In contrast to the last Jumbo I blogged on (1039), I thought this one was at the easier end of the scale, taking me 16 minutes.
As usual, * indicates an anagram.
| Across |
| 1 | ACROPOLIS - A CROP, + silo (reversed) |
| 6 | CRAFTSMANSHIP - MAN'S after RAFTS, surrounded by CHIP |
| 13 | ADEPT - hidden in sofT-PEDAlling, reversed |
| 14 | CLAIRVOYANT - (actor vainly)* |
| 15 | GENRE - R (first letter of rain) in GENE. A nice reference to the film 'Singing in the Rain' |
| 16 | ELEPHANTINE - double definition. The first part refers to the song 'Nellie the Elephant' (all together, now - '...packed her trunk and said goodbye to the circus...') |
| 17 | PREDOMINATE - PRATE, around mode (reversed) + IN |
| 18 | ISRAELI - (fair isle)*, minus 'f'. I'm a little unsure as to why an Israeli would necessarily be a 'faithful' inhabitant, though. |
| 20 | HISTORY - HI + STORY (relation in the sense of relating a tale/story) |
| 21 | OCULIST - IS in Old CULT |
| 23 | IN THE FULLNESS OF TIME - (infuse menthol itself)* |
| 27 | SOB - SO + Bowhead |
| 28 | NORMAL - NORMA + L |
| 29 | BUMPER - double definition |
| 31 | BRASSERIE - wRASSE in BRIE |
| 34 | BLINDFOLD - LIND + F, in BOLD |
| 35 | REGAIN - REIN, around G + A |
| 36 | MANIAC - MA, + Cain (reversed) |
|
| 39 | USE - US + E |
40 | POLLY PUT THE KETTLE ON - cryptic indication, referring to the nursery rhyme | | 42 | DUSTMAN - DUST (defined by 'cover with only a little') + MAN |
| 43 | CHINOOK - O + O, in CHINK (CHINOOK is maybe better known in the UK as a model of helicopter, but it's also a type of wind in North America) |
| 45 | TERRACE - TRACE around ER; 'domestic row' defines a TERRACE of houses |
| 47 | RE-EMERGENCE - RedEEMER + GEN + CE |
| 49 | SHADOW PRICE - (hospice ward)*. I hadn't come across the term SHADOW PRICE before, but it's given in Chambers and other standard dictionaries |
| 51 | UNION - bUNION |
| 52 | EVEN-STEVENS - EVE + N + STEVEN + S |
| 53 | ARENA - (an era), reversed |
| 54 | SMELLING SALTS - M in SELLING, + SALES with T replacing E |
| 55 | YESTERDAY - (redates)*, surrounded by Y + Y |
| Down |
| 1 | ACADEMICIAN - (a manic idea)* around C (the symbol for the speed of light) |
| 2 | ROE DEER - sounds like 'rode', + E'ER |
| 3 | PITCH - PIT + CromlecH |
| 4 | LICENTIOUS - (client)* + IOUS |
| 5 | SLAVISH - SLASH around V I |
| 6 | CARPET SWEEPER - PETS WEEP in CARER |
| 7 | AMORPHOUS - AMOROUS outside PH |
| 8 | TRACERY - TRY around ACER |
| 9 | METROPOLITAN - (Ottoman peril)* |
| 10 | NEGRITUDE - (Intrigued)* |
| 11 | HENNA - cHENNAi. CHENNAI is the modern name for Madras |
| 12 | PRESENTABLE - PRESENT, + B in ALE |
| 19 | EMERALD - RA, in E (key of E) + MELD |
| 22 | IN SERVICE - IN (at the crease, in cricket) + SERVICE (opening ball in a tennis rally) |
| 24 | TARDINESS - TAR + DINES + S |
| 25 | LAUNDRY - L + A + UNDRY. If something is wet it could be described as 'un-dry' |
| 26 | FEBRILE - FE (Fe is chemical symbol for iron) + Bround + RILE |
| 30 | RIGHTEOUSNESS - (this generous)* + S |
| 32 | SHATTER - hidden in cruSH AT TERminal |
| 33 | BOWLING GREEN - BOW (to BOW = to yield) + LING + GREEN (sage green) |
| 34 | BLUNDERBUSS - BLUNDERS, around sub (reversed) |
| 37 | CONFEDERACY - CON + FED + E, + RACY (indicated by 'blue', i.e. somewhat indecent) |
| 38 | PENTHOUSES - THOU + SEe, in PENS |
| 40 | PIMPERNEL - double definition; reference is to the fictional character, the Scarlet Pimpernel |
| 41 | UNIVERSAL - UNI (short for university), + (reveals)* without one letter 'e' |
| 43 | CONKERS - sounds like 'conquers' |
| 44 | 'KNAVERY - Y, after K + N + AVER |
| 46 | ANISEED - DeliA, + IS in NEED |
| 48 | ELITE - E + LITE |
| 50 | PLACE - PLACEt. A PLACET is a 'yes' vote by, e.g., a governing body etc. |