Hello all. Thanks to Eclogue, the STREET, or perhaps TESTER, of this puzzle.
The preamble reads:
In the completed grid for TRISECTOR, solvers must highlight a writer and the associated thematic pseudonym, the derivation of which explains the changes required to every answer prior to entry. All entries, one of which is two words, are real words or proper nouns. Chambers Dictionary (2016) is recommended.
The first two across answers went straight in, always a nice and encouraging way to start. The intersecting down clues immediately led to a couple of clashes and to pondering what the change prior to entry might be. Anagrams of the answers actually occurred to me fairly early on but I didn’t give the idea any serious thought and did quite a bit of cold solving before something prompted me to look again at that possibility. Once I did, the RAWNESS started to fit together. It was by no means a race to the finish and I had to approach quite a few answers backwards, seeking entries which fit the grid and then examining their anagrams for words fitting the clues. An interesting solving exercise and one I really enjoyed as a one-off, though I have a feeling if I were to encounter it again in the near future I would perhaps not be quite so enthusiastic. But it was all very neatly done here, and thematically appropriate.
The writer is ARRIGO BOITO and his pseudonym, an anagram of this, is TOBIA GORRIO. The names are there TRISECTING the grid and you can read more about him here. (I don’t think TORTRICES shed any light on things!) UPDATE: Eclipse informs us that TRISECTOR is an anagram of SCRITTORE, Italian for “writer”. Thanks, Eclipse.
| Clue No | ANSWER
(GRID ENTRY) |
Clue with definition underlined |
| Explanation, with quoted indicators in italics and letters appearing in the ANSWER capitalised and emboldened | ||
| Across | ||
| 1a | PATTI
(PITTA) |
Maybe Smith Institute, think tank all parties originally backed (5) |
| Institute, Think Tank All Parties: first letters (originally) reversed (backed) | ||
| 6a | PARSEC
(ESCARP) |
Run space buggy stellar distance (6) |
| R (run) + SPACE anagrammed (buggy) | ||
| 11a | RUN-IN
(INURN) |
Approach college in senior service (5) |
| UNI (college) in RN (senior service, the Royal Navy) | ||
| 12a | RUBBLE
(LUBBER) |
Builders’ detritus, very black in practice (6) |
| BB (very black, on lead pencils) in RULE (practice) | ||
| 14a | ELINOR
(NEROLI) |
Priest with Norwegian girl (it could be Helen) (6) |
| ELI (priest) with NOR (Norwegian) | ||
| 15a | STELE
(SLEET) |
Tablet initially seen on TV (5) |
| The first letter of (initially) Seen on TELE (TV) | ||
| 16a | MORE
(OMER) |
Second run, England’s first extra (4) |
| MO (second) + R (run) + England’s first letter | ||
| 17a | OLENUS
(NOUSLE) |
Cry of triumph with star reviewing fossil (6) |
| OLÉ (cry of triumph) with SUN (star) going backwards (reviewing) | ||
| 19a | SCAPA
(CAPAS) |
Bunk featured in escapade (5) |
| Found in (featured in) eSCAPAde | ||
| 22a | DONSIE
(ONSIDE) |
Bairn’s stupid? Make nanny state impose education for starters! (6) |
| DO (make) + initial letters of (… for starters) Nanny State Impose Education | ||
| 25a | SIFT
(FIST) |
Riddle stumped, introducing an uncertainty (4) |
| ST (stumped) containing (introducing) IF (an uncertainty) | ||
| 27a | MARLE
(REALM) |
It was a wonder the Spanish butter turned (5) |
| EL (the, Spanish) + RAM (butter), all reversed (turned) | ||
| 29a | CNIDAE
(DECANI) |
Medusa’s weapons, maybe, almost all bearing a measure of speed when rewound (6) |
| This medusa is a jellyfish. Most of (almost) EACh (all) containing (bearing) DIN (measure of speed), when reversed (when rewound) | ||
| 31a | GENERA
(ENRAGE) |
Nut in German army’s beginning classes (6) |
| EN (nut) in GER (German) + Army’s first letter (Army’s beginning) | ||
| 32a | RENAL
(LEARN) |
Like certain organs beginning to reverberate with recurrent passage (5) |
| The first letter of (beginning to) Reverberate with the reversal of (recurrent) LANE (passage) | ||
| 33a | MEASES
(SEAMES) |
Amounts of herring locally mass with quiet strangeness (6) |
| M (mass) with EASE (quiet) + S (strangeness) | ||
| 34a | STEND
(DENTS) |
Street with room in Aberdeen for Jock to stride (5) |
| ST (street) with END (room in Aberdeen: Scottish word for a cottage room). To stride, Scottish (for Jock) | ||
| Down | ||
| 1d | FORTEPIANOS
(PIANOFORTES) |
In respect of note, constant numbers employing advanced early musical instruments (11) |
| FOR (in respect of) + TE (note) + PI (constant) + NOS (numbers) containing (employing) A (advanced) | ||
| 2d | MINER
(IN REM) |
My people take a digger, possibly (5) |
| MINE (my people) + R (take, recipe) | ||
| 3d | RUTTER
(TURRET) |
King, say, discarded mercenary cavalryman (6) |
| R (King) + UTTER (say) | ||
| 4d | RIOT
(TRIO) |
Starts to rave in opening this wild party (4) |
| First Letters of (starts to) Rave In Opening This | ||
| 5d | AGNAIL
(ANGLIA) |
Shred of skin on finger? Oddly dismissed nagging trouble (6) |
| Even Letters only of (oddly dismissed) nAgGiNg + AIL (trouble) | ||
| 6d | OLEIN
(ELOIN) |
Compound regularly occurring in oil region (5) |
| Letters regularly occurring in OiL rEgIoN | ||
| 7d | BUSS
(SUBS) |
Coach is heard getting a playful kiss (4) |
| BUS (coach) is heard | ||
| 8d | BASIE
(ABIES) |
Count in jazz, number one in standard (5) |
| I (number one) in BASE (standard) | ||
| 9d | TELLER
(RETELL) |
Lines in support run counter (6) |
| LL (lines) in TEE (support) + R (run) | ||
| 10d | STENOTROPIC
(PROTECTIONS) |
Typist possibly writing in matter sensitive in nature (11) |
| STENO (typist) + R (possibly writing, one of the three Rs) in TOPIC (matter) | ||
| 13d | LOBUS
(BOLUS) |
Skier useless in lap? (5) |
| BOL (Skier, LOB going upwards) + US (useless) | ||
| 18d | OENONE
(ONE-ONE) |
Legendary nymph by no means subordinate to Morag’s grandchild (6) |
| NONE (by no means) under (subordinate to) OE (Morag’s grandchild) | ||
| 19d | ILIAC
(CILIA) |
Trojan exposing viliaco? (5) |
| The answer is found by removing the outer letters of (exposing) vILIACo | ||
| 20d | GAOLED
(AGE-OLD) |
Criminal old lag educated in prison (6) |
| An anagram of (criminal) O (old) and LAG followed by ED (educated) | ||
| 21d | ARNICA
(CIARAN) |
One painter ingests most of pleasant medication (6) |
| A (one), then RA (painter) takes in (ingests) most of NICe (pleasant) | ||
| 23d | ARABS
(SABRA) |
Horses raising the bar in South Australia (5) |
| Reversal of (raising) BAR in SA (South Australia) | ||
| 24d | SEDGE
(EDGES) |
Dead good feeding spot for company of herons (5) |
| D (dead) + G (good) in (feeding) SEE (spot) | ||
| 26d | TRINS
(SNIRT) |
What might be intrinsic to extrinsic? Triplets? (5) |
| Contained in (what might be intrinsic to) exTRINSic | ||
| 28d | GAME
(MAGE) |
Energy required by school sport (4) |
| E (Energy) required by GAM (school) | ||
| 30d | CERE
(CREE) |
Wax cheerier by degrees (4) |
| Alternate letters of (… by degrees) ChEeRiEr | ||
It might help to know that TRISECTOR is an anagram of SCRITTORE, the Italian for “writer”.
I enjoyed this puzzle, being a fan of Boito’s much-maligned opera Mefistofele. He was also the librettist for two of Verdi’s greatest works (Otello and Falstaff), though I was unaware that he had talents in other literary fields as well.
I never worked out the meaning of the title. The names do cut the grid into three parts but since they are not equal in size, I thought that was weak and irrelevant to the theme. The SCRITTORE explanation seems far more likely, and if the similarity between Eclipse and Eclogue is more than coincidental, it’s the definitive answer. I wonder how many people actually worked that out, though!
Thanks, Eclipse – I’ll add that explanation to the blog.
(Sorry I didn’t get round to doing that yesterday. Storm Family has blown in.)