Mephisto 2725 by Tim Moorey – Problems With The Drains

Author   dorsetjimboPosted on Categories Mephisto
I’m standing in for George today to repay him for doing my shift when I was on holiday (seems a dim and distance memory – since we’ve been back its done nothing but rain and both local rivers have burst their banks)

This is another realatively straightforward puzzle – although I can’t parse 12A!

Across
1 CHAP – C-HAP;
4 DIMEROUS – DIM-ROUSE with E moved from back to front; like many football matches we hear;
9 REQUITAL – RE(QUIT)AL; a reward for a kindness;
11 STAYCATION – S(T)AY-CA-T(his)-I(O)N; T=time in SAY=for example; CA=California; part of a holiday spent at home; cracking clue;
12 SEWERAGE – the definition is “disposal business”; I don’t get the rest of it;
15 AMEER – sounds like “a mere”; more usually Amir or Emir;
16 SOLIVE – SO-LIVE; provided=SO; a joist in Joigny sans doubt;
17 FRATRY – FR-A-TRY; a refectory – there’s a most notable one in Carlisle Cathederal;
18 ATABAL – A(TAB)A-L; bill=TAB; rock=AA; number=L (Roman); Moorish kettledrum;
20 FOGASH – OF reversed – GASH; out from=OF; extra=GASH (slang); European fish;
23 DANIO – (and)*-I-O; and another fish;
25 CONCETTO – C(ONCE-T)T-(tabo)O; a flash of rehearsed wit;
26 PIESPORTER – (properties)*; good dry north bank Mosel with sugary immitations often named Piesporter-Michelsberg;
27 ARRESTEE – A-R(RESTE)E; RE from empty R(esidenc)E; mostly stayed=RESTE(d); collared by Columbo;
28 SASSANID – SA(S-SAN)ID; special=S; last Iranian empire before the Muslim Conquest;
29 EDDY – two meanings;
 
Down
1 CRASIS – CRAS(I)S; in French de le becomes du;
2 HETEROTAXIS – HETERO-TAXIS; abnormal arrangement of body organs;
3 PUTELI – I-LET-UP all reversed; Ganges craft;
4 DIARY – DI(vision)ARY; by Alan Clark MP perhaps;
5 MACGUFFIN – MA(C-GUFF)IN; see=C; folly=GUFF; a plot device first used by AH in the 1935 film The 39 Steps;
6 RETAMA – A-MAT(t)ER all reversed; tare=T (weight measure); graceful tree with green bark;
7 OLIVETAN – OLIVE-TAN; part of the Benedictine sect;
8 SENARY – SEN-A-RY; without=SEN; railway=RY; a six-pack;
10 SOMERSETTED – SOMERSET-T(i)ED; to somersault;
13 APELDOORN – (Nepal)* contains DOOR=house; east of Amsterdam, it is where the Dutch royal family were attacked in 2009;
14 GLANDERS – G(L)ANDERS; looks=GANDERS (slang); hack=horse; used by Germans in WW1 as part of germ warfare;
18 ADAPTS – AD(APT)S;
19 BIASES – B(I)ASES;
21 GREESE – sounds like Greece;
22 HOOLEY – HO(O)LEY; a randan in Rosslare or the end of the M23 motorway just south of London;
24 ACTED – (cadet)*;

7 comments on “Mephisto 2725 by Tim Moorey – Problems With The Drains”

  1. 12ac is a bit of a mystery. My best guess is that the def. is just “disposal” and the rest is a humorous cryptic def. referring to the fact that one does not much want to be submerged in sewage.. either its a poor clue or we’re missing something
    1. Thanks Jerry. I sincerely hope we’re missing something. I didn’t consider a cryptic definition and may have to retire to a darkened room for a while if that turns out to be the answer.
      1. My understanding is the same as Jerry’s. Although pure cryptic definitions are not used in Mephisto or other barred grid crosswords, I’m unaware of any rule banning a combination of cryptic and plain definitions.
        1. Thanks for clarification Peter. I’m not aware of any such rule either and will bear this in mind for the future.

          If there was to be a competition for best and worst cryptic definitions in 2012, this would not be my nomination for the best one!!

  2. Have to disagree on 11, which I thought a good word and a tortured clue. Overall this was pretty heavy going, with never a 25 to lighten the load. Mephisto clueing in general is rather grim; perhaps Petebiddlecombe could wheedle some playful prose out of his troops.

    Rednim

  3. I’m back! This was a tough one to try to solve on a plane, and I was very stuck on the right hand side. APELDOORN went in with a fingers crossed (that unchecked D being the letter to guess at). Staycation I think is a word new to the most recent Chambers? It’s horribly rife over here, I portmanteau words for fun, then get annoyed when they enter the vocabulary.
    1. Yes, George, I don’t recall seeing STAYCATION before. It’s also rife over here, which is adding to the woes of Spain for example (Europe’s California)

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