Phi ventures out of his usual Friday schedule to set today’s challenge.
Lots to enjoy here: I liked the military officer waiting for a promotion, the extended definition in 21d, and the junk-food image of 26d. Also 24a because it’s just an amusing word.
It’s Tuesday so we should be looking for a theme, which may also explain Phi’s presence today. The entries at 10a and 8d started to ring a bell, and 19a/20a sounded somewhat familiar in combination, so I kept looking . . . We’re looking at titles or nicknames of musical works by Dmitri Shostakovich:
- Symphonies: no.2 To October and no.7 Leningrad (he also wrote a separate orchestral piece called October)
- Operas: The Nose and The Gamblers
- Ballet music: The Bolt and The Limpid Stream
- Film score: The Gadfly
I think that’s everything, though there are also a few bonus music-related entries that don’t seem to have a particular connection to Shostakovich: Enigma and Monk (as defined here), low-pitched, pianissimo, instrument. And of course it’s perfectly possible to solve the puzzle without reference to any of this, if 20th-century classical music doesn’t happen to be your thing. Thanks Phi as always.
Definitions are underlined; BOLD UPPERCASE indicates letters used in the wordplay; square brackets [ ] indicate omitted letters.
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | GRAMPUS |
Inclination to harpoon grand American whale (7)
|
| RAMP (inclination = slope), inserted into (harpooning) G (abbreviation for grand) + US (American).
Name used for various marine creatures including the killer whale. |
||
| 5 | VAMPING |
Giving new face to seductress in capital of Germany (7)
|
| VAMP (as a noun = seductress) + IN (from clue text) + first letter (capital) of G[ermany].
Vamp, as a verb (more usually “revamp”) = to refurbish = to give something a new face (appearance). |
||
| 9 | MARIA |
Lunar features in large part of planet, I start to admit (5)
|
| Most of (large part of) MAR[s] (a planet) + I (from clue text) + starting letter of A[dmit].
Dark areas on the Moon’s surface, named from the Latin word for “seas”, because that’s what people thought they were before we had the technology to explore them properly. |
||
| 10 | LENINGRAD |
Former city tending to oust a radical (9)
|
| LE[a]NING (tending = being likely to do something) without the A, then RAD (slang shortening of “radical”).
20th-century name of the city which has also been called Petrograd and has now reverted to its original name of St Petersburg. |
||
| 11 | LOW-PITCHED |
Somehow depict howl in a deep voice (3-7)
|
| Anagram (somehow) of DEPICT HOWL. | ||
| 12 | IDOL |
Independent revitalised old star? (4)
|
| I (abbreviation for independent) + anagram (revitalised) of OLD.
As in rock star or film star. |
||
| 14 | REMISS |
Most of orders provided by right-wing forces will be in error (6)
|
| Most of (all but the last letter) REMI[t] (orders = what one is authorised to manage) + SS (abbreviation for Schutzstaffel = Nazi-era paramilitary organisation = right-wing forces). | ||
| 16 | STANZA |
Nationalists backing South Africa’s verse (6)
|
| NATS (abbreviation for nationalists) reversed (backing), then ZA (ISO 3166 country code for South Africa, from Dutch Zuid-Afrika).
Stanza = a verse in a poem or song. |
||
| 19 | LIMPID |
Clear evidence of injury I had (6)
|
| LIMP (something that might be evidence of a leg injury) + I’D (short form of “I had”). | ||
| 20 | STREAM |
A lot of pages applied to the way to watch movies now? (6)
|
| REAM (now typically 500 sheets of paper, although the number varies = a lot of pages) + ST (abbreviation for street = the way).
Stream, as a verb = to watch film or TV from the internet, rather than in a cinema or from DVD etc. |
||
| 23 | NOSE |
Ability to track meaningless bits of data I ignored (4)
|
| NO[i]SE (in electronic communications, random bits of a received signal that aren’t part of the original content intended for transmission), ignoring the letter I.
Nose = the ability to track using scent. |
||
| 24 | FILIBUSTER |
One vehicle’s crashed through screen? Keep talking (10)
|
| I (one in Roman numerals) + BUS (large passenger vehicle), inserted into (crashed through) FILTER (screen).
In parliamentary procedures, to talk at length in a debate in order to delay a vote. |
||
| 27 | GEOLOGIST |
It’s Google that’s replaced scientist (9)
|
| Anagram (replaced) of ITS GOOGLE. | ||
| 28 | EQUIP |
Witty comment getting behind English kit (5)
|
| QUIP (a witty comment) after E (abbreviation for English).
Kit, as a verb = equip = provide equipment to. |
||
| 29 | ALERTLY |
European right to interrupt associate sharply (7)
|
| E (abbreviation for European) + RT (abbreviation for right), inserted into (interrupting) ALLY (associate). | ||
| 30 | OCTOBER |
Military leader not yet promoted? Leader of regiment for 31 days (7)
|
| OC (abbreviation for Officer Commanding = military leader) + TO BE (future but not yet, suggesting that the officer has not yet been promoted to OC) + leading letter of R[egiment]. | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | GAMBLERS |
Good folk taking things steadily are risk takers (8)
|
| G (abbreviation for good) + AMBLERS (people who walk with no particular urgency = folk taking things steadily). | ||
| 2 | ARROW |
A dispute with repeated opening point (5)
|
| A (from clue text) + ROW (dispute), with the opening letter of R[ow] repeated. | ||
| 3 | PIANISSIMO |
Very quiet religious mission sent out to cover America (10)
|
| PI (abbreviation for pious = religious, generally used in a derogatory sense to mean sanctimonious) + anagram (sent out) of MISSION, containing A (abbreviation for America).
Italian-derived musical term for very quiet. |
||
| 4 | SOLACE |
Relief only after securing account (6)
|
| SOLE (only, as in “sole survivor”), containing (securing) AC (abbreviation for account).
Solace = comfort or consolation = relief. |
||
| 5 | VENDETTA |
Long-standing conflict? Former soldier cheers, welcoming conclusion (8)
|
| VET (short for veteran = former soldier) + TA (cheers = slang for thank you), containing END (conclusion). | ||
| 6 | MONK |
Jazz composer premieres in Manhattan – one nods knowingly (4)
|
| First letters (premieres) of M[anhattan] O[ne] N[ods] K[nowingly].
Jazz composer Thelonious Monk. |
||
| 7 | IRRADIATE |
Shed light on botched raid – indignant about that (9)
|
| Anagram (botched) of RAID, with IRATE (indignant) around it. | ||
| 8 | GADFLY |
One provoking guard regularly having to flee (6)
|
| Alternate letters (regularly) of G[u]A[r]D, then FLY (to flee = run away).
A large fly that bites animals, or (metaphorically) a persistently challenging or annoying person. |
||
| 13 | INSTRUMENT |
Guitar? Aim to play it idly for a time (10)
|
| IN[t]ENT (aim, as a noun = purpose), with STRUM (to play idly on a guitar or similar stringed instrument) in place of (for) the first T (abbreviation for time).
Definition by example: a musical instrument. |
||
| 15 | MILLSTONE |
Source of flour? Woman accepting dicky quality (9)
|
| MS (title for a woman) containing ILL (dicky = unwell), then TONE (quality, as in “muscle tone”). | ||
| 17 | TIMIDITY |
Hesitation shown by bird, unknown, seen around south of France (8)
|
| TIT (small garden or woodland bird) + Y (mathematical symbol for an unknown quantity), around MIDI (French colloquial term for the southern part of France). | ||
| 18 | IMPROPER |
One’s press release will include line of questionable delicacy (8)
|
| I’M (one’s = one is, which really means “a person in general would be”, but may be used as an alternative to “I am”) + PR (abbreviation for press release), containing ROPE (line = a piece of rope used for a specific purpose, especially in nautical usage). | ||
| 21 | ENIGMA |
Orchestral piece, informally – a rich source, containing heart of Elgar, on reflection (6)
|
| A MINE (as in “a mine of information” = a rich source), containing the middle letter (heart) of [el]G[ar], all reversed (on reflection).
Extended definition: informal name for Elgar’s orchestral piece Enigma Variations, which contains musical portraits of the composer and several of his friends. |
||
| 22 | BISTRO |
Writer seen around street cafe (6)
|
| BIRO (brand name for a ballpoint pen = writer) around ST (abbreviation for street).
French term for a small informal restaurant. |
||
| 25 | THUMB |
Part of glove so cut down by doctor (5)
|
| THU[s] (so) without the last letter (cut down), then MB (abbreviation for a doctor, from the Latin title for a medical degree). | ||
| 26 | BOLT |
Quickly eat sandwich with zero content? (4)
|
| BLT (abbreviation for a bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich) containing O (zero). |
STANZA, OCTOBER and PIANISSIMO were my top picks.
Thanks Phi and Quirister.
20th Century classical music very much is my thing, and I’ve even seen a rare outing of The Nose (in Barry Kosky’s production at the Royal Opera House which featured something like twenty tap-dancing noses), but it seems that spotting crossword themes very much isn’t, so thank you, Quirister, for alerting me in your excellent blog. And thanks of course to Phi for an enjoyable crossword, even without the theme.
A real challenge, this PHI, which I didn’t fully appreciate until reading Ms.Q’s superb blog.
Can I add “VAMPING” to the musical undertone?
I’m not a theme-lover, but it passes my test: “solved without the foggiest idea that there was a theme”.
A lot of crafty clues and skilful surfaces. Not so keen on REMISS, 14(ac)…”forces”,plural?
15(d), MILLSTONE as “a source of flour”, is disappointing, and so is the surface reading.
May be I’m in Scrooge mode
Great stuff, P + Q
The usual good fun from Phi, although my knowledge of Shostakovich is pretty limited, so I had no chance at the theme. (I love Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, although there’s no way to shoehorn that one into a crossword.)
My top pick was Google replacing the GEOLOGIST.
I did say last week that I was catching up on missed anniversaries – like Wodehouse, Shostakovich died in 1975.
For your reservoir of quiz knowledge, should you maintain one: Thelonious Monk’s middle name was Sphere.
Not on Friday next week, either…
My first thought on seeing Phi today, knowing it is her anniversary, I thought there might be a Jane Austen theme. I know little about Austen. I know more about Shostakovich, but still failed to spot the theme.
Me too Dormouse. Good puzzle today, my standard. FILIBUSTER and BISTRO were pleasingly simple.
Thanks P&Q
Im a Shosto fan but I normally just remember symphony numbers
Im more interested in whether they bother to hire an actual pianist
rather than use a percussionist in Symphony 5 as the brief piano part is very percussive.
Oh and I liked the puzzle