I really should write my introduction to my Jumbo blogs while the crossword is fresh in my memory. I see that it took me 44 minutes, which is about average for me, I think. Plenty of normal difficulty clues to help populate the grid, but then some absolute peaches that had me putting double ticks on my copy… The clever cross-reference at 47A, the Greek scrabble piece at 22D the magnificent neologisms at 32D, and the clever reverse cryptic at 49A were the highlights for me, but there were plenty more. I enjoyed this a lot.. apart from 1A where I initially guessed the letter sequence from the anagram of an unknown word wrong… no that’s just sour grapes. Thank-you clever setter! How did everyone else get on?
Definitions underlined in bold italics, (Abc)* indicating anagram of Abc, deletions and [] other indicators.
| Across | |
| 1 | Primitive sea creature can die swimming round waving nori (10) |
| CRINOIDEAN – A double anagram with inclusion to start. (can die)* [swimming] [round] [waving] (nori)* . New word on me. I had to use the dictionary to confirm the letter sequence. Were they allergic to seaweed, then? | |
| 6 | Analytical way of looking at income sector? (12) |
| ECONOMETRICS – Nice &lit. Anagram of [analytical way of looking at] (income sector)*. My LOI, | |
| 14 | Don’t take as much junk? (7) |
| USELESS – USE LESS (don’t take as much). | |
| 15 | Church primate with gold hat (7) |
| CHAPEAU – And a French hat, at that. CH (church) APE (primate) AU (chemical symbol for gold). | |
| 16 | Is untruthful about drink? An understatement (7) |
| LITOTES – LIES (is untruthful) [about] TOT (drink). As a clue I’d have to say it’s not bad. Read more about litotes here.. And I wouldn’t say no to another drink. | |
| 17 | Drugs provided by jerks after party (4) |
| DOPE – P.E. (physical education; which mught include jerks) [after] DO (party. | |
| 18 | Drawing of a dandy, not American (6) |
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DOODLE – |
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| 20 | Relax rule, we hear, and hold back (8) |
| RESTRAIN – REST (relax) RAIN sounds like [we hear] REIGN (rule). | |
| 24 | Enter race with hooting North Eastern loco (5,4,3,4,3,4) |
| THROW ONES HAT INTO THE RING – Anagram [loco] of (with hooting North Eastern)*. I bet you didn’t write out the anagrist and check off the letters when solving either. But I have now. | |
| 25 | Some just read lever here? (7) |
| TREADLE – Hidden in [some] jusT READ LEver. | |
| 26 | Submissive old criminal about to pass on (8) |
| OBEDIENT – O (old) BENT (criminal) [about] DIE (pass on). | |
| 27 | One giving money embraces Republican appeal (6) |
| PRAYER – PAYER (one giving money) about [embraces] R (Republican). | |
| 29 | Mountain cat den, strangely clean (14) |
| UNCONTAMINATED – (Mountain cat den)* [strangely]. | |
| 31 | Apple tree ain’t better if skins are removed (8) |
| REINETTE – I didn’t know this, but the wordplay is unequivocal. Insides of [skins are removed] tREe aIN‘t bETTEr. | |
| 34 | Fake article providing cover under corporation, once (8) |
| CODPIECE – COD (fake) PIECE (article). I guess they were worn lower than the tum (corporation). | |
| 36 | Short testimonial that leads to another piece of work? (5-9) |
| CROSS-REFERENCE – CROSS (short) REFERENCE (testimonial). | |
| 39 | Gurnard in pies, regularly hard to digest? (6) |
| UNRIPE – Alternate letters [regularly] of GUrNaRd In PiEs. | |
| 41 | National flag followed by hard crew (8) |
| IRISHMAN – IRIS (flag; a flag iris is a kind of iris) H (hard) MAN (crew). | |
| 43 | Search two New England states, united with Canadian region (7) |
| MANHUNT – MA (Massachusetts) NH (New Hampshire) (two New England states) U (united) NT (Northwest Territories; Canadian Region). | |
| 46 | College initially incorporated by Wolsey (6,6,2,9) |
| LONDON SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS – I liked this one. [initially incorporated in], meaning the initials usually used to refer to it are hidden in WoLSEy. | |
| 47 | Lively one entering the next day (8) |
| SPIRITED – This is a bit sneaky. [the next] means the answer to “the next” clue, i.e. SPRITE. Insert I (one) [entering] and add D (day). I love it! | |
| 48 | Fairy Queen’s involved in malice (6) |
| SPRITE – R (regina; queen) [involved in] SPITE (malice). | |
| 49 | Pine used in trial for making tea chest? (4) |
| ACHE – Hidden in [used in] teA CHEst. Oo this is clever. You put the answer ACHE (pine) into TEST (trial) [making] teA CHEst. | |
| 53 | Highest point is always estimated (7) |
| EVEREST – EVER (always) EST (estimated). | |
| 54 | Stupid person wrapping present cut cigar (7) |
|
CHEROOT – COOT (stupid person) [wrapping] HER |
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| 56 | UK employment scheme in which some get their cards? (3,4) |
| NEW DEAL – The New Deal was a cornerstone of New Labour in the UK, although the name was origianlly used for Franklin D. Roosevelt’s legislative agenda for rescuing the United States from the Great Depression. The wordplay is a cryptic hint referring to dealing a new set of hand from a deck of cards. | |
| 57 | Aid institute to change posture (12) |
| ATTITUDINISE – (aid institute)* [to change]. | |
| 58 | Way of working with general builder in goldmine (10) |
| MONEYMAKER – M.O. (modus operandi; way of working) NEY (general; Michel Ney was a French General, who became Marshal of the Empire) MAKER (builder). | |
| Down | |
| 1 | State seizure success in hoax gallery turned up (4,5) |
| COUP D’ETAT – UP (success) [in] COD (hoax) TATE (gallery) [turned up] -> ETAT. | |
| 2 | Mostly untrained, I stop protecting chief engineer new to the job (13) |
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INEXPERIENCED – INEXPER |
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| 3 | Sign name in Latin when dispatching note (4) |
|
OMEN – |
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| 4 | Unfortunate innocent caused shame (14) |
| DISCOUNTENANCE – [Unfortunate] (innocent caused)*. | |
| 5 | No straight line in bar code (3) |
| ARC – Hidden [in] bAR Code. | |
| 7 | Revolutionary women’s champ? (4) |
| CHEW – CHE (Guevara; revolutionary) W (women). | |
| 8 | Not available, posh chairs? Disgusting (10) |
| NAUSEATING – N/A (not available) U (posh) SEATING (chairs). | |
| 9 | I cheered up, friend being around to provide influence (8) |
| MILITATE – I, LIT (cheered up) with MATE (friend) [around]. | |
| 10 | Don’t rate her out of shape figure (11) |
| TETRAHEDRON – (Don’t rate her)* [out of shape]. | |
| 11 | How decades are arranged if years hot up (9) |
| INTENSIFY – IN TENS (how decades are arranged) IF, Y (years). | |
| 12 | Frame elite regiment with heroin (4) |
| SASH – SAS (elite regiment; the Special Air Service) H (heroin). Frame as in window frame. | |
| 13 | Tree cutting behind schedule — cut deeply (8) |
| LACERATE – ACER (tree) inside [cutting] LATE (behind schedule). | |
| 19 | Oppressive awkward situation I found in December (8) |
| DESPOTIC – SPOT (awkward situation) I [found in] DEC (December). | |
| 21 | Country garden under sweet williams initially (6) |
| SWEDEN – EDEN (garden) [under] Sweet Williams [initially]. | |
| 22 | Cruel first piece in Greek Scrabble for Plato and second son (8) |
| PITILESS – If you play Scrabble in Greek and want to spell Plato you with start it with PI (P in greek) TILE (Scrabble piece). Add S (second) S (son).I loved it! | |
| 23 | Cause to resent a confused veggie eating rook (8) |
| AGGRIEVE – A (veggie)* [confused] [eating] R (rook in chess notation). | |
| 28 | Male working out with fine pectorals standing proud (4-10) |
| SELF-IMPORTANCE – Anagram [working out] of (M fine pectorals)*, M = male. | |
| 29 | Break link with relative about publisher (8) |
| UNCOUPLE – UNCLE (relative) [about] O.U.P. (Oxford University Press; publisher). | |
| 30 | Wearing an undergarment upside down is working (8) |
| ABRASION – A BRA (an undergarment) IS [upside down] -> SI, ON (working). | |
| 32 | Chaincap, sausance or lipalip, say? Only joking! (6-2-5) |
| TONGUE-IN-CHEEK – INCA in CHAP, SAN in SAUCE and PALI in LIP are three languages inside synonyms of cheek… I.e examples of a TOUNGE IN CHEEK. Very Clever. I’d never heard of San or Pali. I love it! | |
| 33 | Regretted horse nipping queen when mounted in fine ceremony (8) |
| GRANDEUR – RUED (regretted) NAG (horse) outwsude [nipping] R (regina; queen) all reversed [mounted] -> G R AN DEUR. | |
| 35 | I am in favour — one day in port is wasteful (11) |
| IMPROVIDENT – I’M (I am) PRO (in favour) I (one) D (day) [in] VENT (port). | |
| 37 | Contingent charged party millions (6) |
| RANDOM – RAN (charged) DO (party) M (millions). I never knew that definition of “random”. | |
| 38 | Cleric’s strange charade over swindle (10) |
| ARCHDEACON – [strange] (charade)* [over] CON (swindle). | |
| 40 | More sensible about coin coming back into currency (9) |
| RENASCENT – SANER (more sensible) [about] -> RENAS, CENT (coin). | |
| 42 | Space launch low over poles, hard to put up (8) |
| MOONSHOT – MOO (low) [over] N.S. (North and South poles) H (hard) TO [put up] -> OT. That made me smile too. | |
| 44 | Small hawk dropped in to rip in small pieces (9) |
| TESSELLAR – S (small) SELL (hawk) [dropped into] TEAR (rip). | |
| 45 | Helped when sister is getting over boy (8) |
| ASSISTED – AS (when) SIS (sister) [over] TED (boy). | |
| 50 | Try one’s luck with a foreign character (4) |
| BETA – BET (try one’s luck) A. | |
| 51 | The French succeeded not so much (4) |
| LESS – LES (the in french) S (succeeded). | |
| 52 | Be immersed with wife in computer game (4) |
| SWIM – W (wife) [in] SIM (computer game). | |
| 55 | Pair of books about keeping whiskey (3) |
| TWO – OT (Old Testament; books) [about] -> T.O. [keeping] W (whiskey; W in the phonetic alphabet). | |
I never heard of the UK New Deal, or more likely I did at the time (1998) and then consigned it to the mental trashcan along with most other political slogans. With hindsight it seems the setter may have been prescient as within 2 days of publication of the puzzle our current esteemed leader announced his own New Deal policy, although he compared it to Roosevelt’s version, not Tony Bliar’s.
Edited at 2020-07-11 05:32 am (UTC)
NEW DEAL holds a special place in my heart, as its incarnation in Hackney (run by R**d Employment) featured in a documentary on BBC2 comparing their methods with those of my small, struggling but effective and more individualised employment charity. New Deal did not come off well, but from my point of view it was a godsend, as the nice man from Deutsche Bank’s social inclusion unit phoned us up the day after the broadcast offering oodles of support in real pounds. Happy days!