Times Jumbo 709 (Sat July 21)

Author   linxitPosted on Categories Jumbo Cryptic
Solving time – 23:36

I’m not 100% sure, but I think this is my fastest time for the Jumbo since I started timing myself. Usually there are a few tricky clues or obscure words but I didn’t need to dig Chambers out for anything here. Having said that, I didn’t understand 30dn, and am open to offers.

Across

1 WOLF CUB – BUC(k)FLOW all reversed.
5 GASTHOFS – first letters of the whole clue except the last word, &lit. Very clever.
9 ST,ANZA(c) – my history’s shocking. I thought Anzacs were WW2 soldiers…
13 SENIOR COMMON ROOM – I thought this was just a reference to the age of admittance when I solved the puzzle, but I’ve just noticed that 16 starts with SCR…subtlety that was lost on me I’m afraid!
16 S(CREE,C)HY
18 POINTLESS – I’m sure I understood this when I solved it, but I don’t now.
20 HO,UNSLOW
31 HARICOT BEAN (A nice broth,a)*
36 MIDDLE C,LASS
41 A,MP,LIF(I)ER
44 PRODIGAL SON (or lad posing)* – liked this one.
49 HA(d)HA(d) – this is supposed to be hyphenated. It’s a fence sunk down into a ditch, only seen in crosswords!
55 REVE(R,S)AL

Down

2 L(A,N)ARK
4 BAC(=cab rev),CHA,NAL(I)A (Alan rev around I)
5 GAME – E-mag reversed. Yuck!
6 S(PORTS)W,OMAN
8 FOOTPRINT – could’ve been any detective really, but we know Morse is based in Oxford, and an Oxford is also a type of shoe.
11 NOTRE DAME DE PARIS (pedestrian roamed)* – nice anagram!
15 HISTORIC – very cleverly hidden in “BoswortH IS TO RIChard.
19 I’LL,YR,IAN – YR = RY rev = lines, IAN = (in a )*
23 SECRETARY OF STATE – I think this clue could have been shortened. I’ve been considering “PA of Pa?”, but maybe only Araucaria would get away with that!
28 (n)OTIC(e) – tricky wordplay, had to work backwards from the answer.
30 OURS – just a guess. O?R? and French for towers is tours, beheaded makes OURS. Doesn’t really fit the wordplay but there aren’t many choices.
32 RA(DIAN(a))CE
35 MISANTHROPE (He’s pro man it)*
36 M(ONARCH(anchor*))ISTS
37 LAP(IS,L)AZ,U(n)L(a)I(d)
40 (p)RESIDEN(t),C.E. – this was my favourite clue in the puzzle.
42 IN(CURS)ION – the inion is “the external occipital protuberance” according to Chambers
47 WELL(E)S – H.G. Wells wrote the book, Orson Welles produced the famous radio play which had Americans thinking a real invasion was taking place.

7 comments on “Times Jumbo 709 (Sat July 21)”

  2. I made very heavy weather of this one (27:42), particularly OURS, for some reason taking ages to think of simply translating “towers” into French. I’m still not too sure about TERM for 26A. Is there a phrase “through term”? I’m not even sure whether “got to last” means “reached the end” (though that gives an obvious link to “term”) or “must endure”. (Probably missing something obvious again. (Sigh!))
  3. You can see this outside xwds if you visit some stately homes or country houses. The idea is to keep the cows off your parterre but allow them to appear in the background of views from the house. So the ditch has a near-vertical wall near the house, and a gentle slope merging into the landscape on the other side.
  4. I too would much appreciate explanations of 18A (POINTLESS), 26A (TERM). Also can 43D (LIGAMENT)be
    explained please?
    1. 18A – your guess is as good as mine. I’m wondering whether I worked it out before or not now – I don’t have a clue!

      26A – double def. TERM has definitions in Chambers of “the length of time something lasts” as well as “word”.

      43D – I should have explained this I suppose. To LIG means to be a freeloader in the entertainment industry, “let it be” = AMEN, the end of “that” = T.

      1. I think the wordplay to POINTLESS is that you have to lose PT=point from PROMPT to get PROM which is a BBC concert.

        Harry Shipley

      2. I think the wordplay to POINTLESS is that you have to lose PT=point from PROMPT to get PROM which is a BBC concert.

        Harry Shipley

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