Mephisto 2831 – Paul McKenna

Author   glhPosted on Categories Mephisto
I found this one pretty tricky, particularly the bottom right quadrant, and I hope I’ve got all of the wordplays sorted out. Fortunately there are several definitions that appear to leave only one option and wordplays can be retrofitted.

We have a 90-degree symmetry grid this week – I suspect the symmetry limitations lead to a higher concentration of obscure words than you typically get with a 180-degree grid.

Away we go…

Across
1 SNACK(snap),COUNTER(one scoring)
10 EYRA: YR in EA(channel)
11 OBS,(v)ERVE
13 REVEILLE: I think this is LIE(press) reversed replacing I in REVILE(libel)
14 OR,FE: thankfully FE for Further Education appeared somewhere else recently
15 SP,END
17 YUGOSLAV: SO(provided),GUY all reversed then LAV(can)
19 GANJAS: SNAG reversed containing JA(Jamiacan)
20 EC(Ecuador),LOSE
22 BYWORD: Richard BYRD surrounding W/O
24 SKIVER: SKIER surrounding V
25 RAIN-DATE: anagram of I,DAREN’T containing A
28 EGGAR: EG than RAG (curtain) reversed
30 IMP(Imperator),I(ceni)
31 BEGINNES: BENES containing GIN
32 ZO(hybrid),E,FOR M
33 SKIN(k)
34 ENDORSEMENTS: (MONSTERS,NEED)*
 
Down
1 STRONG BREEZE: sounds like STRONG BRIES
2 NE’ERDAY: (YEAR-END)*
3 CREE(indigenous American),L Edit: I had a typo here originally with N for L
4 KAILYARD: KA(crow) then (DAILY)* around R
5 COLEUS: change the L and U in CLUE’S and insert(potted) O(on)
6 OBLIGE: reverse the parts to get LIG(free afterparty) in OBE
7 NE,EP
8 ‘T, RUE, (c)LOVE(r)
9 READVERTISES: TI in READ,VERSES
12 VEN(t),A
16 UN,(t)WIGGED
18 OCKERISM: (IRKSOME)* surrounding C – I’ve been accused of this on occasion
21 SERPENT: TRES(very) reversed around PEN(dock) – I liked this definition
23 DAKERS: remove R from DARKER then S
24 STIGME: ‘S, then G in TIME
26 AG,I/O
27 MINK,E
29 ANFO: F in ANO(n). To pre-empt a regular commentator you’ll only find ANFO in recent editions of Chambers

9 comments on “Mephisto 2831 – Paul McKenna”

  1. Paul McKenna made the wordplay pretty clear and I confirmed it in Merriam-Webster Online, which I find to be a pretty good resource.
    I must say I do like a good ockerism.
    rednim
  2. Typo at 3D George – should be CREE-L

    I thought 2D and 18D were rather good clues and pleased to see Richard Byrd the aptly named aviator get a mention. Overall, about average level of difficulty I thought.

  3. Funny, isn’t it? Last week Jim described as ‘very straightforward’ a puzzle I found extremely difficult, and this week you had a lot of trouble with a puzzle I found relatively easy. The word ‘relatively’ is important though: these things always take me a long time. And I couldn’t parse 13 or 22, so thanks for explaining those.
    Appropriately I solved this on Wednesday on a flight from Heathrow to Raleigh.

    Edited at 2014-12-07 09:47 am (UTC)

        1. I’m in North Carolina but way up the other end of the long thin state from RDU. Hope you’re having fun here, k!
          1. I’m back in London now – I flew back on Thursday night so my experience of NC was short and sweet!
  4. Like k, I found this relatively straightforward. George – you have a misplaced toilet in 20A.

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