“Single-letter clashes occur in circled cells; reading in column order, picking one of the letters in each clash will spell out what THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN have in common; the other 14 letters should be entered in the cells. In each clue, the wordplay leads to the answer and a single extra letter; reading in clue order, these letters show how one would access one of the MAGNIFICENT SEVEN using the (appropriately positioned) circled letters. Its creator (4,8) should be written below the grid. One answer is an abbreviation; Chambers Dictionary (2016) is recommended.”
One set of letters from the clashes reads SCHINDLER’S LIST, which won seven Oscars, including best original score.
The extra letters spell out PLAY THE NOTES ON THE VIOLIN TO GET THE THEME TUNE and, indeed, the other letters from the clashes (the ones we leave in the grid), show the appropriately positioned notes.
We write JOHN WILLIAMS below the grid, because he wrote that tune.
I’ve never seen the film, so I can’t comment on how magnificent or otherwise it is, but this was an enjoyable romp. Thanks, Gaston!
Finally, this always tickles me:
| Definition | word |
| Indicator | [word] |
| Anagram | WORD* |
| Reversal | <WORD |
| Clash | MAN-MADE |
| Across | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| P | 1 | Artificial MANE (hair) [worn by] <DAMP (unenthusiastic) [revolutionary] (7) | MAN-MADE |
| L | 8 | LAST (Keep going) [filling] OS (very large) dryers (5) | OASTS |
| A | 13 | JE (In Paris, I) WELL (skillfully) [mix] {GREASE [with] OUR}* metal polish (14, two words) | JEWELLER’S ROUGE |
| Y | 14 | Rue HARM (damage) [with] A LAY (song) (7) | HARMALA |
| T | 15 | Language of [some] coURT DUchesses (4) | URDU |
| H | 17 | <{HALE (Healthy) T |
TELA |
| E | 18 | EMU (Fast-running Australian) CIC (head honcho) [with] AID (help) [swallowing] C (cold) derivative of lactose (9, two words) | MUCIC ACID |
| N | 19 | Pits SUN (star) [against] MPS (representatives) (5) | SUMPS |
| O | 23 | Flap of wing {AN ORIOLE}* [performed] (7) | AILERON |
| T | 24 | CHIT (Child) ANTI (opposed to) drink (7) | CHIANTI |
| E | 27 | Underclothing NE (not previously) [secured by] LINE (string) (5) | LINEN |
| S | 28 | TAR (Sailor) [with] RAGS (tattered clothes) [getting] ON (drunk) [with] A strong wine (9) | TARRAGONA |
| O | 29 | SECO |
SECT |
| N | 31 | Group [playing] INTRO*? (4) | TRIO |
| T | 32 | R (Rector) {OUT LATE}* [fractures] kneecaps (7) | ROTULAE |
| H | 34 | SHINGLE (Stones) ENC (enclosed) [in] CURRY (Asian food) tin used by many (14, two words) | SINGLE CURRENCY |
| E | 35 | CASE (Set) AS (like) Roman houses? (5) | CASAS |
| V | 36 | VIDAL (Sassoon) [and] IAN (Fleming, perhaps), from old island town (7) | IDALIAN |
| Down | |||
| I | 2 | Smart ACHI |
ACHE |
| O | 3 | MOIRA (Maybe Ms Stuart’s) star (4) | MIRA |
| L | 4 | LLAMAS (Transport animals) [bringing forward] A (athletic) dancing-girls (5) | ALMAS |
| I | 5 | Birds AIMING (attempting) [to be surrounded by] FLOES (lots of ice) (10) | FLAMINGOES |
| N | 6 | NELL |
ELL |
| T | 7 | Egyptian snake symbols U (for all to see), < {I TEAR (rush)} [over] (5) | URAEI |
| O | 8 | [Varying] {SO, LOCAL TIDE}* fluctuated (10) | OSCILLATED |
| G | 9 | Come up AGRISE (to terrify according to Ed) (5) | ARISE |
| E | 10 | EAR (Bit of cereal) I [found under] SOU (little money) tree (6) | SOUARI |
| T | 11 | Bud’s TUT (expression of annoyance) [over] < NOIR (genre of film) (6) | TURION |
| T | 12 | [Shortly], STU |
STUDENTRY |
| H | 13 | JETS (NYC gang members) [somehow] TETHER* wealthy type (9) | JETSETTER |
| E | 16 | SEINE (River) function? (4) | SINE |
| T | 20 | Old African group |
UCAR |
| H | 21 | MARINA | |
| E | 22 | Pies [made from] ROE (eggs) [in] PIGS (bits of orange) (6) | PIROGS |
| M | 25 | <{ALL (Every) MAN (chap)} [climbing] drain (5) | NALLA |
| E | 26 | HECTOR* [turning] arsonist in LA (5) | TORCH |
| T | 27 | LAUR |
LAURA |
| U | 29 | Bob maybe SLUED (drunk) (4) | SLED |
| N | 30 | Pouches CAN (container) [after] CE (church) (4) | CECA |
| E | 33 | OU (South African man) IE (that is) certainly French (3) | OUI |
| M | A | N | M | A | F | E | U | O | A | S | T | S | S |
| J | E | W | E | L | L | E | R | S | R | O | U | G | E |
| E | H | A | R | M | A | L | A | C | I | U | R | D | U |
| T | E | L | A | A | M | U | C | I | C | A | C | I | D |
| S | U | M | P | S | I | A | I | L | E | R | O | N | E |
| E | C | A | I | A | N | T | I | L | L | I | N | E | N |
| T | A | R | R | A | G | O | N | A | A | S | E | C | T |
| T | R | I | O | L | O | R | O | T | U | L | A | E | R |
| E | I | N | G | L | E | C | U | E | R | E | N | C | Y |
| R | C | A | S | A | S | H | I | D | A | D | I | A | N |
Really enjoyed this one. The inclusion of the notes was a lovely touch. Many thanks to Gaston and Mister Sting.
Thanks to Gaston and Mister Sting. I also enjoyed this puzzle. I had ALED instead of SLED which slowed me up for a while. Nice to play the notes out on the piano (in the absence of a violin).