Mephisto 2990 – Tim Moorey

Posted on Categories Mephisto
Medium level puzzle with a good consistent standard of clue throughout the grid

In the blog, the definition in the clue is underlined and followed by the answer; the parsing; any comments

Across
1 Large canine ostracised with regard to smell (5)
OSMIC; (C)OSMIC; c=canine (dentistry);
5 Real lead in fuel not imaginary (7)
FACTUAL; F(uel)-ACTUAL
10 Tulips finished by end of June showing leafy appendage (7)
STIPULE; (tulips)*-(Jun)E;
11 Ship slowly heading off (4)
ARGO; (L)ARGO;
12 One’s behind teacher sharing mischievous grounds for complaint (9)
GRAVAMINA; G(RAV)AMIN-A; teacher=RAV; mischievous=GAMIN;
13 Airline angry about spaces quantified? The opposite (8)
EMIRATES; EM(IRATE)S;
15 Native repelled by hotel meals (4)
NOSH; SON reversed – H;
18 Refuse bed with Rector in it (5)
DROSS; D(R)OSS;
20 Wreck conceals one in command of rock (8)
SPILITIC; SPIL(I)T-IC;
22 Useless types spun silk clumsily (8)
SKULPINS; (spun silk)*;
23 Fees opening around a pound rejected (5)
TOLLS; SL(L)OT all reversed;
25 Capital place once had to be closed early (4)
DOHA; DO-HA(d);
26 Evasive about minor league being short of balls (8)
COWARDLY; CO(WARD-L)Y;
28 Elder twigs right mind for elaborate composition (9)
RICERCARE; RICE-R-CARE; elder twigs=RICE;
29 Broadcast very weak on term in prison (4)
SOWN; SO-W-(priso)N;
30 Stylist regrets returning after a day (7)
FRISEUR; FRI-(RUES reversed);
31 Tied King’s Head mentioned – about time (7)
KNOTTED; K-NOT(T)ED;
32 Special on beat turned back old ladies (5)
BURDS; S-DRUB all reversed;
Down
1 Rare pretentious shows seen in huge temporary accommodation (7)
OSTENTS; OS-TENTS;
2 Check family in Bow (4)
STEM; three meanings;
3 Small clues improved becoming very small (9)
MINISCULE; MINI-(clues)*;
4 Contract to organise and look after old defensive armour (5)
CURAT; CURAT(e);
5 Clowns on stage leading to mad excitement (8, two words)
FLAT,SPIN; FLATS-PIN;
6 Check on, for instance, man’s familiar name (4)
CHAS; CH-AS;
7 Monkey sitting on date tree abroad (8)
TAMARIND; TAMARIN-D;
8 Inability to recognise familiar things again? So unsettling (7)
AGNOSIA; (again so)*;
9 Scottish lovers banking nothing very much (5)
LOADS; L(O)ADS;
14 Reckless lad stepped into Rhodes almost drunk (9)
HOTRODDER; TROD surrounded by (rhode)*;
16 Desperately determined underworld criminal (8)
HELLBENT; HELL-BENT;
17 Indian occupying hospital room in the back (8)
HINDWARD; H-IND-WARD; hospital=H;
19 Drinking song cheers one getting drunk (7)
SKOLION; SKOL-I-ON;
21 Traders in petitions caught for parking (7)
CRAYERS; petitions=prayers then swap “p” for “c”;
23 Fish near danger one’s avoided (5)
TORSK; TO-R(i)SK;
24 Native type American in a home? (5)
CARIB; C(A)RIB;
26 Review of Stir Crazy partly written up (4)
CRIT; hidden reversed (yzar)C-RIT(s);
27 Acclaim type of carriage-way erected (4)
LAUD; DUAL reversed;

4 comments on “Mephisto 2990 – Tim Moorey”

  1. Not too bad a job this time, but 2 or 3 escaped me: I had no idea what to add to FLAT to get ‘mad excitement’ (and I still don’t get ‘clowns’), and I couldn’t get SPILITIC. Also at 19d I tried ‘Skokian’ at first (although it’s ‘skokiaan’; but then MINISCULE is supposed to be ‘minuscule’), which became an unlikely ‘skokion’, and I forgot to go back to it.

    Edited at 2017-12-24 06:55 am (UTC)

    1. I would regard “miniscule” as an ignorant mis-spelling. But as so often, through frequent misuse it has apparently become accepted. ODO says:
      “The standard spelling is minuscule rather than miniscule. The latter form is a very common one (accounting for almost half of citations for the term in the Oxford English Corpus), and has been recorded since the late 19th century. It arose by analogy with other words beginning with mini-, where the meaning is similarly ‘very small’. It is now so widely used that it can be considered as an acceptable variant, although it should be avoided in formal contexts.”
      Perhaps a Mephisto is not a “formal context..”

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