Mephisto 3142 – Leading to limosis, perhaps…..

Author   vinyl1Posted on Categories Mephisto

Either I am getting better, or this was but a moderate Mephisto.  While it did take a while, I was frequently annoyed with myself for having missed an obvious solution, or failing to biff a word that I know reasonably well.   But it all became clear in time, as the crossing letters gradualy revealed what I should have seen in the first place.   I finished in one session, time about two hours.   Fortunately, in the kingdom of Mephisto, we have no need for speed, and browse leisurely through our Chambers, pausing to read some of the more arcane entries – at least I do.

Across
1 Possibly “bogs”, reader! (10)
GARDEROBES – Anagram of BOGS READER, an &lit, as this innocent word suffered the same fate as cloakroom and rest room.
10 Politically committed nurse reaching maturity (6)
ENGAGE – E[rolled] N[urse], G[eneral] + AGE….not a colonel, but a general!
11 Feast cut short after setback around a camp (6)
LAAGER – REGA(A)L[e], a word I knew and should have biffed.
14 Something in the pipeline from divine being confronting wickedness (7)
GO-DEVIL – GOD + EVIL, joining together to make a pipecleaner.
15 Vehicle in snow taken the wrong way — motorway to be avoided (4)
SLED – [mi]SLED – an easy one, but I had a hard time remembering the cryptic for the blog.
16 Phantoms perform in a story from the east (6)
EIDOLA – A LIE backwards around DO,   This word is suddenly very popular in puzzles, as sometimes happens.
17 Beer is carried by my ship or train (6)
COALER – CO(ALE)R.
20 Nail in Jock’s table? (4)
BROD – Double definition – two completely different obscure words in one.  We say brad and board nowadays.
21 One wise person’s full of energy providing learned introductions (8)
ISAGOGES – I SA(GO)GE’S, easy enough if you know the word.
22 Attractive part of hospital with decoration (8)
ENTICING –  E.N.T + ICING, a starter clue.
27 Not in favour of using some imagination (4)
AGIN –  [im]AGIN[ation], ditto.
28 Absolutely drunk, by the sound of it (6)
DEUCED – Probably sounds like dowsed, but not in my idiolect, or maybe another word.
29 Boat artist incorporating hearts in monogram (6)
TUGHRA – TUG (H) RA, just trust the cryptic and look it up.
32 Report of horse in gutter (4)
RONE – Sounds like ROAN.
33 Travelling box one sailor brought into settlement (7)
PITARAH – P(I TAR)AH, that Maori settlement that Mephisto setters are so fond of.
34 Cleansed from terrible sin — looking embarrassed about it (6)
RINSED – R(anagram of SIN)ED.   A golfer’s biggest sin!
35 King at home has duck first as appetiser (6)
OREXIN – O – REX IN, a hormone.
36 Like some surgeons, precise when handling damaged retina (10)
VETERINARY –  VE(anagram of RETINA)RY….as in the very thing.
Down
2 People of mixed heritage in an English county to the west (6)
ANGLOS – AN + GLOS, I believe, but I could be wrong.
3 It sounds like father will totter (6)
DADDLE – sounds like DAD’LL.
4 Bore keen to be heard (4)
EGER – Sounds like EAGER, more usually spelt EAGRE.
5 Cleric joined by important lady and little girl for a game (8)
REVERSIS – REV + ER + SIS.
6 Packaging article in glittery stuff (6)
BALING – B(A)LING.
7 Each road comes to Bury (up north!) (4)
EARD – EA + RD, more dialect.
8 Man changing direction finally — the spoke is put in here (6)
FELLOE – FELLO(-w,+E), a word I knew and an answer I should have got more quickly.
9 Attacks in East Anglian region on fateful day (10)
BROADSIDES – BROADS + IDES, with cannons firing pamphlets.
12 One-time agricultural king not totally in charge (7)
GEORGIC – GEORG[e] + I.C, as popularized (or not) by Virgil.
13 They arranged property deals, settling scores with passion involved (10)
ESCHEATORS – Anagram of SCORES around HEAT.   Another answer where I knew the word but didn’t see the answer very quickly.
18 Biological substance — a collection of books has current information (7)
ANTIGEN – A + NT + I + GEN, this one I did see.
19 One issuing instruction at random? At random! (8)
MANDATOR – Anagram of AT RANDOM.
23 Africans — any number with weapons around island (6)
NGUNIS – N + GUN(I)S, a Bantu tribe.   I’ve heard of Xhosas and Swazis, but not these guys.
24 Pull up vehicle and embrace (6)
CARPET – CAR + PET.
25 Local fellow admits blunder that’s set up old-style plague (6)
MURREN –  MU(ERR upside-down)N, more usually murrain.
26 Soldiers heading for home on Irish monument (6)
MENHIR – MEN + H[ome] + IR.
30 Prophet without hint of any foot protection (4)
HOSE – HOSE[a[ny]].
31 African prince turning up in shortened garment usually worn by women (4)
SARI – RAS upside-down + I[n].

11 comments on “Mephisto 3142 – Leading to limosis, perhaps…..”

  2. Quite easy – done in one session in about half an hour – but I spent a few minutes at the end puzzling over MURREN, which isn’t in Chambers. Generally that’s a sign that the answer’s wrong but I failed to come up with anything else, unsurprisingly.
    A couple of minor points:
    > ENG is Enrolled Nurse General.
    > The wickedness in 14ac is EVIL.

    Edited at 2020-11-22 09:37 am (UTC)

      1. This is odd. Which edition are you looking at? I see it’s in my printed 12th edition but it’s not in the Chambers app, which is supposedly based on the 13th edition. MURREN appears but only as a variant of ‘morion’, a type of helmet.

        Edited at 2020-11-22 11:12 am (UTC)

          1. Thanks. I don’t have a hard copy of the 13th but I’m happy to take your word for it! It must have got missed out somehow in the app.

            Edited at 2020-11-22 01:11 pm (UTC)

  3. also had a question mark after MURREN – it is not in the WordWeb Pro version of Chambers 13th edition, but is in my paper copy.
  4. Entry-level Mephisto, but one the worse for that. Agree with ‘juiced’ and can verify that ‘murren’ is in the actual book.
  5. I always do the daily crossword but have never tried the Mephisto. With the lockdown I was at a loose end and thought I’d get in some practice for the competition (!) I was very pleased to finish it with not too much trouble.

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