Radian has produced this Tuesday’s cruciverbal challenges, and on Tuesdays we always expect to see a theme.
No need to go searching for today’s theme: once I had solved a handful of clues, it seemed clear that Radian had chosen a musical theme for today’s puzzle, and that was confirmed as I worked my way through the puzzle. What an impressive amount of thematic material Radian has managed to accommodate in the grid today!
I think that I am happy with my parsing of all the clues today. My favourite clues today were 13, for smoothness of surface; 22, for overall construction; and above all the brilliant & lit. at 29, a clue that I will remember for a long time to come.
*(…) indicates an anagram; definitions are italicised; // separates definitions in multiple-definition clues
| Across | ||
| 01 | UPRIGHT | Post // that’s got strings attached,// just
Triple definition: an upright/vertical post + an upright piano + just, honourable |
| 05 | PLECTRA | Picks priest to replace lead in Greek play
ELECTRA (=Greek play, by Sophocles); “priest (=P) to replace lead (=first letter) in” means letter “p” replaces letter “e”; a pick is a plectrum for playing a guitar |
| 10 | ASTI | Drink at the start of “As time goes by”
Hidden (“at the start of”) means first four letters only: “AS TIme …” |
| 11 | SCHERZANDO | Playful style to some ears avoids D in a number
Homophone (“to some ears”) of “skirts (round)” + {D in [A + NO (=number)]} |
| 12 | CARMEN | French city maintains empty room opera
R<oo>M (“empty” means all middle letters are dropped) in CAEN (=French city); the reference is to the 1875 opera by Bizet |
| 13 | RECITALS | Articles pulled apart performances
*(ARTICLES); “pulled apart” is anagram indicator |
| 14 | MEMORABLE | Note crowd’s half-hearted version of “Unforgettable”
MEMO (=note) + RAB<b>LE (“half-hearted” means one of two central letters is dropped) |
| 16 | PULSE | Rhythm builds regularly during exercise
<b>U<i>L<d>S (“regularly” means alternate letters only) in PE (=exercise, i.e. physical exercise) |
| 17 | SHEET | Printed music, sweet stuff, excludes R&B
SHE<rb>ET; “excludes R&B” means letters “rb” are dropped |
| 19 | DONIZETTI | Composer zoned out with a couple of Italians
*(ZONED + IT + IT); “couple of Italians” means 2 x IT are used in anagram, indicated by “out”; the reference is to Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti (1797-1848) |
| 23 | VIRTUOSI | Backing group of Verdi’s outrivalled top players
Reversed (“backing”) and hidden (“group of”) in “verdIS OUTRIValled” |
| 24 | TUNE IN | Head back with a German to find station
TUN (NUT=head bonce; “back” indicates reversal) + EIN (=a German, i.e. a German word for a) |
| 26 | CHARLESTON | State capital’s // nifty footwork
Double definition: capital of West Virginia + lively dance |
| 27 | TIDY | Arrange silly “ditty”, sacrificing a tango
*(DIT<t>Y); “sacrificing a tango (=T, in radio telecommunications)” means one letter “t” is dropped from anagram, indicated by “silly” |
| 28 | ROSSINI | Note expert’s very big error in Rhode Island
[OS (=very big, outsize) + SIN (=error, misdemeanour)] in RI (=Rhode Island); cryptically, Italian composer Gioachino Rossini (1792-1868) could be described as a “(musical) note expert” |
| 29 | ODYSSEY | Poem about heart of Ulysses with happy ending
[<ul>YSS<es> (“heart of” means middle three letters only are used) in ODE (=poem)] + <happ>Y (“ending” means last letter only); & lit. referring to the epic poem by Homer |
| Down | ||
| 02 | PASSAGE | Extract idiot blocking attendant
ASS (=idiot) in PAGE (=attendant, e.g. at wedding) |
| 03 | IDIOM | Dialect used by papers on the Isle of Man
ID (=papers, as in Can I see your ID?) + IoM (=Isle of Man) |
| 04 | HOSANNA | Head Office girl’s soaring cry of adoration
HO (=Head Office) + SANNA (Anna’s=girls; “soaring” indicates vertical reversion) |
| 06 | LYRICS | London theatre’s Gilbert’s work
LYRIC (=London theatre) + ‘S; Gilbert wrote the libretti for the comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan |
| 07 | CHANTEUSE | He can’t possibly employ singer
*(HE CAN’T) + USE (=employ); “possibly” is anagram indicator |
| 08 | RIDDLES | Screens rare violins fellow’s left
R (=rare) + <f>IDDLES (=violins; “fellow (=F)’s left” means letter “f” is dropped); riddles are sieves, sifts, hence “screens” |
| 09 | CHORAL SOCIETY | Trained choir with acolytes?
*(CHOIR + ACOLYTES); “trained” is anagram indicator; semi- & lit. |
| 15 | OVERTURES | Approaches green river with very large banks
[VERT (=green, in heraldry) + URE (=river)] in OS (=very large, outsize); to make overtures towards is to approach someone |
| 18 | HEIGH-HO | Repeated refrain from small miners? // Who cares?
Double definition: refrain sung by the Seven Dwarfs on their way to work in the mine + exclamation of weariness, resignation, cf. too bad |
| 20 | INTONED | Sang dully in key, including bum note
*(NOTE) in [IN + D (=key, in music)]; “bum” is anagram indicator |
| 21 | TWIDDLE | Tinker with tempo primarily, then go
T<empo> (“primarily” means first letter only) + WIDDLE (=go, i.e. for a wee) |
| 22 | MODERN | Current English sailors support their bosses
MoD (=their bosses, i.e. Ministry of Defence) + E (=English) + RN (=sailors, i.e. Royal Navy) |
| 25 | NOTES | Attack revolutionary symbols in bars
SET ON (=attack); “revolutionary” indicates vertical reversal |
A puzzle with the joyous smoothness of a Mozart symphony; a pleasure to solve, and I agree 29ac is a beauty. Irrelevant bit of pedantry: CHARLESTON is the capital of West Virginia.
[Here’s an easy little clue for you: “Today could make customers smile (6,8)”]
Nice one, Quizzy_Bob. 😉
Another Radian puzzle that I found particularly congenial – both for the music and the classical references at 5 and 29ac. The latter went straight into my little book of classic clues – superb! I also particularly liked the lovely anagram CHORAL SOCIETY: I belong to one – and a church choir!
Other ticks were for SCHERZANDO (I liked ‘to some ears’), RECITALS,, CHANTEUSE, HEIGH-HO and MODERN.
Many thanks to Radian and RR.
A very nice collection of thematics in both clues and lights.
I felt a bit uncomfortable about 9d : yes, it’s a wonderful anagram but isn’t there some kind of convention about wordplay element and answer not sharing the etymological root? ‘Choirs’ and ‘Choral’ felt a bit too close for comfort to me…
29a: Seconded (thirded?), that is a brilliant clue.
A theme to help give a lift to the day. More than just light and fluffy though, as shown in some of the more difficult ones like SCHERZANDO, however ‘Playful’ the def may have been.
I’ll join the praise for ODYSSEY and also liked the two different CHARLESTON references at 26a.
Thanks to Radian and RR
Thanks Radian and RR
With limited musical knowledge I usually pass on crosswords when I sense they have a musical highbrow trend but today the only obscurities were SCHERZANDO and DONIZETTI and he was hidden in plain sight. All very accessible and smooth as you like. Or is that ‘legato’?
Lovely. I have the same favourites as Eileen. I am happy to forgive any breaking of convention with choirs an choral for the semi? or is it total? &Lit. Thanks, both.
Thanks both. I echo the thoughts of Xcelomac@6 with the same two unknowns, not even knowing how to pronounce SCHERZANDO prevented parsing even after cheating to get the answer. DONIZETTI was an obvious anagram but I reversed the ‘n’ and the ‘Z’ but misspelt or otherwise, I am not remotely interested to meet him again
Happy ending in The Odyssey? If you say so!
After a long and difficult day this was just what I needed. Notwithstanding the possible irony, I loved 29a.
Thanks you to Quizzy_Bob @1 for the “pedantry” – I had always assumed – wrongly, I now discover – that the South Carolina Charleston was its state capital.