Greetings all,
Thanks for everyone who helped me with not being able to use the blog generator template – it turned out that something had changed in copying and pasting from the website where the template was hosted, so I couldnt get the clues. I have a text version now and it works just fine!
Paul McKenna usually treats us to a pun across the first row but I must admit I had no idea how to pronounce the answer at 1 across, and it wasn’t until a trip to Chambers until I realised it was a pun on FURNITURE. That one went way over my head. This was a pretty tricky crossword, I thought.
In a Mephisto crossword all definitions (which are underlined) can be checked in Chambers unless otherwise noted, so I will focus on the wordplay.
Away we go!
| Across | |
| 1 | Enemy banks on hidden blast (5) |
| FOEHN – FOE(enemy) then the outer letters of HiddeN | |
| 5 | Who thumbs that woman taking up passion? (7) |
| HITCHER – HER(that woman) cotaining ITCH(passion) | |
| 10 | New hoard found beside river pub (9) |
| ROADHOUSE – anagram of HOARD beside the river OUSE | |
| 11 | Bread, a loaf (4) |
| NANA – NAN bread then A | |
| 12 | Echo standard piffle (6) |
| PARROT – PAR(standard) ROT(piffle) | |
| 13 | Virtually disengaged retreat is most perfect (8) |
| CLEANEST – CLEAR(disengaged) missing the last letter, then NEST(retreat) | |
| 15 | No longer together, everyone returned pack animals (6) |
| LLAMAS – SAM(Spenserian word for together) and ALL(everyone) reversed | |
| 18 | Writer’s book I take round (4) |
| BIRO – B(book), I, R(recipe, take), O(round) | |
| 19 | Sauce got hot inside close to grill (8) |
| BECHAMEL – BECAME(got), with H(hot) inside, then the last letter of grilL | |
| 21 | Right fool donning Celtic poet’s armour (8) |
| BRASSARD – R(right), ASS(fool) inside BARD(poet) | |
| 24 | Finally ignored farce following first from All Souls for French (4) |
| AMES – MESS(farce) missing the last letter after the first letter of All | |
| 25 | One of the options for a busy (6) |
| ACTIVE – because A can be an abbreviation for ACTIVE according to Chambers | |
| 27 | This connects room mostly over lower deck, eg (8, two words) |
| CAPSCREW – SPACE(room) reversed, missing the last letter, then CREW(lower deck can mean a ship’s CREW) | |
| 29 | Better put Golden Delicious, or similar, on Newton (6) |
| NEATER – a Golden Delicious is an EATER apple, put it after N(Newton) | |
| 30 | A discussion about change seen in Istanbul (4) |
| PARA – A RAP(discussion) reversed | |
| 31 | Rude wean snapping back of kimmer’s knickers, say (9) |
| UNDERWEAR – anagram of RUDE,WEAN then the last letter in kimmeR | |
| 32 | Pupil left with somebody who’s salaried (7) |
| LEARNER – L(left) and EARNER(somebody who’s salaried) | |
| 33 | One who’ll benefit from exercises — Rab C’s always included (5) |
| PAYEE – PE(exercises) with AYE(always) inside | |
| Down | |
| 1 | Loyal group is cool with Billy (7, two words) |
| FAN CLUB – FAN(cool) and a billy CLUB | |
| 2 | Across the military board nothing cultivates the lot captured (9, three words) |
| OF ALL ARMS – O(nothing), and FARMS(cultivates) containing ALL(the lot) | |
| 3 | Such as Mnemosyne’s daughters, name each in odd piece (6) |
| ENNEAD – N(name), EA(each) inside END(off piece) – Mnemosyne was the mother of the nine Muses | |
| 4 | Middle England dispensed with lightweight (4) |
| NOON – remove E(england) from NO-ONE(lighteight) | |
| 5 | Hearts are on brand in plant (8) |
| HARESEAR – H(hearts), ARE and SEAR(brand) | |
| 6 | First of two children could give you a shock (6) |
| THATCH – first letter of Two and HATCH(children) | |
| 7 | Rustic Don escapes diet being a wild dancer of old (8) |
| CORYBANT – CORYDON(rustic) missing DON then BANT(diet by cutting fat and starch). One of the few times being an Andre Gide fan comes in handy in a crossword | |
| 8 | About to abandon once rustic project (4) |
| HURL – remove C(about) from CHURL(another rustic, this one being better known from Shakespeare than Gide) | |
| 9 | Redolent of old caretaker discharging power when upset (5) |
| RETRO – PORTER(caretaker) missing P(power) and reversed | |
| 14 | Indecent and very Irish form of writing (9, two words) |
| FREE VERSE – FREE(indecent), V(very), ERSE(Irish) | |
| 16 | Muscle shown by rushing steamers (8) |
| MASSETER – anagram of STEAMERS | |
| 17 | Write off a fighter (8) |
| SCRAPPER – SCRAP(write off), PER(a) | |
| 20 | East-west indicators in desert causing concern for pilots (7, two words) |
| LEE WAVE – E-W(East-West) inside LEAVE(desert) | |
| 22 | Byzantine censer is separate (6) |
| SECERN – anagram of CENSER | |
| 23 | What got Pericles going? Uninhibited freebootery (6) |
| PIRACY – the first letter of Pericles is P which would be PI in Greek, then RACY(uninhibited) | |
| 24 | Cashier turning a blind eye to second to last in yearbook (5) |
| ANNUL – remove the second last letter of ANNUAL(yearbook) | |
| 26 | A comic pilot lifted nothing (4) |
| NADA – A, then DAN Dare(comic pilot) all reversed | |
| 28 | Love being wrapped in soft flannel (4) |
| SOAP – O(love) inside SAP(soft) | |
See you next week!