I found this one on the tough side, though I did have several interruptions and distractions while I was solving it. What did others think? I may have been hampered by the number of sporting references!
As usual, * indicates an anagram.
Across | |
1 | SO FAR SO GOOD – S, + OF A R, + SO (indicated by ‘true’, as in ‘that is so’), + O in GOD |
7 | LOCUM TENENS – (men consult e)* |
13 | OUIJA – OUI + JA (‘yes’ in French and German) |
14 | INEXACT – I, + NEXT round AC. The definition is ‘out’ |
15 | HALF-CROWN – HAL, + FROWN round C |
16 | ESCHEWING – ES (ecstasy tablets) + CH + E WING (a prison could have an E WING) |
17 |
GRUBBINESS – GRUB, + B |
20 | OVATION – O + VAT, + ON after I. Two cricket references in one clue: O is short for ‘over’ in the cricketing sense, and ‘on’ and ‘leg’ are apparently synonymous (don’t ask me why…) |
22 | OCTETTE – etc (indicated by ‘similar’; reversed) in OTT (over the top) + E |
24 | HOME RUN – cryptic indication, referring to baseball and its field or ‘diamond’ |
25 | BAKERLOO – BAKER (‘producer of bloomers’, i.e. bloomer loaves) + LOO |
26 | HOUSEHOLD NAMES – (one should shame)* |
28 |
FIFTH – F |
29 | LIBERO – hidden in ‘bookstORE BILlboard’, reversed. A footballing term |
30 | CLEAR AS MUD – CD, around (slum area)*. Writing data to a CD is ‘burning’ it |
33 |
UNHAMPERED – UNE (‘in paris, a’) + |
35 |
PRIEST – PR (proportional representation) + I |
37 | AHEAD – HE (He is the abbreviation for the light gas helium), in A + AD. The definition is ‘up’ |
39 | BOWLING AVERAGE – BOW, + (revealing a g)* | 41 | NEUTRINO – sounds like ‘new tree know’ |
44 |
LEISTER – STER |
45 | DRY CELL – (c + yr), reversed, in DELL |
46 | ICINESS – ICI (the company) + NESS |
47 | STEERFORTH – STEER, + FORTH which sounds like ‘fourth’ |
49 | MAGDALENA – MAG, + (a NE lad) reversed |
53 | CAMPER VAN – CAMPER (‘more theatrical’) + VAN (‘front’) |
54 |
ORPHEAN – ORPHAN around |
55 | DEBAG – last letters of ‘held captive’, + BAG. The definition is ‘Strip of cords’, i.e. ‘remove the trousers from’ |
56 | SCISSOR KICK – SICK, around I SS in CORK |
57 | YOU DIRTY RAT – (try try audio)* |
Down | |
1 | SMOKE-BOMB – SMOKE (indicated by ‘joint’, as in cannabis cigarette) + BOMB (large amount of money) |
2 | FAIR CRACK OF THE WHIP – FAIR (‘light’) + CRACK OF THE WHIP (‘humour from Parliamentarian’) |
3 |
READE – RE |
4 |
OPINION POLL – PI, in (pool in Lon |
5 |
OVERGROW – O + VERG |
6 | DRAUGHTBOARD – DRAUGHT + BOARD |
7 | LITMUS TEST – hidden in ‘TriaL IT MUST ESTablish’ |
8 | COHAB – alternate letters of ‘brash coach’, reversed |
9 | MELANCHOLIA – (in hall came)* around O |
10 | EXCISEMAN – NAMES ICE, around X, all reversed |
11 | EBON – last letters of ‘ensemble club to retain’. ‘Linesman’ here indicates a poet |
12 | SINK – sounds like ‘sync’, indicated by ’cause to work with another’. The definition is ‘Founder’, i.e. sink like a ship |
18 | I REMEMBER I REMEMBER – IRE MEMBER, twice in succession. It’s the first line of a poem by Thomas Hood |
19 |
ONE-SIDED – ONE (indicated by ‘I’) + SIDE (indicated by ‘camp’, in the sense of ‘faction’) + D |
21 |
IBRAHIM – |
23 | ETHELRED – ET, + HELD around RE |
27 |
OBSERVED – |
28 |
FOURBALL – FURBALL around O |
31 | ACANTHI – ANT in A CH, + I |
32 | TRIGGER-HAPPY – TRIGGER (‘generate’) + HAPPY (‘content’) – ‘piece’ here indicates a weapon |
34 | EAGER BEAVER – EVER, around (a g beer)* + A |
36 | THE KING AND I – cryptic indication (the middle two letters of ‘skit’ are K and I) |
38 |
PRAYER-BOOK – (opera by |
40 | IN TATTERS – NATTERS {‘gases’) around T, after I. Nice bit of misdirection – ‘sewer’ here indicates ‘someone who sews’ |
42 | ONSLAUGHT – ON (‘possible’), + LAUGH in ST |
43 |
FLAMBEAU – F + L |
48 | FUNGI – FUN + GI |
50 |
AUDIT – |
51 | ACTS – Cats (the musical), with the first two letters reversed |
52 | IMPI – MP (‘member returned’) surrounded by II |
There were too many obscure words and tortuous and tenuous clues which I couldn’t fathom out for my liking.
So well done Helen for lifting the veil from my eyes with a lot of them.
It was a sobering experience.
I too found this tricky, it seemed to me the setter was, well, setting, out to be a bit difficult. Some very nice clues, but some tricksy vocabulary. Libero? Leister? Still i suppose on reflection two isn’t bad in a whole jumbo
PS It’s appreciated when the Jumbo bloggers flag their puzzles as tricky, interesting or good, as then I will typically take them on!
Edited at 2014-04-14 03:49 pm (UTC)