Mephisto 3025 – Don Manley

Author   glhPosted on Categories Mephisto
I found this one to be a puzzle of two halves – the top half filled in extrmely quickly, with some head-scratching over the bottom half. Don Manley has, as usual, treated us to a feast of wordplay for unusual words, though I’m not entirely sure about my parsing of 17 across.

First definitions in all clues are underlined.

Away we go…

Across
1 Spread gossip about work with German stock company (9)
PROPAGATE – PRATE(gossip) surrounding OP(work) and AG – aktiengesellschaft… which does look like it needs an abbreviation
11 Music-maker and I set about invading Scottish town (8)
TENOROON – ONE(I) reveresed inside TROON(Scottish town with a well known golf course)
12 After short time fellow in charge becomes stupid (7)
MORONIC – MO(short time), RON(fellow) IC(in charge)
13 Muslim belonging to student group becomes revolutionary (5)
SUNNI – belonging to the student group means you are IN NUS… reverse it
14 Old-fashioned cast excited tots after end of play (5)
YTOST – anagram of TOTS after (pla)Y
16 Secret place for entertainment — any number coming in for day (6)
ARCANE – ARCADE(place for entetainment) with N replacing the D
17 Little Mary about to cross a river — plan needed (6, two words)
MAP OUT – I think this has to be correct from the definition. If the river is A PO then that leave MUT, which appears to be an Egyptian name that can mean creator?  Is MUT a shortening of Mary I can’t find anywhere? The setter himself popped in to point out what I was missing – “little Mary” is in Chambers as a term for the stomach used by J.M. Barrie, creator of Peter Pan.  So it is TUM reversed.  Thanks DM!
18 Palm maybe concealing diamonds at start of bad card game (8)
TREDILLE – TREE(palm, maybe) surrounding D(diamonds), ILL(bad)
19 After time bishop’s no longer driven around — one facilitates rail transport (8)
TRACKBED –  T(time) then B(bishop) with RACKED(driven) surrounding it
25 A dance’s spinning around in need of good piece of music (6)
SONATA – A TANGO’S reversed missing the G
26 Optical illusion down under for 120 seconds? (6, two words)
MIN MIN – 120 seconds would be two MINutes
28 Eager no end, mum provides beef cooked Indian-style (5)
KEEMA – KEE(n) (eager), then MA(mum)
29 Woman, a deputy blocking entrance (5)
ADELE – A DELEGATE(deputy) missing GATE(entrance)
30 Like some ashes at home, swept under (7)
INURNED – IN(at home) then an anagram of UNDER
31 What to expect with ’elpful territory across the Channel (8)
NORMANDY – NORM(what to expect) and HANDY dropping the aitch
32 Must I hiss, rubbishing reform movement? (9)
HUSSITISM – anagram of MUST,I,HISS

Down
1 Little woman entertained by Irishman in nationalist organisation (6)
PAMYAT – AMY(little woman) in PAT(Irishman) – a rather unsavory group
2 Attempt to undermine port’s unruly behaviour (6)
RIOTRY – TRY(attempt) after RIO(port(
3 No amateurs superb? Mostly term “dull” (9)
PROSAICAL – PROS(no amateurs), AI(superb), then CAL(l) (term)
4 Scientist measuring radiation finally ascending mountain (6)
GEIGER – (ascendin)G then Mount EIGER in the Alps
5 Romance beginning to go off? It would make one inflamed (6)
ANCOME – anagram of ROMANCE without the first letter
6 Friendly Scottish chum (4)
TOSH – double definition
7 Night’s beginning with single chaps in bed finding comfort (11)
CONSOLEMENT –  N(ight) then SOLE(single) MEN(chaps) in COT
8 Foreign agent tricks university lecturer (6)
CONSUL – CONS(tricks), U, L
9 Higher education establishment bothered member of Christian community (6)
UNIATE – UNIversity then ATE(bothered)
10 Singer, kind to stand outside showing bony bits (11)
TROCHANTERS – CHANTER(singer), with SORT(kind) reversed outside
15 Organ or harpsichord with second note jammed (9)
SPINNERET – SPINNET(harpsichord) containing RE(second note of the scale, after DO)
19 African people giving thanks when eating bird (6)
TSWANA – TA(thanks) containing SWAN(bird)
20 Noise of drum brings quarrel — party women! (6)
ROWDOW – ROW(quarrel), DO(party), W(women)
21 Endless vile wickedness being admitted, creating depressions (6)
BASINS – BAS(e) (vile) containing SIN(wickedness)
22 Workers restricted by editor’s changes (6)
EMENDS – MEN(workers) inside ED’S
23 Sailors with expressions of surprise heading off (6)
LIMEYS – BLIMEYS(expressions of surprise) missing the first letter
24 Wreath remembering a maiden, one neglected (6)
ANADEM – anagram of A,MAIDEN missing I(one). Thing re-membering for the anagram
27 Dandy bit of formal wear from what we hear (4)
BEAU – sounds like BOW

10 comments on “Mephisto 3025 – Don Manley”

  1. Took me forever, but I finally got everything but 10d, which I certainly should have. I was surprised when I Googled TREDILLE to verify it–it seemed inevitable–to find not a single hit. I hesitated to put in GEIGER; it seemed so obvious I thought there was a trick.
    1. I was inspired to try the same Google exercise, having previously found the word (and the alternative with another R in it in Chambers) and found loads of hits – 487,000 or so. It may be that, given that several early hits were for a particularly limber porn actress, your filters may have objected.

      Edited at 2018-08-26 01:01 pm (UTC)

      1. Where did Chambers stick the other R? I just tried again, and got no hits for TREDILLE, and one for TRERDILLE (trer dille; it looks like Romanian). Of course, I am in Japan, and as you know, there’s no pornography here, so of course there would be no Google cites to Miss Tredille; heaven forfend.
        1. I saw it in Chambers and figured it was just a three-person version of QUADRILLE. Maybe I should go play some monodrille
        2. It’s Tredrille, and George is quite right, it’s a development from quadrille, a game for four. We probably need to query the Heyer tendency on the forum to find out more.
  2. Little Mary is an old-fashioned children’s name for the stomach — hence TUM about= MUT. DM
  3. Did this on holiday sitting looking out across the Firth. Very enjoyable. Little Mary has appeared before.

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