Mephisto 2690 by Paul McKenna

Author   dorsetjimboPosted on Categories Mephisto
After two comparitively easy puzzles I found this one harder and had to work at it diligently.

At 1A I can’t find a definition – perhaps I’m missing something devious.

My next Mephisto blog will be my 100th and the puzzle will appear on April 1st. Is there a message there somewhere?

Across
1 SKULLCAP – (calls up + k)*; “k” from (chec)K; and the definition is – missing?; a Kippah or Taqiyah or Zucchetto;
7 FAFF – F-A-F-F; fellow=F; foot=F; female=F; to confuse activity with effectiveness;
10 AYAHUASCA – A-YAH-U-A-‘S-CA; before=ante=A; affected person=YAH; upper class=U; answer=A; ‘S=is; about=circa=CA; a sacramental Amazonian drink;
11 ETUI – hidden (perp)ETUI(ty);
12 UNITAL – UNI-(LAT reversed); LAT=Latin;
13 DARZI – (diaz + r=rupees)*; Indian tailor;
14 HAIR-EEL – HAI(EER reversed)L; a worm;
15 SKYJACK – S(K)Y-JACK; Seychelles=SY; King=K; money=JACK (slang); I liked “pirate above”; we think of this as a modern disease but the first one occurred in Peru in 1931.
18 PARONOMASTIC – (OAPs romantic)*; definition is “about clinches”=puns;
20 ON,THE,WALLABY – ON THE WALL-A-BY; “assigned to defence” is reference to the human shield or wall used in football to defend a free kick; strange Australian phrase for job-seeking;
24 STEEPED – S(TEE)PED;
27 ROMNEYA – (AYE-N-MOR all reversed); indeed=AYE; new=N; layer of humus=MOR; a flowering poppy, no connection to the town of Romney;
28 OCHRE – routine job=chore then move “o”=old to give OCHRE;
29 SPINNY – SPIN(N)Y; N from N(umbats);
30 LOIR – retreat=lair then swap “a”=adult for “o”=round; the French edible doormouse;
31 EUTECTOID – EU-TEC-TO-ID; busy=TEC; identification=ID; an alloy that solidifies at just one temperature, for example solder;
32 WUSS – W(US)S; Scots solicitor=Writer to the Signet=WS; a wimp;
33 YARDLAND – YARD-L-AND; garden=(back)YARD; lough=L; a virgate – old measure of farmland acreage;
 
Down
1 SHEDS – SHE’D-S(hoe); a deeply philosophical clue;
2 KATAKANA – KATA-KANA(k); exercises=KATA; islander=New Caledonian=kanak; lingual device for writing imported words. For example in Japanese “television” is written “terebi” using katakana;
3 USURY – USU-R(egall)Y; usually=USU;
4 LYDIAN – (idly)*-A-N; note=N; what they spoke in ancient Lydia (where coins were invented);
5 CASH,COW – sounds like “cache”-CO-W; the final stage of product management in marketing strategy where maximum revenue is generated for minimal expenditure;
6 PUNICA – P(UN)ICA; unnatural craving=PICA; one locally=UN; a pomegranate;
7 FAIRISLE – FAIR-IS-LE(ss); bazaar=FAIR; memories of Val Doonican;
8 ASTER – (m)ASTER; of far more interest than the flower was Nancy Aster. Her exchange in parliament with Churchill has gone down in history: Nancy Astor said, “Winston, if I were your wife I’d put poison in your coffee.” Whereupon Winston said, “Nancy, if I were your husband I’d drink it.”
9 FALLACY – FALL-(p)ACY; but=without;
16 JOHANNES – JO(HAN-N)ES; oriental=HAN; number=N; a Roman coin; opportunity to celebrate Kepler missed here;
17 LIBERIAN – bibliothecary=librarian then remove “RA”=Royal Academician and insert “e”=eccentricity;
18 POURSEW – POUR-(WES(t) reversed); stream=POUR; Spencarian word for follow;
19 MATADOR – MAT-A-DOR; cockchaffer=DOR; Juan Belmonte García no doubt;
21 EGENCY – (r)EGENCY; “need” is the definition;
22 LEONID – L(one)*ID; a meteor, part of a shower in Leo;
23 SMITS – SM(IT)S; message service=SMS; sex=IT; an infection;
25 PHOCA – P(HOC)A; this=HOC (Latin); fort=PA; the definition is “seal”;
26 DERED – DE-RED; red=redd=Scottish for tidy so de-red=tangle; “either way injured” is definition;

5 comments on “Mephisto 2690 by Paul McKenna”

  1. The word “Plant” was added at the start of the clue to 1ac after I had printed this puzzle.

    I had U-(LATIN reversed) for 12ac but I suppose your parsing works just as well.

    1. Thanks for the info on “plant” at 1A

      I agree about 12A and meant to mention that but forgot!

  2. Apologies for the missing “plant”, which was my fault.

    Peter Biddlecombe, Sunday Times Crossword Editor

  3. I’m glad we found the missing definition at 1ac, although the cryptic was so clear I had no doubts about the answer!

    Thank you for the explanation of the fat dormouse, jimbo; I found the answer in the time-honoured way when there is only one letter missing but failed to parse the clue.

    In some past Mephisto I remember being led to NAGA from Nag the cobra in Rikki Tikki Tavi. It was nice to get 3ac from Darzee the tailor bird in the same story.

    Edited at 2012-03-26 12:11 pm (UTC)

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