A puzzle that was as easy as the previous week’s had been difficult. It came the day after a very tough Saturday Prize Crossword that took me longer to complete! One point of interest is at 26A where there are two legitimate answers to the clue and checking letters are needed to see which is correct.
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 | BATOLOGY – B(LOTA reversed)OGY; BOGY=slang for policeman=copper; LOTA=Indian pot; the study not of bats but of brambles; (C); |
| 7 | DOVE – two meanings; 1=”where is” in Italian; 2=political conciliator such as Clare Short (UK politician who opposed the invasion of Iraq); |
| 10 | RURITANIA – RU-(train)*-I-A; RU=Rugby Union; I=in; Anthony Hope’s fictional country used as a setting by him and others for romances; (S); |
| 11 | ANTICIPATORY – ANTI-(A-PIC all reversed)-TORY; Labour=broadly left wing, TORY=broadly right wing (UK politics); (S); |
| 12 | MERK – MERK(in); merkin=the opposite of Brazilian waxing; not=remove in=popular; an old Scots coin worth 13s 4d in old sterling (between 66 and 67 decimal pence); (C); |
| 13 | SUMAC – SUM-AC; shrub/tree prized for its autumnal foliage; (S); |
| 15 | MESE – (vietna)MESE; SE Asian people=Vietnamese, which can be written (native)*-MESE then remove (native)*; the note produced by the middle string of a lyre; (C); |
| 17 | with 23; LIGHT-PROOF; flimsy=LIGHT; evidence=PROOF; completely dark; (S); |
| 18 | ANNATTA – AN(NAT)TA; ANTA=column; NAT=nationalist; orange colouring matter (see annatto in C); |
| 20 | IDOLISE – IDO-(lies)*; IDO=offshoot of Esperanto; damned=anagrind; what I did to Shirley Eaton when I was 14; |
| 23 | PROOF – see 17 above; |
| 26 | BRAG – (GARB reversed)-AGE; note that “pan(t)s” also works; what is the rule for four letter words?; |
| 27 | GRAAL – G(RA)AL; RA=artist; old (=ancient) word for “grail”; (S) (C); |
| 28 | ZORI – (IR-OZ all reversed); IR=Irish; OZ=Australian; a Japanese sandal; (S) (C); |
| 29 | GOLDERS,GREEN – G(OLDER-SG)REEN; OLDER=more familiar; SG=S(i)G(n); well heeled area of north London near Hampstead Heath famous for Solly’s very Kosher restaurant; |
| 30 | FILIGREED – FILI-GREED; FILI sounds like “filly”, one of many slang words for a girl; ornamental gold and silver; (C); |
| 31 | GLYN – (lying with “i” removed)*; a GLYN is a Welsh valley and the Glyn Valley Railway runs along Ceiriog Valley; (S); |
| 32 | BIRD-BATH – BIR(bad)*TH; something to make 1D and 14D feel at home; (S); |
| Down | |
| 1 | BRAMBLING – B-RAMBLING; a cousin of the chaffinch; |
| 2 | ANNELID – ANNE-LID; a red-blooded worm; (C); |
| 3 | TETRAGONALLY – TET-R(AGON)ALLY; TET=more Vietnamese, this time the lunar new year festival (known to older solvers from the 1968 Tet Offensive); AGON=struggle (see “agony” in C); the crystaline structure of for example garnet; |
| 4 | LUCRETIA – (article)* surrounds “u”; LUCRETIA was raped in 509BC by the king’s son Sextus. Her consequent suicide led to the overthrow of the king and the establishment of the Roman republic; (S); |
| 5 | ORISSA – reversed hidden word (yn)ORI SSA(rc); eastern state of India on the Bay of Bengal; (S); |
| 6 | GIPSEN – G(I-PS)EN; Spenserian word for a gypsy=traveller; (S) (C); |
| 7 | DATUM – DA(UT reversed)M; DAM-3=old Indian copper coin; UT-2=as; it is a datum that this word is rarely used when it should be; (C); |
| 8 | ONOMATOPOEIA – (MONO reversed)-ATOP-O(p)E(r)A surrounding I; LP=long player=old gramaphone record ideal for snogging=type of MONO-1; I’d like to zap the definition by example; |
| 9 | VIRAL – VI(R)AL; R=recipe=take; |
| 14 | CHAFFINCH – CHA(t)-FF-INCH; chat-2=a thrush; |
| 16 | UNPANGED – UNPA-(contritio)N-GED; to page is to call; |
| 19 | TORRENT – suffering=torment then change m=mike(phonetic alphabet) to r=right; (S); |
| 21 | SBIRRI – (RIBS reversed)-RI; RI=Rhode Island=state; Florentine fuzz; (C); |
| 22 | ERASER – ERA-SER; SER=serial; a rubber in English and the source of much confusion when working with US secretaries; |
| 24 | BROIL – two meanings; 1=quarrel with 2=grill; |
| 25 | LADIN – LA(D)IN; a language from the Austrian Tirol’s Upper Inn valley (a place that looks like the opening sequence of The Sound of Music – note for future reference that the Inn is a river!); (C); |
This weekend is back to normal and the Mephisto is a good one for you. Not too easy but not completely mind bending either with some good clues and a couple of “use of Chambers” moments.
Grid completed in about 5 hours with 5 not justfied (3 must be right but don’t know why). Still “live” I guess so not asking for answers till blog appears.
Hope Mike Laws can explain the answers as his email address is given whereas Tim Moorey is listed as setter.
Re your blog for this Mephisto, all your hard work and hardly any comments. Must be disappointing?
(PS – Money has turned out to be safe – Regards Barry)