Mephisto 2837 – Paul McKenna

Author   glhPosted on Categories Mephisto
I found the right hand side of this far more amenable than the left, where I’m still stuck on one piece of wordplay, though I think the answer can only be one thing.

This was probably the case as of last week, but I noticed the 13th edition of Chambers is now the primary reference for both Mephisto and Listener. So there’s a chance that I’m missing a usage that appears there for the first time and it may be time to order a new big red book.

Away we go…

Across
1 DUNNIEWASSAL: anagram of SUNDIALS,A,NEW
10 BAND(confederate),A
11 AGOUTI: A(Australian) then GI holding OUT
13 NITTY: NIT(Watch) then TOY without the O(ordinary)
14 SEA LARK: or SEAL ARK
15 GET A LIFE: (I,FELT,AGE)*
17 SEE(office),TO(o)
18 EYEING: well I can see IN,G(Gabon) which makes EYE water pump… maybe like the eye of a cyclone? Thanks to Paul McKenna for pointing out that under the definitions of “water pump” in Chambers is “the eye”
19 LINTEL: LET(suffer),NIL(love) all reversed
21 DARGLE: DR(driver) surrounding a, then (LEG)*
24 ACC,ORD
26 ART,EX
29 SERAGLIO: anagram of LARGE then I in SO
30 GRANIT(e),A
31 IAI-DO: hidden reversed in CambODIA Instructor
32 LIMULI: L(ift) then take ST off of STIMULI
33 DRONE: R in DONE – mollusc” here meaning a lazy or sluggish person
34 EMPTY-NESTERS: anagram of PARENTS+MESS+YET less AS
 
Down
1 D,INGLE,D,ANGLE
2 UBIETY: if you added a D you would get DUBIETY
3 NATTIER: TAN reversed, then TIER which Chambers claims is a Tasmanian term for a mountain range. I lived in Tasmania five years and don’t recall hearing that one at all
4 IDYLL: I’D, LL surrounding (Arcad)Y
5 EA(river),SING(grass)
6 WAEFUL: S and T leaving WASTEFUL
7 SOLVENCY: SOLVE(crack) then C in NY
8 SUAVE: SAVE surrounding U
9 LIKE OLD BOOTS: LIKE(dig), OLD(familiar), BOOTS(clamps, as in a car)
12 TRITE: double definition
16 TIGER NUT: TIGER meaning a boy in livery placed behind a car was a new one to me – then NUT
20 TOWLINE: TO(until) then L in WINE
22 ARDRI: join the letters of OughterARD and RIngaskiddy
23 EME,TIN
24 A,BRAD,E(verything)
25 RAIDER: RIDER(list of requirements in a dressing room) surrounding A(adult)
27 TRAMP: (soldie)R in TAMP – a plate for helping get a foothold in ice. Might need one of those next week
28 F,AIRS

5 comments on “Mephisto 2837 – Paul McKenna”

  1. I thought of an eye pumping water as in crying, which seemed a bit far-fetched but then my (old!) chambers shows ‘a spring of water’.
  3. Chambers 12th edition gives “a spring of water” as one definition of EYE – nearest I could get to “water pump”

    I’ve got one in today’s 2838 where I’m wondering if the 13th edition gives the meaning I’m looking for. Must go and invest I guess!

    1. I thought I’d looked that up and you are dead right (and Paul McKenna emailed me as well to ask if I’d read the right part of the dictionary).

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