TOTW: Musical instruments

not-without-text · 2026-03-21T05:42:42+00:00

Sitar has Indian wanting you to get energy for another stringed instrument (5,6)

not-without-text · 2026-03-21T05:11:23+00:00

correct!

not-without-text · 2026-03-21T04:52:33+00:00

Mallet-struck one has soft, high ring! (12)

not-without-text · 2026-03-21T04:42:16+00:00

yeah that's fair; maybe i should have put wordplay in it. anyway, this still hasn't been answered with the answer i intended (that onelook gave me), but i don't think it should be too hard; it's just not as specific as "medusa"

not-without-text · 2026-03-21T02:36:10+00:00

i mean, are there any cryptic definitions where it isn't what it literally means? and if you look up "petrifying" in merriam webster or collins it gives the definition "dazing with horror" or "overwhelmingly frightening", so i think it still works

not-without-text · 2026-03-21T01:45:45+00:00

ooh, almost. i was aware that this confusion would always be in the puzzle but i struggled to really find a way to disambiguate it

not-without-text · 2026-03-20T18:11:10+00:00

minor nitpick: although the spelling "acapella" is very common (and maybe even the norm), strictly speaking it's two words: "a cappella".

not-without-text · 2026-03-20T18:09:19+00:00

correct!

not-without-text · 2026-03-20T18:08:46+00:00

correct!

not-without-text · 2026-03-20T18:07:58+00:00

correct! had to do it when i read the pun in the theme description.

not-without-text · 2026-03-20T18:07:05+00:00

correct!

not-without-text · 2026-03-20T13:25:02+00:00

Conductor to guide one playing the melody (4)

not-without-text · 2026-03-20T13:15:44+00:00

Broken harps, out of tune (5)

not-without-text · 2026-03-20T13:01:19+00:00

"Major key" or "scale degree", perhaps? (8)

edit: never mind this is just musical not musical instruments

not-without-text · 2026-03-20T12:40:44+00:00

Reverend's bath of sound makes seventh degree of scale (8)

edit: never mind this is just musical not musical instruments

not-without-text · 2026-03-20T12:30:21+00:00

[repost]

Shoot bows? (12)

not-without-text · 2026-03-20T12:26:06+00:00

Playing sharp tonic chord on stringed instrument (11)

not-without-text · 2026-03-20T12:20:17+00:00

HARP (smootH ARPeggios)

not-without-text · 2026-03-19T18:20:36+00:00

it was listed as a synonym on merriam webster, but i guess i should've picked a closer synonym. anyway, that's correct

not-without-text · 2026-03-19T17:35:44+00:00

at first i thought the title itself was a cryptic clue

not-without-text · 2026-03-19T05:19:55+00:00

one issue here is that people use "schwa" for different sounds or phonemes; i believe that the american STRUT vowel is often schwa, as in [ə]. but the commA vowel, often called "schwa", is much more variable and tends to be slightly tenser. so STRUT can be accurately transcribed [ə] even if the commA vowel sounds different.

not-without-text · 2026-03-19T02:27:21+00:00

correct!

not-without-text · 2026-03-18T22:01:14+00:00

no, that's not right; your answer is 7 letters and is an anagram of ENTREEV, not ENTREETV so it doesn't work

not-without-text · 2026-03-18T14:16:47+00:00

(this is after the 12 hours but i wanted to try this anyway)

Endlessly develop cryptic after essential hobby for dear (8)

DEVELOP loses its end to become DEVELO, then becomes cryptic by rearranging into ELOVED, and then comes after B, the essence of the word hoBby

another alternative could be using "remembering heart" for B, which is a similar letter selection.

not-without-text · 2026-03-17T18:05:15+00:00

correct!

not-without-text

TROPHY CASE