Solving time: 8 minutes
A very enjoyable offering from the Squire. The intro to my last QC blog proved that I am no judge of the level of difficulty others may experience so I won’t attempt to today, but I can say that I found this one easy.
As usual definitions are underlined in bold italics, {deletions and substitutions are in curly brackets} and [anagrinds, containment, reversal and other indicators in square ones]. “Aural wordplay” is in quotation marks. I usually omit all reference to juxtaposition indicators unless there is a specific point that requires clarification.
 Across |
|
| 1 | Tough boss marks a test badly (10) |
| TASKMASTER | |
| Anagram [badly] of MARKS A TEST | |
| 8 | Film master of ceremonies going into space (6) |
| ROMCOM | |
| MC (master of ceremonies) contained by [going into] ROOM (space) | |
| 9 | Old airline associated with a country (6) |
| PANAMA | |
| PAN AM (old airline), A. I was checking the airline on Wiki and discovered they are actually operational at the moment! In 2025, Pan Am will return with a short lived charter service, with the help of the Pan Am museum. These transatlantic routes will start on June 27, and will end on July 8, with a charter Boeing 757-200 with a Business class 50 seat configuration. | |
| 10 | Reject animal doctor with duck (4) |
| VETO | |
| VET (animal doctor), 0 (duck) | |
| 11 | Anxious racer won after transformation (8) |
| CAREWORN | |
| Anagram [after transformation] of RACER WON | |
| 12 | One with fine motor skills? (7,6) |
| TRAFFIC WARDEN | |
| An amusing cryptic. It reads well but the definition requires a squint to make it work. ‘Fine’ refers to the penalty notice for overstaying as dished out by the wardens. | |
| 15 | Ancient creature from Sudan and Rio mixed up (8) |
| DINOSAUR | |
| Anagram [mixed up] of SUDAN RIO | |
| 17 | Help Lincoln, say, with head of treasury (4) |
| ABET | |
| ABE (Lincoln, say), T{reasury} [head of…]. We have (had?) an offence known as ‘aiding and abetting’ a criminal. | |
| 19 | Pen found outside street restaurant (6) |
| BISTRO | |
| BIRO (pen) contains [found outside] ST (street) | |
| 20 | American uncle on plane discarded goods (6) |
| JETSAM | |
| JET (plane), SAM (American uncle). Unwanted material or goods that have been thrown overboard from a ship and washed ashore. | |
| 21 | Main course is something bound to fail? (10) |
| NONSTARTER | |
| ‘Main course’ is perhaps more of a hint than another definition. | |
| Down |
|
| 2 | Love a way out, reportedly (5) |
| ADORE | |
| A, then aural wordplay [reportedly] DORE / “door” (way out) | |
| 3 | Recoil before rotten start of match (4-3) |
| KICK-OFF | |
| KICK (recoil – of a gun when fired), OFF (rotten) | |
| 4 | Objective of Taoism regularly displayed (3) |
| AIM | |
| {t}A{o}I{s}M [regularly displayed] | |
| 5 | Excellent T-shirt, say, seen on artist? (3-6) |
| TOP-DRAWER | |
| TOP (T-shirt, say), DRAWER (artist) | |
| 6 | Start again with some spare newspapers (5) |
| RENEW | |
| Hidden in [some] {spa}RE NEW{spapers} | |
| 7 | Appear with last of coffee blend (6) |
| EMERGE | |
| {coffe}E [last of…], MERGE (blend) | |
| 11 | Asian district damaged with canon (9) |
| CHINATOWN | |
| Anagram [damaged] of WITH CANON. I biffed the answer but had to cross the letters off one by one to confirm the anagram worked as it looked so unlikely. |
|
| 13 | Almost lifting dried fruit (6) |
| RAISIN | |
| RAISIN{g} (lifting) [almost] | |
| 14 | Part of plant is concerning performer (7) |
| REACTOR | |
| RE (concerning), ACTOR (performer). Oh, that sort of plant! | |
| 16 | Internet forum holds back frequently (5) |
| OFTEN | |
| Hidden [holds] and reversed [back] in {inter}NET FO{rum} | |
| 18 | Avoid advert during night before (5) |
| EVADE | |
| AD (advert) contained by [during] EVE (night before) | |
| 20 | Scribble a little bit (3) |
| JOT | |
| Two meanings | |
9.59.5 for me!! Or about that. A gentle offering to start the week with no errors, tippex or spilt coffee.
A quick trip from Wiltshire to Devon and back must have relaxed the brain.
FOI TASKMASTER
LOI NONSTARTER
COD TRAFFIC WARDEN (fortunately none encountered on today’s journey)
Thank you Trelawney and Jackkt
11:03
A quick time for me.
I do like Trelawney’s QC’s, a nice balance between easy and challenging clues (for me at any rate).
Five clues left at the 7 min mark with TRAFFIC WARDEN (my COD) taking the majority of the remaining time.
A very good day for me, scoring ‘Very Good’ in the Polygon (3 words short), a rare finish to the Concise and not residing in the QC SCC ☺️
A big thanks to Trelawney and jackkt
First time poster on the forum, and first completion without any hints or checks, after about a month of learning, 20:26. Had CAREFUL DRIVER for a long time and ‘completed’ the puzzle with TRAFFIC WORKER, having missed ‘fine’.
FOI VETO
LOI TRAFFIC WARDEN
COD REACTOR
Thanks for all the blogs and glossaries, a big help for a novice.
That’s a cracking time after just a few weeks – well done 👏
Thank you Penny!
You seem to have a bright solving future ahead of you!
Thanks, thats very kind!
Welcome and congratulations!
Thank you Templar
Gave up on ‘nonstarter’ as I convinced myself that the solution would end with ‘turkey’. I was also fed up with the Times website misbehaving.
A very quick start and heading for about 7 minutes, but then – breezeblock! I gazed at the clues for another minute or do, but eventually left it for a bit and when I came back, I suddenly saw CHINATOWN and NONSTARTER. Weird how often that happens.
Very enjoyable up to that point – I liked DINOSAUR and CAREWORN.
About 10 minutes in the end, with a short break for toast and marmalade
FOI Taskmaster LOI Nonstarter COD Veto
Thanks Trelawney and Jack
Pleasantly surprised with this very doable QC which I completed before going to bed last night tired from my Sunday walk.
15 minutes.
Hardly a cause for celebration when I look at the times of others. Well beaten again.
Only 1 on Quintagram.
Ok on 15 x 15 .