Times Jumbo 1085 (5 Apr 2014)

Author   daveperryPosted on Categories Jumbo Cryptic
Solving time: None recorded

I solved this one while on holiday, so I didn’t do it against the clock. It seemed quite straight-forward at the time with some good clues.

There was what can only be a mistake by the setter at 55a with an anagrist that doesn’t quite match the solution, but no other problems.

cd = cryptic def., dd = double def., rev = reversal, homophones are written in quotes, anagrams as (–)*, and removals like this

1 PAN + DEMON + trIUMph
7 STAFF OF LIFE – dd
13 CENTRE OF ATTENTION – The centre of attENTion being E.N.T. (Ear, Nose & Throat)
14 AF(O/O)T
15 U + ceNSURE
16 ASPERITY = A + SPY about TIRE rev
17 ACT + AEON – He was a hunter in Greek mythology who was transformed into a stag by the Gods and torn apart by his own hounds.
19 E + MA + NATION
21 SAN(CT)ITY
23 DATA = A TAD rev
25 AR + ABS
27 DRIPPY = HIPPY with H replaced by DR
28 N + IN + C(O + MP)OOP
30 DE(FEAT)ED
31 BREATHING SPACE = (BEER’S A NIGHTCAP)*
34 CURRENT ACCOUNT – dd
35 FREE PORT
38 ROLLED GOLD – The central feature of thROne is OR (gold) rev (rolled)
40 BREECH = Rust in BEECH
41 SCH + MO
43 hOUSE
44 DO + NATIVE
45 MORATORIA = AIM rev about ORATOR
48 PosH + A + ETON
49 DECADE + NoT
50 LA(VI)SH
53 PROMO = PRO (for) + MO (Medical Officer, someone to provide a health service)
54 GREGORIAN CALENDAR = (GIRL ONCE ARRANGED A)*
55 RESPECTABLE = (A PLEB RECAST)* – at least I’m sure that’s what it’s supposed to be, but there are too many As and not enough Es.
56 ELEPHANTINE = (HELPINg EATEN)*
Down
1 PICTURE + CARD
2 NONE + S
3 ETRURIA = ET + RU + AIR rev
4 OBOL = O + LOB rev
5 IN ABSENTIA = (A BIT INSANE)*
6 MOTHER SUPERIOR – cd
7 SENTImENT
8 AMITY = A + MY! (goodness) about IT
9 F(ANT + ASTI)C
10 FLATTerY – although are court shoes necessarily flat?
11 IN ONE WAY OR ANOTHER – dd
12 EATING APPLE – dd – a reference to the Fall of Adam & Eve in the Garden of Eden
18 WILD WEST – a ‘Wordplay in solution’ type of clue, stew = (WEST)*
20 A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS – dd
22 TAICHI = AI (Excellent) + CH (children) all in TIme
24 SMASHERS = MASHER (old dandy) in S x2 – I hadn’t come across this meaning of ‘masher’ before. It would appear to be a sort of male sexual predator, which isn’t quite the same as a dandy, but maybe the definition has changed.
26 SPA + CEMENt
29 BANNER HEADLINE – cd
32 NORTHERN = NORTH + Expect Referendum Nastiness – Lord North is a perennial crossword favourite for Prime Minister
33 SCILLA = ALL IS rev about C
34 CARBON PAPER – cd
36 TROJAN HORSE – A ‘hack’ is an old horse, and a Trojan Horse is a type of virus that a computer hacker might create.
37 P(ER + MAN)ENCE
39 GOOD + kNIGHT
42 DISC + LOSE
46 TRADE-IN = ED rev in TRAIN
47 ST + ROBE
49 DWEEB = BEE + WoulD all rev
51 INDRI = INDIa about R
52 cRASH

7 comments on “Times Jumbo 1085 (5 Apr 2014)”

  1. I didn’t record a time for this puzzle but I don’t remember it being overly difficult. I didn’t notice the problem with the anagram fodder for 55ac at the time. FLATTY was my LOI and when I checked my Chambers post-solve I thought that the definition worked.
  2. Thought this one was of about average difficulty, though I didn’t spot the error in 55A and SMASHERS went in without really understanding the MASHER bit. Hadn’t heard of STAFF OF LIFE and chose another American magazine, TIME, though I think that’s still going so it didn’t really fit the clue. Also didn’t know* SCILLA and put in SCALLA instead.

    * It appeared in January’s Club Monthly but clearly didn’t satisfy the unfathomable criteria my brain uses for determining what to remember.

  3. Like others, no time recorded but not recollected as tough. Knowledge of the 9 Canonical Hours helps in crosswords as they come up in various forms, here 2dn. 7ac is the subject of a well-known (and smutty) joke from my youth.
  4. I did find this one tough: it took me 48 minutes. I enjoyed it, but spoiled the experience for myself with two stupid errors:
    > ETRUREA. I had to figure out the wordplay to get this one, so it must have been a typo. As the country was only very vaguely familiar to me the mis-spelling didn’t leap out at me when I checked my answers.
    > GREGORIAN CALENDER. This obviously didn’t leap out at me either, although it certainly should have done. Nul points.

    Edited at 2014-04-19 07:56 pm (UTC)

  5. 53′ for me, a rare under-60′, so presumably not too tough, but I still managed to get one error: ‘fealty’, faute d’anything else; DNK FLATTY. I gather that ‘masher’ is an Americanism, although it’s pretty much out of date; certainly didn’t mean ‘dandy’, but rather ‘groper’. Couldn’t parse 38ac, so thanks for explaining. Liked 54ac.
  6. 23:05 for me (I’ve only just got round to solving this one).

    Well spotted with the clue for RESPECTABLE – it certainly looks wrong to me, but I’d missed the error until I read your blog entry.

    Also I’m sure you’re right about FLATTY: ODO defines “court shoe” as “a woman’s plain, lightweight shoe that has a low-cut upper, no fastening, and typically a medium heel”; and if you google images of court shoes, there are practically none without very definite heels.

    Edited at 2014-04-20 11:43 pm (UTC)

    1. Sue has a number of pairs of court shoes, all with at least a 4-inch heel. I put FLATTY in under protest! At the easier end of the Jumbo range for me, solved in under half an hour (between Milton Keynes and Coventry on the train one evening).

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