Mephisto 2866 by Tim Moorey – An Amusing Amalgam

What one might term an eclectic puzzle. It makes reference to: a UK High Street retailer; L Ron Hubbard; a retired tennis ace; Hollywood film star; an old US President; a disgraced ex-MP; a well known singer; and a real trip down memory lane – an old very effective Burroughs machine that I used in early 1960s.

This potpourri made it great fun to solve – and the most entertaining puzzle for some time

Across
1	NEBEKS – NE(BE)KS; SA cols=NEKS; thorny shrub;
5	POSADA – POS-A-DA; chamber(pot)=PO; auberge in Alicante;
9	ACARI – A-CARI(bous); reindeers?;
11	OSTEAL – O-STEAL: old word for handle=STEAL;
12	BOOTLASTS – BOOT(LAST)S; reference The Boots Company PLC; moulds on which to store your boots;
13	LODESMAN – sounds like “loads”; an old ship’s pilot;
16	SLINK – S-LINK;
17	SCIENTOLOGY – (no logics yet)*; auditing from L Ron Hubbard;
19	PRIMOGENIAL – PR(IMOGEN)IAL; set of 3=PRIAL (as in rummy – which knowledge signals a misspent youth);
22	GNAWN – G-N-AWN;
25	BETHWACK – BETH-WACK; mucker on Merseyside=WACK; Squeers speciality;
26	MEGASTORE – MORE surrounds (gates)*;
27	AVULSE – beat=pulse then change p=parking to av=avenue; tear away;
28	EATEN – E(AT)EN;
29	SEA,EAR – SE(A-E)AR; a mollusc;
30	EDBERG – GREB(D)E reversed; date=D; Stefan won Wimbledon 1988 and 1990. Now coaches Federer;
Down
1	NALLAS – LAN reversed – LAS(t); drains;
2	ECHOIC – select=choice then move “e” from last to first;
3	BANDEIRAS – BAN-(raised)*; Hungarian Governor=BAN; pioneering expeditions;
4	KIOSKS – shoot=kick then change c=canine to os=very large;
5	POTAMOGETON – POTA(MO)GE-(NOT reversed); pondweed;
6	STALLONE – STALL-ONE; Sylvester, star of Rocky and Rambo;
7	DATIN – DATIN(g);
8	ALSIKE – AL’S-IKE; clover;
10	COMPTOMETER – COMP(TOME)TER; small debtors prison=COMPTER (Poultry, Wood Street,etc); old machine for adding up columns of figures;
14	VIGILANTE – (leaving IT)*; PC=Police Constable;
15	SEI,WHALE – sounds like “say”=eg; pound=beat=WHALE;
18	AGAMAS – A-GAM-AS; more whales=school=GAM; lizards;
20	ARCHER – A-R(i)CHER; reference succesful author and ex-MP Jeffrey Archer who went to prison for perjury;
21	LAKING – LA-KING; look=LA; Carole KING=singer; romp in Rochdale;
23	NAEVE – NA-EVE;
24	SHRED – SH(R)ED; separate=SHED; take=R; cut;