Time: 06:34
A very enjoyable offering from Trelawney today for which I didn’t have any major queries. Just right to put me in a good mood to enjoy what should be a pleasant Tuesday here.
Thanks to Trelawney
Definitions underlined in bold, letters in wordplay not appearing in answer and deletions indicated by strikethrough.
| Across | |
|---|---|
| 1 | Latvian’s yarn about Dracula’s home (12) |
| TRANSYLVANIA – Anagram (‘about’) of LATVIANS YARN
A confidence builder to start with. |
|
| 8 | Release what prisoners do in retirement (4) |
| EMIT – Reversal (‘in retirement’) of TIME (‘what prisoners do’)
TIME as in a jail sentence, marked in Collins as informal. |
|
| 9 | Depot an awful place to write (7) |
| NOTEPAD – Anagram (‘awful’) of DEPOT AN | |
| 11 | Prepare to grab at ape, say (7) |
| PRIMATE – PRIME (‘Prepare’) containing (‘to grab’) AT (‘at’)
An ‘ape’ being one example of an order of mammals of which there are 376-524 species according to Wikipedia, a number which surprised me. |
|
| 12 | Sussex town featured in terrible western (5) |
| LEWES – Hidden (‘featured in’) Continuing my fortnightly Tuesday geography lesson of British towns, though this is one I am familiar with. |
|
| 14 | Led astray following free puzzle (6) |
| RIDDLE – Anagram (‘astray’) of LED after (‘following’) RID (‘free’) | |
| 15 | Bury some linen Tom bought (6) |
| ENTOMB – Hidden (‘some’) in The definition a reference to yet more English towns; x2 this time. |
|
| 18 | Cancel vigorous clean (5) |
| SCRUB – Double definition | |
| 20 | Interrupt detectives beginning to relax in bath (7) |
| DISTURB – DIS (‘detectives’) R |
|
| 21 | Tire out smoker at back of vehicle? (7) |
| EXHAUST – Definition with cryptic hint (‘smoker at back of vehicle?’)
Given the spelling of “tyre” in N. America, the surface may have been more misleading for US and Canadian solvers. |
|
| 23 | Curse jazz improvisation needing xylophone primarily (4) |
| JINX – J Being unfamiliar with jazz lingo, I admit I spent some time thinking that jin might be an alternative to jam as a form of ‘jazz improvisation’. |
|
| 24 | Again share out wine before one small testimonial (12) |
| REDISTRIBUTE – RED (‘wine’) I (‘one’) S (‘small’) TRIBUTE (‘testimonial’) | |
| Down | |
|---|---|
| 2 | Prompt to accommodate a rest (9) |
| REMAINDER – REMINDER (‘Prompt’) containing (‘to accommodate’) A (‘a’) | |
| 3 | Ten set up formal party game (7) |
| NETBALL – Reversal (‘set up’) of TEN then BALL (‘formal party’)
I wonder if the whole clue might also be an extended definition. Looking it up, there can be up to twelve players in a NETBALL team squad, but there are only seven players on the court at any time. Maybe unintended, but there happens to be a link with the answer to 10(‘Ten’)d. |
|
| 4 | New York baseball player to tug lever regularly (6) |
| YANKEE – YANK (‘to tug’) |
|
| 5 | Essential small bottle contains last of reagent (5) |
| VITAL – VIAL (‘small bottle’) containing (‘contains’) |
|
| 6 | Criticise turning up for snooze (3) |
| NAP – Reversal (‘turning up for’) of PAN (‘Criticise’) | |
| 7 | Tally is five good marks — capital! (5,5) |
| ADDIS ABABA –ADD (‘Tally’) IS (‘is’) A B A B A (‘five good marks’)
OK, I’ll own up; I biffed this one from the enumeration and a couple of crossing letters. |
|
| 10 | After second drink, pledge tracksuit perhaps (10) |
| SPORTSWEAR – S (‘second’) then PORT (‘drink’) SWEAR (‘pledge’)
Maybe not everyone approves but I was amused to see that “trackies” is in Collins as a noun and both “trackie” as an adjective and “trackies” as a noun are in Chambers; alas, no “tracky dacks” yet but give it time. |
|
| 13 | Hound twin developing murder mystery (9) |
| WHODUNNIT – Anagram (‘developing’) of HOUND TWIN
Echoes of Dartmoor. |
|
| 16 | Reportedly recognises one who suffered operation (4,3) |
| NOSE JOB – Aural wordplay (‘reportedly’) of KNOWS (‘recognises’) JOB (‘one who suffered’) | |
| 17 | Newspaper employee rioted unfortunately (6) |
| EDITOR – Anagram (‘unfortunately’) of RIOTED | |
| 19 | Contests objections involving nothing (5) |
| BOUTS – BUTS (‘objections’) containing (‘involving’) O (‘nothing’)
BUTS for ‘objections’ as in “No ifs, ands or buts”. |
|
| 22 | Concealed greeting card finally (3) |
| HID – HI (‘greeting’) |
|
1ac almost writing itself in got me off to a great start and I fished in 13:24, an improvement on my time yesterday but I was delayed a little by some of the answers LH of the grid.
I have learned to use zoom to avoid some of the scrolling when solving online but in order to have the bottom row of the keyboard visible at all times the font for the clues would be too small for my ageing eyes.
Plain sailing today. Only an ungainly fumble of the mouse at the end prevented what should have been my second-ever sub-3 minute solve.
Thanks Trelawney and nice blog Bletch. We don’t need Collins or anyone else to approve “tracky dacks” do we? I mean, what else could you call them?
Interesting about Dacks; the word rang a bell for me. It is derived from the trousers sold decades ago by the British clothing brand DAKS.
The origin of DAKS/DACKS is Dad slACKS, I believe.
You beat me by a clear hour!
Incredible work-I’m just pleased to finally be finishing the things!
When both of the long across answers are write-ins, the puzzle should just about solve itself. Unfortunately, I couldn’t remember Addis Ababa….well, at least I knew Lewes, home of Leonard and Virginia Woolf.
Time: 5:48
I knew Lewes as the home of Harvey’s brewery.😀🍺🍺😀
Absolutely. Very fine beer, and I have had the great pleasure of a tour and tasting there.
Have also seen Lewes clued as ‘fifty sheep’. There was a shop in the town by that name as well- on the same street as the brewery
Flew throught this. Ten on the first pass of acrosses, lots of downs and a bit of mopping up to finish with REMAINDER and then ADDIS ABABA. All green in 6.20 and a place in my top ten times according to the Quick Snith (thanks Starstruck). NHO tracky dacks but that’s not going to stop me saying it in the hope of exasperating daughters – perhaps it could dislodge six seven.
5:54 here – also stumbled slightly thinking about ADDIS ABABA.
Thanks Bletchley and Trewlawney
13:56 which is pretty rapid for me (usually around the 23 minute mark). I spent the last 6 minutes on 4 clues on the LHS. I popped into Lewes a couple of months back on the way to Rye, mainly to grab a 5 litre keg of one of my favourite ales, Harvey’s Sussex Best!
I also frequent the Harvey’s brewery in Lewes for the very same reason. They also brew a range of delicious seasonal ales.
Trelawney never misses.
Started with TRANSYLVANIA and finished with EMIT in 4.03. COD to ADDIS ABABA which I parsed post submission.
Thanks to BR and The Squire
Another good QC from Trelawney but my time (15.20) was slower than for his last ones. A steady solve (1a had to wait until later when I kicked myself for not seeing it straight away). I feared that I had not fully woken up but crossers around the grid helped me to accelerate towards the end.
1a was a good anagram and I smiled at ADDIS ABABA but, honestly, there were too many good clues to list.
Many thanks to both.
I always love a Trelawney. 9.22.
Pi ❤️
Also one of our top times at 10.42. As previously said, 1a was a write in and the rest of the puzzle flowed from there with only remainder needing a return visit with some crossers.
Every time I see a J and X, I think pangram, but not this time
Thanks Squire and BR for the blog
After 1a, I then couldn’t get 2d or 3d and wondered if this was going to be harder than I’d thought. Everything else then went straight in and I finished with those two, LOI REMAINDER.
After hitting “submit” I was saved by the little electronic nanny telling me that my puzzle was only 99% complete – it turned out I’d forgotten to enter the final letter of 24a. Sorted that and finished in 05:23 for a Very Good Day.
Many thanks Bletchers and the Squire.
A very rapid 5:03, but one pink square, LEWIS.
My fingers automatically typed LEWIS too but fortunately I saw it and fixed it.
Straight through from TRANSYLVANIA to HID – my first ever sequential solve of all clues in order. A slower time therefore than it might have been as once I had solved all the acrosses, I was determined to complete all the downs in order too and therefore did not “move on and return to” the stickier ones as I usually do – WHODUNNIT was the main hold-up. Even so a 7.23 finish is pretty speedy for me.
Many thanks BR for the blog, and thanks to the Squire for giving me a Very Good Day. As Plett11 says, “Trelawney never misses” …
12:39 – one of fastest times ever! Just a steady solve with EMIT my LOI. Chuffed!
Not a PB but still speedy ( for me ): 15min. LOI REMAINDER.
COD SPORTSWEAR.
Thanks to Trelawney for a lovely QC, and also to BR.
Eight first pass, 20 in 20 minutes, just the NW where I didn’t see the obvious.
Nose job was bifd from the N and the S crossers. I’ve broken my septum eight times and had it straightened twice. The second time was only a few months after the first following an incident in the shower where somehow the soap shot out of my hand and hit me square on the base of my nose before the septum had become rigid after the first operation. I switched to shower gel after that 🙂 The final time, at least I hope it was, was when my bike fell on top of me in the incident where I injured my spine and spinal cord. I don’t intend getting it fixed for a third time.
Blimey!
omg the horror
Hope it’s never an issue again.
No wonder you call yourself Nut’s Hell.
From TRANSYLVANIA to REMAINDER in 7:19. Thanks Trelawney and BR.
Fast start for me but as usual found something to slow me down – in this case, SPORTSWEAR and, less understandably, REMAINDER. 6:57.
5:31 – too easy
Yay Trelawney!
7:45 though the long ones were biffed and parsed later. I really liked Addis Ababa
4:34
Trelawney is, for me, the gentlest of QC setters, and the only one of the long-term setters for which my average is below 6 mins. No issues with any of this latest puzzle – stayed in LEWES many years ago while walking the South Downs, ADDIS ABABA was a write-in with that enumeration. If I hesitated at all, it was fractionally over the second word of NOSE JOB and the anagram for NOTEPAD. I liked RIDDLE.
Thanks BR and Trelawney
3.47
Liked 1a. Dracula’s castle in Transylvania is quite popular now it seems. Not my cuppa. Region was beautiful though.
Thanks BR and Trelawney
Rich vein of form developing there Dvynys!
8:56, which is quick by my standards but long-ish for a Trelawney. Anyway, lots to like and nothing to complain about, so I am a happy wombat this morning.
Thank you for the blog!
23:26. Not quite on par with the other times here but a significant improvement on my PB. I had to get EMIT from checkers, the rest went in without too many troubles.
Thoroughly enjoyed, thank you BR and Trelawney !
A PB is a PB, well done!
Congratulations! Hopefully the first of many!
Congratulations!
Thank you for the encouragements!
8:33. Lovely puzzle which had me wondering what my time would be for a paper solve…no fat fingers hitting the wrong key and no need to re-type when I’ve rushed over letters already in place. But then I reminded myself that being faster just means less time to enjoy the process, and I’d never be a real speed merchant anyway!
As someone who has started printing the puzzle and having it with me during the breaks between meetings in the working day, I can happily confirm that I am certainly not a speed merchant 🙂
Lovely puzzle as usual from Trelawney (thanks) – four in the left held me up (LOI PRIMATE), but only briefly.
Nice one. Thanks Trelawny and BR.
Great puzzle, pretty quick. LOsI. SCRUB and BOUTS.
Liked many, in JINX, NETBALL, ADDIS ABABA.
Thanks vm, BR.
A gimme to begin with helped to set me up for a quickish time of 6.37, although I nearly came a cropper by biffing SPORTSGEAR for 10dn. Fortunately I’ve learnt my lesson and checked it at the eleventh hour and corrected it.
10:48
Denied a sub-10 with a brief holdup on last 2, SCRUB, where I initially biffed scrap and BOUTS. Otherwise plain sailing.
A gentle 4.43 today. One for those who complain they are getting too difficult..
Like most of the commenters here I solved this quickly. The simplicity of 1a certainly helped. My favourite clues were RIDDLE, ADDIS ABABA and my LOI NETBALL. 4:48 Thanks BR
Very gentle today. 6.32 with interruptions. Nice to have a break occasionally!
11:51 Didn’t get to jinx nose job as managed to scrub in sportswear…
Not QTPi or Tina and Mendesest had finished before I started on down! Good jobs guys👍👍👍
Ta BRAT
Tweetie-Pie
6:06 for the solve – last minute spent on the REMAINDER / EMIT pairing. Classic excellent QC from Trelawney – doable with no sacrifice in the quality of clueing.
Thanks to BR and the Squire
All done bar two (11ac and 10dn) in 11 minutes but those two added a further 3 minutes to the time. Couldn’t parse PRIMATE and didn’t bother to fully parse ADDIS ABABA as the answer was obvious from the crossers I had at the time. Right hand side easier than the left I thought.
FOI – 1ac TRANSYLVANIA
LOI – 10dn SPORTSWEAR
COD – 7dn ADDIS ABABA. Also liked WHODUNNIT
Thanks to Trelawney and BR
Nice and straight-forward for a second day in a row, all done in 6:29.
I have no idea why it took me so long to spot 10d, Sportswear, (other than it being a down clue), but the LHS of the grid was stil very sparsely populated long after everything else had been put to bed. Consequently the once comfortable looking sub-15 became a squeaky sub-20.
Other embarrassments included thinking Ababa was spelt Adaba and wondering in what universe a D counted as a good mark, and only finding out a Jin was not an obscure jazz term when I read BR’s blog. I can safely say this was not my best solving day.
CoD to Nose Job for the smile, though the relaxed detectives ran it close. Invariant
9 mins…
An enjoyable and fairly straightforward puzzle from Trelawney – something I’ve come to expect over time. No major hold ups.
FOI – 1ac “Transylvania”
LOI – 8ac “Emit”
COD – 16dn “Nose Job” – although I equally liked 11ac “Primate”
Thanks as usual!
Just 15 minutes for me. Good old Trelawney!
TRANSYLVANIA was the key to a fast start and I was mostly able to maintain the pace thereafter. Nice to see LEWES make an appearance. Quirky and well worth a visit if you haven’t been before. NETBALL was my LOI.
Many thanks to BR and Trelawney.
Great time, Mr Random. Thanks for suggesting a visit to Lewes. When I’m over that way, I will find out what’s quirky, there. 😉
We both enjoyed this – thanks Trelawney, and enjoyed (though for once didn’t need) the blog, thanks BR.
Mr SR was extremely quick on 7d being far, far better than me on geography.
I had to explain that I didn’t get it immediately as I didn’t understand the parsing of “ABABA” for “good marks” – couldn’t see what the Bs were doing there 😉
Actually, yes – since you ask – Mr SR is a very tolerant man.
A QC that was very Q.
Liked ABABA
Thanks Bletchers and Trelawney
My thanks to Trelawney and BletchleyReject.
Mostly easyish but 11a LOI Primate had me foxed, not sure why except that I didn’t look for a combo of synonym and literal for the parts.
23a Jinx, I too wondered what jin was. It isn’t.
4d Yankee. Never seen the singular of the baseball team members.
Gentle one today. Last two in were REMAINDER/EMIT. Took a while to parse ABABA 🙄 so this gets COD for me, although I also appreciated NOSE JOB. Many thanks BR and Trelawney.
They are really building up our confidence this week. Beat yesterday’s time by three minutes for a new personal second-best.
Really loved COD NOSE JOB. Completely biffed Addis Ababa, but that is also very clever.
6.24 A bit slower on the left. SPORTSWEAR needed checkers. LOI NETBALL, where I was looking for a party game for much too long. Thanks BR and Trelawney.
8:47
Oooh – 2 seconds off my PB which was also a Trelawney.
Very enjoyable.
FOI: TRANSYLVANIA
LOI: EDITOR
COD: PRIMATE
Thanks to BR and Trelawney
I agree that this was very accessible. Still managed a couple of head-scratching moments over 10d sportswear and 4d yankee (not being a sports follower).
FOI 1a Transylvania
LOI 10d Sportswear
CODs – 20a Disturb/23a Jinx/16d Nose Job.
My first ever sub 10 minutes: 9.59! Thank you Trelawney .
🏆
Congratulations!
My PB too! 11 something. Thank you Trelawny and blogger. Always something to learn from parsing and comments alike. Like not to trust soap.
Excellent work!