Greetings, barred-grid fans!
I don’t remember having too much difficulty with this puzzle, which has some really generous checking. This grid with 90 degree symmetry and the four long answers trisecting give you enough starter letters to put in the rather unusual words. Two of the three-letter fully-checked answers went in without needing to be solved. How did you get along?
A reminder that in Mephisto puzzles, definitions can be confirmed in Chambers, so I will focus on the wordplay here.
Apologies for leaving off the wordplay for 1 across and not underlining two definitions in the original blog. Mea culpa – I started it thinking I had plenty of time, but then got a call and had to work, so finished it much later than I usually do. Things should be corrected now.
Away we go.
| Across | |
| 2 | Myth disturbingly linked with corsair vessel (11) |
| CHRISMATORY – anagram of MYTH and CORSAIR | |
| 10 | Remarkable being a person leaving New York (4, two words) |
| A ONE – ANYONE(a person) minus NY(New York) | |
| 11 | Mary beheaded, sadly note strain for Elizabeth I (4) |
| AYRE – anagram of MARY minus the first letter, then E(note) | |
| 12 | Old plant returning years after beheading (3) |
| SEG – AGES(years) reversed minus the first letter | |
| 14 | Take possession of apartment east of American capital (7) |
| USUCAPT – APT(apartment) after US(American) UC(upper case, capital) | |
| 15 | It’s cold and standing charges must return (5) |
| SERAC – CARES(charges) reversed | |
| 17 | American O Henry repeated something seven lines lower? (6) |
| OHIOAN – O, H(henry, the unit), and then you will find IOAN if you look down seven lines. Referential clues seem to follow me around! | |
| 18 | Lie about academic qualification after a job with old Peter’s foundation? (12, two words) |
| APOSTOLIC SEE – LIE surrounding CSE (Certificate of Secondary Education, academic qualification) after A, POST(job), O(old) | |
| 20 | Female behaviour right away from Birmingham’s centre? (7) |
| BULLING – remove R(right) from the BULL RING centre of Birmingham | |
| 23 | Legal right English voters exercised (7) |
| ESTOVER – E(English) then an anagram of VOTERS | |
| 25 | Traditional refrain impaired when tenor replaces verse (12) |
| TRALATICIOUS – TRA-LA(refrain) then VICIOUS(impaired) with T(tenor) replacing V(verse) | |
| 27 | Kent resort’s missing its centre having branches (6) |
| RAMATE – RAMSGATE(Kent resort) minus the middle letters | |
| 29 | List includes German philosopher (5) |
| HEGEL – HEEL(list) containing G(German) | |
| 30 | What edits website without AI — a thousand surfers may be drawn here (7) |
| WAIKIKI – WIKI(editable website platform) surrounding AI, K(a thousand), the main beach strip in Honolulu | |
| 32 | Old partner of aunt being sick when sister goes (3) |
| EME – EMESIS(being sick) minus SIS(sister) | |
| 33 | Moderation more than once House is shown by Home Secretary (4) |
| HOHS – HO(house), HS(Home Secretary) | |
| 34 | Welshman, one of a number (4) |
| IOAN – I(one), O(of), A, N(number) | |
| 35 | What made Michael the comedian he is? Ultimately funny regeneration (11) |
| PALINGENESY – The well known Monty Python member and whimsical documentarian Michael’s comedy could come from the PALIN GENES, then the last letter of funnY. I liked this clue, and it reminded me of a friend of mine whose father was Michael Palin’s regular director, Roger Mills (Roger died about a year ago). | |
| Down | |
| 1 | Fruit producer handling tons in cloth wrap (11, two words) |
| SAUSAGE TREE – USAGE(handling), T(tons) inside SAREE(cloth wrap) | |
| 2 | Function of Civil Service stopped by nothing (3) |
| COS – CS(Civil Service) surrounding O(nothing) | |
| 3 | Remodelled ship’s crew quarters amidships (6) |
| RECAST – little sneaky here – it is the middle of FORECASTLE(ship’s quarters), not used to seeing two letters being shaved off each side to get to the middle. | |
| 4 | Switching off where play begins with applause failing to begin (12) |
| INACTIVATION – a play begins IN ACT I, then OVATION(applause) minus the first letter | |
| 5 | Growth in pollution? A worry shortly in southeast (7) |
| SAPROBE – A, PROB(short for problem, worry) inside SE(southeast) | |
| 6 | Bitter dye old China turned out (12) |
| ARCHILOCHIAN – ARCHIL(dye), O, then an anagram of CHINA | |
| 7 | Sleuth casing Long Island firm (5) |
| TELIC – TEC(sleuth) surrounding LI(Long Island) | |
| 8 | Universe’s missing constant process of absorption (7) |
| OSMOSIS – COSMOS IS(universe’s) minus C(constant) | |
| 9 | Name of royal Iranian book promoting king (4) |
| REZA – the book of EZRA with R(king) moved to the top for the former Shah of Iran | |
| 13 | Grade E actor, hopeless case in Hollywood (11, two words) |
| GONE GOSLING – GON(a grade in geometry), E, and the actor Ryan GOSLING | |
| 16 | Great work, English Chambers (4) |
| EPOS – E(English), POS(chambers) | |
| 19 | Red bracts springing up shortly after sun (7) |
| STAMMEL – LEMMATA(bracts) minus the last letter reversed after S(sun) | |
| 21 | Finally discover iodine and calcium in milk enzyme (7) |
| URICASE – the last letter of discoveR, I(iodine) and CA(calcium) inside USE(milk) | |
| 22 | Island our neighbour backed to join Northern Ireland (4) |
| NIUE – EU(neighbour to England) reversed after NI(Northern Ireland) | |
| 24 | Climber twice using inserted peg got over (6) |
| KIE-KIE – sounds like KEY(inserted peg) twice | |
| 26 | Stick note on this showing final abandonment (5) |
| LATHI – LA(musical note) on THIS minus the last letter | |
| 28 | Part of something said before going to meeting (4) |
| AGMA – A(before) next to AGM(annual general meeting) | |
| 31 | Highland cattle around a former landing stage (3) |
| KAY – KY(Scots cows) surrounding A. Earlier spelling of QUAY | |
I didn’t get very far with this.
Some definitions are not underlined in the blog, so all is not yet clear.
You might want to spell out for 1ac that CHRISMATORY = anagram of MYTH and CORSAIR
I parsed 10ac as A-ONE, in the sense of A-1, top class, so that “remarkable” would satisfy the definition, but perhaps you are right on this.
Chambers has “A person special or remarkable in some way” for A ONE, so I think person has to be part of the definition.
I found this week’s puzzle extremely hard, to the point I almost gave up. After struggling for a couple of days I completed it with 14, 17, 3, 19, 24 and 28 not fully understood. Thanks for the blog. That’s cleared up my queries with those six clues.
On the plus side EME, KAY and COS went in right away. OSMOSIS I biffed and worked out later. PALINGENESY was rather pleasing.
Lots to ponder over and note for the future.
Didn’t enjoy this, and was left wondering about several clues. 17a left me baffled. I thought about looking seven lines lower, but I had IVAN, thinking that this was a Welsh name, and also a regnal number of a Tsar. The PDMs were met with a shrug, rather than a smile.
Unusually high number.ber of long clues made this different, even if some of them were actually common enough not to need verification. OHIOAN looks very odd!