I don’t remember much about solving this pleasant Jumbo which took me about 45 mins; just a little over an average time for me. Doing the blog, though, reminded me that it contains a number of witty definitions and a couple of pieces of clever wordplay. Nice one. Thank-you setter. How did you all get on?
Definitions underlined in bold italics, (Abc)* indicating anagram of Abc, {deletions} and [] other indicators.
| Across | |
| 1 | Before head of committee, recommend moving folder for infant (9) |
| PUSHCHAIR – PUSH (recommend) CHAIR (head of committee). A quirky definition and a bit of a mysterious surface. | |
| 6 | Abnormally short street, one lacking smallest bit of illumination (7) |
| STUNTED – ST (street) and UN{i}TED (one) without the first letter of Illumination. | |
| 10 | No weaknesses at motorway rest area: one doesn’t want to spend a penny (5) |
| MISER – MI (M1; motorway) SER{vices} ((motorway) rest area) without the VICES (weaknesses). Nice one. | |
| 13 | Naturalist’s help worked with tiny tree (5,3,5) |
| PLINY THE ELDER – (help tiny)* [worked] ELDER (tree). I didn’t know Pliny the Elder was a naturalist. | |
| 14 | Away from lake, what happens in autumn to earwig (9) |
| EAVESDROP – {l}EAVES DROP (what happens in Autumn) without the L (lake). We had a very similar clue in this QC I blogged recently. | |
| 15 | Prelate keeps a set of books similar to some poetry (7) |
| DANTEAN – A NT (New Testament; set of books) in DEAN (prelate). | |
| 16 | Indistinct farm animal almost comes in close (7) |
| NEBULAR – All but the last letter of BUL{l} (farm animal) in NEAR (close). | |
| 17 | Stamp out what the Cheshire Cat did (3,4) |
| DIE AWAY – DIE (stamp) AWAY (out)…. with the grin being the last to disappear. | |
| 18 | Appeasing is strangely a top priority (12) |
| PROPITIATORY – [strangely] (a top priority)*. A felicitous anagram. | |
| 20 | Stable position that regularly limits blunder by American company (5,5) |
| TERRA FIRMA – This one’s a bit more complicated… ERR (blunder) A (American) FIRM (company) in alternate letters, [regularly], of ThAt | |
| 23 | Out of place, I sleep at back of hut (5) |
| INAPT – I NAP (sleep) and last letter of huT. | |
| 24 | Making decorative art, one boy put in identical copy (9) |
| CLOISONNE – I (one) SON (boy) in CLONE (identical copy). A rare example of a clue with the definition not being at the start or the end. | |
| 25 | Partner greeting king in conference (7) |
| PALAVER – PAL (partner) AVE (Latin greeting) R (Rex; king). | |
| 26 | Begin to understand how to date rays from the sun? (3,8) |
| SEE DAYLIGHT – SEE (date) DAYLIGHT (rays from the sun). | |
| 28 | Cart wife with angry words round shoe repairer (11) |
| WHEELBARROW – HEELBAR (shoe repairer) in W (wife) ROW (angry words). | |
| 30 | Explorer yet to go west, south and as far as northeast (11) |
| LIVINGSTONE – LIVING (still alive; yet to go west), S (south) TO (as far as) NE (northeast). Clever. | |
| 32 | Strongly protest as tormenter goes free (11) |
| REMONSTRATE – (as tormenter)* [goes free]. I didn’t know you could spell tormenter with a second e rather than a second o, and neither does the spellchecker in our blog editor. | |
| 34 | Restaurant sent back article on large vessel (7) |
| TAVERNA – AN (indefinite article) RE (on) VAT (large vessel) all reversed. | |
| 36 | Fine, though not hot, batter that’s used by cooks (3-6) |
| TIN-OPENER – T{h}IN (fine) without the H (hot), OPENER (cricket batter). | |
| 38 | Having personal life publicised, raised voice angrily, wanting silence (5) |
| OUTED – {sh}OUTED (raised voice angrily) without the SH (silence). | |
| 39 | Cut off wickedness? I dither pathetically about it (10) |
| DISINHERIT – SIN (wickedness) in (I dither)* [pathetically]. | |
| 41 | Fixing of one series of races retrospectively stops trifling objections (12) |
| PETTIFOGGING – OF I (one) TT (series of motorcycle races on the Isle of Man) all reversed -> TTIFO, in PEGGING (fixing). | |
| 45 | Sheep-catching staff work with rope (7) |
| MACRAME – RAM (sheep) in MACE (staff). | |
| 46 | Mangle words at first with one calling (7) |
| WRINGER – First letter of Words and RINGER (one calling). | |
| 47 | Physical laziness left feeling of annoyance we hear (7) |
| LANGUOR – L (left) and ANGUOR, sounds like ANGER (feeling of annoyance). | |
| 49 | Sportsman put off, missing start, following cramp (9) |
| CRICKETER – CRICK (cramp) {d}ETER (put off) without the first letter. | |
| 50 | Money a distant object for one worth nothing (5,8) |
| BRASS FARTHING – BRASS (slang for money) FAR (distant) THING (object). | |
| 52 | Fellows receiving unknown backing for church meeting (5) |
| SYNOD – Y (unknown) in DONS (fellows) all reversed -> SYNOD. | |
| 53 | Put clothes back on for satisfaction (7) |
| REDRESS – Double definition, the first a cryptic hint – RE DRESS (put clothes back on). | |
| 54 | Like some avenues I entered, doubtful about length (4-5) |
| TREE-LINED – L (length) in (I entered)* [doubtful]. | |
| Down | |
| 1 | Before party, say churchwarden started to speak (5,2) |
| PIPED UP – PIPE (churchwarden, say) DUP (Democratic Unionist Party; party). | |
| 2 | Profit from currency makes going easier when travelling (11) |
| SEIGNIORAGE – (going easier)* [when travelling]. An unknown for me but the crossers helped. | |
| 3 | River is treacly, dead in places (5) |
| CLYDE – Hidden in treaCLY DEad. Not a very flattering description of a fine Scottish river. | |
| 4 | A peremptory refusal by one African people (7) |
| ASHANTI – A SHAN’T (peremptory refusal) I (one). | |
| 5 | Have regrets? That’s the French way (3) |
| RUE – Double definition. | |
| 6 | Part poet’s hair (9) |
| SIDEBURNS – SIDE (part) BURNS (poet). | |
| 7 | Country club, in absence of leader, really disorderly (6) |
| UNRULY – UN (United Nations; country club), {t}RULY (really) without the first letter, [in absence of leader]. | |
| 8 | The Moor’s weakness: deserter — men, they gone runnin’! (3,5-4,7) |
| THE GREEN-EYED MONSTER – (deserter men they gone)* [running]. The phrase “green with envy” originates from William Shakespeare’s play Othello, where Iago warns Othello, “O beware, my lord, of jealousy; It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock the meat it feeds on” | |
| 9 | Share in payout reversed Red Wall? (7) |
| DIVIDER – DIVI (dividend; share in payout), RED [reversed] -> DER | |
| 10 | Imperious back’s brief force in struggle for ball (9) |
| MASTERFUL – STER{n} (back) without the last letter F (force), in MAUL (struggle for ball in rugby). | |
| 11 | Cheat chauffeur that goes round and round delivering Premium Bonds? (11) |
| SCREWDRIVER – SCREW (cheat) DRIVER (chauffeur) and a rather cheeky cryptic definition. | |
| 12 | Slightly unwell, like a guy perhaps (5) |
| ROPEY – Double definition the second a cryptic hint. | |
| 16 | Ache to see a new planet, presumably, and soon to depart (3,4,3,4,5) |
| NOT LONG FOR THIS WORLD – Double definition, the first a cryptic hint. | |
| 19 | Popular addition to wedding dress going on (2,5) |
| IN TRAIN – IN (popular) TRAIN (addition to wedding dress). | |
| 21 | End of quarrel as leader of school leaves hospital (9) |
| ARROWHEAD – {h}ARROW HEAD (leader of Harrow school) without the first H (hospital). | |
| 22 | To meet, career regularly around southern state (6) |
| ANSWER – Alternate letters [regularly] of cArEeR around NSW (New South Wales; southern state) | |
| 23 | Isolated home recently found in south of France (9) |
| INSULATED – IN (home) and LATE (recently) in SUD (French for south). | |
| 24 | Established area covered by US phone briefly: it may give you a tinkle (7) |
| CELESTA – CEL{l} (US mobile phone) EST (established) A (area). | |
| 25 | Lager, large tin, found in wharf (7) |
| PILSNER – L (large) SN (chemical symbol for tin) in PIER (wharf). | |
| 27 | Going in just one direction, conserving energy for kicking (6) |
| TOEING – E (energy) in TOING (going in just one direction, as in toing and froing). | |
| 29 | Lied in badly-written strong article to begin win (3-4) |
| ART-SONG – A (indefinite article) (strong)* [badly-written]. | |
| 31 | Cutting to the quick with endlessly dazzling piece (11) |
| VIVISECTION – VIVI{d} (dazzling) [endlessly] SECTION (piece). Another great cryptic definition. | |
| 33 | Close to bone in teaching, ignoring first instance of current assignment (11) |
| ATTRIBUTION – A bit tricky this one… AT (close to), RIB (bone) in TU{i}TION (teaching) without the the first I (current in physical equations). | |
| 35 | Searched roughly, carried out and dismissed (9) |
| RANSACKED – RAN (carried out) SACKED (dismissed). | |
| 37 | Quantity of work girl shoulders beginning to polish one large mirror (4,5) |
| PIER GLASS – Another unknown for me… First letter of Polish, I (one), ERG (quantity of work) LASS (girl). | |
| 40 | Trained horse always to skirt opening (7) |
| EVENTER – VENT (opener) in EVER (always). | |
| 42 | Say, get sick of turning over leaves (7) |
| FOLIAGE – E.G. (for example; say) AIL (get sick) OF, all reversed -> FOLIAGE. | |
| 43 | Principals in ghastly armed robbery lost youthful looks in the lock-up (7) |
| GARAGED – First letters of Ghastly Armed Robbery, AGED (lost youthful looks). | |
| 44 | In disgusting housing a bachelor is OK to survive unaided (6) |
| VIABLE – A B (bachelor) in VILE (disgusting). MER at two apparent double inclusion indications, “in” and “housing”, but I guess the initial “in” is just a filler. | |
| 45 | Laughs at exams (5) |
| MOCKS – Doubled definition. | |
| 48 | Part of altercation at altar related to having children (5) |
| NATAL – Hidden in altercatioN AT ALtar. | |
| 51 | Group of people fixed part of match (3) |
| SET – A neat triple definition to finish with. | |
Not particularly difficult although I needed to come here to find out how PETTIFOGGING worked. Thanks, J.
I was pleased with myself for coming up with SEIGNIORAGE, completely unknown to me and making its very first appearance here.
I got through this fairly quickly for me, I never have a time on the Jumbos because I dip in and out when my young family and other Saturday commitments allow. Unfortunately my guess for 27d was wrong so was a DNF 🙁
From what I remember it was a nice puzzle. Thanks setter and thanks for the blog.
Good in parts – some really nice clues, but several weak clues meant there was a lot of pencilling in until they could be confirmed. Or maybe that’s down to me failing to understand – for example I didn’t get the logic behind Stunted until I saw your explanation (thank you).
Favourite answer – Miser. Not keen on obscurities like Cloissone or Seigniorage.
Beaten by ASHANTI, but enjoyed the challenge of the rest of the crossword. Thanks to the blogger.
Didn’t finish, unable to get dantean, seigniorage, pettifogging, pier glass, art-song, among others.