Greetings, barred-grid fans.
Fun puzzle from Paul McKenna this week, with a pun in the top row that leapt out of the grid and got me off to a good start (even though I know there is some treat in the top row, it is rare that I solve those clues early on).
A message from the Sunday Times Puzzles Editor (and the chap that first recruited me to this site):
Don Manley is stepping down from Mephisto after his 200th puzzle in January, and we are looking for one or more new setters. If you have some crossword setting experience and would like to be considered as a possible contributor, please email puzzle.feedback@sunday-
In Mephisto puzzles, definitions (the most obvious of which is underlined) can be confirmed in Chambers, so I will focus on wordplay here.
Away we go…
| Across | |
| 1 | Fine with anything being contested (6) |
| FOUGHT – F(fine) and OUGHT(anything) | |
| 6 | Picks holes in pinks (6) |
| KNOCKS – double definition, though both might require a trip to Chambers. Picks holes in refers to nit-picking or knocking, and a pink is a mechanical knocking noise (definition 3) | |
| 11 | Fat clique quail when two Conservatives resign (7) |
| LANOLIN – CLAN(clique) and COLIN(quail) both missing C(Conservative) | |
| 12 | Trimmed tree near a Spanish village (5) |
| ALDEA – ALDER(tree) missing the last letter next to A | |
| 13 | Oilmen are here reversing demand on rogue that’s down 50 per cent (8) |
| ABERDEEN – NEED(demand) reversed after half of ABERrant (rogue) | |
| 14 | Complete Papal See in shake-up? It’s a disappointing thing (12, three words) |
| DEAD SEA APPLE – DEAD(complete) and an anagram of PAPAL,SEE | |
| 15 | Start of Great Fire that’s troubled teen in times gone by (5) |
| GRIEF – first letter of Great then an anagram of FIRE. Second definition of TEEN in Chambers | |
| 17 | Net being new unit of space (7) |
| ENSNARE – ENS(being), N(new), ARE(unit of space) | |
| 20 | Old soil English put in pound (5) |
| BERAY – E(English) inside BRAY(pound with a pestle) | |
| 21 | Just like Botham in past sending appearance money back (5) |
| BEEFY – BY(past) containing FEE(appearance money) reversed. Reference to Ian “Beefy” Botham, English cricketer of the 70s, 80s and early 90s | |
| 22 | I’d get in changes making an instance of selection (7) |
| EDITING – anagram of I’D,GET,IN | |
| 26 | Sideways glance taking in priest who declared himself unclean? (5) |
| LEPER – LEER(sideways glance) containing P(priest) | |
| 28 | Possibly try courting round lane’s end — drivers prefer to avoid it (12, two words) |
| TIGER COUNTRY – anagram of TRY,COURTING surrounding the last letter in lanE. The drivers are playing golf | |
| 29 | Beheaded martyr and saint of little fish (8) |
| ATHERINE – remove the first letter of saint CATHERINE | |
| 30 | Hired a Charlie who’s no gent going west (5) |
| TICCA – A, C(Charlie), CIT(no gent) all reversed | |
| 31 | Energy behind scene’s moving spirit (7) |
| ESSENCE – E(energy) after an anagram of SCENE’S | |
| 32 | Approach mark of femininity with acceptance having priority (6) |
| ACCESS – the mark of femininity is -ESS, add ACC(acceptance) | |
| 33 | Right to go against leaving European assembly (6) |
| EGRESS – CON(against) removed from E(European), CONGRESS(assembly) | |
| Down | |
| 1 | Rear took off, for example, skywards (6) |
| FLEDGE – FLED(took off) then EG(for example) reversed | |
| 2 | Axed from the off Ford left blunder in “The Horse Soldiers”, say (5) |
| OATER -remove F(Ford) and L(left) from the beginning of FLOATER(blunder) | |
| 3 | Disfigured denarius not yet picked up (8) |
| UNRAISED – anagram of DENARIUS | |
| 4 | Object of expedition to regain most favourable plunder (12, two words) |
| GOLDEN FLEECE – GOLDEN(most favourable), FLEECE(plunder) | |
| 5 | Region’s tense, I guess (5) |
| TIBET – T(tense), I, BET(guess) | |
| 6 | Massaged joint with advantage within day (7) |
| KNEADED – KNEE(joint) containing AD(advantage) then D(day) | |
| 7 | Picked up material for wrapping fruit (5) |
| NARAS – SARAN(material for wrapping) reversed | |
| 8 | Rebellious aspirant rendered plot poorly (12, two words) |
| OLD PRETENDER – anagram of RENDERED PLOT | |
| 9 | Predator loses strong lots mostly — one’s busy with pram? (7) |
| KEELMAN – KESTREL(predator) minus STR(strong) then MANY(lots) minus the last letter. Did not know PRAM as barge – second definition in Chambers | |
| 10 | Reasonably canny about Scots article (6) |
| SANELY – SLY(canny) surrounding ANE(Scots article) | |
| 16 | This helps fuel flight, ie journey taken in the past (8) |
| TRIPTANE – TRIP(journey) and TANE(taken) | |
| 18 | About one flag (Nationalist) rising from coastal waters (7) |
| NERITIC – C(about), I(one), TIRE(flag) and N(nationalist) all reversed | |
| 19 | Take French companies for short look-sees (7) |
| RECCIES – REC(recipe, take), CIES(compagnies, French companies). I’m so used to R=take in Mephistos that I was looking for EC as a company originally | |
| 21 | Stick with what’s in satay’s sweet ingredient? (6) |
| BATATA – BAT(stick) and the inside of sATAy | |
| 23 | Old griffins run away from gross scene of battle (6) |
| GRYPES – remove R(run) from GR(gross), YPRES(scene of battle) | |
| 24 | Answer bishop in clipped style — to that extent, it’s embroidery (5) |
| ARRAS – A(answer), RR(bishop shortened), AS(to that extent) | |
| 25 | In Scotland plenty of bums on seats (5) |
| SONSE – hidden in bumS ON SEats | |
| 27 | Preposterous constant in father’s reparations (5) |
| ERICS – preposterous means contrary, so reverse of C(constant) inside SIRE(father) | |
Not terribly difficult, as I was able to biff some of the answers like erics, arras, and Golden Fleece. I didn’t know who Botham was, and didn’t need to.
For the benefit of non-golfers, tiger country refers to the parts of the golf course that are so overgrown with vegetation that wild animals could be living there.
I found this hard. I did manage to get the pun across the top quite early on though: these puzzles have taught me that the word ‘pink’ has many meanings, and I remembered this one.