Quick Cryptic no 2895 by Trelawney

Author   Cedric StatherbyPosted on Categories Quick Cryptic

Good morning all, and we have a fairly gentle puzzle from Trelawney to entertain us today.  A couple of clues held me up and required a bit more thought, but I still reached the finishing line in a sprightly (for me) 9:06.

There are a couple of film-connected pieces of GK which might escape anyone who last went to the cinema in the last century, but other than that I think this is an excellent example of a puzzle that eschews obscure words, knowledge which is more specialist than generalist and unusual wordplay techniques, but nevertheless manages to entertain.  In other words, a very good QC, and if you have a friend or relative you wish to introduce cryptic crosswords to this weekend, this might be just the one to start them on.

So thank you Trelawney.  How did everyone else get on?

Definitions underlined in bold italics, (abc)* indicates an anagram of abc, and strike-through-text shows deletions.

Across
1 Greek character assesses joint for Jack Sparrow’s vessel, say (6,4)
PIRATE SHIP – PI (Greek character) + RATES (assesses) + HIP (joint).  And very nice to see PI not clued as an abbreviation for pious, for a change.

Captain Jack Sparrow was the pirate captain in the 2003 film “Pirates of the Caribbean”, so his vessel was a pirate ship.  The film was a huge success for both Disney, who made it, and Johnny Depp, who played Sparrow, and over the next 14 years or so spawned no less than 4 sequels.
8 Wander street, then go round and round (6)
STROLL – ST (street) + ROLL (go round and round).
9 Piece of yarn earl yanked, just about (6)
NEARLY – A hidden, in yarN EARL Yanked, with the hidden indicator being “piece of”.  One might quibble that “nearly” suggests “not quite” rather than “just about”, but the meanings are “just about” the same.
10 Writer’s project regularly displayed (4)
POET – Every other letter of PrOjEcT, indicated by “regularly displayed”.
11 With great delight, attach video game controller (8)
JOYSTICK – JOY (great delight) + STICK (attach, as in attach with eg glue).  Video games with hand-held controllers and joysticks feel somewhat dated now: these days most games seem to be played on people’s phones.
12 Right, leave the plane quickly, loser! (6)
REJECT – R (right) + EJECT (leave the plane quickly, ie via the ejector seat).  Again one might quibble that “reject” and “loser” are not exact synonyms, but Trelawney’s intention is clear enough.
14 So tube is moving slow? (6)
OBTUSE – (so tube)*, with the anagram indicator being “is moving”.  Slow as in slow of mind, slow-witted.
16 Genuinely divine outside cosy home (8)
HONESTLY – HOLY (divine) outside NEST (cosy home).  This was my POI, and it took me time to see it – not sure why, as it is a straightforward and honest inclusion.
18 Starts to question unusual inventor patenting joke (4)
QUIP – Formed from the first letters of (indicated by “starts to”) Question Unusual Inventor Patenting.
20 Declares leader of Ecuador is disinclined (6)
AVERSE – AVERS (declares) + E (leader of, ie first letter of, Ecuador).
21 Young lady’s assistance accepted by some guys (6)
MAIDEN – AID (assistance) inserted into (“accepted by”) MEN (some guys).
22 Make barrel in an unusual way? Extraordinary (10)
REMARKABLE – (make barrel)*, the anagram indicator being “in an unusual way”.
Down
2 Prelude of some quaint romances (5)
INTRO – A hidden, in quaINT ROmances, the hidden indicator being “some”.
3 Disciple’s letters covered in beer (7)
APOSTLE – POST (letters) included in (“covered in”) ALE (beer).
4 Losing head, touch slippery fish (3)
EEL – fEEL, ie feel (touch) without its initial letter (“losing head”).
5 Muscular companion of Nemo is perfectly fine (5-4)
HUNKY-DORY – HUNKY (muscular) + DORY (a friend of the fish Nemo in the film Finding Nemo).

This was my LOI and I needed the Y checker at the end of it before light dawned.  The reference is to the 2003 animated film Finding Nemo, which tells the story of an overprotective clownfish named Marlin who, along with a forgetful regal blue tang named Dory, searches for his missing son Nemo.
6 Factory  put underground? (5)
PLANT – A DD.  One might more usually think of planting something being the act of putting it in the ground rather than underground, but the two are close enough for Trelawney’s purposes and “underground” makes for a smoother surface.
7 Surrey’s opener doesn’t have trousers! (6)
SLACKS – S (Surrey’s opener, ie first letter) + LACKS (doesn’t have).
11 High winds disrupted street jam (3,6)
JET STREAM – (street jam)*, with the anagram indicator being “disrupted”.  The definition “High winds” is as in winds that are high up in the upper atmosphere, which is where the jet stream is to be found, rather than as in strong or fierce winds.
13 Develop gun with no edges (6)
EVOLVE – rEVOLVEr, ie revolver (gun) with the first and last letter removed (“no edges”).
15 Quit ale, weirdly, and drink this instead? (7)
TEQUILA – (quit ale)*, with the anagram indicator being “weirdly”.

A clue where unusually, the definition is not quite at the end of the clue – and Trelawney could easily have worded the clue “Quit ale, weirdly, and instead drink this?” too if he had wanted to.  
17 Wear armour regularly? That would be a mistake (5)
ERROR – Every other letter of wEaR aRmOuR, given by the indicator “regularly”.
19 I give out cards? That’s just perfect (5)
IDEAL – I (from the clue) + DEAL (give out cards).  A bit of a chestnut – even I have seen this one before.
21 Spoil horse with no tail (3)
MAR – MARe, ie mare (horse) with its last letter removed (“with no tail”).

87 comments on “Quick Cryptic no 2895 by Trelawney”

  1. 11:58 no errors. My QC record is 5:00 which was one of Trelawney’s (2668) last year. I feel I should have been sub 10 minutes today but for some reason my solving “skills” weren’t on form. Still an enjoyable puzzle from one of my favourite compilers. FOI – STROLL, LOI – AVERSE, COD – SLACKS. Thanks Trelawney and Cedric.

  2. I ignored Jack Sparrow –although coming here I realized that I knew the name somehow–and solved from the wordplay. Similarly, I had no idea who Nemo’s companion was, or that Nemo had a companion. 5:56.

  3. I agree that you can plant seeds underground but you can also plant a body underground when you bury it in 6d.

  4. Great puzzle, most enjoyable and despite taking a while to figure out HONESTLY, AVERSE, EVOLVE and HUNKY Dory was pleased to finish accurately in 24 mins.

    I couldn’t agree more with Cedric … “this is an excellent example of a puzzle that eschews obscure words, knowledge which is more specialist than generalist and unusual wordplay techniques, but nevertheless manages to entertain. In other words, a very good QC”

    Hear hear!

  6. Managed 9 minutes dead which was a gentle start to the weekend and half my usual time. Shows my level when Jack Sparrow and Nemo were straightforward.

  7. 8 minutes. I was slow to start so must have raced along once I got going.

    I knew I’d heard the name ‘Jack Sparrow’ somewhere, not that I’ve seen any of the films, but PIRATE SHIP came easily with a few checkers in place.

    I’ve seen one of the NEMO films (under protest) but didn’t know of a ‘Dory’ character. Still it gave me the reference after I had biffed HUNKY-DORY from ‘perfectly fine’, enumeration and checkers.

  8. Indeed, a really nice puzzle. Having children born in the early 90s Jack Sparrow and Dory are close and well known friends!

    We were right on the squires wavelength coming in with our first ever sub 12 finish at 11.56

    If we could have come up with revolver instead of rifle, pistol and canon we might have been sub 11. Even with all of the crossers, evolve evaded us for a while, also because with a J, K, V and Q we thought there might be an X in there to complete a pangram

    Thanks Cedric for the blog and the parsing of maiden which we couldn’t see at the time.

  10. 3:23. Very gentle, but nicely constructed. I enjoyed HUNKY DORY, SLACKS and TEQUILA. LOI EVOLVE. Thanks Trelawney and Cedric.

  11. PB for me: 4:53 and that was with a good 20 seconds or more trying to work out AVERSE and EVOLVE. For some reason I was trying to find a word for Declares begining with E, despite the fact that it didn’t end in S. Once that one went in, EVOLVE was obvious…

  12. Typical Trelawney fare, high quality but at the easier end of the spectrum. My only real delay was with LOI and COD HUNKY DORY, having been aware of but never seen the film.
    Finished in 5.32
    Thanks to Cedric

  13. I think this is my first sub 15 at 13:27. Pretty pleased with myself! I also had my children around the 2000s so knew both films. Got Jack Sparrow immediately but struggled with Nemo as I didn’t think it would be referenced the film and was lamenting my ignorance of Captain Nemo.

      1. As many others, I tootled along until NEMO loomed up, as in Captain of the Nautilus I supposed, being unaware of the modern era version.

        An alphabet trawl gave me HUNKY and then DORY went in as either a boat or a fish!

        Good fun, enjoyed it.

  14. 8:20, another fast one. Held up a bit with HUNKY DORY, where I had heavy=muscular. Good clue. “Clown Fish” crossed my mind on seeing (5,4) and Nemo.

    I agree with Cedric, very good QC, with GK from the last 30 years needed, and no obscurities, but still with a wide range of vocab and techniques.

    Was just about to submit when my final scan through revealed an error in IDEEL right at the end of the last clue. I had been toying with the idea of skipping the final scan, which costs about 30 seconds, but today justified the approach.

    COD HUNKY DORY

  15. Was definitely on Trelawney’s wavelength today. A new PB at 24:55 with LOI Nemo’s muscular companion needing a bit of thinking about at the end. A great puzzle for those of us still finding our way.

      1. Only started as a crossworder recently and this was only my 2nd ever sub 20 and a massive pb at 13:57. Feeling super proud myself right now

  16. 13:59 for me, one of my fastest times.
    A very pleasant QC for a Saturday morning after the storm yesterday when the JET STREAM was in full flow.
    Thanks Trelawney and Cedric.

  17. Knew Dory (super character with a very short term memory) and the Caribbean pirate from watching the films with my kids and Hunky Dory is one of my favourite Bowie albums (although Aladdin Sane was the first one I owned rather than borrowed from my older siblings) A rare sub 10 for me and a near PB at 7:36, which is about as fast as I can type on rhus small android phone.
    Thanks Trelawney for the more ‘pop’ GK which played to my strengths and to Cedric for the blog

    1. Did you miss Ziggy Stardust?
      I could never get into Aladdin Sane, probably because of the paraffin heater association.

      1. Aladdin paraffin heaters – how funny. We were just remembering them – and MrB got all nostalgic about the smell!
        But Ziggy is still the one for me. Followed by Hunky Dory (apart from the twee Kooks) and Space Oddity, which had a few great tracks including The Wild Eyed Boy from Freecloud and Memories of a Free Festival.

  18. 6:09 for the solve! Had a typo but this ain’t the World Championships and held up for last minute by EVOLVE/REJECT. The Squire has always provided me with my best times and is probably the setter of who I am most on the wavelength.

    Never seen Pirates of the Caribbean or more than about 20mins of Finding Nemo although the latter was in that early era of computer-animated that my daughter watched along with Toy Story, Monsters Inc etc.

    Good end to the week at 11, 8, 6mins after a long string of 15+min puzzles. Mon-Weds coming in at 17,17,19mins respectively.

    Thanks to Trelawney and Cedric for his ever informative blog 👍

  19. I didn’t know the verb aver so 20a was biffed from the checkers and LOI, I only understood it after reading the blog (thank you Cedric) Pirate ship was COD for me, it just felt right and parses beautifully!

    I’m never as quick as others on here but 37:45 is quite respectable for me, so I can start my day in a satisfied mood!

  20. Enjoyable puzzle. Pretty quick today. FOI COD PIRATE SHIP, LOI HUNKY DORY biffed. Ironically a bit OBTUSE in solving 14a.
    Also liked EVOLVE, SLACKS, APOSTLE.
    Thanks vm, Cedric.

  21. Great time New Driver – shred that L plate!
    Himself and I hummed happily from start to finish – around 12-13 minutes (cannot be specific as waitress joined in to see what was going on. Handily she was Greek, and merrily spouted the alphabet for us…).
    A most enjoyable start to the day. A perfect offering – we echo Cedric’s words.
    Thanks to all.
    (Yesterday, mention made of Poison Wyvern… and likewise, Tina? We miss the quips and hints from both)

  22. For Pete’s sake. A fast time spoiled by a typo two days in a row. 04:48 but fat-fingered APOSTiE.

    I’m off to kick the cat. COD HUNKY DORY, what a cracker. Many thanks Cedric and the Squire.

    3. I’d kick the postie (provided you wear a balaclava and can run quickly enough). It should be said that cats are easier to find nowadays. We appear to have gone down to one delivery per fortnight after discussion with my fellow residents.

    4. I hope you didn’t kick the cat. They have long memories and will wait until you’re asleep, before exacting revenge, with their claws….

  23. 6.46 so possibly a personal best. Might have been sub 6 but I keep mistyping and altering correct squares and having to repair 🙁 Thanks blogger and setter!

  24. As Cedric says, a very good QC. I started very quickly but slowed in the middle (not good with film references). I was slow to see HUNKY DORY and my LOI PIRATE SHIP (d’oh); I am afraid that SLACKS took me a while, too. I accelerated to the finish but, like gcook, I had to correct some careless mistyping so my time was a rather slow 18mins.
    A fair and enjoyable QC to start the weekend. Thanks to both.

  25. 10 mins…

    A fairly straight forward Saturday offering I thought, with some fun clues.

    I remember having a Kempston(?) joystick for my Spectrum in the 80’s – very handy for Flight Simulator when those rubber keys just wouldn’t do.

    FOI – 2dn “Intro”
    LOI – 20ac “Averse”
    COD – 5dn “Hunky Dory”

    Thanks as usual!

    1. I was driving past Bedford a few years back and saw a sign for Kempston, turns out that’s where the eponymous joystick was made.

  26. 14 which was one better than yesterday. Only two on the first pass so I thought I’d be struggling but when I came back to it after a juice shot things started to click.

    Cheers y’all

  27. An enjoyable QC. Got held up by SW corner, although in retrospect this was straightforward. NHO Jack Sparrow and had not seen Nemo.
    Thanks to Trelawney and Cedric.

  28. I always love a Trelawney, but today I love Trelawney even more as I managed 9:59, which I think is a PB for me. You’ve made my day, T!

    Pi ❤️

  29. 5:19

    Got to admit that, although I am well aware of who Jack Sparrow is, I have never watched any of the POTC films, so needed all checkers to get 1a – I did enter SHIP earlier on, but needed the A to finally see PIRATE – doh! HUNKY DORY was much easier. Last three in were AVERSE, EVOLVE and REJECT in that order.

    Thanks Cedric for the blog and Trelawney for the grid

  30. 09:10. Fairly gentle STROLL through today. I struggled with JET STREAM for a while, not having crossers. I liked HUNKY-DORY, which gets my COD. thank you both!

  32. Despite my absence from the cinema since 1980 (One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest), I knew enough about modern culture from reading reviews. Two straight passes, and plenty of enjoyment, not least from the blog. Thanks Cedric and Trelawney.

    FOI PIRATE SHIP
    LOI EVOLVE
    COD HUNKY-DORY
    TIME 3:19

  33. I knew it had to be a Trelawney before I came on here. Who else would have enabled me to get a PB by almost a minute (7:41), even when filling in on my phone. Admittedly, there was a fair amount of biffing going on. The only two I had to come back to were REJECT and my LOI OBTUSE. And this at the end of a week in which I don’t think I completed a single QC because by the time I get to them at the end of a long day of driving, teaching and gym workout, my brain only seems to be working at half capacity and then shuts down completely after 10 minutes as I nod off. Anyway, thanks Trelawney (and Cedric) for restoring faith in myself.

  34. 25:10

    Was romping through this one but came unstuck in the SW where I spent a good 10 minutes on my last 3, REJECT, AVERSE and LOI EVOLVE.

    Parksolve an unimpressive 57 minutes.

  35. Smashed my PB on this finishing all green in 4.32. Only one that gave pause for thought was the Nemo reference wondering if it was a reference to a character in the book which I haven’t read. I’ve seen the Pixar film at least 59 times so no excuse really

  37. Our 6:55 was probably our 3rd fastest. LOIs EVOLVE and REJECT. COD HUNKY DORY. Thanks for the blog, Cedric.

  38. Also a sprightly for me 8:03
    I vaguely thought Apostle meant messenger not disciple so I will google that now!
    Thanks Cedric

    1. I think from Sunday School decades ago we were taught that Jesus’s followers while he was alive were called disciples, but then after his death and they went out into the world to spread the gospel, they were known as apostles

  39. A rare breeze through in one go for me, held up by Dory for LOI – am I the only one who was expecting something nautical from Jules Verne?

  41. My quickest solve of the year so far at 9:06, twinning with our esteemed blogger. The transparency of the clue plus enumeration of PIRATE SHIP certainly boosted me at the start. As soon as I noticed how quickly it was going, I kind of froze up, amusingly. So the top went in fast, the middle not so much, and I snapped out of it when I got to the bottom. COD JOYSTICK.

    I see a lot of PBs in the comments, congratulations to all! Also, I too miss Tina.

    I watched Cracking the Cryptic do yesterday’s 15×15, most instructive. And daunting.

    I hope all the UKers here are ok after those high winds.

    Thank you Trelawney and Cedric!

  42. 8.o6 As I neared the end I glanced at the timer – 4.30! – and gave myself the yips. AVERSE, EVOLVE and REJECT added several minutes. A nice puzzle though. Thanks Cedric and Trelawney.

  43. As Cedric says, an excellent QC for a beginner. Which I was, not so long ago, and I now feel I’ve reached a milestone. This was my first QC where I solved every clue in order, recognised the wordplay and definition in every one, and had no holdups at all. Onwards and upwards, but every 15×15 that I’ve tried is still beyond me. Thanks Trelawney for this confidence-boosting puzzle.

  44. 7:58, very fast for me. COD to HUNKY DORY, which got an audible snort. I agree with everyone who enjoyed this one.

    Thanks to Trelawney and Cedric.

  45. A most enjoyable QC. I was on track for an SCC escape, but got held up by HUNKY DORY, and PIRATE SHIP. Around 22-23 minutes in the end, I think.

    I very rarely go to the cinema or watch films on the box, but I did see the second (I think) PotC film. Mrs R had asked me to entertain our two sons for an afternoon and knowing precisely nothing about any of the options on at the cinema at the time, I chose that film solely on the basis of value for money (duration of film / cost of tickets). I remember it being quite good, so that was a bonus.

    Many thanks to Cedric and Trelawney.

      2. Your side is cementing its position of South Coast dominance! I don’t think Brighton can keep up and the less said about poor Southampton, Portsmouth and Plymouth….

        1. Brighton played in Europe last year which then brings challenges for squad rotation and more matches etc. Probably that would happen to us too if we should make it.

          I find it hard not to assume AFCB will eventually settle back to midtable due to other teams poaching our manager or better players. Small ground at 12,000 and while top flight sport doesn’t need gate receipts to survive, it could give the impression to potential signings that we don’t aspire to more. There have been talks about building a bigger stadium but they are always bogged down by planning issues and whether the investment is worthwhile if the club doesn’t stay in the EPL. I don’t follow closely but I read occasionally

          1. Yes, it’s quite the feat to outperform many larger wealthier sides and compete at the very top level. Enjoy the present, who knows how long these heady heights can be maintained!

  47. Another PB here, in my case 6:59. I’m pretty sure that my second and third best were also thanks to Trelawney.

    Thank you for the blog!

  48. Woke in the middle of the night and did this one half-asleep for a massive PB of 5:26! 🙂 Just seemed to flow.

  49. I did this in 7:52 this morning, but have only just got round to coming to the blog! It’s been a busy day.
    My best time for quite a while, but – as usual – it was a hidden that slowed me down. Frustrating really, because I was so NEARLY there but kept looking at the wrong bits of the words and trying to go backwards – just about was a nice bit of misdirection as far as I was concerned! I also couldn’t see the anagram at 14a and wondered if it was some musical direction ending in O. I was definitely being OBTUSE 😅
    HUNKY DORY and TEQUILA made me giggle. Well, tequila might, if I liked the stuff. A nice dry white Italian vino is what’s on the go at the moment.
    FOI Pirate ship LOI Obtuse COD Remarkable – another cracking anagram.
    Thanks Trelawney and Cedric

    Many congratulations to everyone who got PBs (or close to) !

    For those of you who don’t see MH’s Saturday newsletter, you’ll be glad to hear that the use of random names (sorry SRC) is going to be reduced – and we get a mention too 😊

    1. I spotted it this afternoon and wondered if Mrs R and I were being victimised. Isn’t their a law against that sort of discrimination?

      1. 21:29 no mean frat with fat fingers on iPhone keyboard. Enjoyable. LOI Obtuse (very fitting). Thanks all

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