Times Jumbo 1214

Author   helenoughamPosted on Categories Jumbo Cryptic
Here’s the belated blog on Times Jumbo 1214 (published 25 June). I thought this was much easier than the last one I posted about (Jumbo 1209)!

As always, * indicates an anagram.

Across
1 COUNTERACTIVE – ACTIVE after COUNTER
8 SPAGHETTI – (this pate)* around G
13 DOWSE – sounds like ‘douse’
14 GONDOLIER – (or glide on)*
15 CERAMIC – (i mare) in CC, all reversed
16 THUNDERSTORM – (turns mother d)*
17 INDECISION – INCISION around DebatE
18 HIDING – cHIDING
19 TINSMITH – TIN + SMITe + H
21 MUMBAI – MUM + BAIt
24 PEAR-SHAPED – (she’d appear)*
26 INTERMITTENT – IN TERM + IT + TENT
29 HARK – sHARK
30 ARCHAISM – CHA IS in ARM
31 BEARSKIN – BEARS + KINg
34 MANDIBLE – N, + bid (reversed), in MALE
35 BASEMENT – (seam)* in BENT
36 SWAY – S + WAY
39 WELL-BALANCED – WELL + BALANCED
40 LEMON THYME – MEnn, after MONTH in LEY
43 RANKLE – R + ANKLE
44 IN THE AIR – double indication
45 BRECHT – ECHT after BR
49 BUTTERMILK – BUTTER + MILK. Here, BUTTER is a cryptic way of referring to a goat, which butts
51 DISCOMPOSURE – DISC, + (more soup)*
53 UNTRIED – first letters of ‘Unity’ and ‘Nancy’, + TRIED
54 SWING DOOR – SWING, + rood (reversed)
55 YOUTH – YarmOUTH
56 DELIGHTED – DEED around LIGHT
57 BANK STATEMENT – hidden in MillBANK’S TATE MENTioned

Down
1 CADETSHIP – C + (Spithead)*
2 UNWOUND – lUNg + WOUND
3 TRENDINESS – TRESS around END IN
4 REGARD – rage (reversed) in RD
5 CONSTITUENCY – (NE city counts)*
6 ISOPRENE – (is opener)*
7 EPIC – reference is to comedian ERIC Morecambe. If you remove the diagonal stroke (‘leg’) from the R, ERIC becomes EPIC
8 STRENGTHEN – STRING THIN, with I replaced by E twice
9 ARCHER – double definition
10 HORTICULTURE – ‘short stick vultures’, with the outermost letters of each word removed
11 TEMPI – TEPId around first letter of ‘Menuhin’
12 INCONSISTENCY – IN + CONS + IS + TEN + C + Y
20 MINISTER – I in MINSTER
22 BREAKAWAY – BREAK (‘holiday’) + AWAY (‘home? Far from it’)
23 PARALLEL – PARE around ALL, + L
25 ADRENALIN – A DIN around RENAL
27 MAESTROS – (sort seam), reversed
28 NAZARETH – (he Tarzan)*
29 HOMEWARD BOUND – HOME + WARD + BOUND
32 DISBELIEVING – S + BELIE, in DIVING
33 MERETRICIOUS – MERE + TRICk + IOUS
37 UNENCLOSED – double indication
38 STEREOTYPE – TYPE after STEREO
41 ENTRECHAT – ERE CHAT, around N + Theatre
42 MAXIM GUN – MAX + I’M, + GUY with N replacing the Y
46 COUTURE – CURE around OUT
47 AMIDST – hidden in ‘teAM I’D STrip’
48 UMBRIA – cUMBRIA
50 TOTAL – TOT + A + L
52 LIMB – cLIMB

4 comments on “Times Jumbo 1214”

  1. Thanks Helen, I agree about the degree of difficulty – and last week’s was easier still.
  2. Quite tough for me but completed it after a long time.(Ong’ara,Nairobi)
  3. Tks for blog. Yes, this was for me on the relatively easy side but no less enjoyable for that. Maybe they knew people would be digesting the referendum result…
  4. We had _ O _ _ for the 4-letter word. We could not decide between SWING DOOR and SWING VOTE.
    A ‘swing vote’ is a casting vote – which offers a possible way out of a deadlocked situation. And a cross is a vote. But this left us with an ‘over’ over. And then I had a rood awakening…

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