This puzzle by Radler had a fairly short preamble, as follows: "The title alludes to the eight unclued themed solutions. Only one is from eight, and nine’s too many for the theme. Seven of the clues adjacent to those marked "unclued have one letter that is out of position, which must be moved to its correct place in order to solve the clue. In clue order, these seven letters provide a further thematic hint. Unchecked letters in the eight solutions could make MAFIOSO THUGS RETALIATE".
This is Radler’s second Inquisitor puzzle and when I got into it I really enjoyed it. It took me a while to get going and get onto Radler’s wavelength. I felt that there was a bit of lateral thinking required to understand some of the definitions. Radler clearly doesn’t slavishly pick definitions out of Chambers. Instead he alludes to the definition making some of the clues a challenge to solve initially.
I cold solved a few clues quite quickly – e.g. SUET (6 across), HOBO (10 across), ENSEAL (26 across) and NUCLEUS (36 across) in the Acrosses In the Downs I started with ESCHAR (30 down) and ALUMNI (32 down). However there was little overlap between these entries and none of the thematic entries were deducible at this stage and none of the adjusted clues had been solved.
The first move into thematic country came with TSESSEBE which gave me an M that was moved in the clue. I began to make some inroads into the right hand side of the grid and the possibility of LITTLE RUSSIA at 14 down became apparent. A bit of research at this point didn’t seem to help generating only references to Ukraine and Tottenham which didn’t fill me with confidence.
Solving the long across, HOSPITALERS at 27 was the breakthrough as I could then see PASTORAL as a possibility for the unclued entry at 22 down.
The letters in MAFIOSO THUGS RETALIATE hinted at THE as the first word in the unclued 1 down and OF THE as words two and three of 6 down. I stumbled on THE FIRST OF MAY and the penny then dropped on names of Symphonies. It took a little while longer for the UNFINISHED bit to dawn and from then it was fairly plain sailing.
I didn’t understand the preamble fully until I had solved the whole crossword and had started blogging.
Looking at the thematic piece then we have the informal names of eight Symphonies each lacking their final letter – Unfinished.
These are
2 across – POLISH – Tchaikovsky Symphony No 3 in D Major
40 across – TRAGIC –Schubert Symphony No 4 in C Minor
1 down – THE FIRST OF MAY – Shostakovich Symphony No 3 in E Flat Major
4 down – ITALIAN – Mendelssohn Symphony No 4 in A Major
6 down – SONG OF THE NIGHT – Mahler Symphony No 7 in various keys; Szymanowski Symphony No 3 Opus 27;
14 down – LITTLE RUSSIAN – Tchaikovsky Symphony No 2 in C Minor
22 down – PASTORALE – Beethoven Symphony No 6 in F Major
38 down – LINZ – Mozart Symphony No 36 in C Major
Looking at the unchecked letter in each thematic entry we find
POLIS – O, The I is checked by the leading I in ITALIA
TRAGI – G
THE FIRST OF MA – TEISOM
ITALIA – TA
SONG OF THE NIGH – FH
LITTLE RUSSIA – ITEUSA
PASTORAL – ARL
LIN – None
This gives 21 unchecked letters that can form MAFIOSO THUGS RETALIATE
For me, there were a number of very good clues, too many to mention all of them here . Just a few of the ones I liked were those for HOSPITALERS (27 across) with its misdirection to shopping malls, OBSESSED (33 across) for the well disguised hidden word, LITHIUM (39 across) for the clever use of chemical symbols and the Periodic Table,.
I thought that the device of moving one letter in the adjusted clues was very effective. There were twelve clues that could have been affected. Initially I seemed to solve only the normal ones. Eventually I got the M in 12 down. Next to fall was the S in 45 across. I also got the O in 37 before I deduced that the seven letter would spell out SYMPHON [Unfinished Symphony). This helped me identify which clues remained to have letters adjusted.
In the detailed blog below, I indicate which letters have moved in seven clues and where the letter has moved.
The finished grid looked like this:
Returning to the preamble, I was confused for a long time by the phrases ‘Eight from Eight [the title], ‘Only one from eight‘ and ‘Nine’s too many for the theme‘. I think ‘Eight from Eight refers to the 8th Symphony by SCHUBERT (Eight down). SCHUBERT‘s 8th Symphony is probably the most famous Unfinished Symphony of all.. ‘Only one from eight‘ refers to the fact that only one of the thematic entries is a Symphony by SCHUBERT (Eight down) and ‘Nine’s too many for the theme’ relates to the TOY [Nine down] Symphony by Haydn. in some way. It may be that we only want eight Symphonies to be thematic entries, or it may be due to the fact that TOY has one letter too many. To be thematic it would have be only TO. Others may have different interpretations. I look forward to reading comments on the Inquisitor.
Thanks to Radler for a very entertaining puzzle this week.
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Across |
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| No | Clue | Letter | Amended Clue | Wordplay | Entry |
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2
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Unclued (5)
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POLIS
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6
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She made Adrian M fat (4)
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Sue Townsend [1946 – 2014] was the author of the Adrian Mole Diaries. If we represent Sue Townsend in the same form as Adrian M we get SUE T
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SUET (solid fatty tissue)
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8
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Keep losing one’s pen (3)
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STAY (keep) excluding (losing) A (one) Bradfords has STAY as a synonym for KEEP |
STY (pen)
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10
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One without a home needs ring on cooker (4)
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HOB (cooker on which pots are placed to be heated) + O (ring [shape]) |
HOBO (homeless, penniless person)
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11
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Black for the eyes (and for the ears) (4)
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KOHL (sounds like [for the ears] COAL [a black carboniferous substance])
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KOHL (a fine powder of native stibnite, formerly known as antimony, black in colour, used [originally in the East] to darken the area around the eyes)
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13
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Pass the Mustard? (3)
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COL (Colonel, reference Colonel Mustard a character in the board game Cluedo)
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COL ([mountain / hill] pass)
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15
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Leaves producer (as Spooner’s advised) deposit here (7)
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If the Reverend Spooner tried to say ROMAINE (a cos lettuce; leaves producer]) he would utter MORAINE
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MORAINE (a ridgelike mass of earth, rock and stones at one time carried and finally deposited by a glacier; deposit here)
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17
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Pale man edges away, lacking funds (4)
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A (the letter remaining in MAN when the outside letters [edges] M and N are excluded [away]) + SHY (short in payment; lacking funds) |
ASHY (pale)
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18
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Leading member supporting the French revolution, say? (7)
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FOR (supporting) + LE (one of the forms of ‘the’ in French) reversed (revolution) + E.G. (for example; say) FOR E L< EG
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FORELEG (front leg; leading member)
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19
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During the last month, briefly a fad, not caught on (3)
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CULT (fad) excluding (not … on) C (caught, in cricket scoring notation)
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ULT (abbreviation for []briefly] ULTIMO [in the last month])
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21
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Last of the jokes about boar – they don’t succeed well (8)
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(E [final letter of {last of} THE] + ONES [jokes]) containing (about) PIG (boar) E (PIG) ONES |
EPIGONES (undistinguished descendants; they don’t succeed well)
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23
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Pound sign (3)
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RAM (beat hard; pound)
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RAM (Aries; sign of the zodiac) double definition
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26
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Ratify old or new lease after rejigging (6)
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Anagram of (after rejigging) N and LEASE
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ENSEAL (archaic [old] word meaning put one’s seal to; ratify)
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27
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Order from dodgy shops on outskirts of retail complex (11)
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Anagram of (dodgy) SHOPS containing (on outskirts of) an anagram of (complex) RETAIL HOSP (ITALER*) S* |
HOSPITALERS (Knights of St John (otherwise called Knights of Rhodes, and afterwards Knights of Malta), an order that built a hospital for pilgrims at Jerusalem)
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28
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Perceives groups at back (6)
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(SETS [groups] AT) reversed (back) (TA STES)< |
TASTES (perceives)
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31
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Sharp, tenor’s off pitch (3)
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TART (sharp) excluding (off) T (tenor)
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TAR (pitch is the black shining residue of distillation of TAR)
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33
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Persistently gripped stewardesses’ bodies during return journey (8)
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OBSESSED (hidden word [during] reversed [return journey] in STEWARDESSES BODIES) OBSESSED< |
OBSESSED (occupying the thought obstinately and persistently; persistently gripped)
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35
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Went off shouting, making complaint (3)
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FLU (sounds like [shouting] FLEW [went off])
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FLU (influenza; [medial] complaint)
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36
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Mad Uncle and his first entrance to shopping centre (7)
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Anagram of (mad) UNCLE + U (first letter of [his first] UNCLE) + S (first letter of [entrance to] SHOPPING) NUCLE* U S
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NUCLEUS (centre)
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38
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Rolling track inventor (4)
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RAIL (track) reversed (rolling) LIAR<
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LIAR (inventor of stories)
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39
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Be seated next to me at table! (He’s on the other side) (7)
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Helium (He) is the element with Atomic Number 2 in the periodic table, Li (LITHIUM) has Atomic Number 3 and Be (Beryllium) has Atomic Number 4. Therefore in the [at] table, Be is seated next to Li and He is on the other side. If you study the Periodic Table you will see how accurate that statement is as Li and Be sit next to each other in row 2 on the left hand side while He is in row 1 on the right hand [other] side.
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LITHIUM
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41
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Is it a first? (3)
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A + IT (IT with A first)
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AIT (small island [Is is an abbreviation for island])
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| 42 | Flip over in vain (4, 2 words) |
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NOG (eggnog or similar drink. FLIP is defined as a hot drink of beer and spirits sweetened, or any similar concoction) + O (over in cricket scoring notation)
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NO GO (in vain) | |
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43
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Leader of Middle Eastern country moved east to become leader of India (4)
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IRAN (Middle Eastern country) with the first letter (leader) I moved to the right [East]) RANI
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RANI (wife of an Indian raja; a leader of India)
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44
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Musician performing nothing (3)
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ON (performing) + O (zero; nothing)
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ONO (reference Yoko ONO [1933 – date], Japanese artists and singer, former wife of Beatle, John Lennon)
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45
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He might initially get prepared for strap (4)
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S
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She might initially get prepared for trap (4)
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Anagram of (prepared) (SHE and M (first letter of [initially] MIGHT)
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MESH (trap)
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46
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Unclued (5)
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TRAGI
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1
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Unclued (12, 4 words)
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THE FIRST OF MA
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2
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Millions working for ever propping up Polly , only half a goddess (6)
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Y
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Millions working for every propping up poll, only half a goddess (6)
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PO [half of the letters of POLL) + (M [millions] + ON [working] + A [for every; derived from PER meaning ‘for each or A‘]) As this is a down clue MONA is the base for (propping up) PO
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POMONA (Roman goddess of fruitful abundance)
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3
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Learning from tradition of Florence (4)
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LORE (hidden word in [of] FLORENCE)
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LORE (learning, especially of a special, traditional, or out-of-the-way miscellaneous kind)
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4
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Unclued (6)
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ITALIA
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5
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Runner nearly fell (3)
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SKIN (one of the definitions of ‘FELL’ in Chambers) excluding the final letter (nearly) N
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SKI (runner) |
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6
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Unclued (13, 4 words)
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SONG OF THE NIGH
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7
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Associate removed lid to fill with good spirits (5)
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RELATE (associate) excluding (removed) the first letter (lid) R
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ELATE (fill with good spirits)
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8
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Trout for five was his preparation using cut herbs (8)
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Anagram of (preparation using) CUT HERBS
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SCHUBERT (reference Franz SCHUBERT [1797 – 1828], composer of the Trout Quintet [five])
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9
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Little tinker (3)
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TOY (dwarf breed, little, as in TOY poodle)
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TOY (tinker [with]) double definition
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12
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Seems best for horny beast (8)
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M
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Sees best form horny beast (8)
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Anagram of (form) SEES BEST
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TSESSEBE (sassaby [the bastard hartebeest, a large S African antelope]; beast with horns)
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14
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Unclued (12, 2 words)
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LITTLE RUSSIA
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16
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Pen name needs no introduction to resident no. 9 (6)
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P
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En name needs no introduction to President no. 9 (6)
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EN + N + (HEAD [President] excluding [no] the first letter [introduction] H)
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ENNEAD (the number nine)
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20
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Vehicle has exposed unit of tread (3)
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H
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Vehicle as exposed unit of thread (3)
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LEA (hidden word in [exposed] VEHICLE AS)
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LEA (a measure of yarn, 80 yards of worsted, 120 of cotton, 300 of linen; measure of thread)
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22
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Unclued (8)
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PASTORAL
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24
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Departed from Split once more, like this aircraft (8)
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QUIT (departed) contained in (split) (MO [archaic {once} word for more] + SO [like this]) MO S (QUIT) O |
MOSQUITO (type of aircraft manufactured by De Havilland; twin engined multi-combat aircraft used during and after the Second World War)
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25
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Girl I married held up a book in church (6)
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(LASS [girl] + I + M [married)] all reversed (held up; down clue) (M I SSAL)< |
MISSAL (a book containing the complete service for mass throughout the year.)
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29
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I make holes, "wholly", I’m called (3)
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AWL (sounds like [I’m called] ALL [wholly])
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AWL (a pointed instrument for boring small holes.)
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30
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Excitedly search Slough (6)
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Anagram of (excitedly) SEARCH
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ESCHAR (slough)
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32
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Having left a northern university, I’m training graduates (6)
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Anagram of (training) (L [left] and A and N [northern] and U [university] and I’M)
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ALUMNI (former students, most of whom will be graduates)
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34
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Tolerated part of Asia after docking (5)
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BORNEO (major island in Asia; part of Asia) excluding the final letter (after docking) O
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BORNE (tolerated)
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37
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Hoard cash abroad and lose 38ac (4)
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O
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Hard cash abroad and loose 38ac (4)
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Anagram of (loose) LIAR (38 across)
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LIRA (standard monetary unit [hard cash] of Turkey [abroad, if you don’t live in Turkey])
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38
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Unclued (3)
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LIN
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40
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Sifter, thorough at the outset, has no time to complete (3)
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N
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Snifter, thorough at the outset, has O time to complete (3)
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T (first letter of [at the outset] THOROUGH) + O + T (time)
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TOT (snifter, in that both TOT and SNIFTER refer to as mall drink of spirits)
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Lovely puzzle and perfect blog -many thanks to both creators.
I got/guessed Little Russia very early on, and so I also ended up in Ukraine and Tottenham.
Google kept trying to guide me to Little Russian, but this just annoyed me ( as google results often do).
I gave the first couple of results under that heading a cursory look, then dismissed the symphony thing, being convinced we were looking for place names. Very very stupid of me. I never learn.
I think the clues were very elegantly constructed, which – in a good way – meant they were very logically solvable, rather than requiring intuitive leaps. Apart from Col Mustard.
But, the movable letter in some clues added a challenging dimension.
Spoonerisms? I am familiar with phrases such as the Lord being a shoving leopard. I didn’t think there were single word examples. My ignorance, or is this just standard crosswordese for transposing parts of words?
Eight from eight? I don’t get the meaning.
Phew! I came closer to giving up entirely on this one than any of the other recent Inquisitors, but I’m finally beginning to trust the editors enough to persevere and I got there in the end, and well worth it as ever.
LITTLE RUSSIA was the only thematic entry I could guess at for a long time and TRA_I had me deeply frustrated. I was going round in circles and was stumped on several of the big clues across the middle and the top left, which held me up for a long time.
I finally got enough to guess at THE FIRST OF __ and Google did its magic. Still plenty of work to do to get to the end, but progress again at last. I don’t know my symphonies too well, so was groping in the dark for a lot of this.
I didn’t feel that I quite got the title, Eight from Eight, and this’d left me slightly dissatisfied but I can see now just how cleverly constructed even that is. In my research I’d of course come across Schubert’s eighth symphony as being unfinished, but it’s only now that I can see how that works for the title. I’d interpreted the ‘nine’s too many for the theme’ in the same double way as you did Duncan, both as one answer too many and having one letter too many to fit the theme.
One question I had was 22D PASTORAL, which doesn’t seem unfinished. There are occasional references on the web to it’s being Pastorale, but these look more like spelling mistakes. I believe that pastorale is a general description of a rural-themed piece of music, so perhaps that’s what it should have been called?
Thanks to Radler for a real challenge and to Duncan for giving it the blog it deserves.
Have I missed it, or is there no mention in the blog of the fact that SYMPHON is “Unfinished Symphony” by Eight (8 down), Schubert – his NINEth (see preamble), so nine is too many for Eight (Schubert)
OPatrick (#2) the German (original) title for Beethoven 6 is PastoralE.
I still can’t quite link up the title with the theme, as there are only seven composers mentioned – had there not been two Tchaikovsky symphonies her would have been eight unfinished titles from eight composers. Did anyone else compose a “Polish”?
P.S. In the preamble the phrase “only one is from eight” refers to the fact that only one (Tragic) is by Schubert.
Hihoba @ 3 and 4
I think you did miss the references!
The paragraphs either side of the picture of the finished grid cover nearly all of the points you raise.
Like you, I thought initially that eight from eight referred to eight symphonies from eight different composers, but I decided in the e end that SCHUBERT (8 down) and his 8th (unfinished) Symphony were being referenced. I also looked for other composers of Tchaikovsky’s two entries. There is a second Symphony that could be considered for SONG OF THE NIGHT – Karol Szymanowski’s Symphony No 3.
Now I’m coming to see how neatly everything else fits with double, or even triple, meanings I’m also beginning to wonder if there should have been eight different composers – though I suppose if you count both the Song of the Night composers that does give eight, but that would definitely be cheating. I was working for a while on the hypothesis that the symphonies should be numbered from 1 to 8 too, but that didn’t last for long.
So near. I got LITTLE RUSSIA fairly early and immediately thought of Tchaikovsky. Getting PASTORAL gave me the symphony link, but as I’d forgotten that the Beethoven is actually the Pastorale I didn’t notice the missing last letters and failed to get any more of the symphonies. My solving ground to a halt, never to restart. And I’m kicking myself for not getting 6ac!
Although I have heard the Mahler called The Song of the Night, it doesn’t usually get called that on concert listings and recordings. As it happens, I have the Rattle recordings of both that and the Szymanowski, and the name does not appear on the cover of the Mahler or the track listings.
Sorry. I didn’t look carefully enough!
Some minor quibbles. I think it’s misleading to think of the Beethoven as Pastorale when it’s always Pastoral in this country and the other symphonies here are not in their original languages. And the Toy Symphony is usually attributed to Leopold Mozart. But an enjoyable crossword.
Lovely puzzle
Thanks Duncan- we couldn’t parse 16d,
We sorted out the title of the puzzle which we often forget to look at. Enjoyed the puzzle so thanks also to Radler. We did need to google unfinished symphonies though to finish the puzzle!
Thanks Duncan for a superb blog and to Radler for a super puzzle.
Yet again I nearly got there bit needed Duncan to put the final pieces in for me.
27A – HOSPITALERS – lousy definition as “Order”. My old Chambers defines HOSPITALLER as AN order ( singular ) and refers to the spelling with a single “L” as a US variant. The definition and clue should therefore have read “American orders from dodgy shops….” which would have made just as much sense. Shame, because otherwise the clue was skillfully constructed.
44A – ONO – another misleading definition. Yoko Ono is first and foremost an artist and performance artist – she is certainly not revered or known for being primarily a “musician”.
Capitalisation – why were “Uncle” 36ac, and “Split” 24dn capitalised?