Independent on Sunday 1,407 by Peter

10 comments on “Independent on Sunday 1,407 by Peter”

1. Enjoyed the puzzle and the blog, so thanks both.

   But a raga is a scale not a genre.

2. Thought this the best Peter crossword I have tackled, interesting throughout.

   Minor points in blog – 1A RAM is the male; 13 contains DEFOE’S.

   Thanks to Peter and PeeDee.

3. Liked this one and found it challenging in parts. Got done by 1a & 3d not having heard of the former and trying to put something round M. + US.; and having a hole in my fairy and goddess knowledge for the latter (all now hopefully stored in the noggin for future use). No particular fave clue today so honours go to the setter for a pleasurable solve overall. My thanks to PD for the enlightenment.

4. Thanks Peter and PeeDee

   CC @ 1: eChambers has

   raga /rä?g?/ noun
   1. A traditional Hindu musical form or mode, a rhythmic or melodic pattern used as the basis for improvisation
   2. A piece composed in such a mode

   so I think Peter is on reasonably safe ground.

   If I may add to gwep @ 2, 18 also needs AB for sailor in the explanation.

5. Simon @ 4

   The BRB is not always right. Think of it saying of “arpeggio”: ‘ a chord of which the notes are performed not simultaneously, but in rapid (normally in an upward direction) succession.’ Wrong on so many counts.

   OTOH I suppose one can’t blame the setter if it is in there.

6. An enjoyable Sunday solve. ABLATE and BINDI were new to me, the latter not in Chambers (1998), though in Collins, and the former in both. But they were easily got from checked letters and wordplay. No CoD because it was all good.

   Re RAGA, the Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music (5th edn, 2007) has “Indian melodic type first mentioned in 5th cent AD. Various raga systems have developed over the centuries. A raga comprises an unchangeable series of notes presented as an ascending and descending scale, some notes being used only in the ascending part, others only in the descending…” so I think it can be described as a bit more than just a scale.

   Thanks, Peter and PeeDee

7. Allan

   Still sounds like a scale (albeit with a wider definition than you find in Western European Art Music) to me. But, importantly, not a genre.

   In improvising over a raga, you can only use the notes it contains (unlike the modus operandi of jazz) but you can bend their pitch, which instruments like the sitar are built to allow you to do.

   Perhaps I had better lie down now with a bottle of Speyside. 🙂

8. Conrad – don’t dictionaries such as Chambers list usages of words rather than definitions? Raga being a term for a scale is not incompatible with it also being a term for a type of music. Both usages can exist simultaneously: in the language, in the dictionary and in a crossword.

   Thanks to everyone pointing out the corrections needed.

9. Many thanks Peter, I enjoyed this.

   I particularly liked SKID and ENGLISH ROSE for their simple elegance.

   I also enjoyed CHEESED OFF because it made me smile.

   thanks also PeeDee

10. My fastest solve for a long time, but no less enjoyable for that. Like a fine wine or tasty real ale it went down so smoothly that I wanted more of the same. I don’t start till bed time and usually finish over breakfast so unusual for me to be able to post on the same day. Many thanks to setter and blogger. PS I wonder if they’ve ever been the same person?

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