Mephisto 2555 – Tim Moorey

Author   glhPosted on Categories Mephisto
I found the left hand side of this an absolute beast! I got kind of caught, being out of town for a while I was only doing the online puzzles and missed that it was my turn to blog Mephisto – sorry about that. So a few days late and a few mysteries unsolved, here is a bit more of a rush job than I usually like to do.

Across
1 ENIGMA: (IN GAME) – well the 1ac test is passed
5 HEUGHS: ??? Sounds like “Hughs”, means a ravine?
9 FENESTELLAS: (TENSE)* in FELLAS, and one for the fans of defenestration
11 RHODOLITE: It’s a pink silicate, (HOLD,O)* (sparkling as an anagram indicator) in RITE
12 KAREN: A.R. (annual return) in KEN, a Thai language
13 OPENED: PEN in O.E.D. – Chambers confirms “open” as “speak out”
14 STING(o): meaning 2 in Chambers for STING
18 F,RIT,TATA: bonus points for using “TA-TA” as “cheers”
19 ROCK BASS: “danger or obstacle” figures near the end of the definition for ROCK in Chambers
21 REIRD: DRIER reversed, and one of those words you just have to hope is a word… it is
24 PINTA: N (end of mutton) in PITA – I was looking for the Tony Hancock “Drinka Pinta Milka Day” bit, but it doesn’t seem to be online.
26 OUT,RATING: Jack being a rating of a sailor
28 SYRISM: YR in (MISS)*
29 O,WEL(l)T(r)Y: the directions being right or left, equality or parity.
 
Down
1 EFIK: K(n)IFE reversed, a Nigerian tribe
3 GERENUKS: RE in GEN, UK, S
4 A, T.O.C.: A skunk, T.O.C. is Train Operating Company
6 ELOPS: POLE rev then S
7 GAIN,SAYING: my first entry and a word I love to use (a former boss used it as an m.o.)
8 SHED-HAND: a clue for the Antipodeans – and if you believe this article, you can get a (sheep) diploma in it
10 TRIACONTER: A,CON in TRITER – apparently there were 30 men per pair of oars. Knowing my luck I’d be on the outer end.
14 STRIGOPS: TRIG in SOPS (berries) – OK, I put the letters into Word Wizards and found the bird (kakapo) and worked out the wordplay much later
15 GRADATIM: from definition – GRAD could be B.A., not sure of the rest of the wordplay
16 STREIGNE: (IT,GREENS)*
17 START OUT: STAR,TOUT and a wry smile
20 TRATS: START (=fire) reversed
23 VIGO(r): US spelling of VIGOUR
25 ARSY: Another clue where it helps to be Aussie. Putting in ?ARSY in Word Wizards and there’s KARSY (lavatory = ladies), so another where I didn’t know the wordplay until writing the blog.

8 comments on “Mephisto 2555 – Tim Moorey”

  1. I think this puzzle went some way to rebutting the dumbing down accusation levelled the other week by an anonymous blogger. I agree the LHS was reasonably difficult.

    I think the homophone for HEUGHS is the surname HUGHES which has two derivations. From HUGH it is originally Norman-English. In the Gaelic it comes from McKay. (see The Oxford Names Companion). I think this a bit obscure even for a Mephisto!

    I agree 15D is TIM=Mr Moorey but will quibble about BA=GRAD (definition by example)

  3. Thank you for the blog, by the way. I missed 10dn by having STANG at 14ac, and also don’t quite get 5ac as the Welshman is singular. “Sounds like Welshmen…” (Hughs) would seem to work better, unless I am missing something (probably!). I agree it was a tough one!
  4. 5ac – possibly the Welshman is Hughes (the surname) which would also be a rather obvious anagram
  5. GRAD = BA every first degree from Oxford is a BA regardless of discipline (a BSc is a post-graduate degree) so the terms are equivalent.
    1. C defines GRAD as “a graduate” (nothing about Oxford) and BA as Bachelor of Arts (nothing about Oxford). Other universities award the BA degree. The clue does not mention Oxford. On what grounds do you justify your comment?
      1. Other universities? You mean Cambridge? It’s the same, BA only. So GRAD=BA seems fine, an equivalent, not definition by example.

        (Removes tongue from cheek)

  6. Good, I wasn’t the only one finding this tricksy. Should have seen “Hughes”, and apologies to Tim for missing Tim (I guess clueing your own name is OK, I get a little miffed at a popular daily for clueing pseudonyms of setters on a pretty regular basis).

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