Mephisto 2623: Mike Laws

Author   glhPosted on Categories Mephisto
Solving time : well now I’m nervous, just before writing this up I looked at the solution over on fifteensquared of the other popular barred-grid Sunday puzzle and found that I’d fallen into both (probably deliberately-placed) traps with unchecked letters. I solved most of this over lunch after finishing (or so I thought) the Azed competition puzzle, and thought I was on rather a good solving spree. Now I’ll have to ntuple check each answer before I put it in here. Or just resign to being wrong again, there’s a 48356th time for everything. I usually find Mike Laws the most difficult of the Mehpisto setters but made pretty steady progress through this one, only a few question marks after a first session.

Across
1 AS,SON,ANT: Corresponding in sound – I knew the word, wasn’t sure of the meaning, but the wordplay was obvious
7 ZIMB: I’m in ZB (Zum Biespiel) helps a lot that the Z is checked
10 ANASTROPHE: an inversion, (TO,A,N,PHRASE)*
11 AMLA: reverse of ALMA, which was in the Listener a few weeks ago so still at the front of my mind
12 DIPOLE: D.I. then sounds like POLL
14 SPITFIRE: spoonerism of FIT SPIRE
15 CON,CAVE
17 SLOSH: LOS in SH – didn’t know LOS, got this from definition
19 ECTOPIA: ACE reversed around TOPI
21 PIZARRO: ZIP reversed, then ARRO(w)
23 BAHIA: HI in BAA – another one easy to get from wordplay
24 ARSENAL: SEN (senza) for I in the font ARIAL
27 TRIP,LANE
29 ATOMIC: got this from definition too – it’s TOM(a bell) in CIA reversed
30 OBIA: IBO reversed, A
31 ROMAN SNAIL: ROMANS then NAIL
32 DUAN: U in DAN, another one I needed wordplay for
33 GRADIENT: DIE(stamp) in GRANT
 
Down
1 ALAS?: now watch this be the trap I fall into… I don’t see how this works, APLASIA is a marrow disease and has most of the letters in ALAS?
2 SYMPOSIAST: (Y,MOST,PASS,I,O)*
3 SALINE: L,I in SANE – SALINE can refer to a solution of mostly sodium chloride in water (0.9%)
4 NAKFA: K(constant) in A,FAN reversed
5 AS,HIVER
6 TRIES,T,E
7 ZOPILOTE: PILOT in ZOE
8 I,POD: sweet little clue
9 BEERHALL: (HERE)* in BALL
13 LUSITANIAN: (IS,IT,ANNUAL)*
15 CUPBOARD: UP(success), BOAR in CD
16 CH,AIRMAN
18 G,RATING: RATING for sailor makes a few appearances in the Mephisto
20 COR,INN,A: INN in COR(Homer), A(acting) COR and HOMER as measurements pop up from time to time
22 UNABLE: NAB(snatch) in ULE(a type of rubber)
25 SPRAD: PR in SAD
26 BOMA: MOB reversed, A(=Australian) – a fenced enclosure (Swahili according to Chambers)
28 (f)EAST

6 comments on “Mephisto 2623: Mike Laws”

  1. I thought this one was about average.. I copy the grid and clues into Word for printing purposes, and leave out the compilers name deliberately. I don’t think any one compiler is far different from the others, they each vary quite a bit from week to week.

    I never previously knew that a Lusitanian was Portugese, I always thought they were just very unlucky ship passengers..

    Oh, and I still don’t understand 20dn, George.

      1. In both cases I think it’s a shortening of something to A.

        Australian = A – and BOMA is swahili

        CORINNA is the girl, COR(homer), INN(hotel), A(acting)

        I’ll make the blog clearer

  2. I thought this might have something to do with malar (cheekbone), with the mr subtracted, but couldn’t figure out how the substraction bit worked. Couldn’t find mr as an abbreviation for marrow. Unless marrow (2) = mate = mr (+mrs). Ok so now I’m clutching at straws.

    Paul

  4. I thought this was about par for the course with no real problems. Agree the atlas bone is in the neck and supports the head.

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