Times Jumbo Cryptic Crossword 1632

Bank Holiday Monday’s Jumbo was a relatively straightforward affair. There were a handful of pinch points, but nothing too much to grumble about.

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 pulled your pants down then you might find my Just For Fun page of use, where you’ll find links to solutions for hundreds of the things.

Thanks for the kind words ‘pon my return. Still catching up, so I’ll be back with another post shortlyish. Till then, laters taters.

LP

RBV (Repeats-By-Volume): 9.7%

Across clues

1. Very much allowed to go to alternative provider of legal services (9)

Answer: SOLICITOR (i.e. “provider of legal services”). Solution is SO (i.e. “very much”) followed by LICIT (i.e. “allowed”) and OR (i.e. “alternative”).

6. Removes mention of prospector’s successes (7)

Answer: STRIKES. Solution satisfies “removes mention of” and “prospector’s successes”, as in striking it rich.

10. Occult behaviour in women’s group account backed (5)

Answer: WICCA (i.e. “occult behaviour”, another word for witchcraft). Solution is WI (i.e. “women’s group”, in this case the Women’s Institute) followed by ACC (a recognised abbreviation of “account”) once the latter has been reversed (indicated by “backed”), like so: WI-CCA.

13. Financial assessor reduced concrete supplied to railway (7)

Answer: ACTUARY (i.e. “financial assessor” in insurance). Solution is ACTUAL (i.e. “concrete”) with its last letter removed (indicated by “reduced”) and the remainder followed by RY (a recognised abbreviation of “railway”), like so: ACTUA-RY.

14. Barely securing last place in judo tournament (5)

Answer: JOUST (i.e. “tournament”). Solution is JUST (i.e. “barely”) wrapped around or “securing” O (i.e. “last place in judo”, i.e. the last letter of “judo”), like so: J(O)UST.

15. Sad phase I encountered in each US state (9)

Answer: ELEGIACAL (i.e. “sad”). Solution is LEG (i.e. “phase”) and I both placed “in” EA (a recognised abbreviation of “each”) and CAL (i.e. “US state”, short for California), like so: E(LEG-I)A-CAL.

16. Offer to participate in facilitating bowler’s participation in boxing? (5,4,3,4,3,4)

Answer: THROW ONE’S HAT INTO THE RING (i.e. “offer to participate”). The remainder of the clue plays on “bowlers” being a type of HAT and “boxers” duking it out in a RING.

17. Sea creature? Quiet – disturbed part of sea is home to millions (6)

Answer: SHRIMP (i.e. “sea creature”). Solution is SH (i.e. “quiet”) and RIP (i.e. “disturbed part of sea”) all wrapped around or being “home to” M (a recognised abbreviation of “millions”), like so: SH-RI(M)P.

18. Half-hearted physician with weapon (8)

Answer: LUKEWARM (i.e. “half-hearted”). Solution is Saint LUKE (i.e. “physician”, apparently. One for the God-squadders) followed by W (a recognised abbreviation of “with”) and ARM (i.e. “weapon”).

19. Competent secretary blocking radio message (7)

Answer: CAPABLE (i.e. “competent”). Solution is PA (i.e. “secretary” or Personal Assistant) placed in or “blocking” CABLE (i.e. “radio message”), like so: CA(PA)BLE. Appeared in grid 1595 back in January, also on odd intersecting letters, so…

22. Second rune translated in full (10)

Answer: UNCENSORED (i.e. “in full”). “Translated” indicates anagram. Solution is an anagram of SECOND RUNE.

23. Man in royal office replaced printer cable (6,6)

Answer: PRINCE ALBERT (i.e. “man in royal office”). “Replaced” indicates anagram. Solution is an anagram of PRINTER CABLE.

27. Medic describing their patients is a bore (5)

Answer: DRILL (i.e. “a bore”). Solution is DR (i.e. “medic”, specifically a recognised abbreviation of “doctor”) followed by ILL (i.e. “describing [a doctor’s] patients”). Appeared in grid 1598 in February and also in grid 1625 in July, on odd intersecting letters on all occasions, so have a double meme…

In fact, much the same clue for DRILL was used on each occasion:
– “Physician heal thyself!” we might thus infer is the instruction (grid 1598)
– Bore medic with symptoms (grid 1625)
Disappointing.

29. Daughter put out about old Queen’s flaw (7)

Answer: DEMERIT (i.e. “flaw”). Solution is D (a recognised abbreviation of “daughter”) followed by EMIT (i.e. “put out”) once wrapped “about” ER (i.e. “old Queen”, specifically Elizaberh Regina), like so: D-EM(ER)IT.

30. Following London style, perhaps, welcoming King in eagerness (8)

Answer: ALACRITY (i.e. “eagerness”). Solution is A LA CITY (i.e. “following London style, perhaps” – “a la” meaning “in the manner of”) wrapped around or “welcoming” R (i.e. “king”, specifically a recognised abbreviation of the Latin Rex), like so: A-LA-C(R)ITY.

32. One mill at work, filled with high-class floor covering (8)

Answer: LINOLEUM (i.e. “floor covering”). Solution is an anagram (indicated by “at work”) wrapped around or “filled with” U (i.e. “high-class” – U is often a recognised abbreviation of the upper class, at least within cryptic crosswords), like so: LINOLE(U)M.

34. Passing through place after one has disembarked from coach (7)

Answer: TRANSIT (i.e. “passing through”). Solution is SIT (i.e. “place”) put “after” TRAIN (i.e. “coach”) once the I has been removed (indicated by “[Roman numeral] one has disembarked from…”), like so: TRAN-SIT.

36. Compulsion to ditch uniform or other clothes (5)

Answer: DRESS (i.e. “clothes”). Solution is DURESS (i.e. “compulsion”) with the U removed (indicated by “to ditch uniform” – “uniform” being U in the phonetic alphabet).

39. Port sensibly distributed seafood (5,7)

Answer: SPINY LOBSTER (i.e. “seafood”). “Distributed” indicates anagram. Solution is an anagram of PORT SENSIBLY. Nicely worked.

41. Bad weather in spring mostly does for attachment to mill (10)

Answer: WATERWHEEL (i.e. “attachment to mill”). Solution is an anagram (indicated by “bad”) of WEATHER placed “in” WELL (i.e. “spring”) once its last letter has been removed (indicated by “mostly”), like so: W(ATERWHE)EL.

44. Poet, borderline dreadful, seen around University (7)

Answer: Arthur RIMBAUD (i.e. “poet” – straight to Bradford’s for this one, and with nary a hint of shame. Why? Because “poet” is a nothingburger clue, like “plant” or “port”; a clue where there are simply too many solutions for solvers to reasonably know. Are such clues valid? Of course, but when have they ever been fun? When was the last time you felt enriched by the solution? Which is why you should never feel guilty about being a big cheating bastard, like me. To their credit, most setters – this week’s included – sensibly keep the number of nothingburgers to a minimum, but it doesn’t stop them being a pain in the arse). Solution is RIM (i.e. a “borderline”) and BAD (i.e. “dreadful”) all wrapped “around” U (a recognised abbreviation of “university”), like so: RIM-BA(U)D.

46. Seasonal flower I left out in the wind (8)

Answer: EASTERLY (i.e. “wind”). Solution is EASTER (i.e. “season”) followed by LILY (i.e. “flower”) once the I and L have been removed (indicated by “I left out” – L being a recognised abbreviation of “left”), like so: EASTER-LY.

48. Settlement overseas an unknown quantity after interruption to sentence? (6)

Answer: COLONY (i.e. “settlement overseas”). Solution is Y (i.e. “an unknown quantity” – setters love referring to X, Y or Z in solutions as unknowns) placed “after” COLON (i.e. a ‘:’ or “interruption to sentence”), like so: COLON-Y.

50. Collection of clocks from across the country and across the years? (8,8,7)

Answer: NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY. Clue plays on “clocks” being a slang word for faces. The rest pretty much slots into place after that.

53. Timekeeper encountered refusal to break into capital (9)

Answer: METRONOME (i.e. “timekeeper”). Solution is MET (i.e. “encountered”) followed by NO (i.e. “refusal”) once placed in or “breaking into” ROME (i.e. “capital”), like so: MET-RO(NO)ME.

54. Old Duke getting worried by another Duke (5)

Answer: DATED (i.e. “old”). Solution is D (a recognised abbreviation of “duke”) followed by ATE (i.e. “worried”) and D (a recognised abbreviation of “duke”, again).

55. A good hit? Democrat gratified (7)

Answer: TOUCHED (i.e. “gratified”). Solution is TOUCHÉ (i.e. “a good hit”) followed by D (a recognised abbreviation of “Democrat”).

56. No good straddling beam? On the contrary, very leggy (5)

Answer: RANGY (i.e. “very leggy”). Solution is N (a recognised abbreviation of “no”) and G (ditto “good”) both placed in (the opposite of “straddling”, as indicated by “on the contrary”) RAY (i.e. “beam”), like so: RA(N-G)Y.

57. Warmer weather, mostly in the centre (7)

Answer: THERMOS (i.e. “warmer” – I’d disagree. A Thermos reduces heat loss from its contents, but I don’t think it actively warms). “In the centre” indicates the solution has been hidden in the clue, like so: WEA(THER MOS)TLY.

58. Face recent backtracking about chapter covering local language (9)

Answer: DIALECTAL (i.e. “covering local language”). Solution is DIAL (i.e. a clock “face”) followed by LATE (i.e. “recent”) once reversed (indicated by “backtracking”) and wrapped “about” C (a recognised abbreviation of “chapter”), like so: DIAL-E(C)TAL.

Down clues

1. Viewpoint from street about computer network (5)

Answer: SLANT (i.e. “viewpoint”). Solution is ST (a recognised abbreviation of “street”) wrapped “about” LAN (i.e. “computer network”, specifically a Local Area Network), like so: S(LAN)T.

2. Assessment of artistic content: lyric items missing English criteria, sadly (8,9)

Answer: LITERARY CRITICISM (i.e. “assessment of artistic content”). Solution is an anagram (indicated by “sadly”) of LYRIC ITEMS and CRITERIA once one of the Es has been removed (indicated by “missing English” – E being a recognised abbreviation of English).

3. One who did without, swamped with delight on getting a note (9)

Answer: CHARWOMAN. Solution is W/O (a recognised abbreviation of “without”) placed in or “swamped with” CHARM (i.e. to “delight”). This is all then followed by A and N (a recognised abbreviation of “note”), like so: CHAR(W/O)M-A-N. That leaves “one who did” left. Is that sufficient to get you CHARWOMAN? Really? Pfff, my arse.

4. Work in the justice system is causing stress (6)

Answer: TRYING. Solution satisfies “work in the justice system” and “causing stress”. Appeared in grid 1607 back in April, also on odd intersecting letters, so…

5. UK’s juries with two months to reform Dutch institution (11)

Answer: RIJKSMUSEUM (i.e. “Dutch institution”). Solution is an anagram (indicated by “to reform”) of UK’S JURIES along with MM (i.e. “two months”, M being a recognised abbreviation of a “month”).

6. Special forces holding operation leading to snags down under? (8)

Answer: SAUSAGES (i.e. “snags down under” – apparently a snag is an Aussie slang word for a sausage). Solution is SAS (i.e. “special forces”, specifically the Special Air Service) wrapped around or “holding” USAGE (i.e. “operation”), like so: SA(USAGE)S.

7. Soaks at home with a drink (7)

Answer: RETSINA (i.e. “drink”). Solution is RETS (i.e. “soaks”) followed by IN (i.e. “at home”) and A.

8. Disorder for which you must take something (11)

Answer: KLEPTOMANIA. Solution satisfies the clue as a whole.

9. Group seizing power, with line in excellent pageantry (9)

Answer: SPECTACLE (i.e. “pageantry”). Solution is SECT (i.e. “group”) wrapped around or “seizing” P (a recognised abbreviation of “power”). This is then followed by L (a recognised abbreviation of “line”) once placed “in” ACE (i.e. “excellent”), like so: S(P)ECT-AC(L)E. Appeared in grid 1611 back in April, also on odd intersecting letters, so…

10. Auditor’s correct over completed report (5-2)

Answer: WRITE-UP (i.e. “report”). Solution is a homophone (indicated by “auditor’s”) of RIGHT (i.e. “correct”) followed by UP (i.e. “completed”).

11. Congreve’s initial opening scenes: they are naturally juicy! (5)

Answer: CACTI (i.e. “they are naturally juicy”). Solution is C (i.e. “Congreve’s initial”, i.e. the first letter of “Congreve”) followed by ACT I (i.e. “opening scenes” of a play).

12. Everyone is sorry to lose right to musical direction (10)

Answer: ALLEGRETTO (i.e. “musical direction”, somewhat brisk). Solution is ALL (i.e. “everyone”) followed by REGRET (i.e. “is sorry” – would that not be REGRETS?) once the R has been removed (indicated by “to lose right” – R being a recognised abbreviation of “right”). This is all then followed by TO, like so: ALL-EGRET-TO.

17. Sergeant’s foremost one of four in troop (5)

Answer: SQUAD (i.e. “troop”). Solution is S (i.e. “sergeant’s foremost” letter) followed by QUAD (i.e. “one of four”).

20. Traveller’s tale of experiences, maybe: “… then to Aberdeen and the upset” (4,5,4,4)

Answer: BEEN THERE DONE THAT (i.e. “traveller’s tale of experiences, maybe”). “Upset” indicates anagram. Solution is an anagram of THEN TO ABERDEEN THE.

21. Diamonds in Dorset resort? One follows the rich, perhaps (6)

Answer: POODLE (i.e. “one follows the rich, perhaps”). Solution is D (a recognised abbreviation of “diamonds” used in some card games) placed “in” POOLE (i.e. “Dorset resort”), like so: POO(D)LE.

24. Sailor spinning brown cane (6)

Answer: RATTAN (i.e. “cane”). Solution is TAR (i.e. informal term for a “sailor”) reversed (indicated by “spinning”) and followed by TAN (i.e. “brown”), like so: RAT-TAN.

25. Sensational attraction closing early one day (5)

Answer: LURID (i.e. “sensational”). Solution is LURE (i.e. “attraction”) with its last letter removed (indicated by “closing early”) and the remainder followed by I (i.e. “[Roman numeral] one”) and D (a recognised abbreviation of “day”), like so: LUR-I-D.

26. Twist horse being shoved into pen (6)

Answer: WRITHE (i.e. “twist”). Solution is H (i.e. “horse”, both slang for heroin) placed “into” WRITE (i.e. to “pen”), like so: WRIT(H)E.

28. Returned fund with unknown amount without reason (5)

Answer: LOOPY (i.e. “without reason”). Solution is POOL (i.e. “fund”) reversed (indicated by “returned”) and followed by Y (i.e. “unknown”, already covered earlier), like so: LOOP-Y.

31. Mike supporting articles identifying emotional song (6)

Answer: ANTHEM (i.e. “emotional song”). Solution is M (“Mike” in the phonetic alphabet) placed after or “supporting” – this being a down clue – AN and THE (both “articles”), like so: (AN-THE)-M.

33. Mother’s carrying second dessert: cake without filling, a wonderful creation (11)

Answer: MASTERPIECE (i.e. “a wonderful creation”). Solution is MATER (i.e. “mother”) wrapped around or “carrying” S (a recognised abbreviation of “second”) and followed by PIE (i.e. “dessert”) and CE (i.e. “cake without filling”, i.e. the word “cake” with all its middle letters removed), like so: MA(S)TER-PIE-CE. Appeared in grid 1586 back in November, also on odd intersecting letters, so…

35. Petty document written up about shops actually overlooking latest in evidence (5-6)

Answer: SMALL-MINDED (i.e. “petty”). Solution is MS (i.e. “document”, specifically a recognised abbreviation of “manuscript”) reversed (indicated by “up” – this being a down clue) and wrapped “about” MALL (i.e. “shops”). This is all then followed by INDEED (i.e. “actually”) once one of the Es has been removed (indicated by “overlooking latest in evidence”, or the last letter of “evidence”), like so: S(MALL)M-INDED.

37. Pen penning a line with wit (5)

Answer: SALTY (i.e. “with wit”). Solution is STY (i.e. animal “pen”) wrapped around or “penning” A and L (a recognised abbreviation of “line”), like so: S(A-L)TY.

38. Lunar expert? Moore, television’s ultimate star, possibly (10)

Answer: ASTRONOMER (i.e. “lunar expert”). Solution is an anagram (indicated by “possibly”) of MOORE, N (i.e. “television’s ultimate” letter) and STAR.

40. Amount, say – a distinctive figure (3,3,3)

Answer: ODD MAN OUT (i.e. “a distinctive figure”). The first half of the clue plays on how the solution cryptically satisfies “amount”, being an anagram (indicated by ODD) of MAN OUT. Nicely done.

42. Court custom involving elevation of ancient crustacean (9)

Answer: WOODLOUSE (i.e. “crustacean”). Solution is WOO (i.e. to “court”) and USE (i.e. “custom”) all wrapped around or “involving” OLD (i.e. “ancient”) once reversed (indicated by “elevation of” – this being a down clue), like so: WOO-(DLO)-USE.

43. Source of debris, it’s true, scattered? (8)

Answer: DETRITUS (i.e. “debris…scattered”). Solution is D (i.e. “source of debris”, i.e. the first letter of “debris”) followed by an anagram (indicated by “scattered”) of IT’S TRUE, like so: D-ETRITUS.

45. A chap playing sport ignoring United? A very poor example (7)

Answer: APOLOGY (i.e. “a very poor example”). Solution is A POLO GUY (i.e. “a chap playing sport”) once the U has been removed (indicated by “ignoring United” – U being a recognised abbreviation of “united”).

47. Reversed approaches keeping French in slavery (7)

Answer: SERFDOM (i.e. “slavery”). Solution is MODES (i.e. “approaches”) wrapped around or “keeping” FR (a recognised abbreviation of “French”). This is all then “reversed”, like so: SE(RF)DOM.

49. Detective writer’s cry of discovery, holding label up (6)

Answer: AGATHA Christie (i.e. “detective writer”). Solution is AHA! (i.e. “cry of discovery”) wrapped around or “holding” TAG (i.e. “label”) once reversed (indicated by “up” – this being a down clue), like so: A(GAT)HA.

51. Giant upset at puncturing metal (5)

Answer: TITAN (i.e. “giant”). Solution is AT reversed (indicated by “upset”, again this being a down clue) and placed in or “puncturing” TIN (i.e. “metal”), like so: TI(TA)N.

52. Alpine herder’s call – way to lead cattle uphill, ultimately (5)

Answer: YODEL (i.e. “alpine herder’s call”). “Ultimately” indicates the solution is derived from the last letters of WAY TO LEAD CATTLE UPHILL.