Mephisto 2563 – Mike Laws

Author   glhPosted on Categories Mephisto
I usually find Mike Laws the most difficult of the Mephisto setting team, but there were not all that many unusual words, and some of the odder ones had some easy wordplay and generous checking letters (15 down is a prime example of an entry that has both). Interesting placement of 13 and 28, but I don’t think there’s any such correlation between 3 and 8. Oh and to cap off the random thoughts, the Mephisto grids don’t often have 90 degree symmetry, so the lover of symmetry in me gives a thumbs up to the grid.

Across
1 MO,BOC,RACY: Got this from the definition and partial wordplay – BOC is COB reversed, meaning 4 in Chambers
11 OMEN: NEMO reversed, ref Jules Verne’s character
12 MOROSELY: another one from definition, ROSE in MOLY, MOLY was the magic herb given by Hermes to Odysseus so he could overcome the spells of Circe (sorry to ruin the plot for you).
13 COLLYWOBBLES: (LOWLY)* in COBBLES – I didn’t realise this was an acutal word, in Australia we use it to refer to the Collingwood Football Teams inability to win the big one
16 IF,N.I.: From wordplay this, time, had not heard of the former Spanish province
17 ELEVENSES: EVEN in ELSE,S – do anyone other than the Famous Five eat elevenses?
19 CATENA: A,TEN in CA – TEN for honour isn’t completely supported by Chambers, but I guess as in a “perfect ten” it’s OK
21 A,TRIAL: chambers being of a house
23 (m)AIGRET: I got this from the definition (feather), had not heard of the detective, apparently created by Simenon
24 CROSS,(b)ETTE(r): love the clue, a shoulder in an archstone
25 (ch)OOSY: from the wordplay – Scots form of OOZE, unusual yo see Kirsty used, is there something more to this?
29 ACID RAIN: I in AC, DRAIN
30 OINK: IN in OK
31 FAN LETTER: from the definition, LETT in FANE (a temple, definition 2 in Chambers), R
 
Down
3 BELLETRISTIC: BELL, then T in ERISTIC (relating to controversy) – comes from BELLES-LETTRES
4 (comm)ONLY
6 A,ROUSE
7 COBDENISM: (COMBINES,D)*, more generous checking letters, only had to place the D and M when it came to this, my last entry
8 SELF-PORTRAIT: (PROFILE – I)* in STRAIT, but easy to get at from the slightly cryptic definition
10 LYSIMETER: (ITS MERELY)* – a device for measuring rate of evaporation from the ground
14 DECAPODAL: CAP,O.D. in DEAL
15 XENARTHA: (RE,ANTHRAX)*
18 BRET(t),AGNE(s): I liked this charade
22 LORCAN: R.C. (Roman Catholic) in LOAN
23 ASS,OIL: “the good oil” – an Australian term
27 GROT: GROAT minus the A

4 comments on “Mephisto 2563 – Mike Laws”

  1. Funny. I always look forward to Mike Laws as a bit of relief compared to the other setters. I enjoyed this accordingly.
    1. I agree, and I have previously e-mailed him to show my ‘preciation. His was the only one I have completed so far without looking in a dictionary till I had finished.
  2. Like George I found this straightforward with no real hold ups, just a steady solve.

    In bridge “ten” is most definitely an honour and C covers it under “honour” rather than under “ten”. Maigret was a very evocative TV series with lots of French music and Gallic shrugging, excellent entertainment.

  3. I tend to find McKenna harder than the others (though not his last one) .. on the whole I prefer the Times cryptic’s anonymity as such preconceptions are so very hard to avoid

    I was once a great fan of Maigret/Rupert Davies, and his sidekick Lucas, and those lovely “Light 15” Citroens..

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