I was hoping for something easy and breezy to see me off on my Easter hols, so my heart sank when I saw that Gozo was treating us to a themed puzzle – and it sank even further when I figured out what that theme was.
However, Gozo, as always, delivered the goods: this was fun, even for an anti-themist like me, and not too tough (although I did learn a few new words).
The theme of the across solutions is, of course, musical instruments.
ACROSS
1. BUGLES Bugles(s) [of a flower, without bugs, pests]
4. PANPIPES Pip [spot, as on a playing card] within panes [sheets of stamps]
9. REBECK RE [Royal Engineer, sapper] + Beck(s) [nickname of footballer David Beckham]
10. CLARINET N(ewshound) within anagram of article
12. OCARINAS Carina [girl’s name] within OS [Over Sized, very big]
13. FIDDLE D [director] + D [daughter] within file [set of computer data]
15. LUTE Outer letters of LUxuriaTE
16. OPHICLEIDE Oph [sounds like off, cancelled] + I [island] + cleide [sounds like Clyde, river]
19. COR ANGLAIS Anagram of sing a carol
20. HARP Harp(y) [eagle], or har(e) [mammal] + P [positive]
23. ATABAL At [attending] + a + bal(let) [dance show]
25. TRIANGLE Anagram of altering – and, of course, a shape
27. DULCIMER Anagram of could merit minus the letters of to
28. TABRET Tablet [small computer] with r [right] in place of l [left]
29. SIDE DRUM Side [sounds like sighed, moaned] + Dr [doctor] + um [hesitation]
30. VIOLIN V(illa) + IO [10] + reversal of nil [0]
DOWN
1. BARN OWL Bar [counter] + now [currently] + (til)l
2. GIBRALTAR Anagram of B [black] argil + tar [salt, sailor]
3. EUCLID Anagram of clue + ID [1D]
5. AWLS Odd letters of mAxWeLlS
6. PARTICLE Part [a bit] + anagram of (s)lice
7. PINED Pine [tree] + d(une)
8. SO THERE Sot [drunkard] + here [present]
11. TADPOLE Tad [just a little] + pole [perch]
14. RIVIERA Anagram of I arrive
17. INAUGURAL In Aug [during August, month] + Ural [(mountain) range]
18. UNVARIED Anagram of ruin Dave
19. CHANDOS Chant [melody] minus t [time] + dos [parties]
21. PRESTON Anagram of open secret minus EEC
22. SALAMI Reversal of I’m alas [sad to say] – ‘snag’ is a slang term for a sausage
24. AILED Reversal of Delia [Smith, TV cook]
26. BEAU Sounds like Bow [district of the East End of London]
Thanks Ringo. As a lute-player I got 15 on sight, and the rest of the thematics came very quickly to me, axcept ATABAL, which was new to me and last in. I didn’t know snag=sausage, but the wordplay made the answer obvious. Splendid puzzle I thought.
I did not find this fun at all. Your first instincts about this crossword were correct in my case, Ringo.
How the hell is anyone supposed to work out the theme – especially when so many of the instruments are so obscure?
Of the non-themed clues, I thought 11 & 22 were bad. Snag is slang for sausage? Really?
Hi Lynette. I sympathise! Maybe I was lucky in that, like Meic, I solved ‘lute’ first, making the theme pretty evident. I hadn’t heard of snag=sausage either, but in fairness it’s there in the dictionary.
I also picked up the theme from LUTE (with COR ANGLAIS providing the needed confirmation), but was stumped by 16a, 11d and 22d.
1a: Isn’t “flowers” rather unnecessary? It seems that “Almost pest-free” would suffice just fine.
20a: The “tailless mammal” could also be har(t).