Times Quick Cryptic 3028 by Trelawney

96 comments on “Times Quick Cryptic 3028 by Trelawney”

1. ROMCOM was a long time coming; not a DNK, but seldom encountered. I had a similar experience to Jack’s with CHINATOWN. 7:28

2. Nice start to the week. Mostly write-ins but some that had me thinking. The only thing I could come up with for 11a CAREWORN was ‘cornware’ which I knew was incorrect so had to reveal. Annoying as I knew the word but couldn’t bring it to mind. I assumed 12a TRAFFIC WARDEN would end in ‘driver’ but held off writing it in as I couldn’t think of a suitable word to precede it until RAISIN went in and the light shone. Still didn’t see the ‘fine’ part of the definition. Had to wait for a few checkers before I saw CHINATOWN. Liked KICK-OFF. COD to the ‘Lovely Rita, meter maid’ (TRAFFIC WARDEN) which I think would be a fine clue in a 15×15.
   Thanks Jack and setter.

   1. I also initially assumed 12a would end in ‘driver’.

      1. So did I

      2. Oh! I was convinced it would be WORKER – and having not seen the “fine” pun, was worried to the end lest TRAFFIC was wrong, too.

         1. Moi aussi

   2. I thought it was going to be WORKER as I already had TOP DRAWER in place.

      1. As did I.

         1. And I. (By the way, I’m a bus maniac too. FXT 180, anyone?)

3. 5.51, held up by CHINATOWN (like, how many places in Asia have a W?) and when it arrived it was a doh! moment. Same with ROMCOM and PANAMA. Nice puzzle, thanks Trelawney and Jack.

   1. Wuhan comes to mind…

      1. I thought Kowloon, maybe spelt with a C, but quickly realised it didn’t fit.

         1. I should have added ‘9-letter places’ because yes, that’s right, there are some with a W. Taiwan, for instance. But not a lot all told…

            1. Indeed, although the Myanmar capital, Naypyidaw has 9 letters and contains a W. But obviously doesn’t fit the clue.

4. 7.12

   As Jackkt says, a good cryptic. Pottered through the rest of it.

   Thanks Jackkt and Trelawney.

5. Five on the first pass of acrosses before markedly accelerating. Ended up a bit stuck thanks to looking at the wrong end of the clue EMERGE. Finally unravelled that to finish all green in 8.17. Nice to need MC without have to use ’emcee’.

6. 7:56, but I was in near-PB territory until my last two, OFTEN and then NONSTARTER, breezeblocked me for over 2 minutes. I just didn’t think of a hidden, reversed or otherwise, for the first and without the opening letter, NONSTARTER didn’t start to emerge. Large PDM when the N of OFTEN opened the way and the clue gets my COD.

   Many thanks Jack for the blog and Trelawney for an entertaining and approachable puzzle as always – Mr Reliable of the setters’ club.

   1. The same clues did the same for me! Still a PB of 9.30 but could have been closer to 7.

      Thanks Jack and Trelawney as always

7. Enjoyable and for me a fairly quick solve in 7:32. Had pencilled in DRIVER for the second part of TRAFFIC WARDEN before REACTOR made that impossible. I’m not such a fan of the TRAFFIC WARDEN clue – skills seems like the wrong word for someone with the power to fine, but maybe that’s quibbling. CHINATOWN was good.

8. A short but enjoyable solve. I started with VETO and finished with NONSTARTER in 4.58.
   Thanks to Jack and Trelawney

9. Classic Squire. Enjoyable solve with much to enjoy along the way, lots of candidates for COD but we give it to top drawer.

   We got often straight off, but like Cedric then completely breezeblocked by nonstarter which took about 3 minutes of our 17.58.

   Also thought driver but didn’t write in until a crosser discounted it.

   Thanks Squire and Jack

10. Like Cedric I too was on for a PB …something I can’t ‘often’ get and didn’t this time having taken far too long to realise it was a ‘nonstarter’
    Nice puzzle. Ta T&J

11. Today the crossword gods were aligned for me and came home in a barely believable 6m36 which is not only a PB but my first ever sub-k. I am usually very slow with anagrams but today I saw them quickly. Thanks to Jack and Trelawney.

    1. Well done!!

12. An enjoyable QC.
    Particularly liked TRAFFIC WARDEN.
    Thanks Trelawney and Jack

13. Relatively quick one for me. I’d written in CAREFUL DRIVER for 12a but soon realised it didn’t work. The anagrams all fell into place nicely. NONSTARTER was my last answer.

14. 13:13
    Quite some time spent on LOI NON STARTER, good clue, that.

    Tempted by ZERO, since it could mean “reject” and “duck”. Reading both ends of the clue and ignoring the middle bit almost tripped me up. And found CHINATOWN very hard, thought it was just “Asian” so tried “Cambodian”.

    1. Cambodian was also on my list for a while.

       1. I was going for a Cantonese at one point

          1. And I tried both 😅 I never did see the anagram, just biffed it!

15. 1853 NONSTARTER and ROMCOM added a minute.
    BUT – Sooooo many minutes spent on OFTEN – held up as we were by my writing A in lieu of O – DINASAUR.. Oh, dear. I even checked the AUR (v UAR) bit with Himself.
    That word has long plagued me… obviously I could take the time to learn the correct spelling. Obviously I have not.
    Take those out and we were on track for a clear sub 10.
    Much merriment in any case, many smiles – TRAFFIC WARDEN, REACTOR, NONSTARTER.
    Thank you all concerned!

16. The surface for CHINATOWN, my LOI, had me racking my brain for a non-existent native of an Asian country. Great puzzle. Thanks Trelawney and Jack.

17. 12:18 (Treaty of Worcester between Henry II and Llewelyn the Great)

    Slow today. I needed pen and paper to get CHINATOWN.
    LOI was REACTOR, after exhausting my botanical knowledge.

    Thanks Jack and Trelawney

18. Enjoyable puzzle, a steady solve. LOI ROMCOM. Liked TRAFFIC WARDEN (though missed Fine joke!), ABET, JETSAM, RAISIN, among others.
    Thanks vm, Jack.

19. A good QC but with a sting in the tail for me. I had no problem with NONSTARTER or CHINATOWN and finished all but two in under 12 mins but then agonised over TOP DRAWER and TRAFFIC WARDEN. I got the first of these before 17 came up on the clock but it clashed with some letters of DRIVER which remained from an earlier, desperate, biff so I dnf. More haste, less accuracy.
    Disappointing but thanks to Trelawney and Jack (thanks for making sense of the fine in 12a).

20. I raced through this one only to be held up and eventually beaten by EMERGE. I was so convinced that the meaning was ‘blend’, and the last of coffee was the final e not the initial e, that I couldn’t see it the other way.
    On checking the blog I now see that I also had two incorrect answers that still fitted the crossers. I had ‘amore’ instead of ADORE (which I could not parse) and ‘traffic worker’ instead of TRAFFIC WARDEN (which I also only superficially parsed). So slapped wrist for rushing.
    Thanks Jackkt for the helpful blog and Trelawny for a nice puzzle.

    Prof

    1. I also started with AMORE to the unconcealed scepticism of Mrs T – soon corrected!

21. Solved in 18 minutes, so a rare exit from the SCC for me today. Really liked TRAFFIC WARDEN and TOP-DRAWER. Thank you for the blog 😁

22. The Squire has really got the knack of producing puzzles which are both at the easier end of the spectrum, and also packed with really good clues. Bravo.

    I whistled through that for a top 5 time of 04:55 and a Red Letter Day, maintaining lockstep with Plett as usual. COD to TRAFFIC WARDEN, which I thought was brilliant. NONSTARTER also terrific.

    Many thanks to Jack and the Squire.

    1. 🔥

    2. Brilliant time 👏👏👏 And to Plett too 😊

       1. Thanks Penny – I’ve realised that my time today wouldn’t even make Plett’s top ten, so I’m still well behind!

23. Thank you, Trelawney, for that fun puzzle – glad to echo Merlin’s plaudits. Mrs M (whose Chinese mother died yesterday) offered cantonment but enjoyed CHINATOWN. The two that held me up were NONSTARTER (not quite = main course, we felt!) and LOI TRAFFIC WARDEN – so that’s why, thank you, Jack.

    1. Condolences to your wife and you, Martinů

       1. How very kind of you, thank you. She was 92 and it was her time to go. Sad of course, but not tragic. Thank you and best wishes.

24. Very enjoyable, a PB of 14.10 for me as a relative newbie, some buffs and write ins with TOP-DRAWER as LOI.

    Thanks to Trelawney and Jackkt!

25. TASKMASTER was FOI. 8a didn’t register immediately so I switched to the down clues, and went back to the acrosses when ROMCOM showed up. Liked TRAFFIC WARDEN and CHINATOWN. NONSTARTER was LOI. 6:13. Thanks Trelawney and Jack.

26. 5:14

    Gentle Monday with Trelawney easing us into the week. As for others, I started with DRIVER as the second word of 12a. Enjoyed ROMCOM and TOP DRAWER. LOI was NONSTARTER.

    Thanks Jack and Trelawney

27. I was sailing along quite nicely, delayed a little by writing out the letters for CHINATOWN, but still with less than seven minutes on the clock before trying to sort out 21ac my LOI. It took me over four minutes to get NONSTARTER, and I am not best pleased with myself for taking so long to see what was a fairly straightforward answer. I eventually dragged myself over the line in 11.11.

28. All fell into place fairly quickly. LOI and COD to traffic warden.
    Nice straightforward start to the week
    Thanks Trelawney and Jack

29. I was all set for a comfortable sub-20 start to the week, when one of Kite’s (absolute shower) Workers intervened at 12ac, which meant the Traffic Warden was a long time showing up (. . .if only🙄). That also delayed my loi Chinatown, which I thought had broken one of the cardinal rules of crosswords, as I wrongly assumed hit/damaged (those whom the Gods. . .)
    The upshot of all this was a hot under the collar (both senses) 22min solve, with CoD to the appropriate Top Drawer. Invariant

30. 9:59 but with an error (AmORE D’oh)

    I dont think I agree with the definition anxious = CAREWORN. By being anxious you become careworn but I don’t think they are synonymous. Its like saying wet = having had water poured on you

    1. Funny, I had the same response to CAREWORN, though of course I know that stretchy definitions are part of the game.

31. A tidy puzzle from Trelawney with some lovely surfaces. I was seriously misdirected by “plant”, and was fixed on things botanical, only spotting the nuclear option when 3 crossers were in place.

    FOI TASKMASTER
    LOI TRAFFIC WARDEN
    COD ROMCOM
    TIME 4:43

32. I got ‘ADORE’ but by accident. I took ‘A WAY’ to mean ‘A ROAD’ and then ‘out reportedly’ to mean the other kind of RODE, mixed up. Sort of worked!

33. Very slow but enjoyable return after my holiday break. I bought the paper every day and carefully tore out the crossword, and then didn’t do any of them.
    I think I fell into every trap mentioned by others. Favourite clue lovely Rita, even if the wordplay doesn’t quite work. Fine MotorIST (that is what they are doing) would perhaps be better for the wordplay, but then it would miss the “Motor-skills” allusion i.e. eye-hand coordination. Thanks to Trelawney and jackkt.

34. DNF

    Pretty straightforward but failed on TRAFFIC WARDEN, having already biffed worker for the second word using the checkers.

35. Last day in US before returning to ‘normal’ hours. I found this to be on my right wave length and parsed my way through quite nicely to finish in a sharpish 16mins. Semi-biffed China Town after a brief thought about districts in Asia before for a change of tack to Soho, and the anagram dropped straight in.
    Much enjoyed.
    Thanks Trelawney and Jackkt

36. Yes, I agree with our blogger – an enjoyable and well-pitched QC from Trelawney, today. 22-24 minutes for me, although I thought I might have hit the buffers with about six clues to go. Fortunately, TOP DRAWER suddenly appeared from nowhere and I was up and running again.

    The only doubtful clue for me was TRAFFIC WARDEN, which I don’t think really works. I will allow the setter that minor slip (if that’s what it was) though, as there were no NHOs, nothing that required a classical education to solve and that wretched school was nowhere to be seen.

    Many thanks to Jack and Trelawney.

37. 7.07 As used by Pan Am! A fairly steady solve. I had to come back to the NE to finish with PANAMA and EMERGE. Thanks Jack and Trelawney.

38. I also thought the second half of 12ac would be driver until I realised what sort of plant I was looking for at 14dn. Wasted time looking at the wrong end of 7dn for the definition as well. I crossed the line eventually in 17 minutes having been interrupted a couple of times which, although I stopped the clock, still destroyed my rhythm (well that’s my excuse anyway).

    FOI – 1ac TASKMASTER
    LOI – 5dn TOP DRAWER
    COD – 21ac NONSTARTER

    Thanks to Trelawney and Jack

39. 15 after about 30 minutes on and off.

    Missed panama and romcom completely.

40. 26:06 with the last 10 minutes spent on NONSTARTER…..and then it was so obvious.
    I did rather enjoy ROMCOM which slowly revealed itself. Who knew that there was a word with MC in it.
    Thanks to The Squire and Jack.

    1. Funnily enough the noun “Emcee” does! 🤣

       Romcom is of course an abbreviation of “romantic comedy” and doesn’t seem to appear in the 21st Century edition of Chambers – as per the link from this site

       1. I had forgotten (if I ever knew) that we have a link to that cutdown version of Chambers on the site. It’s pretty much useless and one needs to invest in a printed edition or paid-for access to their site or app for access to the full version. ‘Romcom’ and ‘rom-com’ are in my 12th edition published in 2011.

          1. Thanks Jackkt – I was perhaps being a little facetious as “romcom” appears often in newspapers or articles that even, if for some reason it isn’t a dictionary – it should be. And your copy goes on to prove it does. My alternative point is that “romcom” has to be a bastardised version of something to get to the MC middle. But then the emcee noun is also something of a bastardisation. I suppose those this is how word in a language begin …

41. 16 mins…

    I thought this was one of Trelawney’s harder offerings, with quite a few clues that needed thinking about. 2dn “Adore” made me chuckle more than it ought to, whilst 16dn “Often” had me scouring my brain for early newsgroups and bulletin boards until the answer literally revealed itself to me.

    FOI – 4dn “Aim”
    LOI – 21ac “Nonstarter”
    COD – 12ac “Traffic Warden” – a serious squint was indeed required, followed by a long groan.

    Thanks as usual!

42. 6:27 for the solve. Anyone go for Laker Airways – nope, me neither! Good first pass and then a dry spell lasting almost two mins before TASK-MASTER and those hanging off and around it fell. Ended off with NON-STARTER which it certainly was. Enjoyed the TRAFFIC-WARDEN and REACTOR puns.

    Somehow this is only my 6th fastest of Trelawney’s eight puzzles this year! Halfway mark and I’m solving at 82% – partly dragged down in May by a run of six consecutive DNFs. Median time about 14:26 with 30 successful sub-10s.

    Thanks to Jackkt and Trelawney.

43. A gentle start to the week, finished in a quick (for me) 16:58. LOI NON-STARTER.

44. Back at home now after a holiday. I nearly finished the 15×15 in 20 minutes this morning waiting for a haircut (still one clue short). I looked at this after lunch and romped through in 6 minutes.
    LOI NON-STARTER after looking for sea- related words.
    Some very nice clues including ADORE which I liked along with the other nominees above.
    David

45. 25 with final minutes struggling with ROMCOM, trying to get ‘MC’and ‘ET’ into some sort of solution, when space= room suddenly dawned, I liked ADORE and NONSTARTER as clues, good run out

46. 12:09. NONSTARTER was favourite and also hardest to solve.

47. We seemed to be racing through this at one point though found it difficult to finish off. PANAMA was a hold-up, spent too long trying to think of countries beginning with o(ld). Quite happy to be through in 9:17 though. COD to TRAFFIC WARDEN by a short head from ROMCOM. Thanks, Jack and Trelawney.

48. Great start to the week – just under 10minutes! Top drawer puzzle I reckon, and hardly any hiddens. I too wondered if careworn equated anxious but I suppose you would be the latter if you were the former! Lovely variety of clues: 20a made me wonder how FLOTSAM might be clued? 2d set the smiley mood! Thanks Trelawney and Jack.

49. A question for the admin team: access from my PC (Google Chrome browser) is coming up with “Error 500 – internal server error”. But (as this post shows), access is still available from my phone (android). Any ideas?

    Many thanks
    Cedric

    1. Yes, Cedric, the site is very slow just now, sometimes resulting in an error message. It changes from moment to moment. I was going to report it to johninterred who manages our tech but I doubt there’s anything to be done to resolve it in the short term.

    2. Echoing Jackkt’s comment … when I posted at lunchtime from my desktop – the site was up and down like an Olympic trampolinist. Probably luck of the draw that you got in on phone

50. I had a busy morning so this accompanied my brunch, a pleasant 8:16 to solve it, a short time for me. We don’t have TRAFFIC WARDENs in my world, so that held me up, particularly since I had to reject my biffed WoRkEr to get there. I’m on to “biro” though, and feel I will soon be admitted to the Intermediate British Vocabulary class. I enjoyed the sly REACTOR. I’ve never liked, and never used, the word NONSTARTER; it’s funny how these unaccountable word aversions happen.

    Thanks to Trelawney and jackkt.

    1. Out of interest who/what are your traffic wardens in the States? i.e. the people who issue fines for illegal parking.

       1. Lovely Ritas. Meter maids. I don’t know any other common term (or it could be slipping my mind); I’m sure there is official jargon like parking enforcement officer or some such thing.

          Traffic warden sounds so weird. Like, are the cars prisoners or something?

          1. Ritas – is that American Rhyming Slang?!? Of course Meter Maids – now you say it, I’ve heard of them.

             The warden is charge of making sure the parking rules are followed, just like the prison warden makes sure the prison rules are followed. And the game warden ensures no-one cheats!!

             1. ‘ Lovely Rita, meter maid’ was a Beatles hit!

                1. Oh I see. Obviously I know a fair amount of their stuff even if they split up before I was born. My “deprived childhood” (said with big dose of irony) meant I rarely listened to any popmusic before 1980ish

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