Greetings barred-grid fans!
Another wordplay tour de force from Don Manley, no question marks on my grid but a lot of notes in the margins.
In Mephisto puzzles, definitions (the most direct of which is underlined) can be confirmed in Chambers, so I will focus on wordplay here.
Away we go…
| Across | |
| 1 | Mark has healthy food, starter for dinner (5) |
| BRAND – the healthy food is BRAN, then the first letter in Dinner | |
| 5 | Total pain limiting old city society (7, two words) |
| PURSANG – PANG(pain) containing UR(old city) and S(society) | |
| 10 | Vegetable blue? A lapse in what’s been said (9) |
| MARROWSKY – MARROW(vegetable) and SKY blue | |
| 11 | Evil spirit making one scared (5) |
| AFRIT – A(one) FRIT(scared) | |
| 12 | A number of grains companion found in whisky? (6) |
| DRACHM – CH(companion) nside DRAM(whisky) | |
| 13 | Attempt is made to accommodate the Parisian sculptures (8) |
| STABILES – STAB(attempt) and IS containing LE(the, in French) | |
| 15 | Naughty e-message in time of prayer (4) |
| SEXT – double definition… I’ll own up to knowing the first definition better than the second | |
| 16 | Puts up with winter sportspeople disregarding rule (5) |
| SKIES – SKIERS(winter sportspeople) minus R(rule). Puts up as in sends high | |
| 17 | Man’s parts in choral sessions with face hidden (9) |
| SHEADINGS – SINGS(choral sessions) containing HEAD(face). Man refers to the Isle of Man here | |
| 20 | Enteric, as could be anatomical spaces (9) |
| CISTERNAE – anagram of ENTERIC,AS | |
| 22 | Having joint, as you might say, for massage (5) |
| KNEAD – sounds like KNEED(having joint) | |
| 26 | Friendly and powerful, exuding energy (4) |
| MATY – MEATY(powerful) minus E(energy) | |
| 27 | Indication given to soldiers, one given by a governing body (8) |
| SIGNORIA – SIGN(indication), OR(soldiers), I(one) and A | |
| 28 | Read dictionaries? Your enthusiast gets stuck in! (6) |
| ADDICT – hidden inside reAD DICTionaries | |
| 29 | Religious fighters beat their enemy (5) |
| SATAN – SA(Salvation Army, religious fighters) and TAN(beat) | |
| 30 | Search in second-rate market, primarily for cheap rubbish (9) |
| BRUMMAGEM – RUMMAGE(search) in B(second rate) and the first letter in Market | |
| 31 | Germany’s predominant in beer (7) |
| ALMAINE – MAIN(predominant) inside ALE(beer) | |
| 32 | This Greek character is missing another one (5) |
| THETA – THIS and ETA(greek character) minus IS | |
| Down | |
| 1 | Audacious saints invading vicar’s Thames-side location (6) |
| BRASSY – S and S(saints) inside the see of the Vicar of BRAY (an satirical poem or operetta) | |
| 2 | Beams from gang subsequent to being caught (9) |
| RAFTERING – RING(gang) containing AFTER(subsequent to) | |
| 3 | Charm of a supporter when receiving sign of love (7) |
| ABRAXAS – A, BRA(supporter) AS(when) containing X(sign of love) | |
| 4 | Goin’ out with a member of a chivalric order (5) |
| DATIN – DATING (going out) with the last letter elided | |
| 5 | Quiet car, old one moving suspiciously? (7) |
| PROLLER – P(piano,, quiet), ROLLER(car) | |
| 6 | So pointed it out, being erudite? (5) |
| URDEE – remove IT from ERUDTE and form an anagram | |
| 7 | Is weak potation finally ditched? Is that it? (7) |
| SWANKIE – anagram of IS,WEAK and the last letter of potatioN | |
| 8 | Cells having one sort of code (5) |
| ASCII – ASCI(cells) and I(one). | |
| 9 | Yarns from non-U fellows about politician (5) |
| GYMPS – remove U from GUYS(fellows) and insert MP(politician) | |
| 14 | Agent into getting new deal? (9) |
| NEGOTIANT – anagram of AGENT,INTO, an all-in-one | |
| 17 | Dramatic items sung at Mass I rearranged (7) |
| STASIMA – anagram of AT,MASS,I | |
| 18 | Mystical interpretation of a horse I conjured up (7) |
| ANAGOGE – A, NAG and then EGO(I) reversed | |
| 19 | A jar with ten crushed oranges? Only one (7) |
| NAARTJE – anagram of A,JAR and TEN | |
| 21 | African people in US city with stories about the origin of jazz (6) |
| NYANJA – NY(US City) and ANA(stories) around the first letter in Jazz | |
| 22 | King laid on a Syrian cloth in holy building (5) |
| KAABA – K(king), A, ABA(Syrian cloth) | |
| 23 | Duke besotted over maiden at once (5, two words) |
| EK DUM – anagram of DUKE containing M(maiden) | |
| 24 | Old council to recognise a knight (5) |
| WITAN – WIT(recognise), A, N(knight) | |
| 25 | A Parisian group yet to be confirmed? (5) |
| UNSET – UN(a in French), SET(group) | |
Edited at 2022-03-20 01:56 pm (UTC)