Mephisto 2769 – Don Manley

Author   glhPosted on Categories Mephisto
This is a very good Mephisto for fans of wordplay – I managed to fill in the entire right hand (though with lots of question marks) with unfamiliar words pieced together by wordplay. I was only sent hurrying for the dictionary by the top right hand side, though now after all is said and done I might have been able to get a bit further without resisting the temptation of the red books.

I hadn’t thought about this in grid design, but there was a fun setter’s blog at Listen With Others (the net’s second-favorite forum for discussing the Listener Crossword) where Augeas mentioned unintentionally sending in a grid with swastikas in the bars. Don Manley has the mirror image of the swastika twice in this grid, so he avoided that.

Away we go…

Across
1 FRON(t),DESCENT
10 KHAMSIN: HAM,S(uffer) in KIN
12 ALANINE: IN in A LANE
13 PECKE: C in PEKE
14 VILEST: IL in VEST
15 CREAKY: KAW(Jackdaw) reversed in CRY
16 EATCHE: hidden
18 RUSSIA: US(you and me), S(een) in RIA
20 LAME: double def
22 TETH: remove N from TENTH
23 TALBOT: reverse of TO,BLAT
27 PLAN,TA
28 TOITOI: repeat TOI(l)
29 PATENS: N in PATES(pies)
31 T,ONUS
32 SOLOIST: LO,IS in SOT
33 URANITE: A,NIT in URE
34 DISCOMYCETE: (COSMETIC,DYE) – anyone else solve this and think it was some sort of rave fungus from which you could make glowsticks?
 
Down
1 FLAVOR: LAV in FOR
2 RELIQUE: QU in RELIE
3 NONE(t)
4 DEISTIC: I in (EDICTS)*
5 SHECHITA: CHIT(child) in SHEA(tree)
6 EME,ER
7 TIKKA: KIT reversed then KA(serve)
8 ON,EYRE(journey)
9 PALESTRINA: N in PALE,STRIA(line)
11 SCARABAEID: (A,BAD,SCARE,I)*
17 CALL,IS,TO: two definitions strangely enough neither seem to be in Chambers
19 BAN,ALLY
21 MO,ONSET
22 TIT(bird),TUP(monkey)
24 TESTEE: EST in TEE
25 HOORD: OR in HOD
26 STUNS: NUT reversed in S.S.
30 TORC: the difference is T OR C

3 comments on “Mephisto 2769 – Don Manley”

  1. Working out the answer from the wordplay and thinking the unfamiliar answer might well match the definition is (for me) an essential element of cryptic solving. This is why it is sometimes justifiable (in my view) to throw in the odd unusual word (or three!) in everyday cryptics. People who complain about a word they have never heard of are sometimes missing the point. At the other end of the scale, there are clues with easy definitions but with wordplay so convoluted as to be a waste of time! One of the great joys of Azed is being able to solve a puzzle with many unfamiliar words with very little use of Chambers. I hope I have learned something from my mentor!
  2. I completely agree with your comments about wordplay George. These Mephisto and The Club Monthly are excellent examples of a skill I acquired by solving Ximenes’ puzzles in the early 1960s and have cherished ever since.

    I almost despair when I read comments that clearly indicate the solver is just guessing an answer from a supposed definition and sticking that in the grid with scant reference to the wordplay. You can’t do that with these puzzles, which is why I love them and thanks to all our setters for maintaining a good standard overall.

  3. I’ll second (or third?) the comments above. I’m still a relative beginner on these things but I really enjoy them. As for the dailies, Don, I think the inclusion of obscure (sorry, unfamiliar) words is not just justifiable, it is essential. Getting the answer from wordplay is the fun way to do it.

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