Mephisto 2806 by Tim Moorey – Hurricane – What Hurricane?

Author   dorsetjimboPosted on Categories Mephisto
I found this quite difficult with some excellent wordplay, misdirections and a good deal of looking up in C

We have one rather obscure figure from mythology and one minor celeb who is well known in the UK for getting something very wrong. Other than that it just requires studied application!

Across
1 WEM – MEW reversed; shed=MEW; protuberant part is definition;
3 TEMULENCE – (u+met+nce+le)*; U from U(nderperformance); NCE from once – (libid)0; LE from (a)LE(s); & lit for intoxication;
10 AVIZANDUMS – A(MUD-NAZI all reversed)S; when=AS; sheriff’s pre-judgement considerations;
12 CORPORA – C(ORPOR)A; ORPOR from (t)ORPOR; collection of writings;
13 KNURRS – S(RR)UNK all reversed;
14 DEARN – DEAR-N; my!=DEAR!; old word for secret;
15 YCLEEPE – E-C(PEELreversed)Y; Spain=E; old word for style;
17 ARGAL – hidden reversed (etn)ARGAL(f); Waggledagger’s bungled attempt to say ergo in Hamlet;
19 ROUCOU – ROU-COU; Uruguay=ROU; C(r)O(c)U(s); orange colouring;
23 EEL-SET – (n)E-(lees)*-T;
24 EIGNE – (feeling-fl)*; fluid=fl; first-born;
25 DROGUET – D(ROGUE)T; DT from D(istrain)T;
27 RECAL – RE-CAL; on=RE; unusal spelling of “recall”;
28 PROCNE – PRO(C)NE; minor mythological woman – never heard of her!;
30 INTWINE – I-(went in)*;
31 MESOSCAPHE – ME-SOS-CAP-HE; deep-sea chamber;
32 EAGLE-RAYS – (galeys)* surrounds ARE reversed;
33 TAD – T(r)AD;
 
Down
1 WALKYRIE – WAL-KYRIE; Sierra Leone=WAL; reference Wagner’s Ring – the Marmite of classical music;
2 MIMULUS – (Muslim+U)*; a plant;
3 TZAR – T(Z)AR;
4 EAGRE – keen=eager then “promote” R=Republican to give EAGRE;
5 UDOMETER – (meteor+du)*; DU from DU(e); reference Michael Fish, infamous weatherman;
6 LURDANE – LUR-DANE; old trumpet=LUR; a stupid person;
7 EMPERY – E(MP)ERY; see EMPEROR in C for definition;
8 CARRAGEENS – CAR-RAGE-ENS; being=ENS; tangle=seaweed=definition;
9 EVAN – (th)E-VAN;
11 ENCOMIENDA – ENCOMI(END)A; eulogy=ENCOMIA; last=END;
16 PUNDONOR – – PUN-DONOR;
18 LITTERED – (f)LITTERED:
20 OBELISE – OBE-(lies)*;
21 USUCAPT – USU-CA(P)T; usually=USU; chap=CAT; acquire is definition;
22 KNAWEL – LE(N)AN-K; Kelvin=K (physics); a weed;
26 ORACY – O-RACY;
27 RINE – (b)RINE; bass=B; old word for “rind”=outside;
29 OBAS – O(B)AS; on active service=OAS; B from B(enin); chiefs;

6 comments on “Mephisto 2806 by Tim Moorey – Hurricane – What Hurricane?”

  1. Yes, I found this quite tricky too. I got particularly stuck at the end because I had put in VALKYRIE. Some of this arcane vocabulary is rubbing off on me though because ROUCOU went straight in.
  2. Well done you. I think you know you’ve arrived (or perhaps have become completely unhinged) when you start to remember the obscure abbreviations – like WAL for Sierra Leone say!!
  3. It’s not the first time he’s cropped up so worth remembering. I guess in time he’ll appear in the Daily – though I’ll likely have found my way to the largest warm front of them all by then!
  4. I also put VALKYRIE straight in and had to do a little head-scratching at the end. Thanks for the explanation of UDOMETER which went in from wordplay (UDOTEMER didn’t look right).

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