Mephisto 2957 – Tim Moorey

Author   glhPosted on Categories Mephisto
Strange solve this one – usually I complete the grid in chunks, but there were not a lot of answers that I got on a first pass, so it was a more sporadinc scratching my way through the grid, eventually finishing in the top right hand corner.

Needless to say I found this one harder than the average Mephisto, but I think I have everything sorted out.

Away we go…

Across
1 ALSATIA: ALSATIA(n) – I should have just looked this up right away with the obvious wordplay, as it was I waited until I had most of the checking letters
7 ABBA: Chambers has AB as a US abbreviation for Bachelor of Arts, but I’ve never seen it that way. Anyhoo, this is AB and then the more common BA
10 RHIPIDIUM: HIP, (m)IDI(skirt) inside RUM
11 CONY: ON with C(about) first, before (pla)Y
13 ONEIDA: ADI(approved driving instrcutor) reversed after ONE(single)
14 HEREAT: HAT(bowler, perhaps) around ERE
16 EMIR: MIRE with the E moved to the front
18 TUTEES: TU(b) beside(on) the river TEES
19 MISONEIST: ONE(somebody) in ISIS(jihadists) inside M(odern) T(hinking)
21 APPLAUDER: DAPPER(quick) missing the D, with LAUD inside
24 BONSAI: BON(good), SAI(monkey)
25 ORES: Hmmm – I have this as MORE(longer) without the M then S(spades), but I don’t see where “uncovered sylvan” fits in
27 EATAGE: remove the first letters of each of LEA and STAGE(field of action)
29 SANCHO: anagram of CHANSON missing N
30 AGON: AGO, N(emea)
31 SURMASTER: SUPER(outstanding) MASTER(teacher) without PE
32 ORNE: R in ONE
33 ORDINAL: DIN in ORAL
 
Down
1 ALCHEMY: anagram of CLAY containing HE, M – my favorite clue in this puzzle
2 LOOE: sounds like LOO? I don’t think I’ve ever heard the place announced
3 SUN,RISING
4 THRAWN: HR(human resources, personnel) inside TAWN(y) port
5 APOSTILLES: APOSTLES(champions) around IL
6 HINDUS: H then the river INDUS
7 ADES: Thomas Ades, and the second half of Chopin’s BALLADES
8 BUDGEREE: BUDGER(one moving) then E(nduranc)E
9 AMAHS: SHAM(simulated) and A all reversed
12 STREPITOSO: anagram of SO,I,PROTEST – I wonder if Ades uses that musical term in his scores?
15 PENDRAGON: DRAG ON under PEN – a term that came readily from tales of King Arthur
17 MINOTAUR: MINOR surrounding TAU
20 ARSENAL: double definition
22 PACHAK: anagram of CHAP then A, (sidekic)K
23 ABASED: AS in A BED
24 BASSO: BASSOON missing ON
26 ACME: ACE surrounding M for a the crisis of a disease
28 GOYA: GO(ready) then AY reversed

4 comments on “Mephisto 2957 – Tim Moorey”

  1. I don’t have a problem with ‘uncovers’; it’s just an empty verb making the clue grammatical, and could have been ‘yield(ed)’ or ‘reveal(ed)’, etc. ‘Sylvan’ is beyond me. But are ores rocks?
    I’ve seen AB often (Artium Baccalaureus); I imagine the usage varies by school.
  2. Also found this one harder than usual. I think the “uncovered sylvan” in 25A is another bit of wordplay, i.e. {f}ORES{t}, with forest used in the adjectival sense.
  3. C gives “a natural mass of one or more minerals” for “rock” and “solid naturally occurring mineral” for “ore”

    I agree on (f)ORES(t)

    Good puzzle I thought

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