Mephisto 3091 – Don Manley

Author   glhPosted on Categories Mephisto
Welcome back to the Sunday barred-grid party. I think it was pointed out that this one was not as tricky as Wednesday’s beastie, and I managed to get most of it done on the bus concentrating on wordplay rather than thinking of answers, though there is a pretty low percentage of unfamiliar words in the grid.

Speaking of grids, we have 90-degree symmetry this week. Lots of long answers around the outside to keep the grid from being four mini-puzzles.

In the Mephisto, definitions (underlined) can be confirmed by Chambers, so I will be concentrating on the wordplay in the blog.

Away we go…

Across
1 Very wet Liberal admitted being careless (6)
SLOPPY –  SOPPY(very wet) containing L(Liberal)
5 Aspects of truths about Earth (6)
FACETS – FACTS(truths) surrounding E(Earth)
10 Priest on channel not initially giving uplifting performance (10)
LEVITATION – the priest is LEVI, then STATION(TV channel) missing the first letter
12 Environmental levy welcome, new coming in — tool for USA? (8, two words)
GREEN TAX – GREET(welcome) containing N(new) then AX(US spelling of AXE)
14 Stone trap fish approaches (6)
GARNET – NET(trap) with GAR(fish)
15 Nettle that’s hurt I can cut first and last (6)
URTICA –  remove the first and last letters from hURT I CAn
16 Bill and Edmund suffering from skin complaint (5)
ACNED – AC(account, bill), ‘N(and), ED(Edmund)
18 Pagan god generating fear, lots regularly (4)
EROS – alternating letters in fEaR lOtS
19 Ring given wan appearance or made iridescent? (6)
OPALED – O(ring), PALED(given wan appearance)
20 A Greek character holding a party — such could get fired up (6)
AMADOU – A, MU(Greek letter) containing A, DO(party)
23 Youngster with energy — eight? (4)
CUBE – CUB(youngster), and E(Energy) – eight is the cube of two
27 Scottish guards in mostly odd society (5)
WEIRS – remove the last letter of WEIRD(odd), S(society)
28 Wood deity remains in this after fire? (6)
ASH-PAN – ASH(wood), PAN(deity)
29 Son in difficulty makes comeback in game (6)
TENNIS – S(son), IN, NET(difficulty) all reversed
30 Cause of physical problem makes one endlessly irritable about hair (8)
STRESSOR – remove the last letter from SORE(irritable) surrounding TRESS(hair)
31 “Ape”, a term I’d fancy for ancestor of first authentic man? (10)
PREADAMITE – anagram of APE,A,TERM,I’D
32 Very old plan editor brought back later in Scotland (6)
DESYNE – ED(editor) reversed, SYNE(later)
33 Always, holy type suffering setback turns outwards (6)
EVERTS – EVER(always) then ST(holy type) reversed

Down
1 Work hard on article that can convey message briefly (6)
SLOGAN – SLOG(work hard), AN(article)
2 SF writer, one in series of books too precise? (8)
OVERNEAT – the writer Jules VERNE, A(one) inside OT(series of books)
3 Holy person seen as unique sort of explorer once? (6)
PIONER – PI(holy) then ONER(person seen as unique)
4 Dear people of old posed with beam, having turned up (6)
YARTAS – SAT(posed) and RAY(beam) all reversed
6 Nest well ventilated in which eagle finally settles (5)
AIERY – AIRY(well ventilated) with the last letter of eaglE inside
7 Argument against illegal trade group ignored (6)
CONTRA – CONTRABAND(illegal trade) missign BAND(group)
8 Little creatures are wandering around in cat hair possibly (10)
TRACHEARIA – anagram of ARE inside an anagram of CAT HAIR
9 Spoke about old lover getting help in bed? (6, two words)
SEX AID – SAID(spoke) surrounding EX(old lover)
11 Small mammal, funny without tail, occupying fortress (10)
CACOMISTLE – COMIC(funny) missing the last letter inside CASTLE(fortress)
13 Kangaroo or rhino on the Continent (4)
EURO – double definition
17 Couple entertaining heartless revolutionary outdoors (8)
PLEIN-AIR –  PAIR(couple) containing LENIN(revolutionary) missign the middle letter
20 Humiliated when found participating in a plot (6)
ABASED – AS(when) inside A BED(plot)
21 Fraudulent behaviour of party truly in want of leader (6)
DUPERY – DUP(Democratic Unionist Party), then VERY(truly) missing the first letter
22 Vessels of our navy protected by our people (4)
URNS – RN(navy) inside US(our people)
23 Something biological that once would appear in secret message (6)
CYTODE – YT(old form of that) inside CODE(secret message)
24 No longer mention a maiden in prayer (6)
BENAME – A, M(maiden over, very few of which were bowled by Pakistan in the last two days) inside BENE(prayer)
25 Iceland makes legal claim — controversial matters (6)
ISSUES – IS(Iceland), SUES(makes legal claim)
26 Beans rinsed in kitchen sink once? (5)
BASEN – anagram of BEANS

6 comments on “Mephisto 3091 – Don Manley”

  1. ….to confirm that this was perhaps more straightforward than many recent 15×15’s. I didn’t need Chambers, and had it cleared up in around 25 minutes thanks to the total lucidity of the surfaces.
  2. Just over 40 minutes for me, so my quickest Mephisto, I think. And that time including checking all the words I didn’t know (like YT) in the dictionary. Held up at the end for LOI GARNET by having written COCOMISTLE in for 11D after verifying CACOMISTLE in the dictionary. Doh. And yes, Wednesday’s 15×15 took me nearly as long with 2 wrong. Thanks Don and George.
  4. I’ve just started having a go at the Mephisto recently and it has often taken a few hours (not continuously) and required some checking in Chambers. I was therefore surprised to finish this in 25 minutes, only looking at Chambers for the second letter in CYTODE. With hindsight I shouldn’t have needed Chambers for even this one, with cyto- being a common enough prefix.
  5. Yep, very easy for a Mephisto. I don’t normally time myself on these because I do them in several goes and often leave the clock running, but I did this one in a little over 20 minutes, which must be a record.

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