Mephisto 2933 – Paul McKenna

Author   glhPosted on Categories Mephisto
I was surprised how much of this I managed to get in a pub without access to a dictionary – though some of the last parts took a while to piece together. I had a hard time letting go of TASK FORCE at 23 across.

Paul McKenna usually puts a pun in the top row by my daft mind can’t wrap its way around this one if there was one.

I am traveling tomorrow so if I’ve fluffed anything or there are questions, you might want to check in with the hive mind in comments.

Across
1 INNER: SPINNER(cricket delivery) missing (but) SP(sine prole, without issue)
5 TENSION: anagram of ONE,ISN’T
11 SCARABAEAN: anagram(soft) of SARACEN containing ABA(cloth) – chafer beetles
12 ORNATER: OR, then NATTER(shoot the breeze) missing ‘T
14 PUTT: definitions 1 and 3 in Chambers
16 TITHE: TIN and THEN missing the last letters
17 EPHEDRA: EP(extreme pressure) then an anagram of HEARD
18 DEED: DEBATED missing BAT(one who is in, cricket style)
19 ROAD-BORNE: anagram (run) of ON,A,BORDER
23 TASK GROUP: T, ASK, GROUP
24 ASTI: reversal of IT’S A
25 CEREBRA: BR inside CEREA(l)
27 USAID: U(posh), S(pice), A(before), ID(idem – the same)
30 ROC,H
31 IN A SPOT: I, NOT(absolute denial) surrounding ASP
32 HOBBY HORSE: HOBBY(falcon) then HORSE(barren area between lodes)
33 C,RESTED
34 ULYIE: U, LIE(press) surrounding (heav)Y
 
Down
1 ISOMERS: IRS holding SOME – I was a little put off by the definition, but Chambers has “radical” as part of the definition. A radical is not necessarily isomeric
2 NANA: AN reversed on NA
3 ERASE: A in ERSE
4 RATS: STAR(celebrity) reversed
6 EARMARKED: or EAR MAR KED
7 NE,STING
8 IN UTERO: anagram of ROUTINE
9 ON THE BUROO: anagram(budging) of HONOUR,TO,BE
10 NOTED: TE(last note of the scale) inside NOD(wearied slip)
13 EPOUSSOIR: anagram of SO,SUPERIOR
15 PROSCRIBE: CRIB(translation) in PROSE
20 ATTACHE: ATTAC(k), HE
21 BAD DEBT: D(duke), DEB in BAT
22 SPATTEE: ‘T in SPATE, E
24 AURIC: double definition with the one less familiar to me being the composer Georges AURIC
26 EUSOL: EU(some love it, some want to leave it), then SOL(solution, tincture)
28 RAHU: hidden in BurhaggaRA HUli – eater of skies
29 SPRY: R inside SPY

4 comments on “Mephisto 2933 – Paul McKenna”

  2. Thanks for explaining 26dn. I didn’t get the EU bit, perhaps because I’m in neither category!

    Edited at 2016-11-20 09:49 am (UTC)

  3. I thought this a little harder than usual – nothing excessive but tricky in parts. Never heard of composer AURIC
  4. I forgive Paul for only knowing what Chambers says about these, even though that resulted in a misleading definition.

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