Independent 7,147 by Phi – Fifteensquared

*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, cd=cryptic definition, dd=double definition.

I knew that GCSE in Music would come in handy some day. A nicely-themed Friday puzzle that had me sorely tempted to litter this intro with puns about sharp clueing and (vowels and) consonance and whatnot, but in the end I chose not to make a complete bassoon of myself…

Across
7	MINIM – M + MINI<.
8	EIRENICON – (ON ICE RE NI)*. A really excellent clue, but I had to cheat to solve it!
10	NATURAL – (TURN* “about” A) + AL[l]. A note that’s neither ♯ nor ♭.
11	TOURIST – TOUT “holding” SIR<.
12	MISAPPREHENDED – MENDED “without” (1 + PERHAPS*).
15	TIBER – TI[m]BER.
16	DOT – [i]D[i]OT. A dotted note is one that’s held longer by a half than its usual duration.
17	CUTIE – CUT + IE.
18	MESDEMOISELLES – (DEMO I SELL + [strif]E) in MESS.
22	LYING-IN – LYING + I + N.
23	CHARADE – CE “holding” (A in HARD).
25	TUNNEL NET – TUNNEL + NET.
26	SHARP – R “getting into” SHAP[e].

Down
1	UNIT – [s]UIT around 1.
2	IMPROPER – IMP + ROPE + R.
3	CELLAR – hom. of “seller”.
4	CROTCHET – CROCHET “securing” [i]T.
5	IN TURN – INN “accepting” TUR[n].
6	ACCIDENTAL – A[ct] + [o]CCIDENTAL. A note that is not in the current key signature of a piece.
7	MANUMITS – AN “to enter” SUMMIT*.
9	NOTE – NOT + E[dward].
13	SUBMEDIANT – (S[o]U[n]D + AMBIENT)*. The sixth degree of the diatonic scale, apparently.
14	REM SLEEP – PEELER< "clutching" MS.
16	DOMINANT – (DO IN + ANT) “pocketing” M. The fifth note of a major scale, I think.
17	CREVASSE – C[hurches] + REV + ASSE[t].
19	DAGGER – G in DA[n]GER.
20	INCITE – hom. of “in sight”.
21	FLAT – dd.
24	ALAS – AL[i]AS.

4 comments on “Independent 7,147 by Phi”

nmsindy

#1 - Fri 11th Sep 09, 12:11

Excellent puzzle from Phi, as ever. A bit harder than usual ‘cos of the unfamiliar musical terms but NOTE came straightaway. Thanks for explaining DOT – I did see that. IN TURN is a little unusual is that n is taken from turn but then appears below it, nothing wrong with it, of course. One v minor correction to the blog, in 12 ac it’s MENDED.

nmsindy

#2 - Fri 11th Sep 09, 12:12

DOT should be – I did NOT see that – another minor correction…