Greetings barred-grid fans
I remember thinking that this one was a notch up in difficulty from recent Mephisto puzzles and that the definitions were pretty well hidden. There aren’t as many obscure terms as usual in the grid, but unraveling the clues takes a bit of effort. Hopefully I have everything figured out for the write-up.
How did you get along?
| Across | |
| 1 | Drab chief protecting Channel Islands — prominent feature of Bergerac? (9) |
| PROBOSCIS – PRO(drab, prostitute) and BOSS(chief) containing CI(Channel Islands) | |
| 10 | Concerning scam prompts investigation (5) |
| RECON – RE(concerning), CON(scam) | |
| 12 | Short story with unknown time setting (7) |
| CONTEXT – CONTE(short story), and X(unknown), T(time) | |
| 13 | Screen ought to cover up plenty (6) |
| ENOUGH – hidden inside screEN OUGHt | |
| 14 | Gladstone originally positive about Buddhist temple (5) |
| GOMPA – GOM(Grand Old Man, originally WE Gladstone), P(positive), A(about) | |
| 15 | Alcohol galore in shot (8) |
| GERANIOL – anagram of GALORE,IN | |
| 16 | Soothsayer clasping fine scroll (5) |
| SEFER – SEER(soothsayer) containing F(fine) | |
| 17 | Zulu leader’s tattoo is on back (6) |
| INKOSI – INK(tattoo), then IS and O(on) reversed | |
| 19 | Supposes CV’s accepted by private secretary (8) |
| PRESUMES – RESUME(CV) inside PS(private secretary) | |
| 21 | NZ settler hangs around to catch marsupial (8) |
| SHAGROON – anagram of HANGS containing ROO(marsupial) | |
| 24 | Bones demanding latest from Uhura (6) |
| STERNA – STERN(demanding) and the last letter from UhurA. Fun clue referencing the original TV Star Trek. | |
| 25 | Joe procured leg of mutton (5) |
| GIGOT – GI Joe, and GOT(procured) | |
| 28 | Pulse starts to increase nicely injecting a little more enzyme (8) |
| THROMBIN – THROB(pulse) and the first letters of Increase Nicely containing the first letter of More | |
| 30 | Hard for one born separately (5) |
| BEACH – B(born), EACH(separately). Hard can mean a firm beach or foreshore, well hidden in Chambers. | |
| 31 | One’s introduced to network with current business card (6) |
| MEISHI – I(one) inside MESH(network) and I(current) | |
| 32 | Alternatively blessed short canonical hour (7) |
| ORTHROS – OR(alternatively), then an anagram of SHORT | |
| 33 | Free almost up to end of lifetime (5) |
| UNTIE – UNTIL(up to) minus the last letter and the last letter of lifetimE | |
| 34 | Banned mob agreed to reform (9) |
| EMBARGOED – anagram of MOB,AGREED | |
| Down | |
| 1 | Put into words, not without force (5) |
| PRESS – double definition | |
| 2 | Divided about French poetry that’s upset before (8) |
| RENVERST – RENT(divided) surrounding VERS(Verse, in French) | |
| 3 | Parliament’s opening in Holyrood inspiring unionist (5) |
| BOULE – BOLE(a Scots opening) containing U(unionist) | |
| 4 | East London rascal that is direct (6) |
| SCHELM – SC(scilicet, that is), HELM(direct a ship) | |
| 5 | Bowl-shaped recess for soap? (6) |
| CORRIE – double definition, the second referring to a nickname for the soap opera Coronation Street | |
| 6 | Hint of nastiness in one fuelling a whopper (7) |
| STONKER – first letter of Nastiness inside STOKER(one fuelling) | |
| 7 | I study symptoms; condition is gloomiest (11) |
| SEMIOLOGIST – anagram of IS,GLOOMIEST | |
| 8 | Right to leave foreign trade fair? (4) |
| EXPO – remove RT(right) from EXPORT(foreign trade) | |
| 9 | Trat’s palm tree and climbing plant clipped (7) |
| ITALIAN – ITA(palm tree) then LIANA (climbing plant) minus the last letter | |
| 11 | Prisoner freed mistakenly had accomplice (11) |
| CONFEDERATE – CON(prisoner),an anagram of FREED, then ATE(had) | |
| 18 | Collies about to dash frolic for Scots (8) |
| STOOSHIE – SOOTS(collies, miners) reversed, then HIE(to dash) | |
| 19 | Here Mail’s dropped big name penning section on TV (7) |
| POSTBOX – POT(big name, important person) containing S(section), on top of BOX(TV) | |
| 20 | Rueful cry beset by painful mountain sickness … (7) |
| SOROCHE – OCH(rueful cry) inside SORE(painful) | |
| 22 | … gaffe after joyful cry — sandstorm! (6) |
| HABOOB – BOOB(gaffe) after HA(joyful cry) | |
| 23 | No heart for ABH as I’m exercising non-violence (6) |
| AHIMSA – anagram of ABH minus the middle letter, AS and I’M | |
| 26 | Trainspotting kills off two leading characters — chilling (5) |
| ICING – GRICING(trainspotting) minus the first two letters | |
| 27 | Annoyed United netting opener in romp (5) |
| TRIED – TIED(united) containing the first letter in Romp | |
| 29 | Sound old character, Teuton perhaps? (4) |
| HERR – sounds like AIR(character) | |
I discovered this morning I hadn’t finished, so I hastened to do so – not that one really hastens with Mephisto. I couldn’t figure out the cryptics for corrie and stooshie, but they were the evident answers. There is good deception in Teuton, perhaps, with this setter – I was thinking maybe here, as an answer to a roll call. However, I persevered and got the correct answer.
I’m glad to see that George didn’t find this one terribly easy, as it’s another I finished, after two weeks gone by without my finding the time. Got a lot last Sunday and finished up this morning.
This was a good one for me. I thought I understood how all the clues worked until I read George’s blog.
1d I had reasoned EXPRESS (put into words) minus EX (without) = PRESS (force)
29d I though HERR sounds like HAIR an obsolete word for CHARACTER
18d and 24a raised a smile.
Agree on parsings for 1d and 29d.
I thought this was a bit more straightforward, though held up at the end by having entered AHISMA.
I did exactly the same thing. I think asthma was attempting to derail me.
Correct on both counts – my apologies, I had a typo and missed the H of HAIR and didn’t catch it. I was trying to make something out of PRESS = put into print for the first clue and got caught in my own mind and missed the obvious!
I agree with Richard on (EX)PRESS @1dn and HAIR as old character @29dn (perhaps this was a typo in the blog?). 18dn: I’ve only ever heard stooshie used to mean a rumpus or similar, but Chambers does give “frolic” as another definition.
A collieshangie perhaps?
I found this unusually easy, all done in just over 20 minutes.
I think richard has the parsings of 1dn and 29dn right.
‘Blessed’ in 32ac struck me as an unusual anagram indicator, but it’s probably just that I haven’t noticed it before. One of the meanings of ‘bless’ in Chambers is to wound, from the French blesser which I assume is what’s intended.
Well, there goes my sense of accomplishment! Ha
I skipped over George’s parsings, first read, so didn’t notice the two incorrect ones. Just realized I never got to the bottom of ICING, though—neglected to follow the trail on “Trainspotting.” Actually, all you can do there, if you don’t know GRICING, is resort to Chambers’s Search function. (I don’t remember doing that now, but…)
I vaguely remembered ‘gricing’ but used the search function anyway.