QC 2999 by Trelawney

Author   MerlinPosted on Categories Quick Cryptic

Very fast for me, at 7:08, so I think this is very much on the easy side.

With multiple Qs, and Zs, this felt like a pangram  but it’s missing the letters J, P, V, and X.

Trelawney likes a bit of misdirection. “in speech” and “broadcast” appear today but not as homophone indicators.

Definitions underlined in bold , synonyms in (parentheses) (Abc)* indicating anagram of Abc, other wordplay in [square brackets] and deletions in {curly} brackets.

Across
1 After phone call, promise something trendy in speech (8)
BUZZWORD – BUZZ (phone call) + WORD (promise)

As in “I’ll give you a buzz”, although phones have not buzzed for a long time. The most common ringtone on our mobiles is the stylised rendering of the bells on an old analog phone. Perhaps “buzz” now means the sound made by a vibrating phone on silent.

“Word” as in “my word is my bond”. And “in speech” is not a homophone indicator today.

Tricky clue all round for 1A, and was my LOI.
5 Wading bird with bit of hibiscus (4)
IBIS – Hidden inside hibiscus

The adjective “wading” is put in there to help us narrow down the list of potential birds, not that I knew that was the habitat of the IBIS.
8 Move  computer key (5)
SHIFT – Double def
9 Acrobat’s glass (7)
TUMBLER – Double def

Although I unaccountably banged in JUGGLER, thinking that might be a name for a glass as well.
11 Enemy froze at regular intervals (3)
FOE – F{r}O{z}E
12 Bequeaths, effortlessly (5,4)
HANDS DOWN – Double def

The second meaning comes from Horse Racing, with reference to a jockey dropping the hands, and so relaxing the hold on the reins, when victory appears certain.
13 Booze, something black and sweet, lacking ice (6)
LIQUOR – LIQUOR {ice} (something black and sweet) – ICE

Although the words look very similar, they come from quite different roots (pun intended).
15 One of five kids with extremely coarse fruit (6)
QUINCE – QUIN (one of five kids) + C{oars}E

Quins are obviously very rare (1 in 60 million births), so this word wasn’t needed until the famous Dionne Quintuplets were born in 1934. The word appears soon after, probably due to newspaper headline shortening.
18 Flat suitable to accommodate male painters? (9)
APARTMENT – APT (suitable) contains ART MEN (male painters)

I am sure we all parsed this after the fact.
19 Feathered creature eats more urgently at first (3)
EMU – E{ats} M{ore} U{rgently}
20 Prison wine is mixed (7)
STIRRED – STIR (prison) + RED (wine)

Stir=prison is used much in crosswords, but pretty well unheard of in the vernacular now.
21 Dark time is unusual thing (5)
NIGHT – (THING)*

Very nice clue, simple and smooth surface. I’d add that to my list of examples to explain to an interested outsider what a cryptic clue actually is.
22 Keys broken in Scottish island (4)
SKYE – (KEYS)* [broken]
23 Water and ink ruined woolly clothes (8)
KNITWEAR – (WATER INK)* [ruined]
Down
1 Dwarf’s party at capacity, we gather (7)
BASHFUL – BASH (party) + FUL (sounds like FULL)

He’s one of the seven Dwarfs. And in Disney’s latest reworking of Snow White they are still dwarfs but normal-sized. Go figure.
2 Zulu mostly broadcast in former African country (5)
ZAIRE – Z{ulu} + AIRE{d} (broadcast)

Tricky misdirection as “broadcast” often indicates a homophone, or an anagram.

When the regime was overthrown in 1997 one of the first acts was to restore the original name “Democratic Republic of the Congo.” This was done to symbolically break with the dictatorship and return to the country’s post-independence identity.

Of course, countries that have “Democratic” in their official names are usually anything but. As in DPRK (North Korea) and DDR (East Germany).
3 Wizard initially yearning to tamper with healer (5,6)
WITCH DOCTOR – W{izard} + ITCH (yearning) + DOCTOR (tamper with)
4 Fresh tear in part of the eye (6)
RETINA – (TEAR IN)* [fresh]
6 Benefit when carrying completely inflatable item (7)
BALLOON – BOON (benefit) contains ALL (completely)
7 Father beginning to notice warning sound (5)
SIREN – SIRE (Father) + N{otice}
10 Some sumos quit, one testing way to stop bites? (8,3)
MOSQUITO NET – Hidden in “sumos quit, one testing”

Another one which turned out to be different from how I parsed it at first glance. It’s actually “hidden” across four words, and is not an anagram.
14 Characteristic fairness abandoned by leader (7)
QUALITY – e{QUALITY} (fairness)
16 Messed up a quote — Romeo’s line about the earth? (7)
EQUATOR – (A QUOTE R{omeo})* [messed up]
17 Nurse concerned with connective tissue (6)
TENDON – TEND (Nurse) + ON (concerned with)

The full name of Darwin’s book is “ON the Origin of Species”, where the “On” means “concerning the”.
18 Endlessly examine beasts of burden (5)
ASSES – ASSES{s} (examine)

Does anyone ever say ASS for donkey these days? Seems like it would always be misunderstood.
19 Frequent flyer  well below par? (5)
EAGLE – Double def.

Flyer = bird = EAGLE. And an EAGLE in golf is two shots under par, so “well below par”.

I don’t know what Frequent is doing in this clue. I don’t think it makes a Triple Def, and don’t see how it assists in “flyer”.

104 comments on “QC 2999 by Trelawney”

  1. Very easy. Don’t know what’s going on with all the Qs. Was looking for a pangram too. Merlin, I think there’s a ‘P’ in APARTMENT. Liked BUZZWORD and BASHFUL. Only knew HANDS DOWN as a sure thing so thanks for the horsey info. COD to ZAIRE.
    Thanks M and setter.

  2. Seeing this is #2999 I’d like to say thank you to the 2000s for providing such entertaining puzzles for the last few years and welcome the 3000s whose time in the sun begins tomorrow. This one took me 5.09 so it couldn’t have been very hard. Thank you Trelawney, thank you Merlin, and you’re right about APARTMENT and the art men who eluded me for a while post-solve.

    1. According to an email from Mick Hodgkin over the weekend, tomorrow’s QC (#3000, as you say) is the last such from the late Richard Rogan.

      1. And rather unusually we have been told that his last 15×15 will appear this Friday.

  3. Biffed APARTMENT, never parsed. Biffed MOSQUITO NET without reading the clue, let alone parsing it. I didn’t know that ‘sumo’ could mean the wrestler (it doesn’t in Japanese). I also wondered about ‘frequent’. 5:50.

    1. Thanks for that. I see “rikishi” is Japanese for the actual wrestler. Astonishing how we import words and immediately bastardise them….

  4. Didn’t parse APARTMENT, thanks Merlin, and LOI BUZZWORD. COD WITCHDOCTOR and special mention for getting MOSQUITO NET as a hidden. DNK Hands Down re jockeys.
    Definitely on the easier side of things. 15 mins.
    Thanks Trelawney and Merlin.

  5. 15:06 for me, which is near enough half my previous best time, so it must be pretty straightforward. I’m not completely au fait with the terminology, but I think that makes this my first effort outside the SCC?
    COD to APARTMENT. Thank you Merlin and Trelawney.

    1. Congratulations! : ) Our stepping out of that area is recent enough that the pleasure is still tangible.

    3. 🏆⚡️👏

      Yes, you’re excluded from the Club today, that’s the price for your prize. Re terminology, if you haven’t already looked at it, it’s worth it to peruse the glossary linked on this page.

  6. 3:13, leaving me annoyed I wasn’t faster, because this is possible PB territory.

    Just one of those QCs where most things can be biffed.

  7. 9 minutes with STIRRED as my LOI.

    I have no idea what ‘frequent’ is doing at 19dn.

  8. I shouted out TENDON at 19.59 but it took a few more seconds to type it in as I stepped into my usual place in the SCC.
    Although this was an easier puzzle there were some testers like BUZZWORD.
    COD to the hidden Mosquito Net.
    Thanks Trelawney and Merlin. The origin of ‘hands down’ was interesting.

  9. Like most, I raced through this, wondering about the Qs, not understanding the reason for Frequent in 19D and not parsing APARTMENT before the clock stopped at 7:20.

    Many thanks Merlin for the blog

  11. 14 mins for me which is fast.
    I enjoyed this romp. Most were straightforward to parse, which is always satisfying.
    Thanks to Trelawney and Merlin.

  12. Another gentle one, starting with IBIS and finishing with KNITWEAR in 4.44 with shrug at ‘frequent’. COD to MOSQUITO.
    Thanks to Merlin and Trelawney

  13. Quick here too at 14.18. If “after the fact” means reading the blog, then that is indeed how we parsed apartment, thanks Merlin.

    An enjoyable romp, thanks Squire. COD to Bashful for the PDM

  14. 15 which would confirm on the easier side, even though I missed the retrospectively obviously mosquito net, and a couple of the easier clues, had I had the patience to think.

    I rush Wordle too …

    Wishing you all well….

    1. Progress! Keep at it. If you see a run of odd looking words, a hidden is often involved…

  15. So easy that I bished it. Put BUZZwire. Admit I had to look up the 7 dwarfs too.
    More haste less speed. Anyway it was enjoyable. Liked LIQUOR, KNITWEAR, QUINCE.
    Many thanks, Merlin.

    1. Record for me too this morning, only two which needed a puzzle over were bashful and buzzword. Didn’t parse apartment either but thought there was probably an M and RA in there somehow, although art men was better.

  16. Not quite a PB but not far off. The only clues that put up any resistance were BUZZWORD (second one in) and STIRRED (LOI). 4:33 Thanks Merlin

  17. From ZAIRE to KNITWEAR in 6:07, so a gentle start to the day. I also wondered what frequent was doing in 19d. Aren’t most birds frequent flyers? Apart from Emus, ostriches, rheas, cassowaries, kiwis and penguins of course! Thanks Trelawney and Merlin.

  18. Ha ha, what a silly boy! Checked the anagrist for EQUATOR but couldn’t see where the E in quote went so ‘corrected’ what I’d entered to EQUATeR! Obviously it was in the first place I should have checked! Would have been more annoyed but I couldn’t spell LIQUOR and it took a while to unravel that to get WITCH DOCTOR which suddenly made HANDS DOWN super easy. 4.50 with two to go ended up as 7.07 with a pink square. All but BUZZWORD and HANDS DOWN on the first pass of acrossses which is a record – even if I did have liqour at the time.

  19. 20 minutes plus a few seconds, so not quite an SCC escape, but still very fast for me and (unlike yesterday) no insurmountable breezeblocks. I found it hard to get started and hard to finish off, but I fairly whizzed around the grid between times.

    Many thanks to Merlin and Trelawney (someone who really knows how to set a QC).

  20. It’s not very often I can say I’m disappointed with a time of 5.03, but I thought this was the easiest puzzle we’ve had for some time, and I felt I was in PB territory. In the end I was about fifty seconds adrift, although in solving it seemed to be quicker. I expect there to be a few who achieve PBs however.
    I share others puzzlement over the use of ‘frequent’ in the clueing of 19dn, although it didn’t delay me at all.

  21. Read this regularly but first ever comment to celebrate a genuine 13:45. I guess it must be an easy day but that still makes me smile!

  23. 14:01 – must be my quickest ever finish. Only APARTMENT unparsed, as our blogger suggested.

  24. my first QC ever done in under 13 mins, with everything parsed along the way and even time to admire some of the wonderful clues. I especially liked the sumos stopping the bites, the wizard tampering with the healer and my COD, HANDS DOWN. This is what a QC should be in my view, fast and fun so I can get on with my day with a clear mind.
    Thanks Trelawney and Merlin

  25. 8:20. Very nice. Could have been quicker? I don’t know. I still took time for a quick check and found a typo, so I’m happy with it. It’s one of my top ten times.
    Someone needs to step up and defend “frequent”. Here goes. “Frequent flyer” is a thing – not green paint – it is someone whose business involves lots of air travel. That’s fine as a definition of an eagle. Not a perpetual flyer like an albatross or a non-flyer like an emu. And although “flyer” would have done on its own, the adjective gives us a bit extra. Up above somewhere the IBIS is a “wading bird” not just a bird. Good stuff.
    Thanks Trelawney and Merlin

  26. A very good, straightforward, enjoyable puzzle and, truly, a Quick Cryptic.
    Thanks to Trelawney (who is one of my favourite QC setters) for some clever, imaginative, but fair clues and appreciation to Merlin for the blog.

  27. 5:22 for the solve! Just missing out on a PB as BUZZWORD held me up for thirty secs and I was tentative about ASSES as couldn’t parse it. Average for Trelawney puzzles in 2025 now at 6:33, would be sub 6 if it weren’t for the 9+min April effort!

  29. Comfortable 1 coffee finish. Only glitch was putting in Harry Potter for 3D which was obvious from the crossers in the second word.

  30. 8:10 (birth of Kenneth MacAlpin)

    A pleasant fast solve. WITCH DOCTOR was my LOI, delayed by seeing “wizard” and trying to fit in Harry Potter. Ginny Weasley after marrying Harry could have been called Witch Potter, but I don’t think she was a healer.

    Thanks Merlin and Trelawney

  31. Was looking for a double pangram after the 2 Zs and the first 2 clues with a Q. Parsed APARTMENT after writing it in, my COD. Good to have a straightforward QC after some of the trickier ones recently. Thanks Trelawney and Merlin.

  32. Lovely friendly one, thank you, Trelawney. Feared I didn’t know the Dwarves well enough but with all the crossers LOI BASHFUL became obvious. Thank you, Merlin, for questioning the addition of “frequent”; precisely my reaction too. Yes, two Z’s and four Q’s – but why?

  33. 9.52 – first time under ten minutes after a frustratingly long pause with STIRRED (NHO STIR= prison) and BUZZWORD.
    Most enjoyable – fascinating to read of the postnatal care of the Dionne Quintuplets -tiny babies,no incubators, a dash of rum. Amazing outcome. And we will watch the behaviour of jockeys with renewed interest.
    Thank you Merlin and Trelawney.

  34. So nearly sub 10 mins, but took a fraction too long on LOI, KNITWEAR – the excitement was probably getting to me!

      1. The rumours are untrue, I tell you. You can’t trust anything those Dartmoor sheep say…

  35. I can’t type for toffee today, I think I had to correct almost half my entries on the fly, and that made me proofread once finished. So all in 05:54 which given the ease of the puzzle can only count as a Good Day.

    If you say “four Qs” in a Glasgow accent (I currently have a house full of Scottish builders) it sounds faintly menacing.

    COD to APARTMENT (parsed). Many thanks to Merkin and the Squite.

  36. A pleasing sub-15 turned into a disappointing sub-20, thanks to a hasty Space for the key at 8ac (Space/Move out almost works) causing havoc in the NW corner. Bashful had been a write-in, but its Buzzword colleague was a lot harder to untangle, and one thing led to another. What a mess. All sorted in the end, with CoD to Apartment for the parsing. Invariant

  37. 8 minutes and nothing held me up much.
    I thought 1a would start BELL which meant ZAIRE (good clue) went in late.
    LOI TENDON.
    In defence of the EAGLE clue, “frequent” improves the surface a lot; and eagles seem to fly frequently, whereas some birds are more ground based.
    Lots of good clues and a fun puzzle.
    David

  38. First time to finish a QC with no help! Just so delighted . Time 32.21 mins. Thanks so much to the bloggers and commentators. You have helped enormously in my endeavours. A particular big thank you today to Trelawney . Onwards and upwards as I aspire to the bloggers finishing times and one day a go at the 15×15

  39. A PB and very satisfying all round.
    Even cleverer reading the blog.
    What fun this is as a daily challenge and I relish the variation in difficulty.

  40. Quite a few on first run through (mostly on the right-hand side for some reason). Finished in 14 minutes which, while a reasonable time for me, is slightly disappointing given the number of people recording PBs or near PBs. Parsed APARTMENT as it went in but not WITCH DOCTOR which was parsed after completion.

    FOI -5ac IBIS
    LOI – 8ac SHIFT
    COD – 1dn BASHFUL. Also liked APARTMENT

    Thans to Trelawney and Merlin.

  41. 10 minutes which is good for me! I put HANDS FREE at first for 12a but SIREN had to be, so FREE became DOWN. My lois were ZAIRE and BUZZWORD, completing a fun and straightforward puzzle. My cod was BASHFUL which made me chuckle. Many thanks Trelawney and Merlin.

  42. 4:31

    A quick QC from gentle Trelawney though a couple of across answers didn’t come immediately (BUZZWORD, SHIFT, APARTMENT parsed post-solve) requiring help from the downs. Strangely, even with all checkers in place, I still had to think twice about my LOI ASSES.

    Thanks Merlin and Trelawney

  44. All fairly straightforward and fair – 10 minutes which is about 20 minutes quicker than usual!! Loved the hidden MOSQUITO NET and BASHFUL. Couldn’t spell Apartment let alone parse it but got there eventually!
    Thank you Trelawney and Merlin, especially for the Hands Down explanation. In a family that has four horses I should have known that!

  46. 6 mins…

    A personal best I think, although it didn’t feel at the time particularly quick. Like most people, I rapidly ran down my list of dwarf names, not forgetting “Doc” which often catches people out.

    FOI – 8ac “Shift”
    LOI – 1ac “Buzzword”
    COD – 23ac “Knitwear” – I once had a jumper that I managed to get ink on, so the clue was both apt and accurate.

    Thanks as usual!

  47. This one took me 14:34, around my average, which is forever for a Trelawney. Most of you seem to have found it straightforward so no doubt the problem is at my end.

    I wasn’t helped by 3d starting with with “Wizard” and having (5, 6) as the enumeration, and the checking letters for the second word being _ O _ T _ R. A certain boy wizard took up residence inside my head and refused to be removed.

    Thank you for the blog!

  48. The Trelawney Effect: being aware a puzzle is by Trelawney almost guarantees a good time because you expect it to be easier than average and thus try to go extra fast knowing a pb might be on the cards. In my case I was some 45 seconds out, but 8:27 is my second best ever time. It was my 9th ever sub-10 and five of them have been Trelawney. Had I not known the setter, I’m sure I would have been a bit slower.
    Anyway, plenty to enjoy here, even if much of the elegance was missed first time around. FOI was IBIS, LOI QUALITY, COD to LIQUOR. Thanks Merlin and Trelawney.

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