Greetings barred-grid fans
I found the top half of this puzzle pretty tricky. Time got away from me, so this is a late and quick blog.
In Mephisto puzzles, defnitions can be confirmed in Chambers so I will focus on wordplay here
Away we go…
| Across | |
| 1 | Reduced force includes soldiers on board of the highest quality (11) |
| PRIMARINESS – PRISE(force) missing the last letter containing MARINES(soldiers on board) | |
| 10 | Nicked close to windpipe on part of tongue (6) |
| RANINE – RAN IN(arrested, nicked) then the last letter of windpipE | |
| 11 | Cheer a lot of old-fashioned salt (6) |
| IODATE – IO(cheer) and DATED(old-fashioned) missing the last letter | |
| 12 | Terribly loud vicar right apart on the Tube (8) |
| OVIDUCAL – anagram of LOUD,VICAR minus R(right) | |
| 13 | Nice grocer’s impressive with timeless range (7) |
| EPICIER – EPIC(impressive) and TIER(range) minus T(time) – referring to Nice in France | |
| 14 | Blackbird not unknown in Scottish island (4) |
| COLL – COLLY(blackbird) minus Y(unknown) | |
| 15 | Lady in Lisbon Sheraton out to entrap leader of industry (9) |
| SENHORITA – anagram of SHERATON containing the first letter in Industry | |
| 20 | Veteran’s writing till money comes in (6) |
| DITING – DIG(till a field) containing TIN(money) | |
| 21 | More promising runs with Boycott opening (6) |
| ROSIER – R(runs) with baroness ROSIE Boycott at the start | |
| 23 | Rationale designed for person prone to distancing? (9) |
| ALIENATOR – anagram of RATIONALE | |
| 25 | Trace a 1986 vehicle (4) |
| DREG – I don’t think I have the wordplay here – DREG is given as trace in Chambers but I can’t figure out the rest. See comments – it is D-REG(istration) | |
| 26 | Playwright from large Pacific island dropping round (7) |
| OSBORNE – OS(large) and BORNEO(Pacific island) missing O(round) | |
| 28 | Character with identity remitted hot money, cash used in Argos? (8) |
| DIDRACHM -CARD(character) and ID(identity) all reversed, then H(hot) and M(money) | |
| 29 | Close chum starts to surrender all possessions (6) |
| ESTATE – BEST MATE(close chum) missing the first letter of each word | |
| 30 | Squeeze former partner, tense by the sound of it (6) |
| EXTORT – EX(former partner) then sounds like TAUT(tense) | |
| 31 | Tendency to get equilibrium in secret police, nothing succeeded externally (11) |
| HOMEOSTASIS – HOME(in) and STASI(secret police) surrounding O(nothing) and S(succeeded) | |
| Down | |
| 1 | Mediator clear on study dominated by ministers (12) |
| PRIEST-RIDDEN – PRIEST(mediator), RID(clear) and DEN(study) | |
| 2 | Onion recipe for colt in training school (4) |
| RAMP – R(recipe) instead of C(colt) in CAMP(training school) | |
| 3 | Rocky with cast sinks wine being drunk (8) |
| INKINESS – remove W(with) from an anagram of SINKS,WINE | |
| 4 | Jerk taking money for hotel to play hookey (5) |
| MITCH – HITCH(jerk) with M(money) replacing H(hotel) | |
| 5 | Run over the best possible dream (6) |
| REVERY – R(run) on top of EVERY(the best) | |
| 6 | Spooner’s offering place that’s knotty (8) |
| NODATION – Spoonerism of DONATION | |
| 7 | Due to be renovated, technology college and English school (7) |
| EDUCATE – anagram of DUE, then CAT(College of Advanced Techology) and E | |
| 8 | Last in party to leave, Guy and Heather going (7) |
|
STALING – |
|
| 9 | Fighting people ring about entering office after one (12) |
| BELLIGERENTS – BELL(ring) then RE(about) inside GENTS(office, toilet) after I(one) | |
| 16 | Spotted criminal unit in short western (8) |
| OCELLATE – CELL(criminal unit) inside OATER(western) missing the last letter | |
| 17 | Derision shown by audience rapping three old actors (8) |
| HISTRIOS – HISS(derision shown by audience) surrounding TRIO(three) | |
| 18 | Jumper lifted up in error is clumsy (7) |
| BOORISH – ROO(jumper) reversed inside BISH(error) | |
| 19 | Indian city is involved in obscure scheme (7) |
| DIAGRAM – AGRA(Indian city) inside DIM(obscure) | |
| 22 | Man in tangle gets engaged (6) |
| MESHES – HE(man) inside MESS(tangle) | |
| 24 | Ignore my amatory larking, it does come from the heart (5) |
| AORTA – remove MY from an anagram of AMATORY | |
| 27 | Japanese food thrown up in club (4) |
| NORI – IRON(golf club) reversed | |
There were a couple I didn’t fully parse – 28a and 3d – and I didn’t envy the blogger who had to pick this one apart.
Edited at 2022-03-06 10:02 am (UTC)
George in 10ac I think ‘on’ is part of the definition (since RANINE is an adjective relating to the ranula), and in 8dn I think Y (last of party) is leaving STAY (guy).
Thanks to dcrooks for explaining DREG, I was baffled too.
I agree with the corrections so far – I just assumed a D-reg must be something – but I would also add that while alienator is indeed an anagram of alienator, our honorable blogger probably intended to write rationale.
Having owned one, a Morris 1300, D-REG was nostalgic and amusing. With its gearbox crumbling so that reverse was very difficult, and parked in an extremely tight space in Bristol near what used to be the Colse Nall, it was somehow nicked. I recovered it the next day from Birmingham the morning after the pub bombing. Never did know whether the events wee connected.