| Clue | Source | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Clinker | Wall Street Journal | 13 Apr 2024 |
| Suboptimal ending | New York Times | 16 Feb 2024 |
| Bad thing to end on | USA Today | 23 Dec 2022 |
| Bit of unpleasantness | New York Times | 15 Aug 2020 |
| Unpleasant ending | New York Times | 25 Jan 2018 |
| Unpleasant ending | ||
| Bad thing to hit | Wall Street Journal | 27 Nov 2017 |
| Bad thing to end on | The Washington Post | 22 Nov 2017 |
| Bad thing to end on | LA Times Daily | 22 Nov 2017 |
| Bad thing to end on | ||
| Pianist's "clinker" | USA Today | 06 Aug 2016 |
| Pianist's "clinker" | ||
| It's unpleasant to end on one | ||
| Bad thing to strike | ||
| Unpleasant thing to hit | ||
| Flautist's fluff | ||
| Off-pitch tone | ||
| Discordant tone | ||
| It's not well-pitched | ||
| Trumpeter's blooper | ||
| Singer's lapse | ||
| This is anathema to the maestro: 2 wds. | ||
| Musician's mistake |