A fairly typical Independent puzzle today where you can just solve the clues, but …
ELLA FITZGERALD [8 down, 15 down], is a SINGER, [22 down]. Indeed she is referred to as the FIRST LADY [20 across] of SONG [23 down]. She was born on 25th April 1917, 100 years ago today. Hob’s puzzle is a tribute to her life and times. In addition to ELLA there are references to writers of some of the songs she sung, COLE PORTER (4 down and 3 down] and the GERSHWIN [7 down] brothers.
There are also two musical terms relevant to the style of her singing, SWING [22 across] and SCAT (24 down) SCAT is defined as the use of nonsense syllables and other wordless effects in singing. ELLA was able to embrace SCAT.
Like many Independent puzzles, knowledge of the theme was not necessary to solve the puzzle. However a basic knowledge of the American music business in the mid to late twentieth century would have been useful.
| Across | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Clue | Wordplay | Entry |
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9
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Timekeeper Swiss banker used when heading off on the Underground (9)
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METRO (name for Underground rail system, the most famous probably being in Paris) + GNOME (Swiss banker; reference GNOMEs of Zurich) excluding the first letter (heading off) G METRO NOME |
METRONOME (an instrument with an inverted pendulum that can be set to beat so many times a minute, the loud ticking giving the right speed of performance for a piece of music; timekeeper)
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10
|
Film article one lecturer is selling online? (1-4)
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ET (Extra-Terrestrial; name of a film) + A (indefinite article) + I (one) + L (lecturer) E-T A I L |
E-TAIL (Electronic reTAIL; selling on line)
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11
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Instrument keeping curtain material inside arched window (7)
|
LUTE (musical instrument) containing (keeping) NET (curtain material) LU (NET) TE |
LUNETTE (a semicircular or crescent-shaped [arched] space where a vault intersects a wall or another vault, often occupied by a window or by decoration)
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12
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Supply nastiest short verse form (7)
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Anagram of (supply; formed from supple) NASTIEST excluding the final letter (short) T SESTINA* |
SESTINA (an old verse form of six six-lined stanzas having the same end-words in different orders, and a triplet introducing all of them)
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13
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Ball hit high in the air by sportsman (5)
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SKIER (a ball hit high in the air [or sky[) SKIER |
SKIER ([winter] sportsman) double definition of words spelled the same but pronounced differently.
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14
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What about women getting together with women aboard boat? Not straight, then (9)
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(EH? [what?] containing [about] [W {women} + W {women} – i.e. women getting together]) contained in (aboard) SKIFF (small light boat) SK (E (W W) H) IFF |
SKEW-WHIFF (awry; crooked; not straight)
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16
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Rocketing given by couriers to press (7)
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UPS (United Parcel Service [couriers]) + URGE (press) UPS URGE |
UPSURGE (a rapid rising up of liquid, pressure, people; rocketing)
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18
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Wager involves a person’s plant having white flowers (7)
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BET (wager) containing (involves) ONE’S (a person’s) B (ONES) ET |
BONESET (North American species of hemp agrimony. Wikipedia tells me it has pink flowers, but almost certain there is a white flowered variant)
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20
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Better half of Trump’s day involves loss of virginity? On the contrary (5,4)
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FIRST LAY (an individual’s initial act of sexual intercourse; loss of virginity) containing (involves) D (day) – the construction being the opposite (on the contrary) of ‘day involves loss of virginity’ FIRST LA (D) Y
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FIRST LADY (the wife of the American President is known as the FIRST LADY)
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22
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Sort of jazz group from the ’70s finally getting to No 1 (5)
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WINGS (Paul McCartney’s Anglo-American rock band active in the 1970s) with the final letter S moving to the start of the word (finally getting to No 1) S WING |
SWING (descriptive of big-band jazz music with strong rhythm and improvisations, as played in the 1930s and 1940s)
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23
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Band initially irritated by motorway food that’s Japanese (7)
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SASH (band or scarf worn round the waist or over the shoulder) + I (first letter of [initially] IRRITATED) + MI (motorway that runs from London to north of Leeds) SASH I MI |
SASHIMI (Japanese dish of thinly-sliced raw fish served with soy sauce, grated radish, etc)
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24
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King 4 cracks open first of 6 eggs brought round for politician (7)
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NAT (reference NAT King COLE [4 down]) contained in (cracks open) (S [initial letter of {first} SIX + ROE [fish eggs] reversed [brought round]) S E (NAT) OR< |
SENATOR (politician)
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25
|
Port and lemon drink for King Arthur? (5)
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NEGUS (drink of port or sherry mixed with hot water, sweetened and spiced) NEGUS (reference Arthur NEGUS [1903 – 1985], broadcaster and antiques expert) NEGUS |
NEGUS (the King of Ethiopia) triple definition
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26
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Crossing "farceur" with "gangster" (9)
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TRAVERS (reference Ben TRAVERS [1886 – 1980], English writer best known for farces) + AL (reference AL Capone [1899 – 1947], American gangster) TRAVERS AL |
TRAVERSAL (crossing)
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| Down | |||
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1
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Little pack of nautical yarn, not suitable for sweaters? (5,5)
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SMALL (little) + STUFF (pack) STUFF also refers to a woolen cloth that I think may be used for knitting garments for seamen (nautical yarn) SMALL STUFF |
SMALL STUFF (reference the phrase ‘Don’t sweat the SMALL STUFF [don’t worry about unimportant things] indicating that SMALL STUFF should be avoided by those who sweat)
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2
|
Rank originally sequestered for good deputies (5-3)
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STANDING (status; rank) with S (first letter of [originally] SEQUESTERED) replacing (for) G (good) STAND IN S |
STAND-INS (deputies)
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| 3 | See 4 | [COLE] PORTER | |
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4 / 3
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23D writer for whom Spooner’s curtain fitting struck her as lacking in aspiration (4,6)
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COLE PORTER (Reverend Spooner would pronounce this as POLE [curtain fitting] CAUGHT [struck] ‘ER [HER excluding the letter H {lacking aspiration]) COLE PORTER |
COLE [PORTER] (reference COLE PORTER [1891 – 1964], American composer and song writer. One of ELLA FITZGERALD‘s (8 down, 15 down] most successful albums was ELLA FITZGERALD sings the COLE PORTER Song Book
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5
|
Getting back together, then suffering blues after losing heart? My arse! (10)
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Anagram of (suffering) BLUES excluding the middle letter (losing heart) U, MY and ARSE REASSEMBLY* |
REASSEMBLY (getting back together)
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6
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One of two writing 23Ds that might make her 22A (8)
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Anagram of (make) HER and SWING (22 across) GERSHWIN* |
GERSHWIN (reference Ira GERSHWIN [1896 – 1983] and George GERSHWIN.[1898 – 1937], American brothers, composers and songwriters. ELLA FITZGERALD also released an album entitled ELLA FITZGERALD sings the George and IRA GERSHWIN Song Book)
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7
|
Using some soldi, Nina paid up for sandwiches (6)
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PANINI (hidden word [using some] reversed [up; down clue] in SOLDI NINA PAID) PANINI< |
PANINI (grilled Italian-style sandwiches)
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8
|
Female with unlimited supply of wine? (4)
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CELLAR (supply of wine) excluding the first and last letters (unlimited) C and R ELLA |
ELLA (female name)
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14
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Raciness produced by the northern studio’s top screenwriters (10)
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Anagram of (produced) RACINESS + T (first letter of [northern [?} THE) + S (first letter of [top] STUDIO) I’m not entirely convinced by the use of ‘northern’ to indicate the first letter although I accept on most maps north is a the top. SCENARIS* T S |
SCENARISTS (screenwriters)
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15
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Novelist agrees with broadcast by one of the Durrells (10)
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FITZ (sounds like [broadcast] FITS [agrees with]) + GERALD (reference GERALD Durrell [1925 – 1995], broadcaster, author and naturalist among other things) FITZ GERALD |
FITZGERALD (reference F Scott FITZGERALD [1896 -1940],American novelist and short story writer)
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17
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Most irritable time in artiste’s employment (8)
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T (time) contained in (in) an anagram of (employment) ARTISTE RAT (T) IEST* – either of the two T‘s in the middle could be the one contained. |
RATTIEST (most irritable)
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19
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Lively and playful parody involved this (8)
|
SKIT (parody) + an anagram of (involved) THIS SKIT TISH* |
SKITTISH (lively)
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21
|
Give one’s mark again, upsetting 22D (2-4)
|
Anagram of (upsetting) SINGER [22 down] RE-SIGN* |
RE-SIGN (give one’s signature [mark] again)
|
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22
|
Burn second of tracks featuring 8 15? (6)
|
SINGE (burn) + R (second letter of [second of] TRACKS) SINGE R |
SINGER (ELLA [8 down] FITZGERALD [15 down] is an example of a SINGER)
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23
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Air kiss, after change of heart (4)
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SNOG (kiss) swapping round the two central letters [change of heart] N and O to from SONG SONG |
SONG (an air is a type of SONG)
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24
|
Dropping numerous catches, only some being taken (4)
|
SCAT (hidden word [some being taken] in NUMEROUS CATCHES) SCAT |
SCAT (animal-dropping)
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Thanks for the blog, Duncan.
A delightful puzzle, full of clever, evocative clues, with too many favourites to list.
I was intrigued when the wordplay of 18ac led unerringly to BONESET – a most unlikely-sounding name for a plant – and chuckled when I found it. [The Wikipedia entry that I found gives it white flowers https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eupatorium_perfoliatum .]
In 14dn, the T comes from t’ – Northern English dialect for ‘the’ as in ‘trouble at t’mill’.
Huge thanks to Hob – I loved it.
Thanks to Hob for an excellent puzzle and to Duncan for the usual exemplary blog. I had precisely the same experience with BONESET as Eileen.
I often play a CD of Ella and Louis Armstrong in my car when driving along; it’s the only safe place for me to sing along (in the roaring traffic’s boom…)
*driving alone, I should say
I agree with @1 & @2 – great puzzle. I missed a few, of course, but was hampered by solving on a sketchy print out from a printer with a cartridge needing replacement. Lots of nice stuff and a top theme to boot so thanks to Hob for the crossie and to DS for the blog.
Lots of brilliant clues and ingenuity, a pleasure to solve, much thanks to Hob for a cracker. Sometimes interlinking clues can frustrate one, here they were wonderfully done.
Thanks to duncanshiell for the blog.