Greetings, barred-grid fans!
I was texting with Vinyl1 while I was solving this last week commenting that I thought it was a lot more difficult than the previous offering. I should have written the blog up at the time because right now I’m scratching my head trying to remember how I came at a few answers.
Usually Paul McKenna has a pun or a spoonerism or some sort of word fun in the top row of the puzzle, but I can’t make anything out from this one. I’m sure someone will point out my ignorance soon enough.
Away we go…
| cross | |
| 1 | Red-hot relations in reserve (6) |
| BAKING – KIN(relations) inside BAG(reserve) | |
| 6 | Legging it in small truck through Peru (6) |
| PUTTEE – ‘T(it) inside UTE(small truck) inside PE(Peru) | |
| 11 | Book every particular writer (9) |
| BALLPOINT – B(book), ALL(every), POINT(particular) | |
| 12 | Simplest of animals are rather basic but for all signs of resistance (7) |
| AMOEBAE – A(are) then MORE(rather) BARE(basic) minus both R’s(resistance) | |
| 13 | Maybe stealthy hoy is second in port (4) |
| PSST – ‘S(is), S(second) inside PT(port) | |
| 14 | Belch’s lack of courage is sadly parodic about weak shorthand (10) |
| COWARDSHIP – anagram of PARODIC containing W(weak) and SH(shorthand). The word is used in Twelfth Night: Act 3, Scene 4 by Toby Belch … His dishonesty appears in leaving his friend here in necessity and denying him; and for his cowardship, ask Fabian. | |
| 16 | Fertile riverside areas being scenes of domesticity as you’d say (5) |
| HOLMS – homophone of HOMES(scenes of domesticity) | |
| 18 | With Henry quit occasion that is dreary (5) |
| OURIE – remove H(Henry) from HOUR(occasion), then IE(that is) | |
| 19 | Old anvils in forges, time for start of modernisation (8) |
| STITHIES – SMITHIES(forges), with T(time) replacing the first letter of Modernisation | |
| 20 | Those sweeping round last couple of classified places for sleepers (8) |
| BEDROOMS – BROOMS(those sweeping) surrounding the last two letters in classifiED | |
| 24 | Estate with a strong ale going west (5) |
| WAGON – W(with), A, then NOG(strong ale) reversed | |
| 25 | Venerable chap bored by Queen’s embroidery for poet (5) |
| BREDE – the venerable BEDE containing R(queen) | |
| 26 | Do deter teen grabbing female? Bound to be in Shakespeare (10) |
| ENFETTERED – anagram of DETER,TEEN containing F(female) | |
| 29 | Head of Camorra and apparently its heart (4) |
| CAPO – first letter of Camorra, then AP(apparently) and the middle letter of camOrra | |
| 30 | College in the States, even if one acting against the law (7) |
| BRIGAND – BRIG is US slang for a prison, college is also in Chambers as a slang term for prison. Add AND(even if) | |
| 31 | Prize of Scottish psychiatrist is topping out? (9) |
| CUPOLAING – CUP(prize), O(of), then the psychiatrist R.D. LAING | |
| 32 | One cheers appeal for Turkish ruler (6) |
| ATABEG – A(one), TA(cheers), BEG(appeal). For those of you newer to Mephisto, one = A is not allowed in the daily, but is OK here. | |
| 33 | Most modest commanding officer, not entirely insubstantial before (6) |
| COYEST – CO(commanding officer), then YESTY(old form of YEASTY, insubstantial) minus the last letter | |
| Down | |
| 1 | As the Strand may be? Mean local channel replaces it (6) |
| BEACHY – BITCHY(mean) with EA(local channel) replacing IT | |
| 2 | In the morning force’s head of treatment is round (4) |
| AMMO -AM(in the morning), then MO(Medical Officer, force’s head of treatment) | |
| 3 | Then lecturer slipped into some people’s lively instruction (9) |
| KNOWLEDGE – NOW(then), L(lecturer) inside KEDGE(dialect form of lively) | |
| 4 | Pointers such as builders use — one trims round back of cottage (6) |
| IBEAMS – I(one), BAMS(cheats, trims) surrounding the last letter in cottagE | |
| 5 | Portmanteau cheers mood over claim (12, two words) |
| GLADSTONE BAG – GLADS(cheers), TONE(mood) over BAG(claim) | |
| 6 | Splicer’s item in new form of a plate to be tapped (12) |
| PLESSIMETRIC – anagram of SPLICER’S ITEM | |
| 7 | Well-informed is bangin’ result (6) |
| UPSHOT – UP(well-informed), ‘S(is), HOT(bangin’) | |
| 8 | Kill in sun hat (4) |
| TOPI – TOP(kill), I(in) | |
| 9 | Defend lines he’d translated (8) |
| ENSHIELD – anagram of LINES HE’D | |
| 10 | Aim to cordon off once leader’s removed (5) |
| ETTLE – KETTLE(cordon off) minus the first letter | |
| 15 | Borrowers hope for this intelligence surrounding old poet (9, two words) |
| PRIME RATE – PATE(intelligence) surrounding RIMER(old poet) | |
| 17 | Nemo, eg, at once diversified to collect gold (8) |
| OCEANAUT – anagram of AT,ONCE containing AU(gold). Take your pick as to whether this refers to the Jules Verne character or the Disney fish | |
| 21 | Old farthing found in river is held for reference (6, two words) |
| ON FILE -O(old), then F(farthing) in the river NILE | |
| 22 | Eg, smoke outside mine is foul (6) |
| DREGGY – DRY(cure by smoking) outside of EGG(mine) | |
| 23 | Pike overturned Frazer’s mood, you see? (6) |
| GEDDIT – GED(pike, fish) then TID(Scots mood) reversed | |
| 24 | Weak body of justice accepted cult of black art (5) |
| WICCA – W(weak), ICC(International Criminal Court), then A(accepted). A prescient clue with the ICC recently being sanctioned by the USA | |
| 27 | Flipping convivial sort who’s only just arrived (4) |
| NOOB – BOON(convival) reversed | |
| 28 | Consequences as support abandons bodies of tradition (4) |
| ENDS – remove LEG(support) from LEGENDS(bodies of tradition) | |
Top line is “bacon butty”, butty being a name for a sandwich, usually a bacon or chip butty, though Collins thinks there are cheese butties too.
17D I think it has to be Verne’s Nemo, as all the -naut words in Chambers have definitions about people.
I got about half of this earlier in the week and it was quite late last night when I looked at it again, not planning to really work on it till today… but a few answers suddenly materialized anf suddenly I was on a roll, leaving only a few to finish today, and mostly answers I guessed but for which parts of the wordplay were still unclear. Crosswords are vital to my mental health now, as my job saturates my poor brain with the ongoing dismantlement of American democracy. And it’s a crying shame that the ICC is so weak…
From across the pond, you have my deepest sympathy
This week I’m back on form after a bad start to the year.
I questioned the purpose of “States” in 30a as this term is commonly used to refer to a prison on a ship. But Chambers does mark the definitions pertaining to prisons as US. I guess it’s one of those words that’s crossed the pond and now no one notices.
ETTLE was a write-in having read Witch Wood by John Buchan where it seems to occur in every other sentence.
The suitably grown worthy pun from Mr McKenna reminded me of my student days up north, where butty was the preferred term for anything in a bap, the bacon variety being the most delicious.
In all a very enjoyable puzzle. Once again thanks for the blog.
I found this quite tough but I really enjoyed it. I don’t know how long it took me because I left the timer running but it wasn’t four hours!
Unfortunately I managed a silly typo: FREGGY. This was definitely a typo because I remember understanding the wordplay and checking the answer in Chambers. Checking your answers at the end is often no use with Mephistos: when you don’t know the words it’s much harder to spot errors!
I didn’t find this that bad. If you’re a hardened Mephisto solver, you’ll start biffing words like holms, ourie, atabeg, ettle, and be off to the races. I didn’t think this was a very good puzzle – it lacks the elan of some of the really witty Mephistos. I finished up with cupolaing – really? Well, OK.
I was glad to see the reference to the Scottish shrink, with whose work I’m quite familiar (though it’s been a while). He was actually more of an anti-shrink! I have a button reading “SHRINK RESISTANT.”
My second ever completed Mephisto!! Mind back to normal this week with currently zero clues completed from yesterday😊
My comments are no doubt pedantic (as well as behind the curve), but here goes…. 14ac: there’s no indication in the clue that W and SH are to be entered separately within the anagram of parodic. For me, “weak shorthand” = WSH, not W…..SH. 18ac: OURIE is a Scots word, but this isn’t indicated in the clue; similarly, in 5dn, GLADS in the meaning of cheers is archaic, but this isn’t signalled. 24dn: WICCA is usually regarded (these days) as white magic. Yes, Chambers has Wicca = witchcraft and gives one definition of witchcraft to be “black art” – but A equals B and B sometimes equals C does not mean A equals C. That said, I found this Mephisto easier than some I’ve done lately.
I do have some sympathy with your point not view, but I suppose it’s in the setter’s gift to make Mephisto clues as awkward or forgiving as the wish. I have found that there is more if a tendency not to flag archaic, local or Scottish words when they are not the definition part of the clue. That would excuse GLADS. OURIE on the other hand has cropped up recently (IIRC) in its alternative spellings, so possiblity that also let’s the settter off the hook.
I guess the bottom line is when you enter the ring with Mephisto the gloves are most definitely off.