This was a cracker of Jumbo Cryptic with lots of zany and witty definitions and clever wordplay. Finishing in about 1 1/2 hours, it took me twice as long as an average Jumbo and was twice as much fun. Thank-you clever setter.
Definitions underlined in bold italics, (Abc)* indicating anagram of Abc, {deletions} and [] other indicators.
| Across | |
| 1 | Pedal across river in pursuit of cold drink container (9) |
| COFFEEPOT – C (cold), PO (river) in OF FEET (pedal). | |
| 6 | Sportsman I hit when running who’s been put off his race? (13) |
| MISANTHROPIST – (Sportsman I hit)* [when running]. | |
| 13 | Put back, in touching scene (5) |
| RESET –RE (touching) SET (scene). | |
| 14 | Food fanatic hurt by obstruction (3,6) |
| NUT CUTLET – NUT (fanatic) CUT (hurt) LET (obstruction). | |
| 15 | Setter must have say, reflecting where ego comes from? (7) |
| GELATIN – EG (say) [reflecting] -> GE, LATIN (where ego comes from). Tricky! EGO is, of course, a latin word. | |
| 16 | Acknowledgement that doctor’s up in his practice? (3,4,2,7,6) |
| YOU KNOW MY METHODS WATSON – Cryptic definition. A quote from Sherlock Holmes. | |
| 18 | Living death, say, of old fool consuming variable amounts (8) |
| OXYMORON – X and Y (variable amounts) in MORON (old fool). | |
| 20 | Turn to trivial attraction? Yes, if NY ultimately overrated somehow (8) |
| DISNEYFY – (Yes if NY {overrate}D)* [somehow]. A funny looking word. | |
| 21 | The end of cabbage-moth, its wings clipped back (5) |
| OMEGA – Reverse [back] hidden [wings clipped] in cabbAGE MOth. Tricky again! | |
| 23 | Awkward, with tennis shot rebounding short (6) |
| BOLSHY – LOB (tennis shot) reversed -> BOL, SHY (short). | |
| 24 | Do you understand article extracted from ancient bit of Morse code? (6) |
| GEDDIT – {a}GED (ancient) without the A (article), DIT (bit of morse code; dit and dat). | |
| 25 | Celebrate with band, having relations over (5,2,2) |
| WHOOP IT UP – W (with) HOOP (band) IT (sex; relations) UP (over). | |
| 28 | Wages to take in combination with one’s printed currency (5,5) |
| PAPER MONEY – PERM (combination) ONE, in PAY (wages). | |
| 29 | Wryneck is a curse for one in the audience? (4) |
| JYNX – Sounds like JINX (curse). | |
| 30 | Religious court to risk row involving husband (4,3) |
| BETH DIN – H (husband) in BET (risk) DIN (row). | |
| 32 | Violent storm nearly closed navy yard? Not regularly (7) |
| TORNADO – TO (nearly closed) RN (Royal Navy) and alternate letters in yArD nOt. | |
| 34 | Round, empty space a copper’s left for cell (4) |
| OVUM – O (round), V{a cu}UM (empty space) without A CU (chemical symbol for copper). | |
| 35 | Assiduously if cheesily punned? (10) |
| CAERPHILLY – Cryptic Definition. Sounds like CAREFULLY (assiduously) | |
| 38 | Later round mine fails to explode (9) |
| SEMIFINAL – (main fails)* [to explode] | |
| 39 | Is French star briefly producing Godless book? (6) |
| ESTHER – EST (is in French), HER{o} (star) [briefly]. | |
| 40 | Host needing bedsit around Notting Hill for one (6) |
| ROMCOM – ROOM (bedsit) around MC (Master of Ceremony; host). | |
| 43 | Old priest cheated when clinching game (5) |
| DRUID – RU (Rugby Union; game) in DID (cheated). | |
| 45 | Old jail is empty, indeed (8) |
| HOLLOWAY – HOLLOW (empty) AY (indeed). | |
| 47 | Bill’s partner often eliminates cross females in culinary contests (4-4) |
| COOK-OFFS – COO (Bill’s partner) KOS (knocks out; eliminates) across FF (females) | |
| 49 | Picture Greek going as a result of it? (3,7,2,4,6) |
| THE MADNESS OF KING GEORGE – A reverse cryptic… [THE MADNESS OF] (Greek going)* -> KING GEORGE. Very clever. | |
| 52 | Port from military canteen not available after one (7) |
| MESSINA – MESS (military canteen) I (one) N/A (not available). | |
| 53 | Work that’s both hard and I bet shattering (3,6) |
| THE HOBBIT – (both H I bet)* [shattering]. | |
| 54 | One from the Middle East, not long back (5) |
| OMANI – IN A MO (not long) reversed -> OMANI. I love it. | |
| 55 | Be alert! The first hunter possibly has returned? (5,4,4) |
| WATCH ONES BACK – A hunter is a watch, so the first one could be WATCH ONE, ‘S BACK (has returned). | |
| 56 | Hear about girlfriend holding party after film triumph (3,4,2) |
| GET WIND OF – ET (film) WIN (triumph) DO (party), all in GF (girlfriend). | |
| Down | |
| 1 | One preparing The Trotters, perhaps, to go through at end of season? (5,4) |
| CURRY COMB – Trotters as in trotting horses. CURRY (season) COMB (go through). | |
| 2 | Pilots conceal error in method of achieving height (7,4) |
| FOSBURY FLOP – FOS (Flying Officers, pilots) BURY (conceal) FLOP (error). The high-jumping style where jumper bends their back over the bar invented by Dick Fosbury. | |
| 3 | Tidy last of autumn leaves, with none remaining? (5) |
| EATEN – {n}EATEN (tidy) without the last letter of autumN. | |
| 4 | Longed to hold court when making deal? (8) |
| PINEWOOD – WOO (court) in PINED (longed). | |
| 5 | Grumpy’s spurned by cold nymph (6) |
| TETHYS – TET{c}HY’S (Grumpy’s) without the C (cold). | |
| 6 | Unruly mob issued Republican fliers (10) |
| MOUSEBIRDS – (mob issued R)* [unruly]. | |
| 7 | Writer from NZ, honestly, is rubbish (12) |
| SOLZHENITSYN – (NZ honestly is)* [rubbish]. I saw the answer straight away, but struggled to spell the name right. | |
| 8 | Remarkably, if periodically on foot, few delays (7) |
| NOTEDLY – Alternate letters, [periodically], of oN fOoT fEw DeLaYs. | |
| 9 | Malpractice taking a heavy toll? (7,7) |
| HIGHWAY ROBBERY – Double definition, the second a cryptic hint. | |
| 10 | Having no siblings? What’s more jolly! (4,3) |
| ONLY TOO – ONLY (only child; having no siblings) TOO (what is more). | |
| 11 | Preface, extremely short, chap’s withdrawn (11) |
| INTROVERTED – INTRO (preface) VER{y} (extremely) [short], TED (chap). | |
| 12 | Heavily defeat, causing upset in tie (4) |
| TONK – KNOT (tie) [upset] -> TONK. | |
| 17 | Amphetamine around a displaced person is something unwelcome (3,5) |
| BAD PENNY – A DP (displaced person) in BENNY (Benzedrine; amphetamine). | |
| 19 | The Dutch maybe with a life to envy! (5,4) |
| OTHER HALF – Double definition, the second a play on the phrase “How the other half lives”. | |
| 22 | Pole, one travelling around in pursuit of good breeding stock (4,4) |
| GENE POOL – G (good) (pole one)* [travelling]. | |
| 25 | Waterproof cover to get bigger daily (3,5) |
| WAX PAPER – WAX (get bigger) PAPER (daily). | |
| 26 | Field attack often using knight’s primitive weapon (9) |
| PITCHFORK – PITCH (sports field) FORK (attack often using knight; the term for a move on a chessboard where a knight attacks two pieces at one). | |
| 27 | To be received on board coach, he had to be wasted! (2,4,3,5) |
| GO DOWN THE DRAIN – GO DOWN (be received), HE’D (he had) in, [on board], TRAIN (coach). | |
| 28 | Confined to bed, I sat upright, lifting cast off (3,5) |
| PUT ASIDE – Reverse hidden in bED I SAT UPright. | |
| 31 | He worked with one fine Basque ruler’s famous visitor (5,2,5) |
| QUEEN OF SHEBA – (he one f Basque)* [worked]. Her arrival features in Handel’s Oratorio Solomon in the Sinfonia to Act III. Hear it played here by the Academy of Ancient Music. | |
| 33 | Lodger when speaking knows Italian, apparently (6,3,2) |
| RUMOUR HAS IT – RUMOUR sounds like ROOMER (lodger) HAS (knows) IT (Italian). | |
| 36 | Second row to result from security at hospital? (4,7) |
| LOCK FORWARD – LOCK FOR WARD (security at hospital). The Rugby position. | |
| 37 | After end of tea break catch folk not fully prepared (2,4-4) |
| AT HALF-COCK – Last letter of teA, (catch folk)* [break]. | |
| 41 | Wrong opinion one’s to contradict, interrupting rather loudly (9) |
| MISBELIEF – I’S (one’s) BELIE (contradict) in MF (mezzo-forte; rather loud). | |
| 42 | Behind can be rested on twig? No chance! (6,2) |
| FORGET IT – FOR (behind; supporting) GET IT (twig). Echoes of 24A here. | |
| 44 | Reservoir I’m disgusted to find almost dry? (7) |
| DAMPISH – DAM (reservoir) PISH (I’m disgusted). | |
| 46 | Reflecting determined, true character of Hamlet (7) |
| LAERTES – SET (determined) REAL (true) all reversed -> LAERTES. | |
| 48 | Tall touring basketball players refuse to go there (3,3) |
| BIN BAG – NBA (National Basketball Association; basketball players) in BIG (tall). | |
| 50 | Mustard perhaps in that is revolting cause of illness (1,4) |
| E COLI – COL (Colonel; Colonel Mustard is a character in Cleudo), in IE (that is) reversed -> E COL I. | |
| 51 | Duck sounds like cat with its tail up (4) |
| SMEW – MEWS (sounds like a cat) moving the last letter to the front -> SMEW. | |
Lots of DNKs: AT HALF-COCK (I knew ‘half-cock’), MOUSEBIRD, PERM, wryneck; and I certainly didn’t know the genus that wrynecks belong to! Failed to get OMEGA & BIN BAG. I got ESTHER, but not why it’s godless; is there no mention of God in the book? TETHYS was a Titan not a nymph. I liked COFFEE POT.
The entry on Wiki confirms the Book of Esther contains not single reference to God.
What a brilliant crossword. So many clever clues, I particularly liked 1ac. I thought 2d was a bit unfair, referencing something rather obscure that happened over 50 years ago. I normally finish the jumbo in 30-40 mins, this took me about 3 hours over several days. Thank you setter; more of the same please.
I noted this as a puzzle of two halves with the lower half mostly fine but the upper half wilfully obscure in places. I can’t tell now whether this was fair or justify it without going through it all again clue by clue and revisiting the whole experience, and I’ve better things to be doing today.
I recall thinking the FOSBURY FLOP was a bit much to expect of us and that I’d never come across DP as Displaced Person although I acknowledge that it’s in Collins. I simply wonder why it should need an abbreviation, but I suppose it’s a category appearing in certain documents.
According to Wikipedia, TETHYS was a titaness, not a nymph, but is often confused with the sea-nymph Thetis.
‘often’ in 28d seems to have no function.
I couldn’t see why ESTHER is Godless, but it has now been explained.