Mephisto 2742 – Paul McKenna

Posted on Categories Mephisto
Made a pretty quick start on this but slowed down considerably near the end, though I do think it was all solved in one session, maybe 30-40 minutes with the dictionaries handy. One or two wordplays I’m not 100% on but fingers crossed I’ll work them out as I write up the blog.

When I saw an early Z, Y, V and B in the grid I thought there may have been a pangram, but wasn’t the case.

Away we go…

Across
1 FOR,B: odd word, any herb that is not grassy
4 AR,CLAMPS
10 OTORRHOEA: (A,HOOTER,OR)*
11 REWARD: WAR in RED(e) – looked like it had to be REWARD from the checking letters, but I didn’t know a “desert” as being a claim to a reward (third def in Chambers)
12 POET: 0 in PET
14 (s)OILY,FISH
15 BIEN: double definition
17 E,NOS(votes),IS
20 ENVISAGE: got this from the wordplay – is it I,SAG(flag) inside (EVEN)* with “military club” as a strange anagram indicator?
22 EBENEZER: E then N in BEEZER(Scots excellent)
24 ROUCOU: from the definition, but I can’t see the wordplay here – R is take… ummm…
25 RUNE: the middle of PRUNES
26 BUTTER UP: BUTT (head, though I know many buttheads), then PURE reversed
29 AZAN: hidden
31 BIER RIGHT: ERR, I in BIGHT (knew the bay definition of BIGHT, didn’t know this one)
32 TEREFA: REF in TEA – not kosher
33 P,ARE (though you may be able to make the case for P,ANE)
 
Down
1 FORE(warning),BEAR(rough person)
2 ROWT: W in ROT
3 BRAINIAC: IN(thought) in (ARABIC)*
4 A,R,ROWS
5 COL,LEGER
6 LEVY: V in LEY
7 MAOISM: (AMMO,IS)*
8 PRESIDENT: SIDE in PRENT
9 SIT,H
13 RING OUZEL: UZ(Uzbekistan) in (REGION)*, L
16 FABURDEN: UR(word to fill in a gap) in FAB DEN
18 OVERT, R.I.P.
19 SERENATE: ER in SENATE
21 BUT AND: TA in BUND – Merkel being the German Chancellor
23 NAPERY: PER(a) in NAY(yet more)
26 BABA: ABBA with the A moved down
27 EMIR: RIME reversed
28 VEGA: EG in the Victoria and Albert museum

4 comments on “Mephisto 2742 – Paul McKenna”

  1. Hi George

    It’s puzzle number 2747

    I was hoping you could explain 20A and 24A!! I had 20A as you but also had my doubts about “military club”. Only such clubs I know of are The Army and Navy and The Royal Air Force.

    I took 24A to be a word for “WI grub” removed from a word for “coloured” to leave ROUCOU – a tree; but when I couldn’t see it reasonably quickly decided life’s too short to go hunting around when George will surely know it – sorry.

  2. At 20A, “military club” is a meaning of “club” that Chambers describes as military – “to throw into confusion”.

    At 24A, the West Indian grub (=food) is cou-cou, with the initial c=coloured removed.

    At 11A, I think the intended def at desert(3) was “anything deserved”

  3. No surprise then that I had question marks against 20 and 24.

    Ditto 8 & 23 so thanks for explaining those.

    Didn’t get a proper solving session on this so solved in dribs and drabs over the week.

  4. Just got an email from Paul McKenna confirming “military club” (will file away for future refefence), and cou-cou. Thanks Paul!

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