I remember getting about half of this out sitting in the sun sipping on coffee, my ususal position for starting to tackle the Sunday offerings. The left hand side went in almost immediately and I had a fair few problems with the right hand side. I was switching between this and the Azed prize puzzle, where I got the right hand side in a flash and was stuck on the left. Funny how that goes.
Christmas Day falls on a Saturday this year, so I presume Mephisto 2678 will come out first week of January. That may give Jim a chance to blog a mystery mythical Christmas Day Mephisto. That also means my next turn to blog a Mephisto will be on Christmas Day… expect that one to be a day late and eggnogged to the gills.
Here we go…
| Across | |
|---|---|
| 1 | COOL BAG: C(caught) then GAB(jaw),LOO(game) reversed |
| 6 | TIFOSO: TIF |
| 11 | RABATTE: BAT(willow, where would cryptic crosswords be without cricket) in RATE(manner) – geometrical rotation |
| 14 | MALTA,LENT |
| 15 | NONNY: ANY with the A(adult) changed to NON |
| 16 | ALTHAEA: ALT(rest), HAE(bear as in have), A(before) – this was the source of the extremely common “how has Paul McKenna fiendishly clued the letter “a”” award for this Mephisto |
| 17 | AND,VILE: Spenser’s anvil. Spenser must have been a real pain to play Scrabble against |
| 19 | BESIDE THE MARK: (BAEDEKER’S,HIT) with M inside |
| 21 | BOG-IRON: OB(obiter, died), GIRON(a charge with just about the most confusing definition ever in Chambers) |
| 23 | COL,DIES: As a Roy, I’ve often requested, over the light of a burning esky, while the kangaroos and emus dance in the background, “Oi, Cedric, pass us a coldie. G’day, ta”. |
| 24 | DAILY: DALLY with an I in the middle. “Do” used in this sense always reminds me of Mr Neutron (fast forward to 8:45 in the clip, or watch the whole episode in three parts) |
| 26 | COLONNADE: (A,LONDON)* in CE |
| 28 | BETIMES: IM inside BETES(mends) |
| 29 | SERR,A,S |
| 30 | BRITSKA: Laughed when I saw the definition in Chambers – an open carriage which looks just like BRIT SKA |
| Down | |
| 1 | CRENA: (ARE,N)* under C(canine – dentist chart abbreviation) |
| 2 | OB-AND-SOLLER: O BAND’S |
| 3 | LAWN: |
| 4 | AT ALL EVENTS |
| 5 | GEL: L,EG reversed |
| 6 | TITLEHOLDER: T,(LITHE)*,OLDER |
| 7 | FULHAM: hidden – a loaded die |
| 8 | OCEANARIUMS: (A,MAIN,COURSE)* – fun clue |
| 9 | SINE PROLE: SIN(pity),E,PROLE |
| 10 | OUT-ASK: UTAS(octave of a festival) inside OK(endorsement). The final pronouncement of the banns, and another really well-constructed clue, everything blends in here |
| 12 | HATPEG: PHAT with the P dropped to the bottom, then EG. |
| 13 | GONE GOOSE: G-ONE, then GOO and SE |
| 18 | ID,LING |
| 19 | BACCAS: I think this is SAC |
| 20 | INDOOR: more chopping off of the heads, this time FIND(produce) and POOR get the treatment |
| 22 | NYS,SA: SA is secunda artem |
| 25 | A, |
| 27 | ABB |
I believe there is going to be a Christmas Day puzzle on the Club site (I shall check to see). The AZED prize puzzle will be published on the 18th December
A few others (NONNY, INDOOR, TIFOSO for example) where I had the answer but couldn’t see how they worked.
All in all much indebted for the blog. Many thanks.
Next week is another week…
1dn: I don’t think you can justify “bits of nerve” indicating N. I had ‘RE(are) N(erve) A(ffected) after C(canine).
19dn: I’m not sure about CABS=cases, but if that was intended then the word “black” is redundant. I had SAC(k) CA(cases) B(black) all reversed.
20dn: I initally thought than produce=FIND but I wasn’t very happy with it. I think KIND (as in “payment in kind”) is better.