Times Jumbo 836 (Sat 26 Sep 2009)

Author   nmacsweeneyPosted on Categories Jumbo Cryptic
Excellent puzzle with pleasing variety and misdirection , solving time 63 mins.
* = anagram < = reverse

ACROSS
1 HERO IC (ALL)Y
6 SLOW HANDCLAP Cryptic definition, not heard this for a long, long, time, but it’s still in dicts.
14 RE (B) EL LION
15 ROUND round of golf
16 P LUMBER
17 ACTS OF THE APOSTLES
18 LARGO Major key, I think, refers to Largo as being the largest of the Florida keys (islands)
19 D (EM) ETER m = em
21 S (TREE) T Actor well-known to seasoned solvers
22 STICK(L)ER
24 ARSENAL Gunners, nickname of Arsenal FC (lanes RA)<
26 BRICKBAT (backbiter)* less e & lit.
27 HOOPLA Double definition
30 TROJAN (hard worker) (eat like a) HORSE
32 RHODE ISLAND (Had rod lines)*
33 GHOSTWRITER Cryptic definition
35 MORRIS DANCE (mains records)*
37 A B SORB
38 U (NB I A) SED Took me quite a while to see how the wordplay worked.
39 1 M (PR) INT
42 SPIT (tips)< FIRE
44 MONICA hidden
46 WS GILBERT !
48 LOT (U)S
49 STANDING COMMITTEE
51 W (ARM) ISH
52 UTTER Double definition
53 SOLITAIRE Triple definition
54 R EMONSTRATED (modern state)*
55 GRAN (N) Y FLAT (angry)*

DOWN
1 HARD AND FAST fast food, hard drink
2 REBU(s) T
3 I’LL GO TTEN nett<
4 dAy VIA TO R
5 LANCERS Double definition dividing at theatre/dance
7 LOUDSPEAKER (OK as prelude)*
8 W IDELY (yield)*
9 A P PO SITE
10 DOUBLE-CROSSED Double definition, the second a little cryptic.
11 LIBE (RA) L I liked this
12 PAR (LOUR) MA I’D
13 TRIPARTITE Shakespeare’s Henry VI is a play in three parts – I phoned a friend re the rest who explained that after a couple of cuts you also have three parts.
20 M AS TO DONS
23 LABOURED (a boulder)*
25 L (A H) ORE
26 BAR 1 TONE
28 PLAIN T I’VE
29 GE MINI (eg)<
31 AFTER A FASHION (Affair, note, has)*
33 GLASS-BLOWER Cryptic definition
34 RAISON D’ETRE I think therefore I am
35 MISS IONA (!) RY
36 ENTITLEMENT (tenement lit)*
40 PAL (M IS)TRY
41 BRASS HAT
43 IN TER(1)M
45 AC C USER
46 GAME(p)LAN
47 LACUNA (u canal)*
50 T WILL

4 comments on “Times Jumbo 836 (Sat 26 Sep 2009)”

  1. I only time Jumbos when it’s my turn to blog it, but this took longer than usual. I agree that the puzzle was excellent but was a little disappointed by LACUNA – I knew it was an anagram of U CANAL but every combination of missing letters created a possible word, and I hadn’t heard of any of them. In the end I plumped for CANULA. I also missed TRIPARTITE and didn’t understand LANCERS until you showed me the definition split – still took a while for the penny to drop!
  2. I’m a bit behind on my jumbos and only did this one today. I also agree with your assessment of it. So much to like here. I had major question marks at 18 & 30, and as for the triple defintion at 53, I only new the game, which I thought included the ring, as in clock patience. Thanks for your elucidation. I don’t think I’ve ever seen the m = em construction at 19 (DEMETER). I suppose it is well signposted with the “first letter of” instruction, but it took a while to sink in.
  3. 32A RHODE ISLAND is not an island. It is a New England state on the Atlantic coast, which might well make it ‘maritime’, and it includes the island from whose supposed resemblance to Rhodes the state gained its name; but I seldom see other mainland states that happen to have islands so called. The Economist has actually made the mistake of saying “on Rhode Island”, when of course they mean, or should mean, “in”.

    53A SOLITAIRE, according at least to Dictionary.com, is a stone, not a ring.

    No problems with this puzzle otherwise!

    John in USA

    1. SOLITAIRE is a stone OK, but is also given in Concise OED (dict for the Times puzzles along with Collins) as “a ring with a single gem”.

      Re RHODE ISLAND I cannot of course argue with geographical points made from “across the pond” but if ISLAND is in the name, surely it is an island…

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