Mephisto 2552 Tim Moorey

Overall, a slightly harder than usual puzzle that was always fair (if you turn a blind eye to the padding at 34A) and maintained interest. When writing the blog more than doing the puzzle I became conscious that I was checking quite a range of diverse material: El Cid; the Gullah people; Israel Hands; Isegrim; and so on. I worked my way from top to bottom, left to right helped by a quite an easy 1A that unusually for Mephisto I read and wrote straight in.

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	ULSTERED – ULSTER-ED; Belfast=Ulster (personally I’m not completely happy with this substitution although it is used in undisciplined everyday language); ED=editor; an ulster was a long,loose, caped Victorian coat worn by Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce; S;
7	ALAP – A-LA(m)P; m=money; wasted=removal indicator; Muzak for the local curry house;
10	NATES – SET-A-N all reversed; a duff clue,perhaps? C;
11	METAGE – ME(TAG)E(t); meet-2=fitting and MEE=most (of) meet; TAG=refrain; a charge for weighing coal; C;
12	PSYCH,OUT – (spy)*-CHOUT; caught=anagrind?; CHOUT=extortion by the Mahrattas; to intimidate using mind games; C;
13	OKAPIS – OK-A-PI-S; OK=right; PI=pie-2=confusion; A=advanced; S=square; giraffe’s cousins and old crossword friends;
14	SIRCAR – SIR-CAR; SIR=the Apocryphal book of Wisdom of Jesus; CAR=Charles; Indian state or government; C;
16	LANOLIN – L-AN-O-(NIL reversed); L=Liberal; love=zero, nil (tennis); a waxy fat obtained from sheep’s wool used to make both cosmetics and shoe polish. I wonder how many ladies know that? S;
17	YDRAD – DARD-(arm)Y all reversed; DARD=a Dardic speaker=possibly an Afghani; obsolete word for dread; C;
19	AIRBEDS – AIR-BEDS; AIR=broadcast; BEDS=Bedfordshire; potential seaside killers; S;
21	SAANENS – (en passant – remove pt=point)*; goats that appear in pictures with lederhosen and cuckoo clocks; C;
23	EL,CID – EL=sounds like L=learner; CID=sounds like Sid (James) incomparable foil to Tony Hancock and star of the “Carry On” films; EL CID= film starring Charlton Heston and Sophia Loren very vaguely based upon the life of Rodrigo Diaz 1040-1099 ruler of Valencia;
26	GEECHEE – GEE-CHEE(r); My=GEE; joy=cheer; the Gullah people such as Chubby Checker and Joe Frazier; C;
28	ISRAEL – (ariel + s)*; reference Israel Hands a pirate friend of Blackbeard in early 18th century; S;
29	GALANT – G(A-L-A-N)T; GT=great; bands=surrounds; A=are; N=new; 18th century forerunner of Viennese classical style used by,among others, Vivaldi; C;
30	LIENTERY – (entirely)*; (put) right=anagrind; (the) runs=diarrhoea=definition; C;
31	GENDER – GEN-(RED(d) reversed); redd-1=rubbish; male or female or bender;
32	ROUEN – ROUE-N; ROUE=profligate; N=knight (chess); historic capital of Normandy on the river Seine; S;
33	ESAU – hidden word (th)ESAU(rus); famous grandson of Abraham, son of Isaac and brother of Jacob; S;
34	RUMP-POST – 10=answer to 10A=NATES=RUMP; letters=POST; a bird’s tail bone; the “actually” serves no purpose other than to potentially mislead; C;
Down
1	UNHOLY – UN-HO(me)LY; UN=one; homely=comfortable; blow=removal indicator; outrageous;
2	LACKADAISIES – LACK-A-DAISIES; A=accepted; see alack-a-day in C;
3	STRANRAER – REAR(N-(p)ART)S all reversed; trains=REARS; interest=share=part; p=pressure; relieving=removal indicator; SW Scotland ferry terminal in Wigtownshire close to where my father was deployed in WW2 before being sent to North Africa;
4	TEMPO – OP-MET all reversed; OP=work; balanced=MET; speed (music); S;
5	RISSIAN – (parisians remove pa=first couple)*; do=anagrind; like Alpine glaciers (see Riss in C);
6	DECIARE – D(ICE reversed)ARE; challenge=DARE; reserve=ICE; one tenth of an are; C;
7	ATHROB – (hobart)*; ground=anagrind; my wife’s reaction the first time she saw Seve Ballesteros at Wentworth; S;
8	AGUARDIENTES – (is guaranteed)*; Spanish portmanteau word agua=water + ardiente=burning used to describe firewater; C;
9	PETRA – PET-RA; PET=favoured; RA=(b)R(e)A(k); ancient Jordanian city identified by Pliny the Elder; S;
15	CHECHAQUO – CHE-CH-A-QUO(d); CHE=I in Stratford-upon-Avon;CH=check (chess); quod-2=prison; term=end and wanted=lacking so “term wanted” means remove the “d” to give QUO; Sarah Palin, some might say? see cheechako in C;
18	DEMETER – DE(ME)TER; Greek goddess of marriage and fertility; S;
20	ISEGRIM – IS-E-GRIM; E=p-E-t-E-r’s repeated element; the wolf in Reynard the Fox (see Isengrim in C); Disney used this old tale to portray Robin Hood as a fox and The Sheriff of Nottingham as a wolf in his animated film of Sherwood’s shenanigans;
22	NHANDU – N(HAND)U; NU=name unknown; a South American ostrich (see nandu in C); S;
24	DETENT – DE(T)E-N(e)T; T=tons; DEE=beautiful river of either Chester or Aberdeen; a mechanical catch which is part of a clock’s striking mechanism;
25	BILGE – BI-LGE; BI-1=bisexual=swings both ways; LGE=large; bull=rubbish=BILGE;
27	CLOOP – C(L)OOP; the last sound you hear before Champagne soaks the wife’s new dress and a new ice age begins;