Mephisto 2965 – Don Manley

I had to solve this twice – my usual thing is to have a couple of puzzles I’m working on (Listener, Mephisto, Azed, Spectator, a couple of US ones I do regularly) clipped together and carried in either my backpack or my satchel. On Thursday I could not find my puzzle pile in either my backpack or my satchel, so I think I must have left them somewhere silly. I checked the studio I had been rehearsing in last week but couldn’t find them there. It is highly likely someone at a bar is going to come across a pile of half-completed crosswords, printed on the reverse side of extra copies of chemistry assignments and be very very confused. Unless it’s someone I know who should know to give it back to me.

So the second time around was much the same as the first – left hand side filled in very quickly, had to poke and prod a lot more at the right hand side.

Away we go!

Across
1	ETCH: bitter VETCH missing the V
4	I,B,SEN,IS,M
11	POTATION: POTION containing A,T
12	AMTRAK: I was surprised to see this in Chambers, though a few UK rail systems are in – KART and MA all reversed
13	SMOLT: TOMS reversed containing L
14	BIEN ENTENDU: anagram of UN,NEEDN’T,BE containing I
15	COMER: COR(gasp of surprise) surrounding ME
17	SEAMER: SEA(English) and MER(French) for a one who sews
18	BASANITE: A, NIT inside BASE(support)
20	SUR-REY’ND: ND(no date) with SURREY(horse-drawn carriage occasionally with a fringe on the top)
25	UPSHOT: military salutes would involve arms rising rapidly
27	CLEVE: remove the last letter from CLEVER(able)
28	TEA EQUIPAGE: anagram of QUITE outside AE(aged) then PAGE
30	RANTS: TYRANTS missing T(he)Y
31	LAWING: double definition, one being a Scots bar tab
32	ETERNISE: N with ER inside E, SITE reversed
33	STEROIDS: remove A from ASTEROIDS
34	SNOD: DONS reversed
Down
1	EPARCH: EP (extreme pressure), ARCH(cunning)
2	TOMB,OC
3	HAREEM: HARM containing two E’s
5	BIKEWAY: BAY surrounding I, KEW
6	SORNS: SOS containing RN
7	NEMEAN: NE(Sunderland area), MEAN(base)
8	IRON-MINE: I was surprised to learn this was hyphenated. IRON(decrease), MINE(what I have)
9	SILD: SLID with the middle two letters swapped
10	MATURE: MATE containing UR
16	MARS,ANNE
19	SNAILED: (saloo)N in an anagram of LADIES
20	SUTRAS: remove B and E from ABSTRUSE and jumble
21	RHETOR: R then HECTOR missing C
22	FLAWNS: FLAW(something wrong) then the even letters in oNeS
23	EVEN SO: or EVENS, O
24	LEGGED: LED containing EGG
26	TUTTI: add NG to get TUTTING
29	EAST: remove the first letter from FEAST