A quite tricky puzzle where Chambers was needed after something like half the time spent. For all but a couple of clues (2, 23), I managed to record the solving order: 3, 16, 15A, 28, 21, 1/10, 5, 18, 19, 26, 1D, 12, 4, 17, 6A, 6D, 7D, 11, 15D, 20, [Chambers use started], 8, 13, 9, 22, 29, 14 (inked in – guessed at previously), 25, 24, 27. One or two queries/quibbles below, but an interesting puzzle.
Monday 15 June announcement on the Times Crossword Club bulletin board: “An important notice regarding yesterday’s Mephisto (2546). Due to a production error, the wrong puzzle was published online. This has now been corrected. The puzzle that previously appeared will be published again – in the paper and online – at a later date, so any entries already submitted will be held over until then.” So it’s pretty much the same mistake as with Saturday’s Times 24257/24247 cryptic except for the wrong puzzle being from the future rather than the past, and George’s comment about 2549 is correct except that the number may be different.
| Across | |
|---|---|
| 1/10 | HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT = (shameful operations)* – presumably a clue written fairly recently! |
| 6 | AL(O,H)AS – the Hawaiian greeting “aloha” can be used as both hello and goodbye. |
| 11 | GAR,ROTTE=Otter with R=resistance first |
| 12 | S(p)EEDY |
| 13 | BE(RE)AN – bean=your head, and a Berean is a type of Scots Presbyterian. Dabbling with “head covering” = BERET delayed a correct answer here |
| 15 | UNRIPE= ((j)uniper)* |
| 17 | VIRGIN(A,L)’s – tag=”tail end” of madrigal supplies the L. Delayed here by the V suggesting Brazilian airline Varig. (I worked in the airline industry briefly in late 80’s so some odd airline names have stuck in my memory) |
| 18 | RE(HEARS = share*)AL – I don’t really understand how “marching” can be the anagram indicator for the middle. Any offers? |
| 22 | UL(EX)ES – ule = rubber tree – a barred grid chliché. Ulex = gorse. |
| 23 | OS=so=provided rev.,MATE. Osmate or osmiate is a salt of “the hypothetical osmic acid” says C. I don’t know whether you need the acid for the salts to be more than hypothetical. |
| 24 | F(AE)RY. ae. = aged = old in the sense “49 years old”. Fry here is prison reformer Elizabeth Fry, seen on the backs of £5 notes. |
| 26 | TUB=but rev.,T=tense,HUMP=despondency |
| 28 | AYE=indeed,REMAINING=left – simple break-down for this Shakespearean version of “ever”. |
| 29 | TUSSEH = silk. rev. of (c)HESS,(n)UT |
| Down | |
| 1 | HO(w)LS – leave = hols = holidays = vacation, just in these bits of slang confuse overseas solvers |
| 2 | OF=in,FENDERS=(wings of cars, US – which includes Guantanamo Bay). |
| 3 | UP=well-informed,PER=a,CHAMBER(s) |
| 4 | SANDIVER = invaders*. sandiver=scum on molten glass, from French “suin de verre”. |
| 5 | SLAVER =rev. of rev(e)als. Reversal indicator is Jack=lift up., e.g. of a car, discloses=reveals |
| 6 | AIR=display,B=book,A=a,G=grand |
| 7 | (f)LARES – lare=lair (Spenser). In barred grid puzzles, age alone is quite often enough to indicate a Spenserian spelling. |
| 8 | HETERAUXESIS = asymmetrical growth – (use a three six)* |
| 9 | STENO,SIS=exclamation of disgust in S Africa, from Afrikaans. Stenosis = constipation among other bodily blockages. |
| 14 | ALL-(S,ERE,N)E – informal for “everything as it should be” |
| 15 | U.PRO,OTAL=(a lot)* – “twitch” = variant of quitch = couch grass, so uprootal = weeding |
| 16 | UNLEARNS – (sunderland less both Ds)* |
| 19 | RHEUMY=”roomy”=wide. Rheumy = cold & damp, of air. |
| 20 | SUMMA,T – “summat” = Yorks. dialect “something”, summa = treatise summarising a subject. |
| 21 | (b)ETHEL |
| 25 | YOGH = a letter of the Old/Middle English alphabet, named after its sounds – y and hh. Not totally convinced that the def should be “old character’s sound” instead of “old character”. |
As far as “marching” is concerned when doing the puzzle I recalled that “marching” has something to do with “moving” in chess parlance. I’ve just checked and it’s in C.
I’m with you on YOGH where I thought the word “sound” redundant. The definition is surely “old character”