Mephisto 2666 by Paul McKenna – Times for The Times

This is all very straightforward and on the easier side of the spectrum.

Across
1	PRISSIER – PR-IS-S(I)ER; present=PR; series=SER;
7	IDLE – (s)IDLE;
10	CHALCEDONY – CH-(done)* in (clay)*; check=CH (chess); a mineral;
11	OVER – (r)OVER; Jack Sparrow was a pirate=rover; last of pair=r; again is the definition;
12	FLECHE – F-L-ECHE; female=F; lecturer=L; old word for augment=ECHE; a point on a backgammon board;
14	DEFIANCE – DE-FIANCE; mépris;
15	SLOSHED – SLO-SHED;
17	ALEPH – ALE-PH; first letter of Phoenician alphabet shaped like an ox head;
19	SHRIMPY – SH(R-IMP)Y;
21	ATOMISE – A-TO-MISE; old word for expenditure = MISE;
23	CIVIL – quibble=cavil then change a=answer to I gives CIVIL;
24	VANTAGE – VAN(TAG)E; a sight on an instrument=VANE;
27	DEVILTRY – LIVED reversed-TRY; pass=LIVE;
29	ANODIC – AN-O-DIC(t); dictionary=dict; see “anode” in C;
30	NAIA – N-AIA; nursemaid=AIA; a cobra;
31	SEDAN,CHAIR – (cashier and)*;
32	TO,A,T – TOA(S)T; brindisi=toast; wants=without;
33	GOODWIFE – (goofed)* surrounds W-I;

Down
1	PLOD – P(L)OD; bluebottle and PLOD are both slang terms for a policeman;
2	REVELATION – REV-ELATION;
3	ICE,FOG – (CGI foe)*;
4	SARAH – SAR(i)-A-H; Hebrew princess=SARAH;
5	ILLNESS – I’LL-(S-SEN all reversed); without=SEN (music notation);
6	RELEARN – RE-LEAR-N; on=RE; knight=N (chess);
7	IDEALIST – IDEA-LIST; refernce Plato’s ideas + old word for desire=LIST;
8	DOCK – three meanings 1=clip 2=weed 3=place in court (Richard Roe is alias for unnamed plaintiff as in Roe v Wade);
9	EYE-RHYME – sounds like “I rhyme”; Peter Porter was a poet; cough and rough for example;
13	HIPPOGRIFF – HIP-PO-GRIFF; informed=HIP; a little stolid=PO (faced); true facts=GRIFF (slang); another mythological animal;
15	SEACOAST – SEA(C-OAS)T; caught=C (cricket); station=SEAT; links are seaside golf courses;
16	SAMIZDAT – (admits a z=zero)*; illegal printing press;
18	HILDING – HI(L)DING; old word for a beast;
20	HEAVE-HO – routine=heigh-ho then replace “igh” with “ave”; bounce=throw out;
22	QATARI – QAT-AR-I; stimulant=QAT;
25	NICAD – IN reversed – CA-D; cases=CA; dead=D; a battery;
26	CODA – CO(ventry) DA(nce);
28	YALE – Y-ALE; YMCA=Y; mythical animal;

6 comments on “Mephisto 2666 by Paul McKenna”

Thanks Jimbo. I finished this but did not adequately parse OVER and had no idea who Richard Roe was.

I thought the dock was the place for the prisoner in an English criminal court. I suspect that the John Doe/Richard Roe aliases are only used in civil litigation or for unknown victims of crimes – I haven’t checked thoroughly but I find it hard to believe that a person could be the accused in a criminal trial under an alias.

By the way is ICE FOG in Chambers?

dorsetjimbo says:

10 October 2011 at 1:59 PM

You may have a point about “dock”. C says “enclose for the accused” which strongly suggests a criminal element. Certainly in family courts the dock is not used.

I cant find ICE FOG in Chambers either. As it happens I didn’t look until just now seeing you had raised the question. Nor is it in Collins. Has PM invented a phrase?

ICE FOG is in the ODE and Wikipedia, so the stuff does exist! I thought the clue was a bit obvious and when I couldn’t find it in C I waited for some checkers before putting it in.

2d is the name of a book and the three clues/entries which are beasts give chapter and verses for a quotation relevant to the puzzle’s number.
The clue to ICE FOG was purposefully a gimme.
It does indeed look like my lack of time in court is my Achilles’ heel! Apologies.

Paul McK

Thank you. No need to apologise – the comment about “dock” was just a bit of post-solve pettifogging. It made no difference to solving.

I love the 666 theme. I had noticed the preponderance of beasts but missed the big hint at 2dn. I see the Rev 13:18 reference, but where does 28 come in?

Thanks Paul – all that went right over my head.

How about a science based theme – just for a change?

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