A very enjoyable Mephisto that required some hard work and concentration
| Across | |
|---|---|
| 1 | DICASTERY – DIC(ASTER)Y; unpredictable=DIC(e)Y then replace the last of (thre)E by old word for star=ASTER;an old court; |
| 12 | ENROLL – hidden (dark)EN ROLL(s-Royce); US spelling of enrol; |
| 13 | ERROR – (t)ERROR; |
| 14 | STEREOME – ‘S-T(ERE)OME; has=’s; ERE from (h)ERE; supportive plant cells; |
| 15 | PLAID-NEUK – (liked a pun)*; poke=pouch in Perth; |
| 16 | RAVAGE – RAV-A-(EG reversed); rabbi=RAV; |
| 17 | R,MONTHS – R-MO(N)THS; take=R; pandores are oysters; entry found in C under R; |
| 18 | ELANET – E-LANE-(fligh)T; a kite (bird); |
| 20 | NO,MORE – NOM(OR)E; non-coms=OR; Egyptian province=NOME; |
| 22 | SAMFOOS – S(A-MF)O-OS; are=A; seller’s opinion=SO; outsize=OS; casual dress in Beijing; |
| 25 | BRAIRD – BRAI(R)D; large in Leith=BRAID; the first shoots of growth (still awaited this Spring); |
| 27 | UNTRAINED – U-(ardent)* surrounds IN=wearing; engineer is anagrind; |
| 29 | ILLUSION – I’LL-US(e)-I-ON; “we’re ON” for example means “I’ll join in”; |
| 30 | VAUNT – V-AUNT; |
| 31 | AGENCY – A-(pun)GENCY; |
| 32 | GEYSERITE – (eyrie gets)*; |
| Down | |
| 2 | INULA – IN(s)ULA; s=hint of s(pider); |
| 3 | CRIA – (AIR-C) reversed; about=C; Spanish for “baby” applied to a young llama; |
| 4 | AONIAN,FOUNT – (a fun antonio)*; afternoon=a; fountain of Aganippe, sacred to the Muses; |
| 5 | SLEDGE – S(L)EDGE; |
| 6 | ENTEROSTOMY – ENTER-O-ST-O-MY; operation on the intestines; |
| 7 | RHEUM – sounds like “room”; tears (of laughter watching Peter Sellers in Return of the Pink Panther “der yer ‘ave a rheum?) |
| 8 | GREEN,MAILER – (malingerer + e)*; somebody who buys shares in company and then forces that company to buy them back at an inflated price to avoid the expense of fighting a hostile take-over; |
| 9 | PRONTO – PRO(N)TO; N from n(ovice); |
| 10 | OOMPH – OO(r)-MP-H; our in Oban=oor; va va voom; |
| 11 | PRESSED,DAY – PRESSED-D-AY; duke=D; indeed=AY; day three of a three day visit; |
| 12 | ESPRESSIVO – ESPRESS(I-V)O; see=V; musical direction; |
| 19 | AMYLUM – (a double whammy – how a bed)*; |
| 21 | ORANGE – OR(ANG)E; |
| 23 | ALLAY – ALL(A)Y; American=A; |
| 24 | ON,ICE – O-NICE; over=O; |
| 26 | REACT – RE(AC)T; before food=AC; |
| 28 | NONI – (IN ON) reversed; |
I found this a lot tougher than the previous week’s, eventually limping home with a bunch of clues barely understood at all.
I’m therefore grateful for the explanations for dicastery, illusion, amylum, orange and react.
Edited at 2013-04-07 02:51 pm (UTC)