Mephisto 2691 – Don Manley

Author   glhPosted on Categories Mephisto
I solved this on a plane on my way back from San Diego on Thursday. I had Bradfords, but no Chambers – I managed to get everything but 30 (figured the wordplay, but couldn’t confirm the definition). Once I got started on this it filled up pretty steadily from left to right. Strangely enough an anagram (20 across) was my last one in.

This also printed weirdly, but I was at a hotel printer so not using my preferred printing browser (firefox).

Away we go

Across
1 DE,CAMERON: I guess the DE is from ED Miliband reversed?
10 PUM(p),ICE
11 COROT: O in COURT without U
12 OSTENT: many people would be covered by an OS TENT
14 ARMURE: RUM in ERA, all reversed
15 MAINS: a home farm
16 MAT,Y
17 A,LP,HA: HA is hoc anno
19 SINGLES,EATER
20 REDEMPTORIST: (RE-IMPORTED)*,ST
25 O,CHER
28 ATOC: hidden
29 JULEP: JUMP with the M replaced by LE
30 S,IS,SOO(n)
31 AB,LUSH
32 TAR,OK
33 T,WEE,ST: T coming from the end of markeT
34 CEANOTHUS: OCEAN with the O moved to the end, THUS
 
Down
1 DROMOS: compound anagram of WORLD-FAMOUS less AWFUL
2 CUTIS: I in CUTS
3 A,MEN,AGES
4 ECTYPE: EC being the square mile
5 (b)REACH
6 OCREAE: (ARE)* in O,CE
7 TRUANT: RU in TANTRUM without the RUM
8 P,OR,TRESSES
9 STEYER: Y in STEER
13 SALIENTIAN: ALIEN(offensive) in (ANT,IS)*
18 BARRULET: RULE(standard) in B,ART
20 RE,A,STY
21 DOOSRA: S in DOOR,A – an off-spinner that breaks the other way – I remember Saqlain Mushtaq taking a lot of wickets with this when it was very rare
22 MO,POKE
23 TH,RAWN: RAWN here is an alternative for ROWEN
24 TOPHUS: I’m pretty sure that’s the answer, but I don’t get the US part – I can see TOP,H
26 C,HOT,A
27 FLUSH: Spenserian bird and hand in cards

3 comments on “Mephisto 2691 – Don Manley”

  1. Not much to say about this one – completely straightforward. At 1A “Ed” is indeed said Miliband. I wonder what all those who complained about compound anagrams in the ordinary Times cryptic would make of 1 down!?
  2. This was an odd solve for me. On my first attempt last Sunday I only managed four answers. I had another go on Monday and didn’t get much further, so started to think it must just be extremely difficult. Then a bit later in the week I picked it up again and it all went in steadily with no real problems.
    I think your missing bit of TOPHUS is “one”: under “us” Chambers has “(in editorial and Royal use) one, oneself”.
  3. The general view is that these forms are acceptable in advanced barred cryptics. Editors of dailies tend not to like them, so the dividing line between Mephisto and The Times is clear and we need not worry about it. Many other clue types that were originally used in barred cryptics (moving letters, substituted letters, for example) have gradually crept into dailies, but not these, curiously. DM

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