Phi is a prolific crossword setter.. His puzzles feature regularly in the Independent daily crossword series and the Saturday Inquisitor puzzles.
The preamble stated: Nine clues have a single-letter misprint in the definition: in clue order the correct letters spell the name of the songwriter responsible for the song whose first line (five words) fills the silver cells. Three thematic entries are clued instead by the words used as rhymes in the song lyrics (in one instance the clue answer is a different length to the entry). Letters in four cells are not referenced in their clues’ wordplay – solvers should highlight these to form the title of the song.
The preamble was fairly understandable, so the task was to solve the clues, identify the songwriter and hopefully identify the song which might then give some background to the entries clued as rhyming words in the song.
For me, the songwriter fell first once I had the T,M,L and E as possibly 4 of the early letters. I also reckoned the silvered cells in the top row began with a THE and the bottom silvered cells suggested words beginning GIRL.
The entry in the central row looked like it might be thematic as the letters I had in the grid for that entry didn’t seem to bear any relationship to the clue. I had a similar inkling at 39 across which then suggested that 11 across would form a symmetrical thematic entry. Symmetry frequently plays a part in Inquisitor and Listener puzzles.
TOM LEHRER is a songwriter I have heard of, so I did a bit of research into his work. By this time I had discovered that some of the letters omitted from wordplay and hence forming part of the song title, were A, L and M.
The research uncovered the song ALMA which highlight the life of a lady with many lovers and husbands, three of whom form the thematic entries.
A YouTube performance of the song and a copy of the lyrics of ALMA can be seen by clicking on the links below, so I will only put the relevant rhymes into this blog.
For Gustav MAHLER at 11 across we have :
The first one she married was MAHLER
Whose buddies all knew him as gustav
And each time he saw her he’d HOLLER …
For Walter GROPIUS at 24 across we have:
While married to gus, she met GROPIUS
And soon she was swinging with walter
Gus died, and her tear drops were COPIOUS …
and for Franz WERFEL at 39 across we have:
While married to walt she’d met WERFEL
And he too was caught in her net
He married her, but he was CAREFELL …
Note that Phi has clued CAREFUL rather than CAREFELL. CAREFUL is also the rhyming word which is longer than the space available for the related thematic husband.
The YouTube video can be seen HERE
The full text of the song can be found HERE
The letters forming the title ALMA were omitted from each of the entries (across and down) that included the relevant letter. Having mentioned the use of symmetry in the location of the thematic entries, I note that the letters forming ALMA are not placed exactly symmetrically.
The first line of the song, shown in the silvered cells in the grid below is THE LOVELIEST GIRL IN VIENNA ….
The detailed section of the blog below shows: the amended clues after the misprints are corrected, indicates where the misprints were located – 16 across (T for S), 18 across (O for Y), 26 across (M for P), 28 across (L for E), 32 across (E for O), 1 down (H for R), 3 down (R for N), 33 down (E for S) and 35 down (R for T). The letters omitted from the wordplay were from 30 across / 23 down (A), 38 across / 12 down (L), 12 across / 6 down (M) and 21 across / 10 down (A).
I enjoy Phi’s clues in almost all his crosswords. Today I thought the clue for EAST INDIES was particularly good.
Our hero, who lived from 1879 to 1964, died as ALMA MARIA MAHLER GROPIUS WERFEL, but she was born as ALMA MARGARETHE MARIA SCHINDLER [hence the title of the puzzle as SCHINDLER‘s LIST]
| No |
Clue Amended Clue |
Letter(s) Omitted Misprints |
Entry |
| Across | |||
| 11 |
Miserable place around left and right will make American cry (6) Clue answer is HOLLER (American word for shout or cry out), but entry is MAHLER from the rhyme in LEHRER‘s poem ALMA (HOLE [miserable place] containing [around] L) + R (right) HOL (L) E R |
||
| 12 |
Religious office recalled excellent couple … (7) IMAMATE (office of an IMAM who leads devotions at a mosque) AI (A one; excellent) reversed (recalled) + MATE (to couple) IA< MATE |
M | |
| 13 |
… in the region of some major sorrows (4, 2 words) OR SO (approximately; in the region of) OR SO (hidden word in (some) MAJOR SORROWS OR SO |
||
| 14 |
Home to many Indians mostly unaltered by American (4) ASIA (continent; home to many Indians) AS IS (unaltered) excluding the final letter (mostly) S + A (American) AS I A |
||
| 16 |
Covers ready to wrap Rector in church (6) Covert ready to wrap Rector in church (6) SECRET (covert) SET (ready) containing (to wrap) (R [rector] contained in [in] CE [Church {of England}]) SE (C (R) E) T |
T | |
| 17 |
See you check both sides of excitable Spanish river (7) CHEERIO (goodbye; see you) CH (check) + EE (first and last letters of [both sides of] EXCITABLE + RIO (Spanish word for river) CH EE RIO |
||
| 18 |
Clay mineral lines it after I start to excavate (6) ILLITE (white or pale clay mineral found in shales and sediments) I + LL (lines) + IT + E (first letter of [start to] EXCAVATE) I LL IT E |
||
| 19 |
Fellow’s son: a companion to boy? (4) Fellow’s son: a companion to boo? (4) HISS (reference BOO-HISS [an expression of disagreement, outrage, or frustration] The two words BOO and HISS are often uttered together, hence HISS is a companion to BOO) HIS (man’s; fellow’s) + S (son) HIS S |
O | |
| 21 |
Try to overlook feminine Hindu symbol (5) LINGA (a symbol of Siva [the third god of the Hindu triad, destroyer and reproducer]) FLING (try) excluding (to overlook) F (feminine) LING |
A | |
| 24 |
Non-fighter affecting religious sentiments in great quantity (7) Clue answer is COPIOUS (in great quantity), but the entry is GROPIUS from the rhyme in LEHRER‘s poem ALMA) CO (conscientious objector to military service; non-fighter) + PIOUS (displaying or affecting religious sentiment) CO PIOUS |
||
| 26 |
Passage regarding two hosting Knight (5) Massage regarding two hosting Knight (5) REIKI (form of Japanese natural therapy involving the laying on of hands or gentle massage) RE (with reference to; regarding) + (II [Roman numeral for 2] containing [hosting] K [knight]) RE I (K) I |
M | |
| 28 |
Press to have universal peace (4) Press to have universal place (4) LIEU (place or stead) LIE (to press) + U (universal) LIE U |
L | |
| 30 |
Large snake secreting rupees in Indian trees (6) ABROMA (genus of East Indian fibre-yielding trees) BOMA (boa or anaconda; large snake) containing (secreting) R (rupees) B (R) OMA |
A | |
| 32 |
Supplier of dross and rot for adolescents (7) Supplier of dress and rot for adolescents (7) RATTEEN (ratine [rough open dress fabric; supplier of dress]) RAT (Chambers states that in imprecations, RAT can be used for rot) + TEEN (adolescent) RAT TEEN |
E | |
| 34 |
Sea duck wing visible within foreshore (6) HARELD (a type of sea duck also known as the long-tailed duck) EL (in America, a wing giving a building the shape of the letter L) contained in (visible within) HARD (firm beach or foreshore) HAR (EL) D |
||
| 36 |
Statesmen at odds (albeit concealing it!) (4) NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation [intergovernmental military alliance] represented in discussions by statesmen) NATO (hidden word in [concealing it] STATESMEN AT ODDS) NATO |
||
| 37 |
Aware of some Merlot not being knocked back (4, 2 words) ON TO (aware of) ON TO (reversed [knocked back] hidden word in [some] MERLOT NOT) (ON TO)< |
||
| 38 |
Ordinary area including space in shape of an egg (7) OVOIDAL (egg-shaped) (O [ordinary] + A [area]) containing (including) VOID (space) O (VOID) A |
L | |
| 39 |
Prudent road travellers, packed to tour Spain (6) Clue answer is CAREFUL (prudent), but the entry is WERFEL, from the rhyme in LEHRER‘s poem ALMA) CARFUL (the maximum number of people a CAR will hold; the word is defined in Collins; road-travellers, packed) containing (to tour) E (International Vehicle Registration for Spain) CAR (E) FUL |
||
| Down | |||
| 1 |
Hot soot’s swirling, doing for rug (6) Hot soot’s swirling, doing for hug (6) SMOOCH (dance slowly while in an embrace; hug) (H [hot] + COOM‘S [soot’s]) reversed (swirling) (SMOOC H)< |
H | |
| 2 |
Sailor getting carp or bream (8) TARWHINE (Australian sea bream) TAR (sailor) + WHINE (moan; carp) TAR WHINE |
||
| 3 |
English and Scots love to keep priest and nun away (5) English and Scots love to keep priest and run away (5) ELOPE (run away) E (English) + (LO’E [Scots for love] containing [to keep] P [priest]) E LO (P) E |
R | |
| 4 |
Upturn in happiness for local mother (4) LEES (sediment, dregs; mother can be defined as dregs or scum) SEEL (dialect [local] word meaning happiness) reversed (upturn; down entry) LEES< |
||
| 5 |
Stuff, perhaps, but not originally dyestuff (6) ORCEIN (purple dyestuff) FORCE IN (stuff) excluding (not) the first letter (originally) F ORCE IN |
||
| 6 |
It’s held by a lot of weird old professors (7) EMERITI (a term usually applied to retired professors) IT contained in (held by) EERIE (weird) excluding the final letter (a lot of) E EER (IT) I |
M | |
| 7 |
Designation given to reduced protuberance where insects land (8) LABELLUM (the lower lip of the corolla forming a landing platform for pollinating insects) LABEL (tag; designation) + LUMP (protuberance) excluding the final letter (reduced) P LABEL LUM |
||
| 8 |
Mixed destinies involving a location of exotic trade (10, 2 words) EAST INDIES (location of exotic trade, particularly during the time of the East India Company which existed from 1600 to 1874) Anagram of (mixed) DESTINIES containing (involving) A E (A) ST INDIES* |
||
| 9 |
Stumped about money in allowance (5) STINT (allowance) ST (stumped; cricketing scoring abbreviation) containing (about) TIN (slang term for money) S (TIN) T |
||
| 10 |
Thief supports nicking article from The Louvre, on reflection (7, 2 words) TEA LEAF (rhyming slang for thief) (FEET [supports for a table for example] containing [nicking] LA [one of the French forms of the definite article, the]) all reversed (on reflection) (TE (AL) EF)< |
A | |
| 12 |
Lacking body, on repair possibly has firm interior (11) INCORPOREAL (having no material form or body) Anagram of (possibly) ON REPAIR containing (has … interior) CO (company; firm) IN (CO) RPOREA* |
L | |
| 15 |
Medical appliance to run after various repairs (10) RESPIRATOR (medical appliance) Anagram of (various) REPAIRS + TO + R (run) RESPIRA* TO R |
||
| 20 |
Laid out beneath gloomy European house (8) GRIMALDI (The GRIMALDI dynasty is a princely house originating in Genoa, founded by the Genoese leader of the Guelphs, Franceso GRIMALDI, who in 1297 took the lordship of Monaco along with his soldiers dressed as Franciscans. In that principality his successors have reigned to the present day) GRIM (gloomy) + an anagram of (out) LAID GRIM ALDI* |
||
| 22 |
Indefinite number coming in to receive each drink (8, 2 words) GREEN TEA (a drink) (N [indefinite number] contained in [coming in to] GREET [welcome; receive]) + EA (each) GREE (N) T EA |
||
| 23 |
Historic island: navy, note, boarding old warship (7) CRANNOG (a lake dwelling in Scotland and Ireland, typically a tiny island artificially enlarged and fortified) (RN [{Royal} Navy] + N [note]) contained in (boarding) COG (formerly [old], a large merchant ship or warship) C (RN N) OG |
A | |
| 25 |
Nothing different (almost) regarding egg producers (7) OVARIAN (related to female reproductive glands; egg producers) O (character representing zero; nothing) + VARIANT (different form) excluding the final letter (almost) T O VARIAN |
||
| 27 |
African state legislation is in general incomplete (6) MALAWI (African Country or State) LAW (legislation) contained in (is in) MAIN (general) excluding the final letter (incomplete) N MA (LAW) I |
||
| 29 |
Reveal perverted fun in historical period (6) UNFOLD (reveal) Anagram of (perverted) FUN + OLD ([relating to] a former [historical] period) UNF* OLD |
||
| 31 |
A lot of intellect required to pen volume that’s well done (5) BRAVI (cry of ‘excellent!’, when directed to a woman) BRAIN (intellect) excluding the final letter (a lot of … required) N containing (to pen) V (Volume) BRA (V) I |
||
| 33 |
Spins coin finally: H or T, possibly (5) Spine coin finally: H or T, possibly (5) THORN (spine) Anagram of (possibly) N (last letter of [finally] COIN) and H or T THORN* |
E | |
| 35 |
Scots beat Germany? About to take on English (4) Scots bear Germany? About to take on English (4) DREE (Scottish word meaning ‘to endure or to bear’) D (International Vehicle Registration for Germany) + RE (with reference to; about) + E (English) D RE E |
R |
Not too cruel and much enjoyed here: all thanks to Phi and duncanshiell.
Tom Lehrer is a long-familiar name but I hadn’t come across the relevant song before. Seeing just enough letters to guess at a GIRL IN VIENNA put me on the right track.
An excellent puzzle with a good set of clues and an interesting and well-executed theme.
I am a Mahler fan and have read a biography of him in which a chapter on Alma Schindler mentions the other two men (that she married) in her dramatic life story. I had no idea Tom Lehrer wrote a song about her, and I enjoyed reading it for the first time. Schindler’s List was a clever and apposite title to choose for this puzzle.
I had most of the left half of the grid complete when I stopped to think about a possible theme. From the collected letters I had TOM, and an E and an R following (with or without gaps), and in the grid I had the probable sequences THE LO… along the top and GIRL IN… along the bottom. The possibility of Tom Lehrer (9 letters) occurred to me (my discoveries at this stage were very similar to yours, Duncan), as did the possible words THE LOVELIEST (or LONELIEST) GIRL IN … It took one online search to find Tom Lehrer’s song Alma.
I filled in MAHLER and GROPIUS straight away, and WERFEL followed later when I saw where it would go.
Thanks to Phi and duncanshiell.
To my mind at least, Phi tends to set puzzles towards the gentler end of the difficulty spectrum, but I found this one to be relatively tough, so much so that it took me several days to complete. Personally I didn’t think that the wording for the clue at 36A (leading to NATO) worked very well, as NATO is hidden within STATESMEN AT ODDS, which is precisely what they are not, they are in fact united in the beliefs and common purposes of self and mutually assured safety. Nicely formed endgame, with symmetrical placement of the three husbands in chronological order when reading from top to bottom – I assumed that the title referred to the list of husbands of Alma (née Schindler), although I did just double check as to whether this song formed a part of the score to the identically titled film.
Many thanks to Phi for a stiffer than usual challenge, to duncanshiell for the blog and to fellow commenters for sharing their thoughts.
Initially I misread or misunderstood the rhyming component – thus assuming, for example, that the answer to 9d ‘stumped’ was ‘leapt’, which worked only too well with the wordplay. But when I saw that 1a, which had to be ‘holler’ but also couldn’t be ‘holler’, I fetched my eraser and a path opened up. I had intuited the song writer (a setter’s favourite?) rather early , but resisted doing a deep dive into his songbook (I’d also misremembered his surname as Lederer). Instead, the song title slowly emerged, unlocking remaining mysteries.
For the way in which the theme slowly revealed itself, I’d guess this will be one of my favourites of the year. Many thanks to Phi and duncanshiell.
A great puzzle about, it transpires, a most fascinating (and colourful) life! No real stumbling blocks once I’d worked out the rhyming component. For reasons that escape me I sort-of-knew the songwriter, though can’t for the life of me think why, and so got the song quite quickly once his name started emerging.
I echo the above comments – a lovely puzzle, at just the right difficulty level for me and particularly enjoyable as I’m originally from Vienna (though wasn’t as familiar with Alma as I should be.)
My way in was also Tom Lehrer, who will be familiar to many from his Elements song (reciting them all at double quick speed), but has an excellent all round canon specialising in clever rhymes, which I would encourage everyone to explore further.
To make my life easier I’ll admit to scouring Tom’s list of songs for 4 letter titles, of which there were not many so it quickly revealed the silvered cells and the omitted letters. [I believe the preamble stated the 4 letters made up the song title, although this is not replicated in the introduction to the blog.]
I didn’t really understand the preamble on rhyming entries initially, but with everything else done it became fairly straightforward.
I had however mistakenly highlighted the first A in 14a ASIA (as opposed to the one on the left), having solved ‘unaltered’ as ‘SIC’. I was happy with ABROMA in 30a because Google had an ABOMA snake (not BOMA, which I still can’t find) although I couldn’t parse 23d CRANNOG properly. But I was surprised to find two As so close together and the actual solution is much more satisfying.
Thanks to Phi and duncanshiell
Nice clues. Nice gimmick for the thematic entries. But a theme song which objectifies a woman’s through the celebrity of her husbands seems “dated”.
Arnold @ 6
You are right – the final clause of the preamble got deleted by mistake when I was proof-reading and editing the blog. I have added it now.
On the easy side for Phi, I thought. I have two Tom Lehrer LPs (actually, two copies of the same LP) but ALMA isn’t included. The line that sticks in my mind (the one after “… Holler”, to rhyme with “… Gustav”) is “Ach, that is the fräulein I must have!” – still makes me smile.
Thanks to blogger & setter.
There’s a blog on the puzzle at: http://phionline.net.nz/setters-blogs/schindlers-list/
A couple of points:
I still think ‘statemen at odds’ works for NATO, particularly at a time when there are headlines about how Putin has succeeded in bringing NATO together.
Phil K’s point is more substantial, but you still have to observe that Lehrer is noting (even in a comic song) that she married three men who were significant in three different intellectual disciplines. Hard to think of another example, and if you do I’ll throw in Oskar Kokoschka to raise the ante. For better or worse, Alma’s reputation rests on her impact on Viennese intellectual life, and it’s undeniable she chose an unusual modus operandi in that regard. There again, when you consider La Ronde, perhaps it wasn’t so unusual.
Phi @ 10 : Thanks for reaching out to us all – and thanks once again for a really nice puzzle. I’m still not taken by the NATO clue … I think that a simple change of wording to ‘Statesmen at one …’ would have been much better – the member states are, after all, at one (Chambers Revised 13th Edition : at one – of one mind, reconciled – reconcile : to restore or bring back to friendship or union; to bring to agreement or contentment; to pacify). That would seem to be an absolutely perfect definition to me.
Keep up the good work (on both Inquisitor and i cryptic fronts) – reading the comments above, it is clear that your efforts are very much appreciated.