Mephisto 2544 Paul McKenna

Author   dorsetjimboPosted on Categories Mephisto
I thought this a difficult puzzle with nearly every clue requiring some access to Chambers. Indeed, most of the starter clues are simple constructions that lead to answers that have to be verified by dictionary reference, such as the hidden word YCLED at 16A. I have one query at 20D where I can’t see the wordplay.

For new solvers (C) = Chambers used to verify part of a clue (S) = starter clue (see memories/solving tips at the top of the page)

Across
1 LEMUR – LE-MUR; chez Humpty Dumpty; LEMUR=a Roman ghost of the dead (sic) and shade-1=a literary ghost; good clue; (C);
5 BASS-BAR – B-ASS-BAR; B=black; ASS=bottom; BAR-3=a scots joke; tension bar in a violin=fiddle; (C);
11 EUPHIST – E(xplain)-(I shut up)*; will-3=astray in Fort William; reference John Lyly 1553-1606 and his book Euphues or the Anatomy of Wit; (C);
12 PIP,EMMA – P(I)PE-M-MA; PPE=Politics, Philosophy, Economics course; M’=my (m’lud); MA=masters (degree); morse code signallers words for PM=the afternoon much used by my father who was a wireless operator in the RAF 1939-1945; nice clue; (S);
13 APSIS – S(IS)PA all reversed; in say the moon’s orbit the point of least distance from the earth (see apse in C); I thought this was the perigee? (S) (C);
14 SASSABY – SASS(A-B)Y; A=Australian; B=bowled (cricket); a hartebeest of questionable parentage; (S) (C);
16 YCLED – hidden word (rec)YCLE-D(enim); obsolete form of clothed; (S) (C);
17 BURREL – two meanings; BURREL-1=medieval cloth; BURREL-2=bharal=Himalayan sheep; (C);
19 ZUFFOLO – Z-(h)UFF-O(L)O; ZOO=unruly group; in a huff=with the hump; a flute for training songbirds; (C);
21 CANTEEN – CANT-(k)EEN; CANT-3=auction; keen-1=wonderful; k=slice of kingklip; a pub in SA; (C);
25 ELDEST – ELD-EST; ELD=antiquity; EST=Latin for is; (S) (C);
27 AMBLE – (r)AMBLE; “pace” is the definition; (S) (C);
28 HELICON – HEL(e)-ICON; hele=cover; a mountain near the Gulf of Corinth that appears in Greek mythology; (C);
30 ENTIA – (rod)ENTIA; Rodentia=the order of rodents; bolt=rod; “beings” is the definition (see “ens” in C);
31 PRALINE – P(R-A-L)INE; long=PINE; R(aisin) A(nd) L(oveliness); ground sugar coated almonds which when mixed with chocolate forms the basis for Belgian chocolate, easily the best thing to come out of Bruxelles; nice clue; (S);
32 PARADIGM – P(A)RA-DIG-M; A=one; buggy=PRAM; “example” is the definition; (S);
33 SCALDADO – S(C)ALAD-O; C=caught (cricket); SALAD=mix; O=over (more cricket); scaling a wall using ladders; (C);
34 ARSES – AR(S)E-S; S=special; S=son; lifts or upbeats (music) see “arsis” in C:
 
Down
1 LIPSYNCER – (sly prince)*; to dub here is to add synchronised sound to previously shot film not to knight; (C);
2 ERIACH – (th)E-(AIR reversed)-CH; Irish blood-fine (see “eric” in C); (S);
3 MOPS – M-OPS; OP’s=Other people’s; mop-2=grimace; (S) (C);
4 REMADE – (dear me)*; “done” is the anagrind; (S);
5 BUMBAZE – BU(b)-M(B)AZE; bub=old word for strong drink; B=bishop (chess); fickle=scots for for perplex=BUMBAZE; (C);
6 SHADUF – SH-A(D)UF; AUF=elf’s child; D=deserted; ancient Egyptian device for raising water; (C);
7 SUPERFAMILY – (flyer aims up)*; high=drunk=anagrind; a high level taxonomic group that embraces species and genus; (C);
8 BISTROS – BI-(SORTS reversed): BI=twice in Rome; order=SORTS; small restaurants from Montparnasse; (S);
9 ASIDE – AS-I-D(ine)-E(legantly); AS=because; I=one; (S);
10 MESENTERIAL – (earliest men)*; a tummy tuck; (C);
15 CLOSENESS – C(LOSE-N)ESS; miss=LOSE; N=note; CESS=billet; (C);
18 ONDATRA – ON-DAT(u)RA; ON=close to; U=tail in buchu; datura=narcotic plant; the muskrat, an agressive, smelly, semi-aquatic rodent originally from Canada and the US that burrows through levees; (C);
20 UNDERGO – UN-(RED reversed)-GO; I can see RED=redd-1=tidy in Inverness; however UNGO is not an anagram of “gone”; the definition I think is “experience”; any offers for a better explanation?;
22 ESPADA – ESP-A-D-A; ESP=especially; A=a; D=the fourth highest; A=one; an ornamental rather than military sword; (C);
23 PALAMA – P-A-LA-MA(in); P= power; a la main=at hand=ready; a duck’s webbed feet; (C);
24 PLONGE – P(LONG)E; LONG=die; PE=Physical Education; old word for pitch; (C);
26 LINAC – L-IN-A-C; L=left; C=centre; IN=in; A=advance; a linear particle accelerator such as a cathode ray tube; (S) (C)
29 CITS – C(hemical)-I(ndustry)-T(aking)-S(weeteners); old slang for townie and hence not a gentleman; (S) (C);

11 comments on “Mephisto 2544 Paul McKenna”

  1. Yes this was a good workout for the dictionary. I didn’t manage to start it until Tuesday and still had the SW corner unfinished (18,25,26,32) so thanks for the blog Jimbo.

    Can’t help with 20dn – I waited for the checking letters and relied on the definition.

    Looking at some of the clues – 14, 17, 6 for example – it is evident that Mephisto setters don’t have to worry about surfaces as much a Times setters do!

    Re your comment on 31ac – not a beer drinker Jim? By the way my father was also a RAF wireless operator in WWII, though he never spoke much about it. My parents always used a fair bit of services slang.

    1. I hoped you might finish this one but six months go I don’t think you would have got anywhere near it!

      It’s doing the bar crosswords that trains you to ignore surface readings. I know poor surfaces irritate some solvers but it’s never really bothered me.

      I’m strictly a bitter man – not into continental beers at all – much prefer their wine although the excellent Australian wines are scooping the pool over here these days.

      Like your dad mine would only talk about the companionship and not about what he saw (and as he was at Monte Casino he saw plenty). The D-Day anniversary made me think of him and all those guys.

      1. I might have finished given another session. The problem is that after the weekend I only manage to get half an hour late at night before going to sleep, so I didn’t get a lot of time to work at it.

        At least today’s was a bit of a relief! Only needed the dictionary to check 3 or 4 answers. I think it was easier than yesterday’s Times.

      2. I can see that getting a convincing and misleading surface while preserving a fair clue is really hard for the most obscure vocabulary, but still admire the clue-writers that manage it.

        Not really convinced that the bar puzzles help you to ignore surface meaning – ignoring something that isn’t there is pretty easy – he said provocatively.

  2. I agree with your explanation – looks like the setter made an error, which should really have been picked up by the editor.
    1. I went from redd to red to its rather sheep-farming synonym rud, and even if it’s far fetched it satisfies me and gives the right letters!
      1. People do use the blog to learn from so I’d better say that what you suggest would be an indirect anagram of “rud” + “gone” and that’s not allowed.
          1. I’ve just received the following from Paul:

            I’m afraid to say that it is nothing more exciting than me making a mistake, sorry. I took my eye off the anagram for a second and ended up with a ‘crapagram’

            Thanks for taking the trouble Paul

  3. I started this in a hospital waiting-room (I was giving a friend a ride to and from some outpatientness), and ended up with the top half almost full and apart from PRALINE and CITS, the bottom half dispragingly empty. Took a long time sifting through the Big Red Books to sort out the rest.

    Agree, can’t see 20 and didn’t pull the trigger on UNDERGO until I had all the checking letters except the O at the end. ZUFFALO is a wonderful word, as is SHADUF.

    I do prefer nice surfaces, and sometimes in Mephisto it gets lost in favor of economy of words, but Paul McKenna is usually good for some fun surfaces (21, 32, 1d, 4, 8 and 9 together, 22).

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