A very nice puzzle from Gozo.
We have a music lesson from Gozo this morning, all the across solutions are musical instruments. Some are well known, some less so. I couldn’t claim to know exactly what each one looks like but at their names were familiar enough to get the solutions without the dictionary.
I think this is a good example of how to produce a themed puzzle that does not result in a string of write-ins once the theme is uncovered. Simply making a mental list of musical instruments and seeing where they fit is not going to help as there are just too many possibilities. Having mostly single word solutions also helps as the letter counts do not give much away.
Thanks Gozo.
| Across | ||
| 1 | TOM-TOM |
Tropical American bird returning from the east (3-3)
MOTMOT (tropical american bird) reversed (returning, from the east)
|
| 4 | BAGPIPES |
Bit of granola in bread-roll, with mince pies (8)
G (first letter, a bit, of granola) in BAP (bread roll) with PIES* anagram=mince
|
| 10 | MARIMBA |
Snake biting water colourist (7)
MAMBA (snake) contains (biting) RI (member of the Royal Institue of Painters in Watercolours)
|
| 11 | SERPENT |
Edited centrespread Dacre removed (7)
cENTRESPread* anagram=edited with DACRE removed
|
| 12 | LUTE |
Learner by pick-up (4)
L (learner) UTE (pick-up truck)
|
| 13 | GRAND PIANO |
£1,000 mislaid in a potty, outside (5,5)
GRAND (£1,000) then (IN A)* anagram=mislaid
|
| 15 | CORNET |
Top gear for the royals that’s not round (6)
CORoNET (headwear, top gear, for royals) missing O (something round)
|
| 16 | CELESTA |
Steel manufactured in Central America (7)
STEEL* anagram=manufactured in CA (Central America)
|
| 20 | MARACAS |
Frenchman at capital, losing capital (7)
M (Monsieur, frenchman) with (at) cARACAS (capital) missing leading letter (capital)
|
| 21 | TABOUR |
Roundabout, right (6)
ABOUT* anagram=round with R (right)
|
| 24 | CONCERTINA |
It’s ridiculous. No! Eric can’t (10)
(NO EIRC CAN’T)* anagram=rediculous
|
| 26 | HARP |
Charpentier hiding tailless eagle (4)
hidden inside cHARPentier and HARPy (eagle) missing tail
|
| 28 | OCARINA |
Old vehicle in Austria (7)
O (old) CAR (vehicle) IN A (Austria)
|
| 29 | TIMPANI |
Independent member ain’t bothered outside (7)
I (independent) MP (member, of Parliament) with AIN’T* anagram=bothered outside
|
| 30 | TRIANGLE |
Integral characters (8)
INTEGRAL* anagram=characters that make up…
|
| 31 | RATTLE |
Conductor or prattler at heart (6)
Simon Rattle or found inside (heart of) pRATTLEr
|
| Down | ||
| 1 | TIME LOCK |
Factory work-register lacking central security fitting (4,4)
TIME cLOCK (factory work register) missing C (central)
|
| 2 | MORATORIA |
Delays for artist in vehicle up the Great North Road (9)
RA (artist) in MOTOR (vehicle) then AI (The Great North Road) reversed (up)
|
| 3 | OHMS |
Units on governmental business, shortly (4)
abbreviation (shortly) of On Her Majesty’s Service
|
| 5 | ABSENTED |
Girls leaving broken dressing table withdrew (8)
(DrEsSiNg TABlE)* anagram=broken missing (leaving) GIRLS
|
| 6 | PERIPHERAL |
Could be magnetic tape of secondary importance (10)
double definition – a computer peripheral. Strictly speaking I think the peripheral would be the tape drive rather than the tape itself, but really a minor point.
|
| 7 | PIETA |
Religious picture is a welcome luxury. Thanks (5)
PIE (a welcome luxury) with TA (thanks) – a religious image of Mary with the dead Christ’s body
|
| 8 | SITCOM |
TV series first shown around Monday October the first (6)
S (first letter of shown) with M (Monday) OCT (October) I (the first) reversed (around)
|
| 9 | CAIRO |
Some Maori accountant raised capital (5)
found inside (some of) maORI ACcountant reversed (raised)
|
| 14 | MELANESIAN |
Animal seen roaming – from Vanuatu, say (10)
(ANIMAL SEEN)* anagram=roaming
|
| 17 | TOOK APART |
Acted out and dismantled (4,5)
TOOK A PART (acted out)
|
| 18 | CANTRAIL |
Supporting timber with tin and lead beneath (8)
CAN (tin) followed by (and…beneath) LEAD (trail) – the supporting beam in the roof of a train carriage
|
| 19 | GRAPHITE |
Black lead letter in fireplace (8)
PHI (Greek letter) in GRATE (fireplace)
|
| 22 | ACCOST |
Confront small companies during performance (6)
COS (company, plural) small=abbreviated inside (during) ACT (performance)
|
| 23 | KNOTS |
Sandpipers’ speed reckoning (5)
double definition
|
| 25 | NAAFI |
Canteen – one up on Mayfair regularly (5)
AN (one) reversed (up) on mAyFaIr (regular selection from)
|
| 27 | EMMA |
Novel, poem, manual? Somewhat (4)
found in (somewhat) poEM MAnual
|
*anagram
definitions underlined
definitions underlined
Best Gozo I can remember.
Especially pleasing to a 12-playing solver married to a 24 player
Superb puzzle.
I wonder whether Gozo started by trying to make the theme percussion?
Clever to fit all those instruments in the across clues, I thought, with such feasible downs.
Thanks both!
Lovely puzzle from Gozo. Thanks for the blog, PeeDee — not sure how a PIE is a welcome luxury? (7dn)
Hornbeam @4 – at the time I just took a punt on PIE but since you mention it I thought I had better check it out: Chambers gives “a welcome luxury, prize or spoil” – not a usage I have ever come across personally either.
Thanks Gozo and PD, got the theme instantly from Lute first clue I looked at, but cor what a struggle to complete and failed to see knots a Rufus clue if ever there was one.
Like flashing I unravelled the theme with lute (12A).
Held up by maracas (20a) as the three crossing letters were all ‘a’s.
For the second bit of 13a (piano)I assumed that it was simply an anagram of ‘IN A’ with po (potty) outside.
Thanks to PeeDee and Gozo
The first inkling I had of the theme was TIMPANI. That’s when I started cruising.
You are correct on 13a ernie, fixed now.
Thanks Gozo and PeeDee
Really interesting puzzle and a great blog … which I finished over a week ago and only have just now checked.
Similar to others, LUTE was my first in and the theme revealed.
As with hornbeam, I couldn’t find a synonym with PIE and welcome luxury, so thanks PeeDee for sorting that out!
Was my first encounter with NAAFI, but have now seen it again in another puzzle since.