Hello everyone. I hope you are well.
A gentle giant, perfect for a dozy blogger, and I hope you enjoyed it too. Thanks to the setter.
Definitions are underlined in the clues below. In the explanations, quoted indicators are in italics, explicit [deletions] are in square brackets, and I’ve capitalised and emboldened letters which appear in the ANSWER.
| Across | |
| 1 | Yatter with Marciano, missing the first lot of nonsense (11) |
| JABBERWOCKY — JABBER (yatter) + W (with) + rOCKY (Marciano) missing the first letter | |
| 7 | Lively spirit of new girl initially entering top set? (11) |
| POLTERGEIST — An anagram of (new) GIRL E TOP SET, the E coming from the first letter of (initially) Entering | |
| 13 | Some who gather intelligence about ancient city’s papal court (5) |
| CURIA — CIA (some who gather intelligence) around (about) UR (ancient city) | |
| 14 | Advance publicity identifying towed vehicle (7) |
| TRAILER — A double definition | |
| 15 | Way unhealthy existence is presented in painting (5,4) |
| STILL LIFE — A charade of ST (way), ILL (unhealthy), and LIFE (existence) | |
| 16 | Parliamentarian and German ambassador in centre of thoroughfare (9) |
| ROUNDHEAD — UND (and, German) and HE (ambassador, His Excellency) in the middle of (in centre of) ROAD (thoroughfare) | |
| 17 | Composer‘s work regularly decried by Times is in German (10) |
| OPERETTIST — OP (work) + alternate letters of (regularly) dEcRiEd + TT (times, two of T = time) + IST (is, in German) | |
| 20 | Races into san for treatment (7) |
| NATIONS — INTO SAN is to be anagrammed (for treatment) | |
| 22 | One sticks publicity in this place, then runs! (7) |
| ADHERER — AD (publicity) + HERE (in this place), then R (runs) | |
| 24 | More like Parker, holding one to be more rowdy (7) |
| NOISIER — NOSIER (more like Parker, a nosey parker) containing (holding) I (one) | |
| 25 | Preprandial drink? A healthy traveller returns to secure one (8) |
| APERITIF — A (from the clue), then the combination of FIT (healthy) and REP (traveller) is written backwards (returns) containing (to secure) I (one) | |
| 26 | A friend mostly ensures his confounded lack of professionalism (14) |
| AMATEURISHNESS — A (from the clue) and MATe (friend) without the last letter (mostly), followed by an anagram of (… confounded) ENSURES HIS | |
| 28 | Fellow soldier holding head of rifleman’s dog (5) |
| CORGI — CO (fellow) and GI (soldier) holding the first letter of (head of) Rifleman | |
| 29 | Follower in Paris that stops overthrow of the French (6) |
| SEQUEL — QUE (in Paris, that) goes inside (stops) the reversal of (overthrow of) LES (the, French) | |
| 30 | Propose shortly to engage priest’s first server? (10) |
| TABLESPOON — TABLE (propose) + SOON (shortly) containing (to engage) Priest’s first letter | |
| 33 | Criticise attempt by Monsieur to help serving-girl (10) |
| PANTRYMAID — PAN (criticise) + TRY (attempt) by M (Monsieur) + AID (to help) | |
| 35 | Eats most of Latvian meat loaf (6) |
| HASLET — HAS (eats) + all but the last letter of (most of) LETt (Latvian) | |
| 37 | Actual bodily harm soldiers are repelled by (5) |
| ABHOR — ABH (actual bodily harm) + OR (soldiers, other ranks) | |
| 39 | It’s confused with a self-trained early US Democrat (4-10) |
| ANTI-FEDERALIST — IT is anagrammed together with (‘s confused with) A SELF–TRAINED | |
| 41 | Prisoner‘s girl entertaining Greek character at home (8) |
| DETAINEE — DEE (girl) around (entertaining) ETA (Greek character) and IN (at home) | |
| 44 | A superior partner in crime? (7) |
| ABETTER — A (from the clue) + BETTER (superior) | |
| 45 | Page allowed to produce handbill (7) |
| LEAFLET — LEAF (page) + LET (allowed) | |
| 46 | Patient old American’s description of cheese? (7) |
| CASEOUS — CASE (patient) + O (old) + US (American) | |
| 47 | Possible priest‘s diatribe after short skirts start to tantalise (10) |
| MINISTRANT — RANT (diatribe) after MINIS (short skirts) and the first letter of (start to) Tantalise | |
| 49 | Having little money, delay disposing of minute creepy-crawly (9) |
| CENTIPEDE — CENT (little money) + I[m]PEDE (delay) without (disposing of) M (minute) | |
| 53 | Oscar managed to obtain tiny amount for a butterfly (6-3) |
| ORANGE-TIP — O (Oscar) + RAN (managed) + GET (to obtain) + IP (tiny amount, 1p) | |
| 54 | Tourist, one rewarding waiter outside front of restaurant? (7) |
| TRIPPER — TIPPER (one rewarding waiter) around (outside) the first letter of (front of) Restaurant | |
| 55 | Craze involving painter’s electrical unit (5) |
| FARAD — FAD (craze) containing (involving) RA (painter, Royal Academician) | |
| 56 | Potter’s spicy dish initially upgraded for area in frantic haste (5-6) |
| HURRY-SCURRY — H[a]RRY’S (Potter’s) + CURRY (spicy dish) with the first letter of (initially) Upgraded in place of (for) A (area). I think this also works with the answer a verb and the “in” a link work instead of being part of the definition | |
| 57 | Uninvited guest consumed bacon outside clubs after midnight (11) |
| GATECRASHER — ATE (consumed) + RASHER (bacon) around (outside) C (clubs), all after G (mid-niGht) | |
| Down | |
| 1 | Judge with an estate, perhaps, and a flowering tree (9) |
| JACARANDA — J (judge) next to (with) A CAR (an estate) + AND A (from the clue) | |
| 2 | Misdirect effort, as 28 across might when pursuing 27? (4,2,3,5,4) |
| BARK UP THE WRONG TREE — Something a corgi (28a) might do when pursuing a squirrel (27d) | |
| 3 | With style and vigour, start to describe African ungulate (5) |
| ELAND — ÉLAN (style and vigour) + the first letter of (start to) Describe | |
| 4 | Thin shrew is moving anticlockwise (11) |
| WITHERSHINS — THIN SHREW IS, anagrammed (moving). I think now that I have heard this word in the dim and distant past but I had forgotten it, so it took some letter-juggling | |
| 5 | Prince received by key academic from ancient Babylonian region (8) |
| CHALDEAN — HAL (Prince) inside (received by) C (key) and DEAN (academic). My first thought was the theatre director Hal Prince, but there’s also Prince Hal | |
| 6 | Cry out in pain and violently attack singer (12) |
| YELLOWHAMMER — YELL OW (cry out in pain) and HAMMER (violently attack) | |
| 7 | Inflict charge for each domestic animal first (10) |
| PERPETRATE — RATE (charge), with PER (for each) and PET (domestic animal) first | |
| 8 | Car leaves Cumbrian city, getting strong cotton fabric (5) |
| LISLE — CAR is removed from (leaves) [car]LISLE (Cumbrian city) | |
| 9 | Like being former partner, one taking unruly Latin set (11) |
| EXISTENTIAL — EX (former partner) + I (one), next to (taking) an anagram of (unruly) LATIN SET | |
| 10 | Good metalworker hugging elderly Irish writer (9) |
| GOLDSMITH — G (good) and SMITH (metalworker) around (hugging) OLD (elderly) | |
| 11 | Bird lives in the same place overhead (4) |
| IBIS — IS (lives), with IB (in the same place, ib.) above (overhead) | |
| 12 | Start to tour border? Not us! (4) |
| THEM — The first letter of (start to) Tour + HEM (border) | |
| 18 | Be attracted exclusively to extraterrestrial objects? Very strange! (4,7,2,5) |
| LIKE NOTHING ON EARTH — The first part of the clue gives a possible literal interpretation of the phrase | |
| 19 | Convict — one forcing open safe just after entering? (8) |
| PRISONER — PRISER (one forcing open), with ON (just after) going inside (entering) | |
| 21 | Twist taking in current actor? (7) |
| OLIVIER — OLIVER (Twist) containing (taking in) I (current) | |
| 23 | Extremely rare posh fur designed for repeated wear (8) |
| REUSABLE — The outer letters of (extremely) RarE, U (posh), and SABLE (fur) | |
| 27 | Tree creature landowner observed crossing river and lake (8) |
| SQUIRREL — SQUIRE (landowner) is seen going around (crossing) R (river) and followed by L (lake) | |
| 28 | Vehicle carrying old map on the same flat surface (8) |
| COPLANAR — CAR (vehicle) containing (carrying) O (old) and PLAN (map) | |
| 31 | Home Counties singer consuming a marine fish (3,4) |
| SEA BASS — SE (Home Counties) + BASS (singer) containing (consuming) A (from the clue) | |
| 32 | Sensitivity pivotal at first in cutting such din? (3-9) |
| EAR-SPLITTING — EAR (sensitivity), then the initial letter of (… at first) Pivotal goes in SLITTING (cutting) | |
| 34 | Avant-garde disc with no merit, unfortunately (11) |
| MODERNISTIC — DISC with NO MERIT anagrammed (unfortunately) | |
| 36 | New English choir, etc, digesting books focused on God (11) |
| THEOCENTRIC — An anagram of (new) E (English) CHOIR ETC containing (digesting) NT (books) | |
| 38 | Friendly remark of Liberal visiting simple country folk (10) |
| PLEASANTRY — L (Liberal) inside (visiting) PEASANTRY (simple country folk) | |
| 40 | Suitably affected by pins and needles after nasty turn (9) |
| FITTINGLY — TINGLY (affected by pins and needles) after FIT (nasty turn) | |
| 42 | Possible Londoner‘s aim to get involved in festival (4,5) |
| EAST ENDER — END (aim) inside (to get involved in) EASTER (festival) | |
| 43 | Cooking vessel right to be removed from Gt Manchester town (8) |
| STOCKPOT — R (right) to be removed from STOCKPO[r]T (Gt Manchester town) | |
| 48 | Hoofed mammal Irish man or woman raised first (5) |
| TAPIR — IR (Irish), with PAT (man or woman) reversed (raised, in a down answer) first | |
| 50 | Lacking energy, conclude article below (5) |
| INFRA — Without E (lacking energy), INF[e]R (conclude) + A (article) | |
| 51 | Drama involving squadron leader’s fare (4) |
| NOSH — NOH (drama) containing (involving) the first letter (leader) of Squadron | |
| 52 | Average king’s sixth wife? Something fishy here (4) |
| PARR — PAR (average) + R (king) | |
Edited at 2020-05-30 07:07 pm (UTC)