Mephisto 2685 – Don Manley

Author   glhPosted on Categories Mephisto
Got a really good jump on this one, and had most of it done before the coffee cooled. The unfamiliar words had rather generous wordplay for a Mephisto, I thought.

Still a little unsure about 12 across, I think there’s only one answer that fits the definition and at least part of the wordplay (and there’s only one unchecked letter), but I can’t make out the rest of the clue. I may be missing a reference.

Away we go…

Across
1 C(around),LAG(loiter)
4 PHOTOGEN(ic)
10 HID,AGES: a tax on land, gotten from wordplay
12 DOME: not sure I get the wordplay – DOME is an old word for cathedral, and I can see DO for ruin. Not sure of the rest
13 AIRED,ALE: ALE for fesitval is common barred-grid fodder
14 UNRULED: sort of double definition
16 VLEI: VILE with the I moved to the end
17 OR,MERS
19 F,1,ANNA,FAIL: new term for me but obtainable from wordplay
22 MACROBIOTA: (AROMATIC)* around BO
24 RUST,RE(d)
28 SPIN: NIPS reversed – fish is a verb here
29 STERNAL: (ANTLERS)*
30 OSTREGER: (EGRETS)* in OR
31 DYER: sounds like DIRE
32 HEPARIN: HE then R in PAIN
33 DELTA RAY: TAR in DELAY
34 NO,NG: this one was a familiar word
 
Down
1 CHAUFFER: U in CHAFFER
2 LIANOID: A, NO, 1 in LID
3 G,A,RUM
5 HEDER(religious school),A
6 TOLERABLE: OLE in (ALBERT)*
7 GOYLE: GO, then ELY reversed
8 (m)EMBER
9 NEVI: birthmark
11 DIRDAM: MADRID reversed
15 LINCRUSTA: halL then (CURTAINS)*
18 SWAYLING: WAY in SLING
20 LOANER: sounds like LONER
21 STEARIN: SIN(shame) around TEAR(blob)
23 OSTREA: sounds like AUSTRIA
25 UP,BYE
26 SICE,L: SICE for the 6 on a die has been used before
27 (m)ORGAN
28 SUDD(enly)

8 comments on “Mephisto 2685 – Don Manley”

  1. I wondered about 12 across. Finally accepted ME as Middle English, the language used in Britain over the 400 year period from 1100 to 1500. Not very convinced, though. Held up by putting in WOCSOM; obviously a Scottish uproar!
    1. There’s a long list of six-letter capital cities which, when reversed, look like good words for Scottish uproar BERGAZ, WOKARC, ALINAM, NODNOL, ANNEIV, UASSAN, INOROM, ARAMSA, NARHET, ANATSA, ARAWAT…
      1. That makes sense but Chambers doesn’t seem to have it. I don’t have the 12th edition but it seems unlikely that a 400-year-old word would suddenly make it in!
        1. I have copies of the 10th, 11th, and 12th editions at hand. They all have dome2 (Spenser) same as doom.
  2. This was my second puzzle solved with the iPhone Chambers app, and what a godsend it is. I think this was an easy puzzle though, as you say. Yesterday’s is proving much tougher so far.
    I thought I was missing a specific reference to The Lion and Albert in 6dn but the word “tolerable” doesn’t feature in it.
  3. I agree with George, a comparatively easy ride with a lot of generous clues solved in about 35 minutes.

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