Bert & Joyce are away so you’ve got me for this Bluebird puzzle
I always struggle with Bluebird, anyway it’s theme day with musical references a-plenty in the clues and answers. There’s a couple I really don’t get so assistance appreciated.
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | SOPRANO |
Special work by Pinter finally given an Oscar and Tony? (7)
|
| I never saw TV series The Sopranos but I recognise this. S(pecial) & OP – work & end of pinteR & AN & O(scar) | ||
| 5 | EYEBALL |
Look at Bluebird sob loudly (7)
|
| Sounds like I – Bluebird – the setter & BAWL – sob | ||
| 9 | APPLE |
Record label that contributed to Genesis’s downfall? (5)
|
| Well Eve was tempted in Genesis | ||
| 10 | AUSTERITY |
Horror novel by unknown American writer preceding Hard Times (9)
|
| paul AUSTER was an American writer & Stephen King novel “IT” & Y – maths unknown | ||
| 11 | ENLARGING |
Extension is demolished, angering student trapped inside (9)
|
| ANGERING* demolished with L for student inside | ||
| 12 | TEASE |
Section from Gazette, a second-rate rag (5)
|
| Hidden in gazetTE A SEcond | ||
| 13 | EARBUDS |
Sounds emerge from these ungathered cornflowers (7)
|
| I can see some ears of corn & flower buds but I’m struggling here | ||
| 15 | IGNEOUS |
Type of rock song remixed with quiet intro and end edited out (7)
|
| Take the start and end off (q)UEI(t) and mix it with SONG so SONGUIE* | ||
| 17 | FILM SET |
Where JFK got shot? (4,3)
|
| Cryptic def – there is a film JFK | ||
| 19 | GET IT ON |
Number one heavyweight following win (3,2,2)
|
| GET – win & I & TON – a heavy weight | ||
| 21 | CREAM |
Elite group (5)
|
| Double def | ||
| 23 | ON THE TOWN |
Shostakovich’s eighth and tenth, now arranged into a musical (2,3,4)
|
| Eighth letter of shostakOvich & [TENTH NOW]* arranged | ||
| 26 | EMISSIONS |
Releases of label’s second number one’s put back (9)
|
| EMI – defunct I believe record label & reversed [S(econd) NO – number – & I & S] | ||
| 27 | GHOST |
Good crowd that goes ‘ooooo’ (5)
|
| G(ood) & HOST – crowd | ||
| 28 | TREACLE |
The last bit of vintage claret is drunk – it tastes sweet (7)
|
| End of vintagE & a drunk CLARET* | ||
| 29 | ENDLESS |
How one might describe a relative to Dad? (7)
|
| Really not convinced but an endless (d)A(d) would just an A so a cryptic def | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | SCALE |
Order piece of fish (5)
|
| Double def | ||
| 2 | POPULAR |
Tree houses for everyone! For everyone? (7)
|
| U = for everyone in the tree POPLAR | ||
| 3 | AGE GROUPS |
Topless rave band’s following – teenagers and twentysomethings? (3,6)
|
| A topless (r)AGE) & GROUPS – bands | ||
| 4 | OMANI |
National uprising any minute now (5)
|
| IN A MO reversed | ||
| 5 | EASY GOING |
Calm, moving song sung by Lionel Richie first (4,5)
|
| Lionel Richie song “Easy” & GOING – moving | ||
| 6 | EVENT |
Just the start of TOTP episode (5)
|
| EVEN – just & start of TOTP | ||
| 7 | AGITATO |
An unpleasant character to set about article in a hurry (7)
|
| A & GIT & A – article & TO | ||
| 8 | LAYPERSON |
Put on a mass at last, boring parishioner (9)
|
| LAY – put & PER – a & end of masS & ON | ||
| 13 | EFFICIENT |
Orderly trolleyed fifteen boxes around institute (9)
|
| C – about approx *& I for Institute both inside a trolleyed FIFTEEN* | ||
| 14 | SOTTO VOCE |
Drunk to break cover, stifling run so as not to be heard (5,4)
|
| SOT – a drunk & TO & without R(un) COVE(r)* | ||
| 16 | NUTMEGGED |
Balls headed by Spice Girl’s head put balls between legs (9)
|
| NUTMEG – spice & G – head of Girl & ED (balls former MP) | ||
| 18 | LEE TIDE |
Cut fish lifted in windy waves (3,4)
|
| EDIT – cut & EEL – fish – all reversed | ||
| 20 | TWO-TONE |
Young child going around with a chequerboard? (3-4)
|
| W(ith) in TOT – child & ONE – a | ||
| 22 | MUSIC |
I meant to write that letter to Nana Mouskouri before 25 (5)
|
| She was a Greek singer O Greek letter MU & SIC – as intended | ||
| 24 | TASTE |
Sugar merchant crushing tip of sugarcane to make sweet? (5)
|
| First letter of S(ugarcane) in TATE – sugar sellers | ||
| 25 | NOTES |
Written pieces from Rolling Stone (5)
|
| STONE* rolling |
I think ‘ungathered’ is telling you to split up ‘cornflower’.
EMI still exists as a label, but not a unique entity – it was bought by Universal Music.
Enjoyable puzzle. GHOST made me laugh, and EFFICIENT was very neat.
Thanks both.
I enjoy a Bluebird but I did find a few in this one to be very tricky. Failed with AUSTERITY: AUSTER is NHO and I was trying to find a parse including X, eras, ages or by, following an H – all clued by Hard Times. I also failed to sort out the ordering of LAYPERSON with which the aforementioned intersected. Throw in an unparsed EARBUDS (correct) and an unparsed SKATE (incorrect) and I was well beaten today.
Favourites inc ENLARGING, IGNEOUS, ON THE TOWN, AGE GROUPS, EASY GOING, EFFICIENT and NOTE. I enjoyed the musical theme scattered through clues and solutions, both.
I think the def for 24d is just ‘sweet?’ being a DBE for ‘taste’. Funnily enough, I solved that one straight after solving TREACLE which is defined as ‘it tastes sweet’!
Thanks Bluebird and flash
13a EARBUDS: cornflowers ungathered = corn flowers, indicating the Elision needs to be undone…
…“Elision, and questions of fairness”
26a EMISSIONS needs both apostrophe-esses: EMI’S + (S + NO.1’S)< — [I couldn’t parse 10a AUSTERITY, though, because of the “unknown American writer”.]
Agree with PostMark@2 on 24d TASTE, and noticed the hint in 28a TREACLE, too. Loved the puzzle – full of POPULAR culture for all AGE GROUPS. đ
Funny how the “helpful” hint to separate corn and flowers, in fact made the clue more difficult. And then I kept trying to separate Lionel and Ritchie.
Oooo this was tough for me. Much help needed, but enjoyed anyway, especially with the blog.
Did anyone else think about FLOOD for the downfall in Genesis? There is a Flood record label apparently.
Thanks both.
This took some working out, but got there eventually. Favourites today for their surfaces – EYEBALL, FILM SET, ENDLESS, POPULAR, GHOST, but there were plenty of others.
I wasn’t sure about Scale = Order, can’t think of any good examples but it just about works.
Gnomad @9: the setter is on solid ground, having used Chambers first definition for SCALE = A graduated series or order
Thanks both. Particularly liked NUTMEGGED, and pleased to complete this without assistance, and whilst aware of some musical references, I felt we were looking for a more distinct theme. Not sure POPULAR necessarily means âfor everyone; Iâve seen commenters here declare their dislike for pop music – all 75 years of it!
For the record, I hadn’t heard of Paul AUSTER either, despite my being an American with a degree in literature.
Gnomad: On scale from one to ten, ten being high, how likely are you to think of this example as an “order”?
I’m English and have no literature degree, but have read plenty of Paul Auster’s work!
I think you could say âThe problem is now 10 times worse. It something of that order/scaleâ. I have a vague recollection of Auster appearing in a cryptic not too long ago with various people thinking it was going to be Austen. Maybe my brain just made that up.
Thanks to flashling for standing in for us. We got back late last night and would have found it difficult to sort the blog out in time for this morning. We werenât that impressed with Bluebirdâs puzzle today so perhaps another reason to be pleased that we werenât blogging.
However 21ac raised a smile from both of us. In 1968 we got engaged in the coach taking us back to Sheffield University after the Farewell Cream concert in the Albert Hall. We were in the Albert Hall again (in much better seats!) for their reunion in 2005.
Thanks to both.
Couldn’t get close to finishing this. Bottom half went in ok but large swathes of emptiness in the top half before I lost patience with the puzzle (or, perhaps more accurately, with my inability to get any further) and started revealing answers.