Mephisto 3190 – “But my eyes still see….

Author   vinyl1Posted on Categories Mephisto

This was fairly straightforward for a Mephisto, with very little ultra-obscure vocabulary.   I finished in one sitting on a Saturday night.  However, there are a couple of answers where I am not very satisfied with the parsings.   These are either a blind spot on my part, or a genuine problem with the clue.   I’m sure I’ll hear it in the comments, but that goes with being a Mephisto blogger.

Across
1 One targets quarry following a letter of credit and no backing (6)
FALCON – F + A + L.C. + NO backwards.
6 Right to include origins of locally sourced seaweed (5)
DULSE – DU(L[ocally] S[ourced])E.
10 Exotic veg in a can (4)
ALOO – A + LOO.    Exotic name for a well-known veg.
11 Stream boast about carrier of classified stuff having no future (7, two words)
BURN BAG – BURN + GAB backwards.    If you are looking for brag, you are barking up the wrong tree.
12 Kiwi farmer otherwise likes shielding female area, right? (11)
SHAREMILKER – S(HAREM)ILKE + R, where the enclosing letters are an anagram of LIKES.   Don’t waste your time with hare or she.
13 Loads beginning to notice cracking retro boozer (4)
TONS – S(N[otice]OT backwards.
14 Pot-bellied baldie edges to chute that’s proverbially golden (7)
SILENCE – SILEN + C[hut]E, a figure from mythology.
16 This group of gulls circled back of a calf (5)
LARUS – SURAL backwards, which refers to the calf on your leg.
17 Old foreign coppers opposed to getting into passive-aggressive play (6)
SANTIM – S(ANTI)M, i.e. S&M.   Old Ethiopian money.
19 Dapper boor or rough man I dressed (11, three words)
HOG IN ARMOUR – Anagram of OR ROUGH MAN I
24 Future tense of turn out (6, two words)
TO COME – T + O’ COME, as in how come?
26 Laugh with me behind gent from the east (5)
RISUS – SIR backwards followed by US.
28 Aspect of arctic coast I indicated loudly (7)
ICEBELT – Sounds like I SPELT, as in not wanting a toddler to know what you are saying.
29 Celebrate spinning this twin (4)
DUAL – LAUD backwards.
30 What sets off perfectly prepared porridge? That is a rich dish (11, two words)
PERIGORD PIE – P[erfectly] + anagram of PORRIDGE + I.E.   Not in my Chambers, but the obvious answer.
31 Lost satisfaction with learned landscape (7)
PAYSAGE – PAY + SAGE.
32 French rank it in pig (4)
ETAT – E(‘T)AT, I think.
33 In the old way you will hold chaps reversing a harmful thing (5)
ENEMY – Y(MEN)E backwards.
34 Newfangled wokery brought about havoc, say, for old poet (6)
YWROKE – Anagram of WOKERY,  where wreak is frequently followed by havoc.
Down
1 Son in the grip of money is hot being somewhat profligate (7)
FASTISH – FA(S)T + IS + H.   Yes, money is the very last definition given for fat in Chambers – I always look there first.
2 American bird in trousers finding open spaces in the Borders (8)
LOANINGS – LO(ANI)NGS.   Ani is native to US crosswords.
3 Constant or regular stays (6)
CORSET – C OR SET.
4 By the way, in Sallust see upsetting porky (5)
OBESE – OB + anagram of SEE.    Ob. is an abbreviation of obiter.
5 With book out, refreshed a blooming musty collection of coins, say (13)
NUMISMATOLOGY – Anagram of A BLOOMING MUSTY removing B.
6 Drummer, with furrow concealed, is who’s square-bashing (7)
DRILLER – D(RILL)ER.    I’m not sure about this one, comments invited.   It seems like we need to substitute rill for rum.  It’s actually D(RILLE)R.
7 Printer’s to pull spaces from reprinted Auden assuming latitude (6)
UNLEAD –  Anagram of AUDEN around L for latitude.
8 Torturingly famous clues could be of such ages (9)
SAECULUMS – FAMOUS CLUES is an anagram for OF SAECULUMS.
9 Leaving Portalegre’s sorrowful to some extent (6)
EGRESS – Hidden in [Portal]EGRE’S S[orrowful].
15 Lukewarm is a con, ideal to be released (9)
LAODICEAN – Anagram of A CON, IDEAL.
18 Behold! Sure ready for honour (8, three words)
LOOK UP TO – LO + OK + UP TO.
20 Posy in Spenser’s to vex, long time held up (7)
NOSEGAY – NO(AGES backwards)Y.
21 Stormy petrel Earl stuffed (7)
REPLETE – Anagram of PETREL + E for earl.
22 Bitch about recurrent feature of yuppie flu, as it was (6)
GRIPPE – GRIP(P)E, where P is the only recurrent letter in yuppie.
23 Apprentice is beginning to mimic artist’s movement (6)
CUBISM – CUB + IS + M[imic].
25 Trawlerman you’d think could be a prankster? (6)
CODDER –  As in one who offers cod answers.
27 Loosely scatter bags finally upcycled (5)
STREW – [bag]S + TREW.  Sandy’s got it – the correct parsing is TREWS with the final S moved to the front.

12 comments on “Mephisto 3190 – “But my eyes still see….”

  1. I think the furrow in 6 down is RILLE for the martian surface feature inside DR for drummer.
    PERIGORD PIE is in chambers but it is hidden in the definition for PIE.

  2. Ah, first one finished in a while. I didn’t manage to parse my LOI, ETAT, but am sure you have ’t.

  3. Finished in one sitting. I agree 6dn is RILLE in DR. Didn’t know ANI but did get LOANINGS. I made a note against STREW. Presumably S + WERT backwards though I don’t quite see it. Can someone clarify that for me?

    1. I think it’s TREWS, for “trousers”—or “bags”—with the last letter moved to the front (“upcycled”). (Collins has: “close-fitting trousers, esp of tartan cloth and worn by certain Scottish soldiers.”)

      “Finally” is an adverb and I can’t make it equal the archaic verb WERT no matter how hard I squint.

      1. Perhaps I have misunderstood you but I took “finally” as just the indicator of the end of trews?

        1. The final letter, as I said. Goes to the front. Upcycles.

          I also commented on the previous interpretation here. Maybe that confused you.

          1. Obviously I didn’t understand.
            It’s your phrase ““Finally” is an adverb and I can’t make it equal the archaic verb WERT no matter how hard I squint.” that has me confused.
            Do you want FINALLY to equal WERT?
            Sorry for this!

            1. I was just saying that my interpretation is better than that previously proferred, no squinting required.
              If the “S” comes from the end of “Bags,” then there’s really nothing in the clue telling you what to “upcycle.” Not even “finally” to clue the rest of the word after S, as someone, however, seemed to suggest, but probably trying to make sense of that just made me cross-eyed (in effect seeing “finally” twice), until I saw the light.

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