Mephisto 2775 – Don Manley

I found this one quite a challenge, particularly the top half – I stared in the bottom right and worked my way up. I was a little hampered by the final two clues not printing on the page (I usually print the Mephisto set to one US letter paper page).

As to be expected with a Don Manley puzzle, clear wordplay for unusual words, and there were unusual words in abundance here – I think KUDOS is the only one I have used in the context they are presented in here.

Away we go

Across
1 SCUFT: Sounds like ‘S CUFFED
5 SALTATO: TA in S,ALTO
10 CABRIO: c(speed of light), A BRIO
11 MAUNDY: UN(a),D in MAY
12 PLUM,BITE
14 TSABIAN: A,B in (SAINT)*
15 OTTO(man)
17 ANGUIS(h)
18 SIDEROSTAT: a cosmic mirror used in space telescopes. Here we go – DIS is Pluto (the God), reverse that, then EROS (an asteroid), TAT
20 MECONOPSES: NO(number) in COPSES after ME
24 KRU-MAN: RUM in KAN(t)
25 KHOR: hidden
27 CREDENT: a RED CENT with the RED in the middle
29 DESPISAL: SIPS reversed in DEAL
30 OCTOUR: ROUT,CO all reversed
31 GOWPEN: a longish definition then GO(become), W(weak) and PEN(t)
32 STARNIE: S(sun),I.E. over TARN(mountain lake)
33 S,TYRE: did myself no favors by living in North America for nearly 20 years and writing STIRE in first
 
Down
1 SCHTOOM: CH in MOOTS reversed
2 CAMSTEERIE: STEER,I in CAME
3 U-BOATS: (SO,A,TUB)*
4 FRA,B
5 SOL,ACE: didn’t know that meaning of SOLACE
6 LAMINOSE: (SEMOLINA)*
7 TUBA: A,BUT reversed, an organ stop
8 ANI,CUT
9 (f)OYERS
13 TRIACONTER: (RIOT,CERTAIN)*
16 AD,NATION
19 TAR,TIN,E(njoy)
21 CUES,TA
22 PA,RAGE
23 SHEEPY: a slurred version of SEEPY
24 KUDOS: anagram of SUDOKU less the U at the end
26 SPUR(ious) – unfamiliar meaning of familiar word
28 DAW,(ca)T

One comment on “Mephisto 2775 – Don Manley”

  1. I found the initial down clues rather easier than the across ones and so worked my way across the top from 1D to 9D. Then the two long across 18A and 20A went in and the remainder was relatively straightforward. However, I thought it was thankfully a bit harder than the three previous weeks.

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