Mephisto 3028 Don Manley with help from Henry Gray

Unless you’re very experienced you are unlikely to solve a Mephisto without using Chambers. The idea is that you use the precise wordplay to derive an answer that you then verify in the dictionary. 14A is a perfect example.

This was a very pleasant but easy puzzle. There’s one questionable definition at 18A. In the clues definitions are underlined. Wordplay explanation is followed by very helpful comments.

ACROSS

1 Horrible war — theatre that may account for animal deaths (10)
HEARTWATER: (war theatre)*; a tick-borne disease of domestic and wild ruminants;
11 City church outside which spear is seen (9)
LEICESTER: LEI(CE)STER; spear=LEISTER; the cathedral is where Richard III was reinterred in 2015
12 Fixer of great deal, securing honoured sportsman? (7)
MORDANT: MOR(DAN)T; great deal=MORT; DAN=honour and judo expert;
13 Those in Scotland denying Macbeth his name? (4)
THAE: THA(n)E; in the play Macbeth is thane of Cawdor
14 Famous mistress hugging one with love to make impression? (6)
NIELLO: N(I)ELL-O; an impression from an engraved surface;
15 Plenty holding female up (5)
ALOFT: A-LO(F)T;
16 Note doomed individual losing head (4)
ONER: (g)ONER; ONER is slang for an old £1 note;
17 The language when vehicle reverses on to a house (6)
NAVAHO: (VAN reversed)-A-HO; language of fascinating native Americans with matrilineal society;
18 A line made by instrument in part of female anatomy (6)
LUTEAL: LUTE-A-L; I have doubts about this definition. It means relating to the formation of the corpus luteum – a temporary endocrine structure in female ovaries. Most women are familiar with their luteal phase which is the latter phase of the menstrual cycle
24 Garlands — artist is swathed in lots (6)
TORANS: TO(RA)NS;
25 All those attending the first person in that cell (6)
GAMETE: GA(ME)TE; a mature haploid male or female germ cell which can unite with another of the opposite sex in sexual reproduction to form a zygote.
28 Some sexy strut in a walk outdoors (4)
XYST: hidden (se)XY-ST(rut); a covered garden walk in ancient Rome;
30 Wind certain to return, first hint of upset inside (5)
EURUS: SURE reversed contains U(pset); the east wind or the brother Sherlock Holmes didn’t have;
31 Speaker gets nothing right, a politician falling short (6)
ORATOR: O-R-A-TOR(y);
32 After first sign of success fool may become this? (4)
SMUG: S-MUG; S from S(uccess);
33 Confession of beautiful female having area or areas under total control (7)
IMPERIA: I’M-PERI-A; PERI=winged spirits renowned for their beauty; A=area;
34 Troy’s swathed in leaves by end of June — many trees and shrubs (9)
TILIACEAE: T(ILIAC)EA-(jun)E; family of various plants;
35 Most unhealthy-looking street hiding secret places (10)
SCRANNIEST: S(CRANNIES)T;

DOWN

1 Specialists in church music somehow sing smoothly (12)
HYMNOLOGISTS: (sing smoothly)*;
2 Last bit of the meat to separate off (5)
ELOIN: (th)E-LOIN;
3 Demons at large, captured by serving women once (7)
AFREETS: A(FREE)TS; Auxiliary Territorial Service (became the WRAC); powerful jinns
4 Criminal — one of those going to pot? (7, two words)
TEA,LEAF: two meanings 1=CRS for thief 2=whimsical reference to tea pot;
5 Big drinkers in effect much bigger than most (5)
WINOS: WIN-OS; OS=outsize;
6 A court worker — one functions as an agent (6)
ACTANT: A-CT-ANT; in grammar, a noun acting as an agent for a verb.
7 A learner joining group set up in science unit (5)
TESLA: A-L-SET all reversed; unit of magnetic flux density; slightly odd use of “set” in clue and answer
8 Legal allowance is in France at an end (7)
ESTOVER: EST-OVER; an allowance made to a person out of an estate;
9 Fond of fellow, having suppressed dreadful hate (7, two words)
DEATH,ON: D(hate)*ON;
10 Member of religious order quietly protesting (12)
PREMONSTRANT: P-REMONSTRANT; one of the order of Roman Catholic monks founded at Premontre, France, by St. Norbert in 1119
19 A cure I’m contriving in respect of a “waterworks” problem (7)
URAEMIC: (a cure I’m)*;
20 Type of drug’s good going down — one’s showing dynamism (7)
ENERGIC: unbranded drug=generic then move the “g” to give ENERGIC;
21 Pauper, according to Spooner, that is buried under heath (7)
MOOR-PAN; poor-man Spoonerism; layer of soil below heathland;
22 Shrub moderately gnarled but not terribly old (7, two words)
MAY,TREE: (moderately – old)*; I’m not allowed to refer to the Prime Minister;
23 Cave is crumbling — it may be filled with water (6)
VESICA: (cave is)*; water=urine; the urinary bladder;
26 Like a pipe a plumber finally fixed under bath (5)
TUBAR: TUB-A-(plumbe)R;
27 Classical tag that sends out a sexist message? (5)
NOMEN: NO-MEN; name of a citizen of Ancient Rome
29 Stains from fuel brought aboard ship
SOILS: S(OIL)S;