Mephisto 2698 by Tim Moorey with Jimmy, Jack and Ashley

Author   dorsetjimboPosted on Categories Mephisto
An easy puzzle with yet another example of an AZED word-to-clue appearing subsequently here. Presumably this is The Sunday Times making its contribution to the recycling industry.

Well done Chelsea – brilliant result in Germany!

Across
1 URANIC – (o)UR-(p)ANIC; uranium occurs mainly as isotopes -235 and -238 with half-lives measured in billions of years, which facilitates their use in dating such things as the age of the world;
5 LABLAB – L(A-B-LA)B; black=B; look=LA; Liberia=LB; an Indian bean;
9 PERISHABLES – (bad slips here – d=end of world)*; the subject of a worldwide trade in packaging, preservation, and transportation;
11 CLEARCOLE – CLEAR-COLE; net=after tax etc.=CLEAR; Ashley COLE=Chelsea and England footballer, best left back in the world as demonstrated last night; a primer of size + white lead;
12 TRIKE – (s)TRIKE;
13 GUANGO – GUAN(G)O; fertilizer=GUANO; Jamaican tree;
14 BASLE – BAS(L)E; Swiss cultural centre that has suburbs in both France and Germany;
18 PIRI-PIRI – I-RIP reversed twice; best known as a spicy sauce – delicious with sizzling king prawns;
19 SCHUSSED – SCH-(m)USSED; school=SCH; disturbed=mussed; to ski downhill;
21 KISAN – NASIK reversed; NASIK is the wine capital of India; KISAN is a peasant and a major Indian Farming Company;
22 AFFEAR – A-F-F(o)E-AR;
24 SLIGO – S(LIG)O; lie about=LIG; town in NW Ireland associated with Spike Milligan;
26 REFORMADO – (of a order + m=male)*; a disgraced army officer;
27 DERMESTIDAE – (dried meats + e=end of cheese)*; beetles used in forensic entomology; the AZED word to clue in puzzle 2065 for which I submitted: Rewritten Times leader opts for Germany rather than Luxembourg to supply Beetles ;
28 SUDRAS – SUD-RAS; one african country=SUDAN the change AN=Angola into RAS=headland; a low caste Hindu;
29 ADDUCE – A-D-DUCE; dead=D;
 
Down
1 UP,AT – TAPU reversed; TAPU=taboo;
2 RETRAICT – T-C(I)ARTER all reversed; the=T; reference Jimmy Carter, 39th US President; old word for retirement;
3 NICKLAUS – NICK-LAU(d)-S; Jack the incomparable Golden Bear, best golfer of all times;
4 CHEF – hidden (lun)CH-EF(fortlessly); trade of several very irritating people;
5 LAAGERED – (eager lad)*; hunkered down in South Africa;
6 ABRUS – A-BRUS(h); a flowering pea;
7 LEONTIASIS – (IT NOEL reversed)-AS-IS; horrific incurable condition known as “lion face”;
8 BOEOTIAN – (obtaine + o=nothing)*; people from a region of Greece dubbed stupid by Athenians. There was a lot said about this practice on the blog last Tuesday 15th May;
10 DISCHUFFED – DISC-HUFFED; huff=give offence;
14 BASTARDS – BA(STAR)D-S; good=BAD; society=S; once known as whoresons they have cause to thank the Legitimacy Act 1926 and Family Law Reform Act 1969 for giving them inheritance rights;
15 GISARMES – G(IS-ARM)ES(t); exploit=gest; a middle ages halberd;
16 YPSILOID – (I-SPY reversed)-(idol)*; usually upsilon, the Greek Y; also a sub-atomic particle;
17 ARMAGNAC – (anagram)*-C; clubs=C (cards); French grape brandy, less well known that its neighbour Cognac but a nicer drink;
20 PARMA – PAR(M)A; madam=M;
23 MASA – M-AS-A; money=M; answer=A; Mexican maize dough;
25 OGEE – O-GEE; an S-shaped moulding; also the shape of Concorde’s wings;

7 comments on “Mephisto 2698 by Tim Moorey with Jimmy, Jack and Ashley”

  1. I seldom do the Mephisto these days, on grounds of lack of time, but I did do this one. I thought it only moderately easy, and although I completed it I didn’t manage to parse 15dn or 28ac properly ’til now..
    Tim Moorey has a reputation for recycling clues.. but in this case only the word is reused, not the clue itself – not even the one he submitted to that competition!. I like the third prizewinner’s effort best.
  2. Got through this without too many problems, though I was having problems parsing LABLAB. It is fun to see an Azed clue word creeping in – Tim Moorey is not the only Mephisto setter to do this. Jim should have mentioned he got an HC for his clue. I lost the message with my clue, but I got nothing!
  3. I also found this pretty easy for a Mephisto. I didn’t understand 23dn MASA though, and find I still don’t. Where does the AS come from?
    1. Jimbo’s reading of the clue for masa is incorrect:

      23dn “Money” needing answer: it’s “dough” (4) masa – M + A + SA (it)

      There is an interesting coda to 27ac (Large family out to lunch ending with cheese and dried meats? (11)).  If you look up larder beetle in Chambers, one of the Dermestidae, you will see that some at least do in fact eat cheese and dried meat among other things.

      1. Thanks – of course. I’m sure that’s what Jimbo meant to write.
        How on earth did you find that beetle reference?!
        1. If you look at Jerry’s link above you will see the winning clues for Dermestidae in the Azed competition. Jerry saying that he liked M Barley’s third prize clue the best prompted me to look up larder since it was &lit.

          I do not have one myself but I believe that if you own the Chambers CD ROM then you can search for all instances of words such as Dermestidae within the text. It is possible that this inspired the clue.

          1. Ah, I see!
            I have just subscribed to the Azed slip so quite topical for me. I submitted my first clue for RECOLLET but frankly it was rubbish.

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