Mephisto 2638 by Tim Moorey

Author   dorsetjimboPosted on Categories Mephisto
Another excellent puzzle that would have been harder if 1A SUPPRESSING hadn’t been rather easy. That opened up the top half making the whole thing no more than of average difficulty. It is distinguished by two superb clues at 10D IMPERIALISM and 11D SHUNAMITISM, both of the highest calibre. The derivation of SHUNAMITISM is particularly interesting to those who love words and you will find the link leads to an insightful analysis.

I have one query. At 14A ESTOP I can’t see the wordplay. All suggestions gratefully received.

Across
1 SUPPRESSING – SUP-PRESSING; alcoholic drink=SUP (dialect);
11 STOAE – SO-T-AE; troy (weight)=T; very=SO; aged=AE; Greek covered walkways that gave their name to Stoicism;
12 HERM – HER-M(ajesty); head=bust=HERM (also, in passing, the smallest of the Channel Islands);
13 HELLOVA – H-(w)ELL-OVA; hard=H (pencils); OK=well; the definition is “very”; contraction of “hell of a (row, speed, etc)”
14 ESTOP – I think. “Bar” is the definition but I can’t see the wordplay from “Bar put up almost turned over”;
16 OPALINE – OP-A-LINE;
17 NAYSAYERS – (any)*-SAYERS; reference Dorothy L Sayers 1893-1957; the great “nay sayer” was a certain Margaret Thatcher as in her speech to Parliament in October 1990 raving on about Europe;
18 ARDEBS – AR(e)-DEBS; a dry measure equal to about 198 litres;
20 SILENI – SILEN(t)-I; the drunken followers of Dionysus;
22 MORSAL – MOR(S)AL;
24 INANGA – I(ndian)-NAN-G-A; before=ante=A; small fish;
26 STINGBULL – S(IT)TING-BULL; Chief Sitting Bull 1831-1890 famous for the Battle of the Little Big Horn, General Custer, etc;
28 TINDALS – (S-LAD-NIT all reversed); sulk=SNIT in Seattle; Lascar Petty Officer;
30 INKLE – (w)INKLE; with=w; organ=penis=winkle (childish usage); a type of linen tape;
31 IT,SEEMS – (d)ITS-(d)EEMS; stops Scottish=dits; judges=deems; day=d;
32 SOTS – S(c)OTS;
33 STRIM – (gras)S-TRIM;
34 FOUNDRESSES – FO(UNDRESS)E-S; succeeded=S;
 
Down
2 UTES – (m)UTES; Australian vans;
3 POLEY – OP reversed – LEY; Australian hornless cattle;
4 PALASES – P(ALAS)ES; foot=PES; the beautiful flowering Indian dhak trees;
5 ENVOYS – (slovenly minus “l” twice)*;
6 STAPES – S(tables)-TAPES; smallest bone in the human body, known as the stirrup, situated in the inner ear along with incus, known as the anvil;
7 SHEARINGS – S(HEARING)S; news=HEARING; second=S;
8 NETIZEN – NET-I-ZEN; clear=NET; meditation in Japan=ZEN; corruption of “internet citizen”;
9 GRONE – “good”=G; “prince”=P; liable to=prone then swap “p” for “g” to give GRONE (old word for groan);
10 IMPERIALISM – (a)IM-(PM Disraeli minus “d”)*; not A purpose=(a)IM; Disraeli parted from crown=minus “d”; on=tipsy=anagrind; reference Benjamin Disraeli’s pro-active imperialism including making Queen Victoria Empress of India in 1876; excellent clue;
11 SHUNAMITISM – SHUN-A-M-(is Tim)*; Attention!=SHUN!; male=M; wonderful word that means rejuvinating an older man by introducing him to a much younger woman; derived from the story of Abishag the virgin who gave bodily warmth to the old King David (see the Bible 1 Kings 1:3); another excellent clue;
15 NABATAEAN – NAB-A-TA(EA)N; catch=NAB; pound=TAN; river=EA; ancient Arabs of southern Jordan;
19 DRINK,TO – (d=duke + kir not)*;
21 LABRETS – STEAL reversed surrounds BR=brother; nick=STEAL; body piercing associated with the lips;
23 LILIED – LI(LIE)D;
24 INSTAR – I-(ants + r)*; development stage of insects between molts;
25 WIN,OF – WI-(ON reversed)-F(e); old phrase for prevail over;
27 USERS – U(SER)S; series=SER;
29 AMIE – AM(I)E; a french soul=AME; more usually Amy as in aviator Amy Johnson;

12 comments on “Mephisto 2638 by Tim Moorey”

  2. HELLOVA – as a substitution, try “That’s a hellova big problem” = “That’s a very big problem”.

    ESTOP: Clever thinking from Erwin, but in fact both setter and editor missed the erroneous reversal of POSTE(d), producing something like Samuel Butler’s “Erewhon”.

    Peter Biddlecombe, Sunday Times Puzzles Editor

    1. Thank you Peter. I did wonder but didn’t dare say so. Nice to hear from you.
      1. Sorry, I misunderstood a message from Tim – I was wrong and Erwin was right.
        1. I was rather taken with the alternative, estop being an anagram of POSTE(D).  That would leave the anagram indicator as turned over.  As such, might that be considered one word too many?
          1. That would be an indirect anagram, which is not allowed. Well done for spotting the setter’s intention.
            1. Yes of course – what was I thinking of? I was confused by that Erewhon business perhaps.
  3. I remain unconvinced about the word being used to mean ‘very’ – even if ‘very’ is taken in the adjectival sense. If the definition were ‘big’ or ‘great’ or ‘large’, no problem. Am I missing something?

    Also ‘top’ as ‘over’ is very well parsed, but again top would seem an adjective while over is an adverb.

    I thought the setter had mixed his reversed letters up, but perhaps not. Is Mr. M out there?

  4. A damp day, so had a do at the Mephisto again. Very enjoyable, so just a few comments.

    (i) A couple of easy ones to let the dog see the rabbit on first reading are always welcome.

    (ii) STING BULL was a really good clue, not difficult, just one of those that make you sit up in disbelief at the quirks of the language. (Weever fish are more common than many people think; good idea to wear flip-flops when paddling in the sea.)

    (iii) WINKLE = organ? Chambers describes this usage as “childish.” Nuff said.

    (iv) Took a while to sort out INANGA. Something to look back on, I suppose.

    (v) Couldn’t see what purpose “to be” was serving in 33 ac.

    (vi) Serendipity at work again for me with AMIE. A recent interest in early electronic instruments such as the Ondioline led me the other day to this 1951 recording by Charles Trenet of L’Ame des Poètes. Knowing the French word for soul enabled me to solve the clue immediately.

    (vii) Hadn’t spotted the problem with ESTOP; erroneously read it as poste(d) reversed.

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