Mephisto 2568 by Paul McKenna

Author   dorsetjimboPosted on Categories Mephisto
If you have an opinion on the current level of difficulty and/or recent overall quality of Mephisto puzzles please take a moment to record it on this blog.

This puzzle ranks with 2560 and 2564 as being in my opinion far too easy for Mephisto solvers. It appears that at the moment every fourth puzzle is a 25 minute doddle. More worrying is the fact that the intermediate puzzles are also mainly below average difficulty level. Indeed one has to go back to 2552 to find a harder than average puzzle. During this period AZED has maintained a reasonably consistent standard (compare AZED 1,955 published on the same day with this puzzle – they are in different leagues) so I’m reluctantly coming round to the view that Mephisto is being dumbed down.

With this one I once again had the puzzle all but finished simply by doing the across clues. I only failed to solve five of them on first read through (and I’ve highlighted those in the blog). Thereafter the down clues were child’s play (although the clues weren’t particularly difficult either). There is one really good clue – ASHBUCKET. Unfortunately that is counterbalanced by two poor clues – REFLECTED and BRINDISI, neither of which (unless I’m missing something very clever – always a possibility) I judge to be Mephisto standard. These two follow hard on the heels of the very weak clue to “embar” contained in the previous week’s (2567) offering.

I particularly dislike BRINDISI (Clue: Toast the new name of Horace’s holiday resort (Sat. 1.5)). The definition “toast” is fine. Then we have no wordplay but rather a second definition. If one knows the works of Horace the answer is obvious, so no challenge. If, like the majority of solvers, one is aware of the Satires but knows little more about them one is forced to use Wiki or whatever to research an answer. There are crosswords that specialise in this kind of trivial pursuits exercise but for me Mephisto isn’t and shouldn’t become one of them.

If the overall standard of Mephisto doesn’t improve soon I can see serious solvers not bothering to complete it. Today’s 2569 is much better.

Across
1 AUTUMN – (unmatured – red=blush); autumn in the US is graphically called the fall; very easy;
6 HONEST – HONES-(hatche)T; even easier;
12 CROQUIS – (curios + q=quality)*; an outline sketch; easy;
13 TENE – TEN-E(bullience); X=TEN; TENE=teen-2=old word for grief; very easy;
14 HOSIER – H(OS)IE-R; HIE=old word for hasten; OS=outsize; tights=stockings=hose;
15 ASHBUCKET – (casket + h=hot + bu)*; “bu” from bu(tts); a receptacle for spent cigarettes; a good clue and the first across clue I failed to solve on first reading;
16 NASHI – N-AS-HI; N=name; AS=like; HI=Hawaii; the Asian pear;
17 TEREBRA – TER(E-B)RA; earth=TERRA; energy=E; black=B; a Roman drill;
19 OUTPEEP – OUT-PEEP; cook-3=Scots for peep; reference Peeping Tom; the second across clue I failed to solve on first reading;
24 DIETINE – DIET-(f)INE; fast=DIET; showy=fine; a local diet=a conference;
25 OARLESS – O(ARLES)S; OS=Ordinary Seaman; ARLES=a down payment on a deal; the third across clue I failed to solve on first reading;
27 NO-NOS – (SON-ON all reversed);
29 REFLECTED – I understand the radar but not the angels (an angel is a type of radar reflection or is this a misprint for angles, reference angle of reflection?); a poor Mephisto clue in my opinion and the fourth across clue I failed to solve on first reading;
31 PLIERS – two meanings 1=one who plies a trade 2=a gripping tool; very easy;
32 AITU – AIT-U; AIT=eyot=island as in Chiswick; U=united; familiar Polynesian demigod; easy;
33 CLASSIC – clastic=rock then change t=time into s=Sabbath to give CLASSIC=definitive; solved from definition;
34 YATTER – (RET-TAY all reversed); RET=soak; TAY=tea in Dublin; rabbit=talk mindlessly; easy;
35 ENGINE – EN(GIN)E; trap=GIN; ENE=e’en=poetic version of even=just; old word for turn of mind; the fifth and final across clue I failed to solve on first reading;
 
Down
1 ACTIONOMORPHY – (hypotonic arm)*; very obvious anagram;
2 URENA – hidden word (immat)URE NA(rd); the mallow family yielding a jute substitute sold in KL;
3 TONGSTER – two meanings 1=a user of (curling) tongs 2=a member of a tong=Snakehead;
4 MUMSIER – (emporiums – po=Post Office)*; easy;
5 NIGHTED – NIGH-TED; spread out=TED; approach=NIGH; made dark; easy;
7 ODOUR – O-DOUR; O=of; grim=DOUR; ODOUR=repute;
8 NASCENT – NAS-CENT; NAS=Noise Abatement Society; easy solve from definition;
9 EFIK – E(F)IK; fellow=F; EIK=eke in Aberdeen; a Nigerian language;
10 SWEERT – SWEE(R)T; running smoothly=SWEET; river=R; lazy in Leith;
11 TARTARE,SAUCE – TARTARE-SAUCE; raw=TARTARE; cheek=SAUCE; nice on fish with a good Chablis;
18 BRINDISI – two meanings 1=a toast 2=modern name for Brundisium mentioned in Horace’s Satire 1.5; the sort of clue that I detest, straight out of the Times daily circa 1960 and not up to Mephisto standard in my opinion;
20 POLLENT – LOP reversed – LENT; fast=LENT; strong is the definition;
21 PISTOLE – PISTOL-E; E=Spain; piece=PISTOL; piece also=coin and a PISTOLE is an old Spanish coin; nice but easy;
22 GENEVAN – GEN-EVAN; a Calvinist; very easy;
23 PAELLA – PA-ELLA; I don’t understand the “foreign girl”, surely “foreign dish” would be better;
26 EERIE – REE reversed – IE; REE=an enclosure in Rannoch;
28 OPT,IN – OPT-I-N; OPT=optime (Latin)=very well indeed; N=note;
30 FIAT – FI(A)T; A-2=he,she,it or they; a judge’s warrant;

9 comments on “Mephisto 2568 by Paul McKenna”

  1. I tackled some (about 4) of the recent Mephisto puzzles as part of a post-holiday catch-up and am currently doing the same for Azed – with a considerable hold-up for the misprints puzzle. Just to see how far I can get, I start all plain barred-grid puzzles (and most Azed specials) without Chambers, and see how far I get. I’m pretty sure I needed it from about halfway or earlier for all four recent Mephistos.

    I haven’t found current Mephistos noticeably easier than Azeds – of the recent Azeds, 1952 seemed pretty straightforward to me. So I’m not convinced that the setters are “dumbing down” Mephisto. I say setters, because I believe the Sunday Times xwd editor plays a part here – in particular by not allowing the specials like Misprints which Azed does about 8 times a year, even though at least two of the three setters have published puzzles of this kind elsewhere.

    The “little foreign girl” in 23 is just Ella – because Isabella is one of the names for which Ella is a diminutive. My only gripe with the Brindisi clue would have been the inclusion of “Sat I.5” which gives away the meaning of “Horace”. Sure, it’s a quiz question, but in a puzzle we expect to be full of weird words from Chambers, what harm is there in learning the odd thing from another book? This is one clue out of 36 – that’s the difference from “Times circa 1960”.

  2. I only “graduated” to M. quite recently in life terms, ie well after the age of retirement, and I assumed that the ones I found easier were just due to my learning the ways of the setters and thanks to this blog. I had to buy a new Chambers last year as my mother’s had become far too out of date. Today’s M. was par for me, about 1 1/2 hours using Chambers to confirm suspicions and check words, though two today I did not find there in helpful form. I have learned (thank you Jimbo) to look for starter clues, and I really enjoy doing my own analysis of the word-play of cleverer clues. By the way, don’t you all remember the multi-Brindisi puzzle? For that one the other meanings were new to me, but as with some other bar-grid pet words it is now in my skull for ever (d.v.) Some earlier this year were easier for me than the last half dozen, I did one unaided so that was too easy really. Is the answer to ask setters to strictly limit starter clues and obvious anagrams in too-helpful slots? I have never tried to set a puzzle.
  4. It won’t surprise Jimbo to hear my views on this puzzle. I took one look at the clues, and as I have threatened before refused to solve it on the grounds of simplicity (the puzzle, not me!).

    There is no doubt that the puzzles have been easier recently or dumbed down if you prefer.

    JamesM

  5. Because of lack of time, and being a beginner, I restrict myself to AZED and an occasional Times puzzle. I note that most of the Times setters and a couple of Mephisto setters enter the AZED clue writing competition, so I assume they respect the quality of AZED’s puzzle. That’s good enough for me.
  6. I have not being doing the Mephistos for long because I only recently realised that I could do them. I thought that was because I was getting better at crosswords so I am disappointed to hear that it may be because the Mephisto is being dumbed down. They usually take me about an hour. I did find this one quite straightforward. I draw a ring around any clue where I do not understand the wordplay but I notice there are no clues ringed in this puzzle.
    1. Don’t put yourself down. This is all about a matter of degree. The people who solve bar crosswords are looking for something a little tougher than the daily norm so when I say a clue is easy I mean for that type of person. It’s great to see you are mastering Mephisto and an hour for a beginner is an excellent time – hopefully our blogs have played some part in that. Give plain AZED puzzles a try (download free from the Guardian/Observer).
  7. I’ll cave (sorry Paul), this was on the easy side, I did the whole thing on a one-hour plane trip with just a few peeks at Bradford’s (it’s much more plane-friendly than Chambers), and had time left to make a start on the Listener of that week.

    I had no idea about the second half of the BRINDISI clue, I thought that was the answer from checking letters (my black pen ran out half-way through so I can see the last solves, they are in a blue pen).

    I’d add in that as well as ASHBUCKET, I thought OUTPEEP was a very good clue, though I had written in OUTPEEK at first.

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