I don’t have any scribbles or question marks on my grid, so this must have been on the easier side of Mephistos. I did have to look up a few in Chambers after figuring out the entries from wordplay. I know I can trust Don Manley’s wordplay to get the unfamiliar terms.
In Mephisto puzzles, definitions (the most direct of which is underlined) can be confirmed in Chambers, so I will be focusing on the wordplay in this write-up.
Away we go…
| Across | |
| 2 | Concerned with entertainment event not being on TV or radio (6) |
| OFF-AIR – OF(concerned with) FAIR(entertainment event) | |
| 7 | Bed put outside front of residence that gets discarded? (5) |
| DROSS – DOSS(bed) containing the first letter of Residence | |
| 12 | Muscly figures playing soccer — that man gets tackled (8) |
| ECORCHES – anagram of SOCCER containing HE(that man). Those anatomical drawings where you can see what is under the skin | |
| 13 | Be cautious of seaweed (4) |
| WARE – double definition | |
| 14 | Representative’s flogging a line at front of garage (8) |
| AGENTIAL – anagram of A,LINE,AT and the first letter of Garage | |
| 15 | Where you may see yacht “Yesteryear’s Princess” (6) |
| MARINA – the second definition refers to Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark | |
| 17 | Old place spread out in home counties (5) |
| STEDE – TED(spread out) in SE(home counties) | |
| 18 | Wayward lad taken in by prince and manager in India (7) |
| AMILDAR – anagram of LAD in AMIR(prince) | |
| 19 | Sort of breathing pattern that’s racy with heart aflutter (9) |
| TRACHEARY – anagram of RACY and HEART | |
| 23 | Female singer in church, one with long hair (9) |
| CHANTRESS – CH(church), AN(one) and TRESS(long hair) | |
| 26 | Eastern girl had put back display in shop window (7) |
| ETALAGE – E(Eastern), GAL(girl), ATE(had) all reversed | |
| 29 | Vessel’s collector of water, one leaking (5) |
| URNAL – URINAL(collector of water) missing I(one) | |
| 30 | Mysterious king facing defeat after year (6) |
| ARCANE – R(rex, King), CANE(defeat) after A(annus, year) | |
| 31 | Usefully delay sport, raking in old money (8, two words) |
| GAIN TIME – GAME(sport) containing INTI(old money) | |
| 32 | Sea-monster with other creatures in a set? (4) |
| CETE – double definition based on a CETE also being a group of badgers | |
| 33 | Not covered when sun comes out and not toughened up? (8) |
| UNINURED – UNINSURED(not covered) missing S(sun) | |
| 34 | Jock’s abusive language is rebuffed in Sassenach’s answer (5) |
| SNASH – hidden reversed in sassenacH’S ANSwer | |
| 35 | The female’s in prison endlessly — confinement in India (6) |
| GHERAO – HER(the female’s) in GAOL(prison) missing the last letter | |
| Down | |
| 1 | Not many folk encountered old animal droppings (6) |
| FEWMET – FEW(not many), MET(encountered) | |
| 3 | Seriously giving support to Brazilian currency (7, two words) |
| FOR REAL – FOR(given support to), REAL(Brazilian currency) | |
| 4 | Worry about one bad sign in Glasgow? (5) |
| FREIT – FRET(worry) containing I(one) | |
| 5 | Old plant a child found with insect in it (6) |
| ACANTH – A CH(child) containing ANT(insect) | |
| 6 | What could make me learn to be a life-saver? (7) |
| REELMAN – anagram of ME,LEARN | |
| 8 | Mole’s friend crossing lake is making a noise (6) |
| RATTLY – MATTY(Mole’s friend in The Wind in the Willows) containing L(lake) | |
| 9 | Bewitched old boy that is dead ultimately (5) |
| OBIED – OB(old boy), IE(that is) then the last letter of deaD | |
| 10 | Swordsman ignoring signal, idiot on the spot (9) |
| SPADASSIN – SPAD(Signal Passed At Danger), ASS(idiot), IN(on the spot) | |
| 11 | Only academy in wine-blending process (6) |
| SOLERA – SOLE(only), RA(academy) | |
| 16 | Vehicle crashing into area outside front of restaurant (9) |
| AEROTRAIN – anagram of INTO,AREA containing the first letter of Restaurant | |
| 20 | Doing well with the clubs in golf between river and heather (7) |
| EAGLING – G(golf) between EA(river) and LING(heather). I’ve had one of these, nearly 20 years ago | |
| 21 | Heart gets broken when embracing aged mistress (7) |
| HETAERA – anagram of HEART containing AE(aged) | |
| 22 | The fellow’s stifling expression of disgust in the Scottish valleys (6) |
| HEUGHS – HE’S(the fellow’s) containing UGH(expression of disgust) | |
| 23 | Family chatter, empty sounds (6) |
| CLANGS – CLAN(family) then GAS(chatter) missing the middle letter | |
| 24 | Old song, short number covered by trio (6) |
| THRENE – N(number) inside THREE(trio) | |
| 25 | Like a horse, one may surmise, in old stable (6) |
| STEEDY – a horse may be STEED-Y | |
| 27 | Soul of this writer’s evident in literary collection (5) |
| ANIMA – I’M(this writer’s) inside ANA(literary collection) | |
| 28 | Exist as bad man under commander (5) |
| OCCUR – CUR(bad man) after OC(commander) | |
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