEAR – OUT (unfashionable) WEAR (clothing) outside [worn by] ER (queen).
15 What could make teen go wild with Gran, pa and I? (10,3)
GENERATION GAP – (teen go gran pa I)*. Oo that’s clever.
16 Division of FBI agents in position (7)
SEGMENT – G-MEN (FBI agents) [in] SET (postiion).
17 Dithering about nothing, is turning and twisting (7)
TORSION – TORN (dithering) [about] O (nothing) IS [returning] -> SOI.
18 Oil many misused in maintenance (7)
ALIMONY – (oil many)* [misused].
19 Note father drive round isle in Lesbos to shock society? (6,3,9)
EPATER LES BOURGEOIS – I think this odd 18 letter foreign phrase may have escape from the Monthly Club Special. It’s not in my Chambers dictionary. E (note) PATER (father) with URGE (drive) O (round; really?) I (isle) [in] LESBOS. My last one in. I had to look it up. Apparently it’s the rallying cry of the 19th century french Decadent Poets. Who they? Never heard of them. Well Verlaine for one, it seems. Perhaps his namesake should have blogged this one!  Everybody else knew this, though, didn’t you?
21 Metal necklace, not entirely light (4)
TORC – TORCh (light) [not entirely].
24 Chord one’s found in jazz? (5)
TRIAD – I (one) in TRAD [jazz]..
26 Bother to supply water — that takes time where there’s gallons (8)
IRRITATE – Take IRRIgATE (supply water) and swap the G (gallons) with a T (time).
27 Dangerous fairy, mostly very bad (8)
PERILOUS – PERI (fairy)  LOUSy (very bad) [mostly].
29 Press Association’s to act as informant about some current growth in South America (6,5)
PAMPAS GRASS – PA ‘S (Press Association’s) GRASS (to act as informant) [about] AMP (some current).
30 Like financial modelling worked out core income with time (11)
ECONOMETRIC – (core income t)* [worked out].
32 All too graphic, young mink caught what’s in chicken’s pen? (7,4)
KITCHEN SINK – This is a bit comvoluted! KIT (young mink – no I hadn’t heard of that) C (caught) HEN’S (chicken’s) INK (pen). All too tricky, perhaps? [Edit: It should be KIT (young mink) C (caught) HEN’S INK (what’s in chicken’s pen). Very clever. Thanks anon for pointing it out.]
35 See badly disliked people returning after revolutionary party fare (6,5)
CHEESE STRAW – (see)* badly, WARTS (disliked people) [returning] -> STRAW [after] CHE (Guevara; our favourite revolutionary)
37 How to keep wild goose in pen? (8)
HOOSEGOW – HOW outside [to keep] [wild] (goose)*. No I’d never heard of this either.
39 English National Opera gets by over interval (8)
SEMITONE – ENO (English National Opera) TIMES (by) all reversed [over] -> SEMIT ONE. Nice
40 Monster public protest before noon (5)
DEMON – DEMO (public protest) N (noon). Suddenly we get an easy one. Not that I’m complaining.
43 Seaweed backed as vital component of diet (4)
IRON – NORI (seaweed) [backed] -> IRON. The Japanese word for seaweed is Nori.
44 Dull prior to time guarding top commander in restricted zone (10,8)
PEDESTRIAN PRECINCT – PEDESTRIAN (dull) PRE (prior to) T (time)  outside [guarding] CINC (Commander IN Chief; top commander). It took me a while to see this. I’m not sure i can make sense of the surface.
47 Tall sedge of Pennsylvania pear genus (7)
PAPYRUS – PA (Pennsylvania) PYRUS (pear genus). No I didn’t know that, did you? Read about Pyrus here.
48 Order of butterfly, new discovery initially (7)
COMMAND – COMMA (butterfly) N (new) Discovery [initially].
50 Hardy councillor eclipses minor (7)
COLLIER – This one confused me no end! It took me ages to work out that there is a misprint. The definition surely should be miner. The wordplay is a little tricky too… CR (councillor) outside [eclipses] OLLIE (Oliver Hardy) . Well I think it’s a misprint. Or have I missed something?
51 Too passionate in general, mostly about European proposal (13)
OVEREMOTIONAL – OVERALl (in general) [mostly] [about] E (European) MOTION (proposal).
52 Small step initially taken in moon EVA which holds us all (5-4)
SPACE-TIME – Oo. This is clever! S (small) PACE (step) and first letters of [initially] Taken In Moon EVA.
53 Found in tel, Egyptian poem (5)
ELEGY – Hidden in [found in] tEL. EGYption. Tel? I can’t make sense of this surface.
54 Treeware material perhaps re-distributed as download (10)
SANDALWOOD – (as download)* distributed,
55 Saint accommodated in particular part of church (6)
VESTRY – ST (saint) inside [accommodated in] VERY (particular). Very = particular? Not in my dictionary.Maybe I need a better one than Chambers.
Down
1 Carbon oars fit within another part of ship (5,4)
CROWS NEST – C (carbon) ROWS (oars) NEST (fit within another). Oars as a verb is required here.
2 Vision problem: a mist developed after sparkling wine, GM (11)
ASTIGMATISM – (a mist)* [developed] [after] ASTI (sparkling wine) GM. A bit of a bizarre surface, methinks. GM could be Grand Master, but it still doesn’t quite work for me.
3 Sheep carried in basic train (7)
CORTEGE – TEG (sheep) [carried in] CORE (basic).
5 Chap holding eastern headgear (5)
BERET – BERT (random chap’s name) [holding] E (eastern).
6 I got mirrors out, but there’s no signs of breathing here (5,6)
RIGOR MORTIS – (I got mirrors)* [out].
7 Dressing in very fashionable plumed headdress (11)
VINAIGRETTE – V (very) IN (fashionable) AIGRETTE (plumed headdress)
8 Fixer’s rage after arrival (8)
ARRANGER – ANGER (rage) [after] ARR. (arrival).
9 Another go locking up tons to send home (9)
EXTRADITE – EXTRA (another) DIE (go) outside [locking up] T (tons) .
10 Perceived horror occasioned by irrational aversion, primarily? (6)
PHOBIA – First letters of [primarily] Perceived Horror Occasioned By Irrational Aversion. Semi-&lit.
11 Surrounded by sentiment: dead bird, cut short, our much loved (2,4,5)
IN GOOD ODOUR – IN (surrounded by) GOO (sentiment) DODo (dead bird) [cut short] OUR.
12 English politician, vacant Tory with nothing inside (5)
EMPTY – E (English) MP (politician) TorY [vacant].
13 Fire tender serving vital fluid (6,6)
VESTAL VIRGIN – (serving vital)^ [fluid].
20 Composer and writer mostly keeping a home (8)
SCRIABIN – SCRIBe (writer) [mostly] outside [keeping] A, IN (home).
22 Good earner’s to brag after market slump — that’s never right (4,3)
CASH COW – COW (brag) [after] CrASH (market slump) without the R [that’s never right]. [Edit: That was rubbish parsing! It is, of course, CrOW (brag) [after) CrASH (market slump) without the R in each of them. [that’s never right]. Thanks to Paul G for setting me right].
23 Australian crook perished crossing oceans (8)
DISEASED – DIED (perished) outside [crossing] SEAS (oceans). What? NHO that.
25 Curtains on floor — it’s impossible to get one up from here (8)
DEATHBED – DEATH (curtains) [on] BED (floor). That’s a bit of creaky definition. It also feels a bit uncomfortable to see that word along with 3D, 6D and 23D in a crossword at these times.
28 Blackhead — with new sense of disappointment (8)
COMEDOWN – COMEDO (blackhead) W (with) N (new). COMEDO was another unknown for me.
29 Father has carp stuffed with cold and hot cabbage (3,4)
PAK CHOI – PA (father) KOI (carp) outside [stuffed with] C (cold) [and] H (HOT).
31 Midwife, 42, confused with bits? (12)
OBSTETRICIAN – Anagram of (reaction bits)* answer to 42D and “bits” [confused].
33 Low air of old harbour set up on field (11)
TROPOSPHERE – O (old) PORT (harbour [set up] -> TROP O, SPHERE (field).
34 Detained Arab outside Lima with a thievish nature (11)
KLEPTOMANIA – KEPT (maintained) OMANI (Arab) [outside] L (Lima; NATO alphabet for L) [with] A.
35 Awl, perhaps, that’s used in constructing case? (8,3)
CRIMINAL LAW – Reverse cryptic… (awl)* [criminal]. Very clever.
36 Human habitual response is to interrupt rubbish Chopin? (11)
ROMANTICIST – MAN (human) TIC (habitual response)  IS inside [to interrupt] ROT (rubbish).
38 What can conceal feet Horace and Ovid initially used in old poetry (9)
OVERSHOES – Horace and Ovid [initially] inside [used in] O (old) VERSES (poetry)..
41 Bad reputation’s not unknown round most of Conservatives (9)
NOTORIETY – NOT Y (unknown) [round] [most of] TORIEs (Conservatives).
42 Response of engineers leading to conflict (8)
REACTION – RE (engineers; royal engineers) ACTION (conflict).
45 Sheepdog, for example for one private school? (7)
COLLEGE – COLLiE (sheepdog, for example) replacing the I (ONE) with EG (for example).
46 Wanting a lot of good grass before day’s ending (6)
GREEDY – G (good) REED (grass) daY [‘s ending].
47 Some writing quietly got more intense? (5)
PROSE – P (quietly) ROSE (got more intense).
49 Club is beginning to close, disrupting party (5)
DISCO – IS [beginning to] Close inside [disrupting] DO (party).

14 comments on “Times Cryptic Jumbo No 1432 – 4th April”

  1. Like John, I had a number of DNKs and ?s, many the same as his: DISEASED (I still don’t see how that works), PYRUS, tel. I took GM at 2d to be ‘genetically modified’. I did know EPATER LES BOURGEOIS, though, and biffed it from the E_A. Biffed VESTAL VIRGIN from the E T G and VINAIGRETTE from the V_N, assuming that there is a headress called AIGRETTE. I was a bit surprised at HOOSEGOW, which I’d thought was an Americanism (ODE marks it as such). PEDESTRIAN PRECINCT was my POI, as I didn’t know it and it took some time to come up with CINC. LOI of course was COLLIER, which should have been easy. Someone (Pootle?) reported a typo here last week, but didn’t specify the clue, and I’d forgotten his warning by the time I got to solving. COD perhaps to SEMITONE.
    1. I think all barbarous Americanisms should be flagged as such Kevin .. but I wonder if the setter thinks (s)he has done, since “Pen” is an Americanism also.
      1. I tend to agree with you, Jerry (aside from the ‘barbarous’ part!); for one thing, it would help me narrow down the mental search when solving. (Although there are times when the setter has done the requisite flagging, and I’m surprised to find that the expression is an Americanism.) Still, easier said than done, sometimes.
        1. I am always impressed that you and your colonial colleagues do so well at these quirky English crosswords
  2. Found this pretty straightforward .. especially as fortunately I knew the phrase “Epater les bourgeois,” just means to startle the hoi polloi .. it is in ODO and I’m surprised it isn’t in chambers.
    Enjoyed your recursive typo, John (56ac for 50ac in the intro)
    1. Ha ha. Thanks. I’d like to claim it was deliberate, but I am not that witty. I must remember to wear my reading glasses when I do the Intros!
      1. Same thing, to we Aristos.. to me at least, the hoi polloi includes both the bourgeoisie and the proletariat. One could argue that all three terms are in some way pejorative

        Edited at 2020-04-18 07:11 am (UTC)

        1. Was there a bourgeoisie in ancient greece? In any case, even to the extent the people referred to are the same the meanings are different because one is John Cleese referring to the Two Ronnies and the other is Ronnie Corbett referring to Ronnie Barker.
  3. 44:19. I found this hard. I had particular problems with PEDESTRIAN PRECINCT and SCRIABIN (for no good reason, kicking myself when I got the answers), HOOSEGOW (only very vaguely familiar) and, most of all COLLIER (faulty clue).
    I knew the phrase EPATER LES BOURGEOIS. One of those French phrases that have entered the language to a certain extent, like ‘pour encourager les autres’.

    Edited at 2020-04-18 12:55 pm (UTC)

  4. Thanks for the helful blog on a puzzle that I failed to finish.

    I think that 32Ac is a little less convoluted than indicated:

    What’s in a chicken’s pen? – Hen’s ink, naturally.

  5. I think the synonym for brag is actually CROW, with the ‘never right’ indicating that this R is removed as well.

    Thanks for the blog!

    Paul G

    1. Thank you. You are right. My parsing didn’t make sense. I think I need a blog editor to check my work!

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