Those of you who do not do Mephisto puzzles regularly may get tripped up by one of the differences between the daily puzzles and the specialist puzzles which is not announced. When there is a hyphenated term (and there are multiple in this one), the enumeration does not indicate a hyphenated answer. It does indicate when there is more than one word.
Grid watch: Mephisto is typically 12×12, this is 11×13, with 180-degree symmetry, allowing for the very long entry right down the middle and three entries running across the rows. I’ve heard setters tell me that constructing a symmetric grid is more fun with odd-length sides since it allows for features in the middle (and avoids the possibility of an accidental swastika in thie middle). I liked this grid.
Pun watch: Paul McKenna is at it again, with a tricker one this time, a pun on FREE SPEECH running across the top row.
The first definition is underlined. Away we go…
| Across | |
| 1 | Band on building? We catch set and what numbers do? (6) |
| FRIEZE – double wordrplay, since it sounds like FREEZE which can mean set and numb | |
| 6 | Ground where Beatle’s introduction precedes every one (5) |
|
BEACH – B |
|
| 10 | Townie’s green? Start of exquisite spring (5) |
|
LUNGE – LUNG(a green in a town), E |
|
| 11 | Help spinning this form of fluke (5) |
| REDIA – reverse of AIDER(help) | |
| 12 | Rarely can it develop set between others (11) |
| INTERCALARY – anagram of RARELY,IT,CAN | |
| 13 | Pull a funny face about summer’s last drink (4) |
| GIRN – last letter of summeR inside GIN(drink) | |
| 14 | Saints amongst those working tapestries (7) |
| DOSSERS – S,S(saints), insie DOERS(those working) – did not know this definition of DOSSER | |
| 16 | Scot’s coal-yard close to kirk that is full of smoke (6) |
|
REEKIE – REE(coal yard), |
|
| 17 | Cap is for French least exciting (6) |
| TAMEST – TAM(cap), EST(that is) | |
| 19 | Saki’s struggling and writes out examinations (11) |
| SKIASCOPIES – anagram of SAKI’S then COPIES(writes out) | |
| 23 | Stirring drama about invasion force (6) |
| ARMADA -anagram of DRAMA, then A(about) | |
| 26 | Poet retaining fashionable narrative style ignored by New Wave (6) |
| LINEAR -LEAR(poet) containing IN(fashionable) | |
| 28 | One flapping about National Trust sentence (7) |
| ANTBIRD – A(about), NT(National Trust), BIRD(jail sentence) | |
| 29 | This woman with BA, say, pulled back a day’s work up north (4) |
| GRAD – short for GRADUATE – DARG(day’s work) reversed | |
| 30 | A little one’s misrepresented Taggart’s fraud (11) |
| STELLIONATE – anagram of A,LITTLE,ONE’S | |
| 31 | Char’s voice beginning to naff off (5) |
| TOGUE – TONGUE(voice) with the first letter of Naff missing – char is a fish here | |
| 32 | One passionately disliked pulling off black top (5) |
| LOUSE – B(black) removed from BLOUSE(top) | |
| 33 | Turf in resort is back (5) |
| SWARD – DRAW(resort), ‘S reversed. Not a usage of DRAW I’m familiar with, but it is in Chambers | |
| 34 | Release a new series in Roman type (6) |
| RANSOM – | |
| Down | |
| 1 | Fine day for flock (6) |
| FLIGHT – F(fine), LIGHT(day) | |
| 2 | Admit Military Intelligence infiltrated popular Red (8) |
| INTROMIT – MI(military intelligence) inside IN(popular), TROT(red) | |
| 3 | Queen with this need gives you old Government (6) |
| EGENCE – if you added R(queen) you would get REGENCE(Government) | |
| 4 | Bushy-tailed African is bizarrely red in South Africa (5) |
| ZERDA – anagram of RED in ZA(South Africa). Don’t know about the bushy tail, but this fox has huge ears | |
| 5 | Take in new Tesco bag — it adds support (13, two words) |
| ESCORT CARRIER – R(take) inside an anagram of TESCO, then CARRIER(bag) | |
| 6 | Level in much-loved place where con was done to death (7) |
| BRASERO – RASE(level to the ground) inside BRO(much loved place, second def in Chambers) | |
| 7 | Net otherwise closed by Egypt (6) |
| EEL-SET – ELSE(otherwise) inside ET(Egypt) | |
| 8 | Dire price paid out for being stuck on rock (9) |
| CIRRIPEDE – anagram of DIRE,PRICE | |
| 9 | Old fence rarely gives up half — right time to “do” grass (6) |
| HAYSEL – HAY(fence) then SELDOM(rarely) missing the last half | |
| 15 | Assume control over historic pain in cast — aargh! (9, three words) |
| TAKE IN TOW – AKE(pain) in TINT(cast), OW(aargh!) | |
| 18 | Holy humbug! Drink up, a German wife burst in (8, two words) |
| PIA FRAUS – SIP(drink) reversed, with A, FRAU inside | |
| 20 | Stormy Daniels went very slowly (7) |
| SNAILED – anagram of DANIELS, and a topical reference to the pleasant politics of my adopted country… sigh | |
| 21 | Principal of conservators loads fragments (6) |
|
CLASTS – C |
|
| 22 | Sharpen up one making first appearance with trumpet (6) |
| DE-BLUR – DEB(debutante, one making first appearance), LUR(trumpet) | |
| 24 | Le Manoir’s dainty is minute packing a bit of gorgeousness, agreed (6) |
|
MIGNON – MIN(minute) containing G |
|
| 25 | Measure US prosecutor up for erstwhile award (6) |
| ADDEEM – MEED(measure), DA(District Attorney) all reversed | |
| 27 | Language with a couple of laughable fallacies (5) |
| IDOLA – IDO(language) and the first two letters of LAughable | |
Like George, I immediately noticed something odd about the grid and checked its dimensions. It’s an interesting construction.
The puns are getting worse!
Only two needed me to refer to this blog for enlightenment, HAYSEL eluded me because I was trying to justify “ha = haha/2” so couldn’t see the rest of the answer.
Sorry George, I’m still not clear about BRASERO. Why “where con was done to death” please ?
I didn’t know the setter was a punster, and I’ll watch for it in future.
Won’t be doing this week’s puzzle, as I’m away for the weekend.