Mephisto 3157 – Don Manley

Posted on Categories Mephisto

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)

8 comments on “Mephisto 3157 – Don Manley”

  1. Moderate one, with no major hold-ups. Mind you I needed all the checkers to get anywhere near SOCDOLAGERS, a very unlikely-looking word.

    Edited at 2021-03-07 09:33 am (UTC)

    1. I’ve never seen other than ‘sockdolagers’.
      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)

      1. ‘Ramen’ is commonly used to describe the dish, and clue refers to a ‘dish of broth’, so it seems fine to me.
  2. I don’t take much notice of my timings on Mephisto as a rule, but I was on Don’s wavelength with this one, and submitted correctly in 19:55 which is certainly the first time I’ve broken the 20 minute barrier.
  3. I had most of this done in one evening session on the Sunday and managed to round up a couple of stragglers the following evening. A very satisfying rummage through the further reaches of Chambers based on some solid word play.
  4. I felt let off easy, although I struggled with the ARRIERE / ORRA MEN crossing for quite some time, having had the wrong idea for both entirely.
  5. I thought the wordplays throughout were very generous, starting with the otherwise unknown PORTAGUES to give a breezy start. Even the wacky SOCDOLAGERS could be construed from the clear anagram and the crossers. I completed in just under 30 minutes, which might be a record. Very enjoyable.

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