Hello everyone. It’s been a while since I’ve encountered Trelawney on a blogging day and I was happy to see him. Solving was nice and smooth, with a big smile at the unusual first aid item in 13d. Thanks Trelawney!
Definitions are underlined in the clues below. In the explanations, I generally italicise indicators unless it seems clearer not to. Where the removed letter is specified, [deletions] are in square brackets, and I’ve capitalised and emboldened letters which appear in the ANSWER. I sometimes omit link words and juxtaposition indicators if it doesn’t feel necessary to explain them. If you have any questions, please ask in the comments section.
| Across | |
| 1a | Cuban’s heedlessly concealing wailing spirit (7) |
| BANSHEE — CuBAN’S HEedlessly concealing the answer | |
| 5a | Art gallery in North Dakota, say, not South (4) |
| TATE — [s]TATE (North Dakota, say), not S (south) | |
| 7a | Fling with head of navy is paradise (6) |
| HEAVEN — HEAVE (fling) + the first letter of (head of) Navy | |
| 8a | Give naughty child paintings, perhaps (6) |
| IMPART — IMP (naughty child) + ART (paintings, perhaps) | |
| 9a | Old lady and two friends cropped arresting picture showing ancient site (5,6) |
| MACHU PICCHU — MA (old lady) and CHUm CHUm (two friends) both short of the last letter (cropped) taking in (arresting) PIC (picture) | |
| 10a | Team returns, working for inventor (6) |
| EDISON — SIDE (team) goes backwards (returns) + ON (working) | |
| 12a | Sleep next to family’s serviette (6) |
| NAPKIN — NAP (sleep) next to KIN (family) | |
| 14a | Desirable partner reportedly unravels slogan (11) |
| CATCHPHRASE — CATCH (desirable partner) + PHRASE, which sounds like (reportedly) FRAYS (unravels) | |
| 17a | Catch Eminem song about otorhinolaryngology? (6) |
| ENTRAP — An ENT RAP could be an Eminem song about otorhinolaryngology | |
| 18a | Outlaw grabs cash machine for superhero (6) |
| BATMAN — BAN (outlaw) takes in (grabs) ATM (cash machine) | |
| 20a | Singer heading east within Scotland (4) |
| ALTO — The answer is reversed inside (heading east within) ScOTLAnd | |
| 21a | Engineers tried out not working any more (7) |
| RETIRED — RE (engineers) + TRIED anagrammed (out) | |
| Down | |
| 1d | Farewell purchase for the audience (3) |
| BYE — Sounds like (… for the audience) BUY (purchase) | |
| 2d | No gambling and drinking, say, for beginners (7) |
| NOVICES — NO + VICES (gambling and drinking, say) | |
| 3d | Religious adherent back with uniform (5) |
| HINDU — HIND (back) + U (uniform) | |
| 4d | Volume of rabble-rousing cut at first (7) |
| EDITION — With the first letter removed (… cut at first), sEDITION (rabble-rousing) | |
| 5d | Subject to incomplete selection (5) |
| TOPIC — TO + PICk (selection) without its last letter (incomplete …) | |
| 6d | Squire out to change order for precious stone (9) |
| TURQUOISE — SQUIRE OUT anagrammed (to change order) | |
| 9d | Italian family ultimately ban nausea pill having therapeutic properties (9) |
| MEDICINAL — MEDICI (Italian family) + last letters of (ultimately) baN nauseA pilL | |
| 11d | Redesign phone or one has no chance of succeeding? (2-5) |
| NO-HOPER — Make an anagram of (redesign) PHONE OR | |
| 13d | Stapler is unusual first aid item! (7) |
| PLASTER — STAPLER is anagrammed (unusual) | |
| 15d | Where one can find core temperature approximately (5) |
| TORSO — T (temperature) + OR SO (approximately) | |
| 16d | Nun’s garment beginning to harden slightly (5) |
| HABIT — The first letter of (beginning to) Harden + A BIT (slightly) | |
| 19d | Help Matilda regularly (3) |
| AID — Every other letter of (… regularly) mAtIlDa | |
Failed on TORSO but I like it, Turbo fitted so I moved on. EDITION correct but disappointed not to see the parsing before coming here. The chatty style of comments nowadays is great, rather an austere place here in the early days.
3:57. Done after returning home from a lovely 10 mile walk from Wells-next-the-Sea in North Norfolk. I’m not sure how I came to be so quick as it didn’t seem that easy. But no marks on my page apart from the filled-in grid and my time. Luckily I recognised the proper name for the ENT hospital department. Like Kitty, I enjoyed the unusual first aid item. Thanks Trelawney and Kitty.
11 minute DNF.
Put BUY for 1dn and SYLVAN for 7ac.
Utter, utter incompetence. How can I be this bad? Failing on a Trelawney a new low, even for this no hoper. Where am I going so wrong? I’m sure everyone else found this a breeze.
I spent almost 90 minutes on 15 x 15 and was still 3 short.
I am at my absolute wits end with this and have not the faintest idea how to achieve anything like a decent performance. Bottom line is that I just haven’t got it and never will. Almost 5 years of trying and I am nowhere! ☹️