Greetings, barred-grid fans.
I rather enjoyed this one – not too difficult, lots of fun clues, a little schoolboy humour and some very strange words. When I first started blogging Mephisto puzzles I complained about some of the disgusting sounding foods in the grid (crappit-head, anyone), but the food in this one sounds pretty tasty!
A reminder that definitions can be confirmed in Chambers, so if you disagree with a definition, chances are the Big Red Book disagrees with you.
Away we go…
Across | |
1 | Spooner’s speciality, best part’s blue? (9) |
MARROWSKY – MARROW(best part), SKY(blue) | |
11 | Search when temperature’s dropped for good shelter in Cairngorms (5) |
SCOUG – SCOUT(search) with T(temperature) replaced with G(good) | |
13 | Charcuterie’s stocking animal organs … (5) |
UTERI – hidden inside charcUTERIe | |
14 | … brain? Demand bovine heads removed (5) |
SKULL – ASK(demand) and BULL(bovine) both missing the first letter | |
15 | Buff liking to start with bread (7) |
NANKEEN – KEEN(liking) with NAN bread at the start | |
17 | Trying smokier nuts (7) |
IRKSOME – anagram of SMOKIER | |
18 | Hold in ring, left in flipping hooter, a little numb (6) |
NELSON – L(left) inside NOSE(hooter) and the first letter of Numb, all reversed | |
19 | Old bloodhound has carefree part of life returning to pound (4) |
LYAM – MAY(carefree part of life) reversed, next to L(pound) | |
20 | Prepay hotel for relaxing mud bath treatment (11) |
PELOTHERAPY – anagram of PREPAY,HOTEL | |
23 | Monk greeting being beset by awfully stark time (11) |
MEKHITARIST – HI(greeting) inside an anagram of STARK,TIME | |
25 | Excited with party hairstyle (4) |
UPDO – UP(excited) and DO(party) | |
28 | Water carrier’s call for silence in response (6) |
BHISTI – HIST(call for silence) inside BI(a response in Chinese medicine) | |
30 | Local bod sporting costume with finery (7) |
GAUDGIE – GIE(costume for judo) with GAUD(finery) | |
32 | I’ll pop in to present a dessert (7) |
GRANITA – I inside GRANT(present), A | |
33 | Give up having succeeded to discharge power (5) |
REIGN – RESIGN(give up) minus S(succeeded) | |
34 | Howler monkey blowing top? (5) |
ERROR – TERROR(monkey) minus the first letter | |
35 | Dead-head plant after early signs of spring (5) |
SPRUE – RUE(plant) after the first two letters in SPring | |
36 | Plaster required after instrument of torture? I love contraptions! (9) |
GADGETEER – TEER(plaster) after GADGE(instrument of torture) |
Down | |
2 | Parrot largely tucked into excellent fruit (5) |
ACKEE – KEA(parrot) minus the last letter inside ACE(excellent) | |
3 | Unfortunate to be choked by profligate sauce (7) |
ROUILLE – ILL(unfortunate) inside ROUE(profligate) | |
4 | UK’s role at sea is dominant (7, two words) |
RULES OK – anagram of UK’S ROLE. Was it a Benny Hill sketch or a Goodies sketch where the schoolboy changed graffiti from “Queen Rules OK” to “Queen Rules UK”? | |
5 | Eye up silk handkerchief female’s discarded (4) |
OGLE – FOGLE(silk handkerchief) minus F(female) | |
6 | Climber adjusting balance with rest (11, two words) |
SCARLET BEAN – anagram of BALANCE and REST | |
7 | Limestone pot, not small, Arabic (6) |
KUNKAR – SKUNK(marijuana, pot) minus S(small), then AR(Arabic) | |
8 | Firework display’s ending after wee bit of oafishness (5) |
PEEOY – last letter of displaY after PEE(wee) and the first letter of Oafishness | |
9 | Opening time? Stay in hiding (5) |
TREMA – T(time) then REMAIN(stay) minus IN | |
10 | No gentleman to conclude I see back in the movies? (9) |
CINEMATIC – CIT(no gentleman), then AMEN(to conclude), I, C(see) all reversed | |
12 | Open University? Terribly behind with it (11) |
UNINHIBITED – UNI(university) and an anagram of BEHIND and IT | |
16 | Like acoustic performance that’s not advertised? (9) |
UNPLUGGED – not advertised could be UN-PLUGGED | |
21 | Drug addict’s first on grass (pot) leaving nothing (7) |
ARICEPT – first letter of Addict, then RICE(grass) and POT minus O(nothing) | |
22 | Confusion about misty rain for emmet in Cornwall? (7) |
PISMIRE – PIE(confusion) surrounding SMIR(misty rain) | |
24 | Child, one embracing grand exodus (6) |
HEGIRA – HEIR(child), A(one) surrounding G(grand) | |
26 | Keep off level crossing right by yard (5) |
PARRY – PAR(level) surrounding R(right) then Y(yard) | |
27 | Encampments moving guards away from the front (5) |
DUARS – anagram of GUARDS minus the first letter | |
29 | Char kept back to work during weekday (5) |
TOGUE – GO(to work) reversed inside TUE(weekday) | |
31 | Irish sweater’s wrapper’s lost (4) |
ERSE – JERSEY(sweater) minus the exterior letters |
Well, I certainly don’t remember much about solving this one, but my completed grid is all-correct. I do remember kicking myself seeing obvious answers like unplugged, nankeen, and gadgeteer appear – I should have biffed those. On the other hand, the unusual words were quite unusual. I did like the cryptic for skull.
Well, it’s my turn for a John Grimshaw. I just hope Peter made him hold back a little, as promised.
I enjoyed this puzzle. All parsing understood though I do wonder why Cornwall was needed for 22d? PISMIRE = EMMET = ANT in any county. Only in Cornwall can EMMET = TOURIST. Oh wait a minute, EMMET is dialectal, so I guess Cornwall was chosen as the flag for that. But do we know that the ant meaning applies to Cornwall? I’ll take it as a minor bit of misdirection.
30A
Local bod meaning what exactly
Dialect word for man. Derived from Romany, and a word I often heard used by settled travellers in Aberdeen. Fairly straightforward – solved on paper, then forgot to submit.
Thank you Dcrooks
This was at exactly the level I like Mephistos, Goldilocksish in terms of difficulty and obscurity. Like richard I wondered about ‘emmett’.