Mephisto 2525 Tim Moorey

Author   dorsetjimboPosted on Categories Mephisto
After last week’s stroll in the park this puzzle was back to normal service and perhaps even a little harder than usual with several good clues. I particularly liked INTERNUNCIO and AVANT-PROPOS. The design of the grid with no full length words either down or across also leads to harder solving and the number of starter clues is not over generous. I have one small query at 28A.

For new solvers (C) = Chambers used to verify part of a clue (S) = starter clue (see tips and tricks on this site)

The on-line instructions for this puzzle still tell solvers to submit their entry to Mephisto 2517, so only 8 weeks out of date. They also specify Chambers 2003. I hope that’s correct as I know that AZED has moved on to Chambers 2008.

Across
1 PHTHISIS – PH(ar)-THIS-IS; PHAR=pharmacy then replace “a” and “r=rule” by THIS-IS; old medical term for TB one of the killer diseases controlled during my lifetime following discovery of Streptomycin; (C); nice clue;
6 ROIN – (g)ROIN; groin-3=old word for growl then “remove the face” and “groin” becomes ROIN=royne=growl; (C); nice clue;
10 ZABAIONE – Z(A-BAI(t))ONE; A=one; BAI(t)=timeless refreshment; band=ZONE; see “zabaglione” in Chambers;
11 OVERTRUMPS – OVERT-RUMP-S; RUMP=behind; S=spades; to “play one’s ace” is to deploy one’s best weapon, which in all but a no-trumps contract is the trumps. It has nothing to do with the honour card, the ace; nicely misleading
12 VAMOOSES – VA(MOOSE)S; VAS=anatomical term for a vessel,tube or duct; topical reference to President Bush?;
14 ANNAM – ANNA-M; it was in central Vietnam from 1874 to 1954; (S)
16 STALKOES – S-H-OES and “h” becomes TALK; Oxfords are shoes; Stormont MPs perhaps?; nice word nicely clued; (C);
17 WINN – W-INN; WINN=win-3=obsolete slang for a penny; small beer=something trifling; (C) (S);
18 APIA – A-PIA; A=one; PIA=Pakistan International Airlines; capital of Samoa; (S)
19 NGULTRUM – NG-ULT-RUM; no good=NG; ultimately=ULT; RUM-2=old word for good; the currency of Bhutan which is pegged to the Indian rupee and was worth 32 to the US$ in 1995 but has depreciated to 45 to the US$ today; nice clue; (C);
24 THANA – THAN-A; THAN-2=old word for “then”=again; A=advanced; THANA=tana=Indian military post; nice clue (C);
25 POST-OBIT – P(boost)*IT; a post-obit bond paid out following the death of somebody who had willed a large estate to named beneficiaries. If inheritance at some future date was certain and capital values were steady a waiting inheritor could borrow against the inheritance using a post-obit bond granted to the lender. Trollope for example did it;
26 CAROTENOID – (decoration)*; plant and animal pigment; (C);
27 COUPURES – C-OUP-URES; OUP=Oxford University Press; CURE-2=an odd person; a cutting or incision; nice clue; (C);
28 AS,IS – I think (b)ASIS; support=basis; poll=remove the top; but I don’t understand “express”;
29 MODESTER – MODES-TER; manners=MODES; T(h)E (e)R(k); (S)
 
Down
1 POOKAS – (soap)* arround OK; spirits seen by the Irish after drinking poteen (which is wonderful); (C);
2 TREENAILS – T(NEER reversed)AILS; nails used on board ship; nice clue; (C);
3 HARTAL – HART-AL(e); stag=HART; a strike in the call centre; (C) (S)
4 SARATOGA – A-GOT-A-RAS all reversed; grasped=GOT; headland=RAS; used by George Bush as he 12A?; (C);
5 SAMOS – SAMOS(a); term=an end; island in the North Aegean; (S)
6 RIPON – RIP-ON; rent=RIP; feasible=ON; city rather than town in the picturesque Yorkshire Dales famouse for its cathedral, racecourse and indigestible pudding; (S)
7 INTERNUNCIO – (I run notice)* surrounds (Vatica)N; Papal representative; excellent clue; (C)
8 NELSON – N(ELS)ON; reference Ernie Els, golfer and mainstay of bar crosswords; (S)
9 AVANT-PROPOS – (aston va)* surrounds PROP; forward=PROP (rugby); remove “ill=foul” from Aston Villa (a football team for overseas solvers); ground=anagrind; a preface before the main event; another excellent clue;
13 STIRABOUT – STIR-(uboat)*; way=motion=STIR; active is the definition;
15 REUNITED – RE-UNITED; a lot of football teams are something UNITED, not just Manchester; (S)
18 ALPACA – A-CAP-L-A all reversed; A=adult; L=Latin; A=American; woollen cloth;
20 THANKS – T-HANKS; reference Tom Hanks joint producer with Steven Spielberg of Band of Brothers and other offerings;
note the clue contained in the deliberate construction “S Spielberg”; (S)
21 MANDIR – MAN-DIR; shortened form of Managing Director; a Hindu temple; (C) (S)
22 STAPS – (past+s)*; old Scots word for cram; (C)
23 JORUM – JO-RUM; JO=hinny; trebles all round; (C)

8 comments on “Mephisto 2525 Tim Moorey”

  1. I’ve just finished 2526 apart from 30D. The reason for that is that the clue is missing from the e-version of the puzzle. If anybody has the paper could they please post the clue here. Thanks.
    1. I haven’t seen the paper but I believe the missing clue is:

      30d Shamus, say, left in school (4)

  2. My thought on this (probably completely wrong) was as follows: “sis” – According to Chambers one definition is “to express contempt”. Poll = head (Chambers), head could be A for alpha. Thus – sisa. Support can be “back up”, so sisa backwards gives “asis”.
    1. My reading is: express (to force out or emit) poll (head) of basis (support) = as is (not changed).
      1. 10 out of 10 to egosumbardus for ingenuity. However, I think erwinh is more likely to be correct. Silly of me to get an idee fixe about “poll” being to cut rather than “head”. Thanks both.
        1. Thanks for your comment dorsetjimbo, and thanks to erwinh… your reasoning works for me.
  3. I enjoyed this one a lot (I wonder if Tim’s book is ever going to make it here, I’m looking forward to reading it). A few “I hope this is a word” moments (HARTAL, MANDIR, NGULTRUM).

    I was at a show last night, and the playbill said “Warning, pookas may be lurking”.

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