Times Jumbo Cryptic Crossword 1614

Another relatively straightforward run-out for Bank Holiday Monday, and another with a smattering of well-worked clues. I liked it except for… well, I’m sure you can guess by now.

You can find my completed grid below along with explanations of my solutions where I have them. I hope you find them helpful. If a recent Jumbo has gotten up your nose then you might find my Just For Fun page of use, where you’ll find links to solutions for hundreds of the things.

Thanks again for the kind words and input. It’s always interesting to hear the thoughts of other solvers once they’ve set down their pens. Till next time, stay safe out there kids, and Happy Motörhead Day!

LP

RBV (Repeats-By-Volume): 18.3%
(Cringe.)

Across clues

1. Stand in place with islands immersed in river (8)

Answer: DEPUTISE (i.e. to “stand in”). Solution is PUT (i.e. “place”) and IS (I is a recognised abbreviation of “island”, the S makes it plural) both “immersed in” DEE (i.e. “river” in Scotland), like so: DE(PUT-IS)E.

5. Ocean floor beginning to enshroud sailor (6)

Answer: SEABED (i.e. “ocean floor”). Solution is SEED (i.e. “beginning”) wrapped around or “enshrouding” AB (i.e. “sailor”, one of Able-Bodied rank), like so: SE(AB)ED.

9. Layer one’s rolled back in warehouse (7)

Answer: DEPOSIT (i.e. “layer”). Solution is I’S (i.e. “[Roman numeral] one’s”) reversed (indicated by “rolled back”) and placed “in” DEPOT (i.e. “warehouse”), like so: DEPO(S’I)T. Appeared in grid 1608 only last month, also on odd intersecting letters, so…

14. Farmer grew worried about area becoming threat to life (4,7)

Answer: GERM WARFARE (i.e. “threat to life”). Solution is an anagram (indicated by “worried”) of FARMER GREW wrapped “about” A (a recognised abbreviation of “area”), like so: GERMW(A)RFARE.

15. Prompt attention securing scutched fibres for such clothes? (5-2-4)

Answer: READY-TO-WEAR (i.e. “clothes”). Solution is READY (i.e. “prompt”) and EAR (i.e. “attention”) wrapped around or “securing” TOW (i.e. “scutched fibres”, a variant meaning of the word), like so: READY-(TOW)-EAR.

16. Comfort Labour’s leader drawing support (5)

Answer: EASEL (i.e. “drawing support”). Solution is EASE (i.e. “comfort”) followed by L (i.e. “Labour’s leader”, i.e. the first letter of “Labour”). Appeared in grid 1593 in January, also on odd intersecting letters, so…

17. Stone initially laid into box perhaps for bridge (7)

Answer: TRESTLE (i.e. a type of “bridge”). Solution is ST (a recognised abbreviation of “stone”) and L (i.e. “initially laid”, i.e. the first letter of “laid”) both placed “into” TREE (i.e. “box perhaps” – other varieties of tree are available), like so: TRE(ST-L)E. Appeared in grid 1583 back in November, also on odd intersecting letters, and also in exactly the same place, so…

18. Speech by ambassador in turban for example? (9)

Answer: HEADDRESS (i.e. “turban for example”). When written as HE ADDRESS the solution also playfully satisfies “speech by ambassador” – HE being a recognised abbreviation of “His Excellency”, if you observe such things.

19. Prodigal son coming first, being submissive (7)

Answer: SLAVISH (i.e. “submissive”). Solution is LAVISH (i.e. “prodigal”) placed after or having “first” S (a recognised abbreviation of “son”), like so: S-LAVISH. If I’m not mistaken this marks a solution being repeated from the previous grid for the third time in the last four puzzles. This also intersected on odd letters, so…

20. Sweet sauce, not quite cold, with some hot bananas (9,6)

Answer: CHOCOLATE MOUSSE (i.e. “sweet”). Solution is an anagram (indicated by “bananas”) of SAUCE, COL (i.e. “not quite cold”, i.e. “cold” with its last letter removed) and SOME HOT.

22. Where standards may be set to be observed? (4,6)

Answer: ROSE GARDEN. Clue plays on “standards” being “a fruit tree or other tree grafted and trained so as to have an upright stem without branches” (Chambers). That’s about it, unless I’m missing something clever.

23. Place for Cologne firm located within baker’s base? (6)

Answer: FLACON (i.e. “place for cologne” – ignore the misleading capitalisation, a flacon is a perfume bottle). Solution is CO (i.e. “firm”, short for “company”) placed “within” FLAN (i.e. “baker’s base”), like so: FLA(CO)N.

25. Religious portrait the writer does? (4)

Answer: ICON (i.e. “religious portrait”). When written as I CON the solution playfully satisfies “the writer does” from the point of view of the setter, taking “do” to mean to swindle someone.

28. Site for oil and rubber industry? (7,7)

Answer: MASSAGE PARLOUR. Clue plays on “oil” used in massages, and massages being “rubs”. You get the idea. A very good clue.

30. Eccentric American avoiding press and public (2,6)

Answer: IN CAMERA (i.e. in private or “avoiding press and public”). “Eccentric” indicates anagram. Solution is an anagram of AMERICAN.

32. Lines on child’s foot (8)

Answer: INFANTRY (i.e. “foot” soldiers). Solution is RY (i.e. “lines”, specifically a recognised abbreviation of a railway) placed “on” or after INFANT (i.e. “child”), like so: INFANT-RY. INFANTRYMAN appeared in grid 1598, but I’ll let it slide.

34. Corruptly helping rich to bank smallest amount, duke with impeccable morals? (4-10)

Answer: HIGH-PRINCIPLED (i.e. “with impeccable morals”). Solution is an anagram (indicated by “corruptly”) of HELPING RICH wrapped around or “banking” IP (i.e. “smallest amount”, in this case 1 penny) and followed by D (a recognised abbreviation of “duke”), like so: HIGHPRINC(IP)LE-D.

37. Soothing lotion taken from royal residence for test (4)

Answer: ORAL (i.e. “test”). Solution is BALMORAL (i.e. “royal residence”) with the BALM (i.e. “soothing lotion”) “taken from” it.

38. Reputation British sailors have around east (6)

Answer: RENOWN (i.e. “reputation”). Solution is RN (i.e. “British sailors”, the Royal Navy) and OWN (i.e. “have”) wrapped “around” E (a recognised abbreviation of “east”), like so: R(E)N-OWN.

39. Mugs people in street for an amount to be paid (10)

Answer: ASSESSMENT (i.e. the tax or “amount to be paid”). Solution is ASSES (i.e. “mugs”) followed by MEN (i.e. “people”) once placed “in” ST (a recognised abbreviation of “street”), like so: ASSES-S(MEN)T. Appeared in grid 1590 back in December, also on even intersecting letters, so…

43. EU boss, centrist, in lather with five: is it getting in the way? (15)

Answer: OBSTRUCTIVENESS (i.e. “getting in the way”). Solution is an anagram (indicated by “in lather”) of EU BOSS CENTRIST and V (i.e. “[Roman numeral] five”).

45. Girl crossing mountain to find plant (7)

Answer: VERBENA (i.e. “plant”). Solution is VERA (i.e. “girl’s” name) wrapped around or “crossing” BEN (i.e. Scots or Irish “mountain”), like so: VER(BEN)A. One nailed from the wordplay.

47. Really old man needing time to follow a TV show (4,5)

Answer: SOAP OPERA (i.e. “TV show”). Solution is SO (i.e. “really”) followed by POP (i.e. “old man”, both slang for one’s father) and ERA (i.e. “time”) once these latter two have been placed “following” A, like so: SO-(A-(POP-ERA)).

49. Dave’s outside, sitting in coach to make deal (5-2)

Answer: TRADE-IN (i.e. “deal”). Solution is DE (i.e. “Dave’s outside”, i.e. the first and last letters of “Dave”) “sitting in” TRAIN (i.e. “coach”), like so: TRA(DE)IN.

51. Written in Sanskrit, he takes letter to Greeks (5)

Answer: THETA (i.e. “letter to Greeks”). “Written in” indicates the solution has been hidden in the clue, like so: SANSKRI(T HE TA)KES. Appeared in grid 1605 back in March, also on odd intersecting letters, so…

52. All the musicians having a rhyme for this Little Richard hit? (5,6)

Answer: TUTTI FRUTTI (i.e. “Little Richard hit”). I’m guessing the solution is TUTTI (i.e. “all the musicians” in musical lingo) followed by FRUTTI, “a rhyme for [TUTTI]”. Given the letters of TUTTI are found on the outside of the solution, and that the clue contains the word “having”, I wouldn’t be surprised if I’m missing something clever. Appeared in grid 1575 back in September, and again in grid 1607 only last month, both on odd intersecting letters, so have a double meme…

53. Butler say leading Mrs Barker round cabin? No spacious dwelling (6,5)

Answer: RABBIT HUTCH (i.e. “no spacious dwelling”). Solution is RAB (i.e. “Butler say” – my Bradford’s liked it, but it needed a dip in my Brewer’s to explain why, being “the popular initialism of R.A. Butler (1902-82), Conservative minister of education in the Second World War”. Everyday knowledge, then) followed by BITCH (i.e. “Mrs Barker”, playfully referencing a female dog) once wrapped “round” HUT (i.e. “cabin”), like so: RAB-BIT(HUT)CH.

54. Plant science’s leading character featured in talk (7)

Answer: PARSLEY (i.e. “plant”). Solution is S (i.e. “science’s leading character”, or first letter of “science”) “featured in” PARLEY (i.e. “talk”), like so: PAR(S)LEY.

55. Communist swallowing fish eye (6)

Answer: REGARD (i.e. observe or “eye”). Solution is RED (i.e. “communist”) wrapped around or “swallowing” GAR (a kind of “fish” you often see used in cryptic crosswords, along with ide and ling), like so: RE(GAR)D.

56. Popular female, lightly cooked, died – it’s the radiation (8)

Answer: INFRARED (i.e. “radiation”). Solution is IN (i.e. “popular”) followed by F (a recognised abbreviation of “female”), then RARE (i.e. “lightly cooked”) and D (a recognised abbreviation of “died”). Gruesome and nicely worked!

Down clues

1. Wander like engineers on ship (7)

Answer: DIGRESS (i.e. “wander”). Solution is DIG (i.e. “like”) followed by RE (i.e. “engineers”, specifically the Royal Engineers of the British Army) and SS (i.e. “ship”, short for a steamship).

2. Rhythmic motion for each one – it’s lass dancing! (11)

Answer: PERISTALSIS (i.e. “rhythmic motion” of the alimentary canal). Solution is PER (i.e. “for each”) followed by I (i.e. “[Roman numeral] one”) and an anagram (indicated by “dancing”) of IT’S LASS, like so: PER-I-STALSIS.

3. Terry’s thoroughly at home wearing brief Roman garment (9)

Answer: TOWELLING (i.e. “terry”, a type thereof). Solution is WELL (i.e. “thoroughly”) and IN (i.e. “at home”) both placed in or “wearing” TOGA (i.e. “Roman garment”) once its last letter has been removed (indicated by “brief”), like so: TO(WELL-IN)G.

4. Brick carrier one to ensure patient progress? (9-6)

Answer: STRETCHER-BEARER (i.e. “one to ensure patient progress”). Solution is STRETCHER (i.e. “brick” – one I weirdly remembered from an old Jumbo, this is a brick “laid horizontally with others in the forming of a wall” (Chambers)) followed by BEARER (i.e. “carrier”).

6. King excluding MP from immunity in vigorous action (8)

Answer: EXERTION (i.e. “vigorous action”). Solution is R (i.e. “king”, a recognised abbreviation of the Latin Rex) replacing or “excluding” the “MP” “from” EXEMPTION (i.e. “immunity”), like so: EXE(MP)TION => EXE(R)TION. For a long time my smutty mind couldn’t look past ERECTION, but I… uh… couldn’t get a grip on it.

7. Amusing character all for bear-hugs when sloshed (6,2,6)

Answer: BARREL OF LAUGHS (i.e. “amusing character”). “When sloshed” indicates anagram. Solution is an anagram of ALL FOR BEAR-HUGS. Nicely worked.

8. Lookout killing first crawler (10)

Answer: DEATHWATCH (i.e. “crawler”, apparently a kind of beetle). Solution is WATCH (i.e. “lookout”) with DEATH (i.e. “killing”) placed “first”.

9. Supervision at certain times, or 24-hour protection? (3,4)

Answer: DAY CARE. Solution satisfies “supervision at certain times”, if you take DAY to be the daylight hours, or, playfully, “24-hour protection” if you take DAY to be a period of 24 hours.

10. Dig to cover radioactive metal projecting slightly (5)

Answer: PROUD (i.e. “projecting slightly” from a plane surface). Solution is PROD (i.e. “dig”) wrapped around or “covering” U (i.e. “radioactive metal”, the chemical symbol of Uranium), like so: PRO(U)D.

11. 3D-viewer to see crop circles in southeast (11)

Answer: STEREOSCOPE (i.e. “3D-viewer”). Solution is an anagram (indicated by “circles”) of TO SEE CROP placed “in” SE (a recognised abbreviation of “southeast”), like so: S(TEREOSCOP)E. Another well-worked clue.

12. News boss after party severely punished (8)

Answer: THRASHED (i.e. “severely punished”). Solution is ED (i.e. “news boss”, short for editor) placed “after” THRASH (slang for a “party”, apparently), like so: THRASH-ED.

13. Unclothed English seen after pub (4)

Answer: BARE (i.e. “unclothed”). Solution is E (a recognised abbreviation of “English”) placed “after” BAR (i.e. “pub”), like so: BAR-E.

20. Contemporary army officer embracing Signora Peron? (6)

Answer: COEVAL (i.e. a “contemporary”). Solution is COL (i.e. “army officer”, short for colonel) wrapped around or “embracing”) EVA (i.e. “Signora Peron”), like so: CO(EVA)L.

21. Eastern art fiddle old Parisian chum conceals (7)

Answer: ORIGAMI (i.e. “eastern art”). Solution is RIG (i.e. “fiddle”) placed in or “concealed” by O (a recognised abbreviation of “old”) and AMI (i.e. “Parisian chum”, i.e. the French for “friend”), like so: O-(RIG)-AMI. Another double-repeat, first from grid 1589 back in December and again in March in grid 1604, both intersecting on odd letters, so have yourself another double meme…

22. Stay on putting graduate in control (6)

Answer: REMAIN (i.e. “stay on”). Solution is MA (i.e. “graduate”, specifically a Master of Arts) placed “in” REIN (i.e. “control”), like so: RE(MA)IN.

24. Poor vintner not one in for abstinence on a national scale? (15)

Answer: NONINTERVENTION (i.e. “abstinence on a national scale”, or not getting involved in the affairs of other countries). “Poor” indicates anagram. Solution is an anagram of VINTNER NOT ONE IN. My Chambers has this as a hyphenated word, which is a bit naughty of the setter.

26. Freestyle swimmer seen with tired wife on break (3-2,9)

Answer: ALL-IN WRESTLING (i.e. “freestyle” wrestling). Solution is LING (i.e. “swimmer”, or a type of fish – as mentioned earlier, this is another that is popular with cryptic crossword setters) placed after or “with” ALL-IN (i.e. “tired”), W (a recognised abbreviation of “wife”) and REST (i.e. “break”), like so: (ALL-IN-W-REST)-LING.

27. Outlaw in Paris said to be gang member (6)

Answer: BANDIT (i.e. “gang member”). Solution is BAN (i.e. to “outlaw”) followed by DIT (i.e. “in Paris said”, i.e. the French for “said”). BANDITOS appeared literally two days ago, again on even intersecting letters. I let INFANTRYMAN slide earlier, but won’t this.

29. Scrap by right boxing area in ring? (7)

Answer: ANNULAR (i.e. “ring” shaped). Solution ANNUL (i.e. “scrap”) and R (a recognised abbreviation of “right”) all wrapped around or “boxing” A (a recognised abbreviation of “area”), like so: ANNUL-(A)-R.

31. Emergency primarily concerning river: one in Oxford? (6)

Answer: CRISIS (i.e. “emergency”). Solution is C (i.e. “primarily concerning”, i.e. the first letter of “concerning”) followed by R (a recognised abbreviation of “river”), then ISIS (i.e. “[river] in Oxford”, an alternative name for the Thames).

33. Arsonist needing wood works in compound (11)

Answer: FIRESTARTER (i.e. “arsonist”). Solution is FIR (i.e. tree or “wood”) followed by ART (i.e. “works”) once placed “in” ESTER (i.e. “compound”), like so: FIR-EST(ART)ER.

35. One finding romance? (3,8)

Answer: LIE DETECTOR. Clue plays on “romances” traditionally being works of fiction or wonder, i.e. LIES. You get the idea.

36. An old lady having giggle about mysterious substance (10)

Answer: ANTIMATTER (i.e. “mysterious substance”). Solution is AN followed by MA (i.e. “old lady”, both slang for mother) once placed inside of or “having…about” it TITTER (i.e. “giggle”), like so: AN-TI(MA)TTER.

40. Rake perhaps one betraying revolutionary in Senior Common Room (9)

Answer: SCRATCHER (i.e. “rake perhaps”). Solution is RAT (i.e. “one betraying”) and CHE Guevara (i.e. “revolutionary”) both placed “in” SCR (short for “Senior Common Room”), like so: SC(RAT-CHE)R.

41. Employment found in sweltering work where roofer operates? (8)

Answer: HOUSETOP (i.e. “where roofer operates”). Solution is USE (i.e. “employment”) placed “in” HOT (i.e. “sweltering”) and OP (i.e. “work”, short for “opus”), like so: HO(USE)T-OP.

42. One able to fix broken marriages? (8)

Answer: REPAIRER (i.e. “one able to fix”). The clue also plays on “marriages” being PAIRS, and one fixing a broken marriage could be said to be a RE-PAIRER. Another I rather liked.

44. 150 – very old without doubt (7)

Answer: CLEARLY (i.e. “without doubt”). Solution is CL (i.e. “150” in Roman numerals) followed by EARLY (i.e. “very old”).

46. Ace assaulted and embarrassed (7)

Answer: ABASHED (i.e. “embarrassed”). Solution is A (a recognised abbreviation of “ace” used on playing cards) followed by BASHED (i.e. “assaulted”).

48. Four? Five? All regularly seen in window (5)

Answer: ORIEL (i.e. a type of “window”). “Regularly” indicates the solution is derived from every other letter of FOUR FIVE ALL. ORIEL WINDOW appeared in grid 1562 back in June, but this is sufficiently different to let slide.

50. Flower at first looks black in central Greece (4)

Answer: ELBE (i.e. “flower”, in this case a major river of Europe, as in how a river flows). Solution is L (i.e. “at first looks”, i.e. the first letter of “looks”) and B (a recognised abbreviation of “black” used in chess) both placed “in” EE (i.e. “central [letters of] Greece”), like so: E(L-B)E.