I didn’t find this one too difficult overall though if I recall the top half filled up faster than the bottom half. That helped me get the pun on CASCADING in the top row pretty early on. 90-degree symmetry in the grid again this week.
In the Mephisto, all definitions (which are underlined) can be confirmed in Chambers, so I will focus on wordplay in the blog.
Away we go…
| Across | |
| 1 | Peculiar rite with this armour leads to “requiescat in pieces” (6) |
| CASQUE – anagram of REQUIESCA | |
| 5 | Such form of helping Mark to the van gets you doing as Abigail does? (6) |
| AIDING – put an M at the front and you would get MAIDING(doing as Abigail does) | |
| 10 | At liberty to check lines round shell-like? (10) |
| ESCALLOPED – ESCAPED(at liberty) surrounding L,L(lines), O(round) | |
| 12 | Being noble somebody is filling cakes (8) |
| BARONESS – ONE(somebody), ‘S(is) inside dessert BARS(cakes) | |
| 13 | Hummer to reverse move quickly (5) |
| TOPAZ – TO then a reverse of ZAP(move quickly) – a TOPAZ is a hummingbird | |
| 14 | From which one selects fellows oneself (5) |
| MENUS – MEN(fellows), US(oneself, such as “Oi, let us go”) | |
| 15 | A page concerned with lock is being printed (7, two words) |
| AT PRESS – A, then P(page) inside TRESS(lock) | |
| 17 | Main Street with pollarded tree (6) |
| STAPLE – ST(street) then a MAPLE tree with the first letter missing | |
| 19 | Cut support by French char (6) |
| TEETHE – TEE(support in golf), then THE(French for tea, char) | |
| 20 | I’m hired to greet leader of Israelites, one ending in suicide (6) |
| SAULIE – SAUL(leader of Israelites), then I(one) and the last letter in suicidE | |
| 22 | Dash about after American in oily ploy (6) |
| PAYOLA – A(about) following A(American) in an anagram of PLOY | |
| 25 | Tear a strip off wood dressed by lumpkin (7, two words) |
| LASH OUT – ASH(wood) inside LOUT(lumpkin) | |
| 27 | Fieldwork nurtured a non-specialist to some extent (5) |
| REDAN – hidden inside nurtuRED A Non-specialist | |
| 28 | Asian barge business that’s steady but for husband and wife (5) |
| CASCO – the steady business is a CASH COW, remove H(husband) and W(wife) | |
| 29 | Athletic beauty, well, one backing what whets the whistle (8) |
| APERITIF – A(athletic), PERI(beauty) then FIT(well one) reversed | |
| 30 | Porter, say, with lost genius lifting gizmo for draughts (10, two words) |
|
BEER ENGINE – BEER(poeter, say) then |
|
| 31 | This petrified Dutch trapped in tableland (6) |
| MEDUSA – DU(Dutch) inside MESA(tableland) | |
| 32 | Once again judge is stern about grunt of surprise (6) |
| REHEAR – REAR(stern) surrounding EH(grunt of surprise… unless you grunt HE which works too) | |
| Down | |
| 1 | Baltic brass’s sassy stance (6) |
| CENTAS – anagram of STANCE | |
| 2 | Fish to do for August, no sign of umming and ahhing (8) |
| SCUPPAUG – SCUPPER(to for), AUG(August) missing ER(sign of umming and ahhing) | |
| 3 | Query not entirely to Persian dynasty (5) |
| QAJAR – Q(query), AHAR(not entirely to) | |
| 4 | Slip by east end of chapel and part of choir (6) |
| ELAPSE – E(east), the last letter in chapeL and then APSE(part of choir loft) | |
| 5 | Tense from a profit but that which gets one going for good (6) |
| AORIST – Struggling a little with the wordplay. It looks like it should be A, then GRIST(profit) with O replacing G but I can’t seem to match O = one. Should the clue have read “on” or am I missing something? Jim has it in comments – it is the first letter of One | |
| 6 | Plant one limey over each (7) |
| IPOMOEA – I(one) POM(limey), O(over), EA(each) | |
| 7 | One shining brightly in earlier prayer day is upset (5) |
| DENEB – BENE(prayer) and D(day) reversed | |
| 8 | Denials Unionist Liberal included in dismissal? Sadly not (10, three words) |
| NO SUCH LUCK – NOS(denials) then U(unionist) then L(liberal) inside CHUCK(dismissal) | |
| 9 | Scots savoury — it’ll be seconds for Fink-Nottle, and others (6) |
| GUSSIE – GUSTIE(savoury) with T(it) replaced by S(seconds). A character in P.G. Wodehouse stories | |
| 11 | A short top, for example, rising on prize supper (10, two words) |
| COTTAGE PIE – COTTA(a short surplice), then EG(for example) reversed, then PIE(prize) | |
| 16 | Fuss for Falkirkers also aboard steamship over swing to the left (8) |
| STOOSHIE – TOO(also) inside SS(steamship) then HIE(swing to the left) | |
| 18 | Rows about Northern Ireland’s sheds locally (7) |
| LINNIES – LINES(rows) surrounding N(Nothern) | |
| 20 | To wit, bloody millions in race (6) |
| SCRAWM – SC(scilicet, to wit), RAW(bloody), M(millions) | |
| 21 | City of sculpture, say, modified covers over wings (6) |
| ELYTRA – ELY(city) then ART(sculpture say) reversed | |
| 22 | Whenever leaving dummy becomes smarter (6) |
| PACIER – IF(whenever) removed from PACIFIER(baby’s dummy) | |
| 23 | She makes good acting with tense and heavy blow (6) |
| ATONER – A(acting(, T(tense), ONER(heavy blow) | |
| 24 | Trim and uniform unisex wrap (5) |
| PAREU – PARE(trim), U(uniform) | |
| 26 | Outburst of delight then disgust finding meadow in Moray (5) |
| HAUGH – HA(delight) and UGH(disgust) | |
Edited at 2019-12-15 10:03 am (UTC)
Edited at 2019-12-15 10:14 am (UTC)
ENGINE is just an obsolete (lost) word for ‘genius’.
Edited at 2019-12-15 10:51 am (UTC)
New puzzle today, let’s go!
Similarly clueless about 5d.
At 5D I read it as “That which gets “one” going” ie the first letter being “o” substituted for “g”