Mephisto 3104 – Tim Moorey. Jimbo’s Swansong.

Author   dorsetjimboPosted on Categories Mephisto
So soon after celebrating my 300th Mephisto blog it saddens me to have to tell you that this will be my last. My health has finally caught up with me and forced me to stand down. I shall miss our fortnightly encounter. Vinyl will be taking over. I wish him well and hope he has as much fun as I have enjoyed.

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.  1A is a perfect example.

An interesting puzzle of average difficulty. We visit France more than once, Japan, Jersey and Zimbabwe in the company of Pierre Curie, Albert Pierrepoint and Roger Sessions. A feature of Tooting Common provides a trip down memory lane. In the clues, definitions are underlined. Wordplay explanation is followed by very helpful comments.

ACROSS
1 Hangman and Beetle, say fine for relaxing times (8)
CARNIFEX: CAR-(fine)*-X; Albert Pierrepoint perhaps;
7 Father’s shunned breaks in outmoded resorts (4)
USES: (pa)USES;
11 Change of direction in a subject for French department (6)
ARIEGE: a subject = A LIEGE then change L to R; Ariège is a department in southwestern France better known as le zéro neuf after its postal code of 09;
12 Check after dangerous jog in the Highlands (5)
HOTCH: HOT-CH; fidget in Fife;
13 Refusal to admit Mean Machine for entertainment (8)
NINTENDO: N(INTEND)O;
15 Force on record showing sign of emphasis (10, two words)
STRESS,MARK: STRESS-MARK;
16 Take supporter’s banter (5)
RALLY: R-ALLY; R=take from recipe;
19 Life peer’s self-protection? (4)
EPEE: hidden (lif)E-PEE(r’s); not much use against a modern terrorist;
20 Hitlerites liberated it? Ridiculous! (8, two words)
ST,HELIER: (hitlerites – it)*; capital of Jersey, occupied by the Germans in WW2
21 French city map despatched again with 50% missing (8)
CHARTRES: CHART-RES(ent); famous world-wide for its cathedral saved for posterity by US Colonel Griffith in WW2
23 Queen’s fashion knowing no bounds (4)
ANNE: (m)ANNE(r);
25 Dell is out of date for Scott’s chum (5)
INGLE: (d)INGLE; reference author Walter Scott;
27 Upper-crust type Gray keeps short record: the art of dining (10)
ARISTOLOGY: ARISTO-LO(g)-GY; Gray=GY=unit of absorbed dose of ionizing radiation; better known as a gourmet;
30 Pointed adult cryptic clue upset (8)
ACULEATE: A-(clue)*-ATE;
31 Establish ground in movie (5)
ERECT: E(REC)T;
32 New name in Evangelical Union is showing lots of tedium (6)
ENNUIS: E(N-N)U-IS;
33 Writing paper from Delaware belonging to me (4)
DEMY: DE-MY;
34 Meetings with US composer (8)
SESSIONS: two meanings; Roger Sessions 1896-1985

DOWN
1 Direct answer accepted by broadcaster (4)
CANN: C(A)NN;
2 Strain to secure first of the Japanese porcelain (5)
ARITA: ARI(T)A; Hizen ware;
3 The rental’s high leading to complaint (10, two words)
NETTLE, RASH: (the rentals)*; Tooting Common’s trap for the unwary courting couple in my youth;
4 Spot iron weapon emplacement overlooking Argentina (8)
FENESTRA: FE-NEST-RA;
5 Objects from old village fashionable no longer (4)
ENDS: ENDS(hip);
6 Butcher has ox tongue (5)
XHOSA: (has ox)*;
8 Snatching mobile for bit of a lark could be the beginning of this (8)
STEAMING: snatching=stealing then change L from L(ark) to M=mobile;
9 English and French physicist in team (6)
ECURIE: E-CURIE; Pierre CURIE was the Frenchman and less famous than his Polish wife; a team of motor-racing cars
10 Snubbed tramp in traditional Indian dress is a hunter (8)
SHIKAREE: S(HIKE(e))AREE;
14 I call up about theatrical angel getting money from southern Africa (10)
EMALANGENI: I-NAME reversed contains (angel)*;
16 Given out horn-call record, extremely disliked (8)
RECHATED: REC-HATED; from fox hunting;
17 Heavy Metal article is what’s prominent in the news (8, two words)
LEAD,ITEM: LEAD-ITEM;
18 Left university in old Greek city with depression (8, two words)
THE,BLUES: THEB(L-U)ES; boring definition – it also means a form of music, the Guards and Chelsea Football team;
22 Dash found all around Arab capital (6)
HARARE: HAR(AR)E; capital of Zimbabwe;
24 Figures turning up unchanged (5)
STATS: A palindrome;
26 Ancient swindle definitely set up? Only partly (5, two words)
LET,IN: hidden reversed y(LET-IN)fed;
28 Sporting line of chemical engineer (4)
OCHE: O-CHE; chemical engineer=ChE; in the game of darts the line behind which the throwing player must stand
29 Endless bungling brings embarrassment (4)
MESS: MESS(y);

21 comments on “Mephisto 3104 – Tim Moorey. Jimbo’s Swansong.”

  1. Sorry to hear that you are standing down Jim, but you have done sterling service for TfTT .. since 2008, no less, longer than anyone except Jackkt and George. Well done indeed, and thank you.
    I trust you will continue commenting .. we on the science side of things are in a minority as it is 🙂
    1. I echo Jerry’s sentiments Jim, and hope that those problems don’t worsen, or interfere with your enjoyment of the puzzles. Thank you for enlightening me on frequent occasions (though I didn’t get to this one).
    2. Thanks Jerry. I’ll do my best although mid-March to end-March is likely to be a blank spot.
  3. Let me add my thanks and good wishes too, Jim. Without your encouragement and the blog I wouldn’t have got into doing the Mephisto.
    As for this puzzle, my main problem was caused by having DOLLY (take supporter – geddit?) for 16A for some time. I also failed to understand 8D, not spotting it was a rather nice &lit. But all done with no pink squares 🙂
  4. Best wishes Jim, and very sorry to hear your health has caught up with you. You’ve performed a yeoman’s service blogging such a tough but enjoyable puzzle over 300 times, and I do it on a week time lag just so I can see your parsing and entertaining writeup on the same day and not have to endure a week’s frustration while I cannot understand some of the clues. I particularly like your alliterative comments and don’t think I’ve ever read one of your blogs without learning something new and interesting. I still remember your poisson d’avril blog fondly and am ashamed to say I was completely taken in!
    Thanks to you and all the bloggers at TFTT- it really is a valuable service and provides illumination and entertainment to countless puzzled solvers – I did it for a short while myself and hopefully will return to it once my kids grow up and I have a bit more spare time.
  5. Sorry to hear you’re having to step down Jimbo. I tackle a Mephisto a handful of times a year and have always found your blogs most helpful.

    As others have said I hope you’ll continue to comment on the daily puzzles.

    Best wishes and thanks for your dedication to the site over the years.

  6. Really sorry that you are leaving the team, Jim, and after so many years – you beat me here by a couple of days, I think! I hope you will still keep in touch and join in with comments when you feel up to it, but I shall do my best to defend the honour of the Teds in your absence.
  7. Really sorry to hear that you’re stepping down, Jim. You were of absolutely enormous help to me when I was trying to work out how to do these things: in fact I can say with some confidence that if it weren’t for your blogs I wouldn’t have even attempted it. I do hope you’ll stick around to comment and in the meantime very best wishes to you.
    1. Thanks K. It is gratifying to hear from people that we have helped them to tackle the bar crosswords. From very early days I saw this blog as a wonderful teaching aid and the comments of you and others have really made my day.
  8. Thanks for your long service on Mephistos, and to vinyl1 for taking over the spot.
  9. Jim, i would like to wish you the very best and thank you for all the very educational input over the years, you are truly a legend of this parish.

    Slan go foill (couple of fadas missing, apologies)

  10. Hi Jim. I’m just stepping out of the shadows to add my best wishes and thanks for the entertainment, enlightenment and encouragement you’ve given us all over the years. You’re a legend.

  11. Fun puzzle, and I had a little bit of an inside run as Tim ran a clue by me while writing it.

    There have been many highlights of Jim and I blogging the Mephisto… anniversary puzzles, special round number puzzles, tributes to previous setters. Looking forward to alternating with vinyl1. Best luck in the treatment and recovery.

  12. I’m sorry to hear you’re stepping down, Jim, and sorrier to hear why. Although I seldom do–or try to do–the Mephisto, I started reading TftT almost exactly when you started blogging: ‘wordplay explanation and very helpful comments’ indeed. I hope we’ll still see your comments. Thanks.
  14. Sorry to hear this, Jim. While I’m another who’s only an irregular Mephisto solver (I’m saving it for my retirement), I’ve always enjoyed your contributions. As another of the class of 2008 who’s wondering how 12 years have gone by so fast, I think you’ve more than earned a rest – hope you stay well enough to enjoy it.
  15. Dear Dorset Jimbo

    You have commented on my puzzles for many years in The Times and Sunday Times when I have been the Mephisto setter. I know that sometimes you have liked my work and sometimes you have moaned. I have felt the same about you. But I admire your straightforwardness and your dedication to the task.

    Thank you and I wish you well!
    Don Manley

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