Greetings barred-grid fans.
This was a rather fun Mephisto with one term in particular that has always tickled me finding its way into the right hand side of the grid. I first heard it as a hobo and carny term in the US, which might be why it has a ton of different spellings.
As is typical with a Don Manley puzzle I was relying on wordplay heavily to complete the grid.
With Mephisto puzzles, since definitions (the most direct of which is underlined) can be confirmed in Chambers I will focus on wordplay here.
Away we go…
| Across | |
| 5 | Gold coin left by a visitor, not a holy person (8) |
| PORTAGUE – PORT(left on a ship), then A GUEST(visitor) minus ST(holy person) | |
| 11 | Old-fashioned passenger aircraft heading off to Spain (7) |
| ARRIERE – CARRIER(passenger aircraft) mising the first letter, next to E(Spain) | |
| 12 | Mark goes to health resorts for muscular problem (5) |
| SPASM – M(Mark) next to SPAS(health resorts) | |
| 14 | Tree trunks in heap next to vetch (7) |
| RICKERS – RICK(heap) next to ERS(vetch) | |
| 15 | African party held in island gorge (8) |
| BARRANCA – ANC(African party) inside the Hebridean island BARRA | |
| 16 | A good individual no longer here? No longer here (5) |
| AGONE – A, G(good), ONE(individual) | |
| 17 | Intermediate exam finally taken by old slave (5) |
| MESNE – last letter of exaM with ESNE(old slave) | |
| 18 | Mineral — it is embedded in wood (6) |
| PINITE – IT inside PINE(wood) | |
| 20 | Democrat’s somehow lost seat astonishingly — one has lots of information (5) |
| CD-ROM – anagram of DEMOCRAT’S minus SEAT | |
| 22 | Losing head is more daring — and maybe more mature? (5) |
| OLDER – remove the first letter of BOLDER(more daring) | |
| 24 | Bank protecting a river? Not before time these days! (6) |
| REARLY – RELY(bank) containing A, R(river) | |
| 27 | Preach love before reproof (5) |
| ORATE – O(love) then RATE(reproof) | |
| 30 | Colonnades in street, 27 with gaps (5) |
| STOAE – ST(street) then alternating letters in OrAtE(the answer to 27 across) | |
| 31 | Awful stir with prince intervening as disciplinarian? (8) |
| RIGORIST – anagram of STIR containing prince IGOR of the Borodin opera | |
| 32 | Good young performer beginning to entertain the French (7) |
| STARLET – START(beginning) containing LE(the in French) | |
| 33 | Old-fashioned grab concealed by Chinese is extraordinary (5) |
| SEISE – hidden inside chineSE IS Extraordinary | |
| 34 | See Edmund’s tree rise o’er ground (7) |
| ROSIERE – anagram of RISE,OER | |
| 35 | What makes friend wearing flower in Paris like something “flowery”? (8) |
| SEPALINE – PAL(friend) inside SENE (French river) | |
| Down | |
| 1 | A pearl could be fashioned to this? (6) |
| EARLAP – anagram of A PEARL | |
| 2 | Like some birds, beautiful, with identifying tag badly digging in? (11) |
| FRINGILLINE – FINE(beautiful) containing | |
| 3 | Old magistrate operating under curved structure (6) |
| ARCHON – ON(operating) after ARCH(curved structure) | |
| 4 | Nothing at all that’s said in the devil’s joint? (7) |
| NIKSNIE – sounds like NICK’S(the devil’s) KNEE(joint) | |
| 6 | Farm workers and soldiers given a dish of broth (7, two words) |
| ORRA MEN – OR(soldiers) and RAMEN(a japenese broth dish) | |
| 7 | Rulers of society entertained by seafarers (5) |
| TSARS – S(society) inside TARS(seafarers) | |
| 8 | A holy one involved with honey-makers? (5) |
| APIAN – A, PI(holy) AN(one) | |
| 9 | Store of horticultural worker partially gutted (6) |
| GARNER – GARDENER(horticultural worker) missing the middle two letters | |
| 10 | Preserve yours truly served up with roasted lamb (6) |
| EMBALM – ME(yours truly) reversed, and an anagram of LAMB | |
| 13 | Fresh cods so large — whoppers (11) |
| SOCDOLAGERS – anagram of CODS,SO,LARGE | |
| 19 | Conservative city getting rid of its leader — it’s rocky (7) |
| CRESTON – C(conservative) and the city of PRESTON missing its first letter | |
| 21 | Papal office bit upset over unnamed heretic (7) |
| DATARIA – TAD(bit) reversed, then ARIAN(heretic) missing N(name) | |
| 22 | This monster Hun could show roughness (6) |
| OGRESS – anagram of ROUGHNESS minus HUN | |
| 23 | Fruit? Note one that’s soft, good inside (6) |
| DOGHIP – DO(msuical note), I(one) and P(soft) contianing G(good) | |
| 25 | King getting tipsy was agitated (6) |
| ROILED – R(rex, king), and OILED(tipsy) | |
| 26 | You may get back not quite last (6) |
| YESTER – YE(you) then STERN(back) missing the last letter | |
| 28 | Grass? An Aussie animal needs it (5) |
| ROOSA – ROO(Australian animal) and SA(it) | |
| 29 | Guild formed by group of companies about to take off (5) |
| ARTEL – CARTEL(group of companies) missing C(about) | |
Edited at 2021-03-07 09:33 am (UTC)
While I’m here, I might mention that ramen is (or are) noodles, not broth, although of course they’re served in broth.
Edited at 2021-03-07 12:16 pm (UTC)