Times Quick Cryptic 3070 by Trelawney – when life gives you lemons, juggle them

Author   KittyPosted on Categories Quick Cryptic

Hi everyone.  I don’t have anything new or unexpected to say about this puzzle, for the good reason that Trelawney is very consistent.  Nothing really held me up, so I put in one of my faster times.  I really liked the rocket booster in 19a, which is my standout favourite.  16d also warrants a mention for its surface.  (Which is a good occasion to say that if you need help sorting your green paint from your Ninja Turtles, you can consult this site’s glossary.)  Finally, I was also amused by the serious business of juggling lemons (22a).  Thanks Trelawney!

Definitions are underlined in the clues below.  In the explanations, most quoted indicators are in italics, specified [deletions] are in square brackets, and I’ve capitalised and emboldened letters which appear in the ANSWER.  For clarity, I omit most link words and some juxtaposition indicators.

Across
1a Swindle Greek character for seafood (6)
SCAMPI — SCAM (swindle) + PI (Greek character)
4a Prepares orthodontic device (6)
BRACES — A double definition
8a Nurse pocketing certain revolutionary’s box of goodies (8,5)
TREASURE CHEST — TREAT (nurse) taking in (pocketing) SURE (certain) and CHE’S (revolutionary’s)
10a Lift up and tear down, reportedly (5)
RAISE — Sounds like (… reportedly) RAZE (tear down)
11a Fortress let acid out (7)
CITADEL — LET ACID anagrammed (out)
13a Quietly permitted to split separate dessert (5,4)
APPLE TART — P (quietly) and LET (permitted) dividing (to split) APART (separate)
17a Cut off one very behind schedule (7)
ISOLATE — I (one) + SO (very) + LATE (behind schedule)
18a Immature insect right inside molten rock (5)
LARVA — R (right) inside LAVA (molten rock)
19a Heads of secret aerospace lab dealing with rocket booster? (5,8)
SALAD DRESSING — The first letters of (heads of) Secret Aerospace Lab + ADDRESSING (dealing with)
21a Anger about European flower arrangement (6)
WREATH — WRATH (anger) around (about) E (European)
22a Juggling lemons is serious (6)
SOLEMN — An anagram of (juggling) LEMONS IS
Down
1d Ridicule South African flag (6)
SATIRE — SA (South African) + TIRE (flag)
2d On camera, I stirred coffee (9)
AMERICANO — ON CAMERA, I anagrammed (stirred)
3d Model entertains small gang (5)
POSSE — POSE (model) holds (entertains) S (small)
5d Italian cheese — cook it with actor (7)
RICOTTA — Make an anagram of (cook) IT with ACTOR
6d Signal is crude in every other place (3)
CUE — Alternate letters of (… in every other place) CrUdE
7d Sort out US city ignoring amendment initially (6)
SETTLE — SE[a]TTLE (US city) omitting (ignoring) the first letter of (… initially) Amendment
9d Loud noise and revelry periodically criminal (9)
RACKETEER — RACKET (loud noise) and rEvElRy taking every other letter (periodically)
12d Decide to put off something explosive (9)
DETERMINE — DETER (to put off) + MINE (something explosive)
14d Acclaim extremely practical inspection (7)
PLAUDIT — The outer letters of (extremely) PracticaL + AUDIT (inspection)
15d Puzzle observed after merry dance (6)
JIGSAW — SAW (observed) after JIG (merry dance)
16d Technical language primarily just gas (6)
JARGON — The initial letter of (primarily) Just + ARGON (gas)
18d Young woman at first orders cowboy’s accessory (5)
LASSO — LASS (young woman) + the beginning of (at first) Orders
20d Part of client’s falsehood (3)
LIE — The answer is part of cLIEnt

100 comments on “Times Quick Cryptic 3070 by Trelawney – when life gives you lemons, juggle them”

  1. I wish I could be held up whist completing it in under 5 minutes! I can barely read the clues that quickly. In my world a sub 20 minute solve is to be celebrated and today was the day. An enjoyable puzzle and cod to SALAD DRESSING. Thank you Trelawney and Kitty.

  2. A pleasant Monday solve at 8:06, with the apt JARGON my COD. I felt rather slow and was surprised to finish in under 10, so I’m guessing there will be some very fast solves. If I hadn’t just been reading about the great Cheddar cheese theft, I would think the surface for 1a was unconvincing, but alas, human nature is what it is. The lemon juggling made me laugh.

    Congratulations to all the PBers!

    Thanks Trelawney and Kitty.

  3. 14 minutes all parsed – my fastest time for a few weeks. Slight hesitation over BRACES which seemed to be a plural where I had been expecting a singular but otherwise no problems.

    FOI – 1ac SCAMPI
    LOI – 9dn RACKETEER
    COD – 19ac SALAD DRESSING

    Thanks to Trelawney and Kitty.

  4. Irritatingly missed a couple of sitters, so could have done with fewer fat fingers and more attention

  5. A faster than it felt, and very enjoyable, 7:40. COD SALAD DRESSING. Thanks, Kitty and Trelawney.

  6. A very nice start to the week, and at 6:58 not very far off my PB. I certainly did enjoy SALAD DRESSING very much.

    Thank you for the blog!

  7. Breezed through this one although slight hold-ups parsing TREASURE CHEST and APPLE TART. COD I SO LATE which made me smile. Also appreciated LARVA and SALAD DRESSING. Thanks Trelawney and Kitty.

  8. 17:01 always pleased with sub 20 mins. Slow with Braces and Cue. Otherwise my mental agility is improving. Much quicker at understanding word plays. Although out-thought myself thinking 21a’s ‘flower’ could have meant a river. Thanks all

    1. Good show. 🙂 You were completely right that the flower could have been a river – it’s just that in this case it wasn’t. (That’s key to cryptic solving: thinking of, sifting and shuffling various possibilities until you find the magic combination which makes sense of it all.)

  9. 9:44. Hmmm, am I just being grumpy in not joining in the universal praise of SALAD DRESSING? I see the clever yoking of the aeronautical and gastronomic senses but to my way of thinking rocket has a distinctive peppery slightly bitter taste and the salad cream usually mutes this as opposed to enhancing ( boosting) it.

    1. Depends on the dressing, I’d say. Salad dressing puts me most readily in mind of vinaigrette. Or you could dress your salad in something really boosty if you wish. There’s the question mark in the definition to cover dressings which you wouldn’t really consider boost the taste.

      1. Yes, I agree your take makes more sense than mine- I think sometimes you just have to let your grumpiness out!

  10. My all time record completion of 35 mins. in over two years. No doubt tomorrow will bring me back down to earth.

  11. Another in the “quick for me”club, done in under 20 while having half an eye on a recorded episode of countdown which Mr P was playing. Which suggests this was at the easy end.

    FOI Braces
    LOI Wreath
    COD Salad dresssing

    Thanks Kitty and Trelawney

  12. It’s far too late to add a subtitle to the blog now, but one occurred to me on the walk from work, so I added it anyway.

    I’ve just typed “well done!” a silly number of times – congrats to those with PBs. And thanks to all as usual for your comments.

  13. 28 minutes, including periodic interruptions from a small child who is wildly excited to be sleeping in a tent in the garden tonight!

    FOI BRACES
    LOI POSSE

    Needed Kitty to parse TREASURE CHEST, thank you.

    “SALAD DRESSING” excellent. That’s my COD.

    10/10.

    Very good fun – thanks to Kitty and Trelawny.

  14. A disappointing 10 minutes. No excuse for failing to achieve single figures.

    Failed on 15 x 15 – 2 short after 90 mins. With a Snitch of 68, a very poor performance.

    Spent 5 hours on cryptics this weekend and failed badly. Several short on Saturday jumbo and 2 or 3 short on Sunday Times cryptic.

    So much time devoted to this and for so little reward. It’s like wading through glue most of the time. My times do not improve and I hardly ever finish.

  15. 8:31 here, with the biggest issue being my cat trying to push my phone out of my grasp. As many others have said, SALAD DRESSING was my favourite today.

    Thanks to Trelawney and Kitty.

  16. Only a second sub 5-mins for me. Only one I had to revisit was SALAD DRESSING. Better give that COD because I fell hook, line and sinker for the misdirection.

    Thanks Kitty and Trelawney

  17. 11 mins…

    A nice and gentle puzzle to begin the week, but there were still some great clues.

    FOI – 1ac “Scampi”
    LOI – 12dn “Determine”
    COD – 19ac “Salad Dressing”

    Thanks as usual!

Comments are closed.