Greetings, barred-grid fans.
Last Sunday was a busy day for me and I didn’t get around to solving this until Friday late night. Maybe it was solving Mephisto under different circumstances (wine and cheese instead of coffee and fruit) but I found this one tricky. I hope I have everything sorted out.
In Mephisto puzzles, definitions (the most direct of which to me is underlined) can be confirmed in Chambers, so I will focus on wordplay here.
Away we go…
| Across | |
| 1 | Alcoholic drink with small dishes as put out last on table (4) |
| TAPE – TAPAS(small dishes) minus AS at the end, and the last letter of tablE. | |
| 4 | What could make “sackcloth and ashes” in sign of submission possibly (8) |
| HESSIANS – I think this is an anagram of ASHES,IN and the first letter (sign, trace) of Submission, but I’m open to other wordplay suggestions | |
| 10 | Bob on top having passages (6) |
| AISLED – a bob SLED after AI(top) | |
| 11 | Legislation made in New York is fine for old Scots (5) |
| UNLAW – New York is the home of the United Nations, so UN LAW would be legislation made there. | |
| 12 | Wise leaders with bad asthma keeping mum (8) |
| MAHATMAS – anagram of ASTHMA containing MA(mum) | |
| 14 | Exact time set after Easter abroad (7) |
| ESTREAT – T(time) after an anagram of EASTER | |
| 15 | Engineers charge extra money for good service (6) |
| REWARD – RE(engineers), WARD(charge) | |
| 16 | Good hands fixed places for changing horse (5) |
| POSTS – I thought this might have been three definitions but the full underlined one is definition 12 under subheading 3 and the first one is definition 2 under subheading 4. A second deep dive into Chambers after TAPE | |
| 17 | Contrarily, active on stock exchange with no end of unease (8, two words) |
| A REBOURS – A(active), RE(on) and BOURSE(stock exchange) minus the last letter of uneasE | |
| 22 | Listed computer stuff is found in Eastern Mediterranean (8) |
| ITEMISED – IT(computer stuff) then IS inside E(eastern) MED(Mediterranean) | |
| 24 | Baked dish right with a bit of sauce (5) |
| PIERT – PIE(baked dish), RT(right) | |
| 25 | Keen backing around Gabon for music from Trinidad (6) |
| REGGAE – EAGER(keen) reversed surrounding G(Gabon) | |
| 27 | Essential nature of insurance head (7) |
| INSCAPE – INS(insurance), CAPE(head) | |
| 29 | Express sharing drama in home entertainment company (8) |
| NINTENDO – INTEND(express) inside NO(drama) | |
| 30 | A cotton cloth cut for Middle-Easterner (5) |
| ADENI – A, DENIM(cotton cloth) minus the last letter | |
| 31 | Maggie on edge showing dizziness (6) |
| MEGRIM – MEG(maggie) on RIM(edge) | |
| 32 | Much said by sailor for marine guide (8) |
| LODESTAR – sounds like LOADS(much) then TAR(sailor) | |
| 33 | Jazz unlimited after house music in Romania (4) |
| HORA – TRAD(jazz) minus the first and last letter after HO(house) | |
| Down | |
| 1 | Buffalo in river, one by a duck (7) |
| TAMARAO – the TAMAR river, A(one) and O(a duck in cricket) | |
| 2 | Impatient expression putting pressure on dramatist (5) |
| PSHAW – P(pressure) over George Bernard SHAW | |
| 3 | Impetuosity of external evidence taken up (4) |
| ELAN – hidden reversed in exterNAL Evidence | |
| 4 | Straight Scotch whisky where to? It’s for partying (6) |
| HETERO – remove W(whisky) from WHERE,TO and anagram | |
| 5 | Marine certainly in convulsion as before (7) |
| SEASURE – SEA(marine), SURE(certainly) | |
| 6 | Gene’s sequence opening with a short number? (6) |
| INTRON – INTRO(opening) and N(number) | |
| 7 | Sense of pain is on bottom as leg twisted (7) |
| ALGESIS – IS under an anagram of AS,LEG | |
| 8 | Catch a smack crossing river associated with ancient Arabs (9) |
| NABATAEAN – NAB(catch) A, TAN(smack) surrounding EA(river) | |
| 9 | Whip for playwright with cracking models (5) |
| SWITS – W(with) inside SITS(models) | |
| 13 | Brave action seen as wayward in Democratic party (9) |
| DERRINGDO – ERRING(wayward) inside D(Democratic), DO(party) | |
| 18 | Echo story department put out (7) |
| EGESTED – E(echo), GESTE(story), D(department) | |
| 19 | Idealistic reformer put first in Hebridean islands (7) |
| UTOPIST – TOP(first) in UIST(Hebridean islands) | |
| 20 | Benign tumour on a dame needing treatment (7) |
| ADENOMA – anagram of ON,A,DAME | |
| 21 | Laid up gunners getting stick in secret (6) |
| ARCANE – reverse RA(gunners) then CANE(stick) | |
| 23 | Perhaps steel worker coming out of metal factory without cover (6) |
| MELTER – SMELTERY(metal factory) minus the external letters | |
| 24 | Single blossom on a large tree (5) |
| PIPAL – PIP(single blossom), A, L. Another deep dive into chambers, definition 5 in header 4 for PIP | |
| 26 | What’s the low-down on right term in Tokyo for elder statesmen (5) |
| GENRO – GEN(low-down), R(right) and the last letter of TokyO | |
| 28 | Pin height causing gasp for breath in Cairngorms (4) |
| PEGH – PEG(pin), H(height) | |
Well, I did solve it. I thought there was some kind of problem with Hessians, since Hessian is sackcloth, but that doesn’t mean Hessians make it. I don’t think reggae is typical of Trinidad, either – don’t they have calypso there? Fortunately, posts was pretty obvious to me, but tape required the deep dive.
Trinidad (and Tobago) is the home of calypso, and is also known for soca, chutney music, steelpan, and carnaval songs like lavway and leggos, as well as bongo music. REGGAE is from Jamaica. Close, but no spliff, mon. (I wonder how it happens that Vinyl’s comment wasn’t there when I first posted, but is now above mine after I’ve added to my original comment…)
Though I was not able to get securely on the Mephisto wavelength last week, I did work several all on my own. Your parsing of HESSIAN is surely correct.
Yes. I found this hard too finishing in the SE corner, but I see I got it all correct. I parsed HESSIANS the same way as our blogger. A good test. Thanks Tim and George.
Still cannot understand 16 across
Good hands?
The full definition is in Chambers. Under the fourth headword for POST:
A good or winning hand as in the old card game of post and pair.
Thanks, I was wondering about that too (right, I still haven’t bought Chambers! Probably from a fear that I would then feel committed to working the Mephisto every week… I’m almost there, though).