Times Jumbo 1182

Author   topicaltimPosted on Categories Jumbo Cryptic
Solving time of 26:30, which is well within the 25-35 minutes I regard as normal difficulty for a Jumbo. Perfectly enjoyable puzzle, and while I don’t think there’s much to give experienced solvers anything to struggle with, overseas solvers might need to learn a new proper noun or two.

Across
1 CONNECTICUT – CONNECT 1 CUT gives one-fiftieth of the USA.
7 EX-DIRECTORY – (I’D)rev. in EX-RECTORY. Any teenage solvers may need to ask an older person like me about phone books.
13 OSRIC – O.S., RIC[h]. The court being that of Elsinore in Hamlet.
14 ADIPOSE – AD I POSE.
15 IN CONCERT – [CO. in INN], CERT.
16 DISCLOSED – DISC, LOSE D[ay].
17 HARTLEPOOL – (ALLTHEPOOR)*. When called upon, I’m afraid I can’t think of anything which is likely to make this a place that non-UK solvers will readily call to mind, unless they enjoy urban legends about monkeys, or followed Brian Clough’s managerial career from its beginnings in the town.
20 TAFFETA – AFFE[C]T in TA.
22 SANCTUS – The party of Mandela, the A.N.C., in ST[reet], + U.S. Part of the Prayer of the Eucharist.
24 OVERLIE – when two things coincide, one might overlie the other; playfully, that lying might be expressed in terms of truthfulness.
25 STRICKEN – RICK in a STEN gun.
26 IN LOCO PARENTIS – (APRICOTSONLINE)*.
28 ASHES – [D]ASHES.
29 TINTIN – TINT, IN. The boy detective, and an answer to the challenge of naming a famous Belgian, if you allow fictional people.
30 EISENSTEIN – S[cen]E in EINSTEIN. If one pictures the Odessa Steps scene in Battleship Potemkin, the surface even works literally.
33 DOWNSTREAM – DOWN, TEAM with the insertion at different points (separately carved through) of S[mall] and R[iver].
35 JETSAM – JET, SAM (surface to air missile). As opposed to flotsam, which is wreckage, jetsam is material that has been thrown overboard.
37 CHURL – C[irca] HURL.
39 RECORDING ANGEL – [COR!(=my!), DIN, GANG] in REEL. Well-disguised definition in “spirited observer”.
41 AU REVOIR – A U. REV., [1 in OR].
44 EYELASH =”I” LASH.
45 SPARTAN – PART in SAN[atorium].
46 TREETOP – [TEE in PORT]all rev.
47 HYPOTENUSE – HYPO (fixer in photo development), TEN, USE. Not very exact geometry as a mathematical definition, but good enough for cryptic purposes.
49 HAIRPIECE – (CHEAPER,1,I)*. From wordplay only, as I didn’t know this meaning of “switch” (a tress of false or detached hair).
53 PRIMAVERA – A in PRIM VERA. Literally “Spring”, and a painting on show in Florence’s Uffizi Gallery.
54 INEXACT – [m]INE, X(=by) A C[our]T.
55 AMATI – A MAT I. Makers of fine violins.
56 WOODEN SPOON – WOODEN, [P in SOON].
57 STRIP SEARCH – STRIP, SEAR CH[urch].
 
Down
1 CHORDATES – (CRASHEDTO)*. The phylum which includes vertebrates i.e. us.
2 NO REST FOR THE WICKED – being a play on wicked=evil, and wicked=having a wick.
3 EXCEL – size XL, said out loud.
4 TRANSPARENT – TRA[I]NS PARENT minus 1.
5 CHILDISH – CHIL[L], DISH.
6 TOOTH AND NAIL – TOOT, HAND, [S]NAIL.
7 EXECRATION – i.e an EXEC’s RATION.
8 DRILL – self-treatment might be in order if a DR. was ILL.
9 RECIPROCATE – RECIPE, concealing (TACO)rev. R].
10 CANTONESE – (SOCANTEEN)*.
11 OWEN – WE (i.e. our side) in ON.
12 YETI – YET 1.
18 ALL THE FUN OF THE FAIR – playing on the twin meanings of “fair”.
19 PERSONAL – double def.
21 EXCISES – EXC[U]SES with I replacing U.
23 STONIEST – (TON)rev. in SIEST[A].
27 ENLARGES – (GENERAL)*, then STRIKE minus the TRIKE, which is a means of transport.
28 ANDERSEN – (ENSNARED)*.
31 SECRETE – S[trang]E, CRETE.
32 NEVERTHELESS – THE in NEVER LESS (i.e. always more to be got).
34 RAITH ROVERS – (ARRIVESHORT)*. Again, not sure how much knowledge of Kirkcaldy’s premier club will have penetrated the rest of the English-speaking world, despite the vocal support of Gordon Brown, Ian Rankin, and Val McDermid.
36 MOUNTAINTOP – MOUNT AIN’T OP[us].
38 ANDALUSIAN – (LADINSAUNA)*.
40 READYMADE =”READY MAID”.
42 REPLENISH – (HELPRINSE)*.
43 IN THE AIR – double def.
48 ERATO – ERA, TO(as in “pull the door to”); inspiring because she was the Muse of lyric poetry.
50 PEACE =”PIECE” and is a pair in the saying “peace and quiet”.
51 SPEW – S[afe], PEW.
52 WINO – because to lose everything is to WIN 0.

7 comments on “Times Jumbo 1182”

  1. You have to admire a setter who is prepared to use Hartlepool in a clue…

    There has been an absolute spate of Jumbos over the Christmas and New Year. I am impressed with The Times, which has met its obligations in full or even exceeded them.. I just hope the TfTT bloggers can cope with the avalanche!

  2. HARTLEPOOL, RAITH ROVERS gettable from wordplay, YETI a chestnut, oh, how l love checkers to unlock stubborn clues like 1a,48d,30a. (Ong’ara, Nairobi, Kenya)
  3. About 35 minutes here, so within my ‘normal difficulty’ range too. It seems a long time ago after so many Jumbos: it’s been a real treat.
    I associate HARTLEPOOL mostly with Peter Mandelson, which I guess tells you something about my priorities.
    RAITH ROVERS has come up before, quite recently I think. It caused me some trouble last time which helped me to remember it this.

    Edited at 2016-01-03 09:57 pm (UTC)

  4. I knew the name from Trollope, where somewhere in either the parliamentary series or the Barchester series, or both, a Lord or Lady H appears. Never heard of Raith Rovers, though; or if Keriothe is correct, totally forgot them.
  6. Yes, the joke was the country whose two most famous citizens were fictional people. The locals though would, I’m sure, point one to Eddie Merckx, cyclist, five times winner of the Tour de France, but perhaps not too grid-friendly.

    Thanks for blog – I got CANTONESE from wordplay but wondered about definition – Chambers confirms it as a type of cooking.

  7. I understand the point you are making and it seems valid. However, I think the idea may be that the hypotenuse is the longest line in a triangle that contains a hypotenuse so it is the long line.

Comments are closed.