Mephisto 2665 – Tim Moorey

Author   glhPosted on Categories Mephisto
I usually start the Mephisto over coffee on a Sunday morning and I got about half of this out (though I had a wrong anagram at 33). As typical with Tim Moorey puzzles I find myself starting with the wordplay more often than the definition. I found this rather fun, but probably on the easier side of Mephistos.

Funny thing is I usually start from the bottom and work up, but a quick glance at 1 across had me starting from the top and working down.

While I was writing up this blog, on TV there was an advertisement for a movie called “The Ides of March”. Not only does it look terrible, but it’s opening on October 7?

Away we go!

Across
1 S,CORNS
6 KIR,MESS(people eating together): I think this may have popped in before, KIR is a friend of barred-grid puzzles
11 PAULI: PAUL I – hey, look science (a strong area of your two regular Mephisto bloggers)
13 EAT,HE: Wonder if this was meant to be spoken with a lisp?
14 ANTIQUARIAN: AN(on), then QUIT(desert),ARIA in TIN
15 SIGNALER: RE,LANG,IS all reversed
17 M,NAS: NAS is Spenserian for “was not”
18 YAOURTS: one of the many spellings for YOGHURT. Tricky wordplay – OU(South African man),RT(right) in SAY reversed
19 GLIMPSE: LIMPS in GE(n)
23 MEEMIES: sounds like “Mimi”s, though I don’t remember her complaining about the frozenness of her hand
26 ODEA: hidden
28 ISOSTASY: (SO,IT,SAYS)*
30 SEPTENTRIONAL: northern – (N,L,AT,PRESENT)* with I,O inside
31 UMBER: color and the grayling butterfly
32 LOG, I.E.: space in front of a fire
33 SANTOOR: anagram of TRIO SONATAS less I SAT
34 SEPALS: S for N in NEPAL’S
 
Down
1 SPASMS: S in SPAMS. Random observation – I use google for email and they are excellent at keeping spam out of the mailbox. Now if only they could stop me for signing up for extra stuff in my email I inadvertently signed up for. Maybe we should come up with a new name for this – blutwurst?
2 CANING: take the middle out of CANNING
3 OUTGATES: Bill GATES after OUT(in error)
4 NIQAB: One to remember for Scrabble. N(name), B(black) with IQ (idem quod) and A in the middle
5 SPULYIEING: (GUY,PILES,IN)*
6 KAIE: KAIL(money, not that I’ve heard of it) with L(pounds) swapped for E
7 REALOS: SO,LAER(wagon ring) reversed
8 MARC(h): a fruit refuse
9 SHAKT: KT(Knight) under (HAS)*
10 SENES: SCENES(views) without the C(economiC)
12 STRAPWORTS: STROW,PARTS all reversed
16 MR(man), I,DANG,A
20 LIBERO: (BOILER), a sweeper in soccer
21 MESAIL: (A,SMILE)*
22 RAYLES: not quite RAYLESS
23 MASUS: MANUS with the N changed to S
24 EDEMA: got this from the definition (dropsy) but scratched my head over wordplay, MEDE is someone from the Media region of Persia… reversed before A
25 ESILE: someonE then (LIES)*
27 STET: regularly hidden in Sad TorElaTe
29 STIR: college as slang for prison was new to me

7 comments on “Mephisto 2665 – Tim Moorey”

  1. I’m not happy about this – it appears that it’s primarily a Scots variant of KALE, which is only money in the US.
    1. Like I said, I hadn’t heard of it, but the entry in Chambers is what we’re meant to go on.

      kale or kail … money (US sl)

  2. Similar experience George. Fun to do but on the easy side. Appreciated the science.
  3. I thought this must be the answer, from the word-play, but couldn’t find it in Chambers, nor on Google – I even tried to find out if it is an old name for the city of Split.
    Could someone enlighten me, please?
  4. Thanks for the blog George. I ended up without KIRMESS, KAIE and MARC. I know KERMESSE in French but failed to make the leap to a different spelling.

    Like Anon I got SHAKT from the wordplay and it took a while to find – it’s in Chambers under SHAKE as an obsolete past participle.

  6. I think this should be bayles not rayles?
    Bayles:Not quite bayless. (bayle=bail5=barrier)

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