Mephisto 3144 – Not quite a pangram!

Author   vinyl1Posted on Categories Mephisto
This was a good one from Paul McKenna, parts of which might prove a bit difficult for some.   I had a pretty good solve, except towards the end, where there were one or two clues that held me up for a long time.   As usual, they turned out to be pretty simple in the end – simple, that is, for Mephisto.

I have to admit I don’t quite get this week’s pun, if there is one.   Audience participation is invited!

Across
1 Sheep does in time enter wind on returning (9)
LEICESTER – ICES, T inside REEL backwards.   You have to keep does in together, and separate time.
8 Provide love for the image of Scots innocence (3)
DOO – DO O, for the dove in Scotland.   Non-rhotic dialects, yes, but non-voiced-labiodental-fricative dialects?
11 Lay to rest wearing uniform which signifies the senior service (5)
INURN –  IN U + R.N.
12 Round wreaths laid round new compounds (6)
OLEINS – O LEI(N)S, my FOI.
13 Verbal fun from soldier close to trouble no longer (8)
PARAGRAM – PARA + GRAM, which meant trouble before it decided to become a weight.
14 Fare from Abroath that is fine, initially found in text service (7)
SMOKIES – SM(OK, I.E.)S, the Short Messaging Service protocol.
15 Murphy thanks with bow (5)
TATIE – TA + TIE, the Scots slang word for potato.
17 In addition coaster ferried in fruit (6)
TOMATO – TO(MAT)O.  Easy if you think of a tomato as a fruit, which it probably technically is.
18 Ready for theatre? It’s planned where first time is close to epic (12)
PREMEDICATED – PREME(-d,+C)ATED, a simple letter-substitution clue.   The literal refers to the operating theatre, as is often the case.
20 Flower — tag for such in fellah’s window (12)
PHEASANTS-EYE – P(H)EASANT’S EYE.   H = the tail end of SUCH.
23 Masculine one from Provence is down to release catch (6)
UNSNAP – UN’S + NAP.
26 Ill-behaved but beginning to be irritable (5)
RATTY – [b]RATTY, I believe, where but is a removal indicator.
27 Hero worship is happening first in most of southern capital (7)
LIONISM – LI(ON, IS)M[a].
28 Palm one toiling for Indian in Hispanic hotspot, once (8)
CARNAUBA – C(ARNA)UBA.   An arna is an Indian water buffalo, used as a draft animal.
30 Having three “points” current in pamphlet (6)
TRIACT – TR(I)ACT.
31 Where lots go in Scotland following grand mass (5)
GROUP – G + ROUP, a Scots auction sale.
32 Henry with this devious devil would be one to let down (3)
EEL – [h]EEL.
33 Quartzy mineral he kept in a transfer (9)
PHENAKITE –  Anagram of HE KEPT IN A.
Down
1 Some flipping kiss (3)
LIP – hidden in [f]LIP[ing], which turns out not to be a reversal indicator.
2 Yankee charm? Long hair curled up on Republican (6)
ENAMOR – MANE backwards + O’ R, Yankee because it would be spelt “enamour” in the UK.
3 Crow (boast, as some would say) (5)
CRAKE – Sounds like CRACK in some dialects.
4 In short form just ringing Geneva’s source of power (6)
ENGINE – EN(GIN)E, where ENE = E’EN.
5 Loosely as per temptation and behind time lose lucky charm? (12, three words)
SPREAD A PLATE – Anagram of AS PER + DAP + LATE.  A dap is a fishing lure.
6 Raising a glass to stern foil for Errol Flynn, for example (12, two words)
TOASTING IRON – TOASTING + IRON.  The literal may refer to the slang meaning of “toasting iron” as a sword – it is in Chambers.
7 Couple in Macao maybe running up brooms and the like (7)
RETAMAS – SA(MATE)R upside down, where SAR = Special Administrative District.
8 Takes great risks accepting schmutter in orders (8)
DICTATES – DIC(TAT)ES.
9 Hearsay from second I trust (5)
ON-DIT – hidden in [sec]OND I T[rust].
10 In stirring manner erode most plated protection? (9)
OSTEODERM – anagram of ERODE MOST.   The answer is just two very common Greek words, so shouldn’t be hard to figure out.
14 Discharge old quitter in supplement for all to see cost (9)
SUPPURATE – SUP (P) U + RATE.   Why P is an “old quitter” is obscure – pence, used for quitting debts?   Alternatives invited.
16 Unsettled fate lies in restricted estates (8, two words)
FEES TAIL – Anagram of FATE LIES.
19 Priest holds up sacred text for mischievous charmer (7)
MANTRAP – MANTRA + P.
21 Maori prize that’s most often seen in waka in Pacific kingdom (6)
TAONGA –  T(A)ONGA, where A is the letter most often seen in “waka”.
22 Cautious consent still restricting transport with tail fully lifted (6)
YES-BUT –  YE(SBU)T, where the S of the BUS moves to the back.
24 What’s in shells concerning sub’s attacker up above (5)
NACRE – CAN upside-down + RE down below.
25 Dig fabulous creature, old beau taking number for Prince (5)
SNARK – S(-p,+N)ARK, two literals and a letter-substitution cryptic.   The creature is from Through the Looking Glass.
29 Apparent term for epigone (3)
APE – AP + [epigon]E, an elegant &lit and my LOI.

6 comments on “Mephisto 3144 – Not quite a pangram!”

    1. That’s how I (eventually) worked it. Doesn’t work for a Scot.

      On which subject. DOO isn’t a Scots pronunciation of DOVE: it’s the Scots equivalent of DOVE.

      And CRAKE is a dialect term meaning to boast, rather than a local version of ‘crack’.

      Also, the abbrieviation for ‘supplement’ here is SUPP, so there is no superfluous P. ‘Old quitter’, as K. points out, is an obsolete word for pus, and so is an extra definition.

      Edited at 2020-12-06 02:17 pm (UTC)

  2. A TOMATO is indeed technically a fruit, and more importantly (for our purposes) is defined as such in Chambers.
    ‘Quitter’ is an old word for pus.
    I found this quite tricky.

    Edited at 2020-12-06 10:25 am (UTC)

  4. I found this quite tricky too, finishing in the SE corner, (LOI CARNAUBA) but parsed it all eventually, I think. About 1hr 30.
  5. Rather more demanding than usual, not far short of an hour. TOASTING IRON was a long hold out, as I could only think of FORK as the second word and that didn’t seem to have much to do with Errol.
    I must start looking out for the puns, as I have learned (with great delight) to do with Myrtilus’ TLS offerings. I might have got it if it was MORTAR DOO, because it was.

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