Mephisto 2858 by Paul McKenna

My first crossword after a Spanish holiday during which I was too busy catching up with old friends to do any solving – so not as quick as I might otherwise have been. There should be no major problems here for experienced solvers.

Across
1 ACERS – (def)ACERS; wicked=def;
6 PRATIE – P(TAR reversed)IE; should the clue wording be “one on ship turning back”?;
10 SEA,POACHER – (echoes para)*;
11 ECOSTATE – ECO-STATE; two meanings 1=whimsical “green group” 2=without ribs;
13 SKEIGH – (his keg)*; skittish in Scotland;
14 SMORE – SM-ORE; SM=samarium;
16 ENTERON – two meanings 1=ENTER ON = begin 2=entrails;
17 ADHERE – AD-HERE;
18 SANITY – SA(NIT)Y; soft=fool=NIT;
20 CHIAUS – CHI(AU)S; is=S; fleece is definition;
23 CENSOR – C(ENS)OR;
25 SAMSHOO – SAM(e)-SHOO;
27 UTILE – UT(IL)E; American nation=UTE; Israel=IL;
28 TOASTY – T(O)ASTY; O from (Paisan)O; oblique reference to tapas – delicious;
29 MAY,BLOOM – MAY-B-LOO-M; bonnibell=MAY; book=B; can=LOO; mark=M; flower is definition;
30 GREENCLOTH – (longer tech)*; course is anagrind; ER=Queen Elizabeth;
31 ELAPSE – E-L-APSE; L from (chape)L;
32 TIRED – TI(R)ED;
 
Down
1 AVESTA – A-VEST-A; dialect for they=A; VEST=drape an altar; holy text;
2 COCKED,HAT – COCKED-HATS; pile=COCK; cloche eg=HAT; a navigational triangle;
3 RESIN – RE-SIN;
4 SAT,GURU – SAT-(RUG reversed)-U; pressed=SAT; major=wig=RUG;
5 SPAHEE – S(PA)HEE(r); past=PA; a cavalryman;
6 POTINS – PO-(SNIT reversed); SNIT=sulking in the Sunset State; an old alloy;
7 ACUMEN – A-CU-MEN; Christian Union=CU;
8 THEORIST – THE-(a)ORIST; academy=a;
9 ERVEN – E(R)VEN;
12 PROTOSTOME – (to stop more)*;
15 CHIMINEA – (machine I)*;
19 AEROBOT – AE-ROBOT; aged=AE; welder,say=ROBOT (reference automated production line);
21 ASLEEP – A-S-LEE-P; area=A; is=S; old euphamism for dead;
22 SOLACE – SO-LACE; very good=SO; thrash=LACE;
23 COTYLE – CO-TYLE(r); lodge as in masonics;
24 RHYMED – curse and verse rhyme;
25 SURGE – sounds like “serge”;
26 BALTI – B-ALT-I; British=B; old word for rest=ALT; genuine curry invented in Leicester;

One comment on “Mephisto 2858 by Paul McKenna”

  1. I found this one decidedly tricky: I generally find Paul McKenna the most difficult of the Mephisto setters. There were a few I couldn’t entirely parse, so thanks for the explanations. One of these was 6ac, where the problem appears to have been with the word order. However I thought it had something to do with a pirate so I was nowhere near!

    Edited at 2015-06-14 10:30 pm (UTC)

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