Mephisto 3384 – Cheese!

Author   vinyl1Posted on Categories Mephisto

This was not terribly difficult, as is often the case with Paul McKenna puzzles, and I didn’t even need the pun to help me solve.   The answer words are mostly well-known, although perhaps the meanings used here are a bit obscure.   I finished this up in one sitting, consulting Chambers from time to time.   With the present group of setters, I think it is very unlikely that we will ever have a Mephisto where solvers can dispense with Chambers entirely.

I have stated without reservation that the answer given for 24 down on the Crossword Club solution page is wrong.    The two definitions of MART in Chambers don’t leave any doubt that this is the word the setter intended.

 

Across
1 Rushed round bunker that’s been flogged (8)
STRAPPED – S(TRAP)PED – very topical with The Open coming up.
7 Gradually move to satisfy taking no notice of profit and loss (4)
EASE – [pl]EASE.
10 DEA agent is dodgy, a plant (9)
NARCISSUS – NARC + IS + SUS.
11 Fair waffle (4)
GAFF – Double definition, two very obscure meanings from gaff(3) and gaff(2).   Waffle in the sense of nonsense.
12 Indecorous sort’s exclusive box (8)
SOLECIST – SOLE + CIST.
13 Simple — without consideration he must be removed (7)
ARTLESS – [he]ARTLESS.
16 This is carried by vehicle to be sold (5)
CARGO – CAR + GO.
17 Opening in skirt, say, is not actually used (5)
SPARE – Double definition, spare(2) and spare(1).
19 Is muddled mucker turning round part of seat? (9)
SADDLELAP – ‘S ADDLE + PAL backwards.   One of the meanings of mucker is a best friend.
20 Poetic love letter, one before passage that’s covered (9)
CAPONIERE – CAPON + I + ERE.    Capon as a love letter is from Shakespeare.
21 No good in persistent stinging (5)
URENT – UR[g]ENT.
23 Fix fellows appearing in trailer (5)
AMEND – A(MEN)D.
25 Like some primers, say — smart about feasible dead rule (7)
NONDRIP – N(ON + D + R)IP.   Is R a valid abbreviation for rule?  Yes.
27 In ’Ackney clock snake with scar (8, two words)
BOAT RACE – BOA + TRACE.   Some Cockney rhyming slang, defined by some non-Cockney slang.
28 For example, a line like in Titus Andronicus (4)
EGAL – E.G. + A + L.   Another Shakespearean word.
29 The Faerie Queene’s incense diffused near neck, left to linger (9)
ENRANCKLE – Anagram of NEAR NECK around L.    Spenserian words are rarely so explicitly indicated.
30 Damn! One supposedly drawing crowds comes back (4)
RATS – STAR backwards, and escaped Quickie clue.
31 Join in last of these blasted lies differently (8)
ELSEWISE – [thes]E + L(SEW)ISE, where the containing letters are an anagram of LIES.
Down
1 Primarily something about great achievements (4)
SAGA – First letters of S[omething] A[bout] G[reat] A[chievements], an &lit.
2 Run down and drop a concern (9, two words)
TEAR APART – TEAR + A + PART.
3 Ahab’s tow is right behind, over twenty feet (8)
RAFTROPE – R + AFT + ROPE, where a rope is a length of measure amounting to twenty feet.
4 Juice up gambling game around Phoenix promenade (5)
PASEO – SAP upside-down  + E O, which is indeed a gambling game.
5 An expert in verbal flow, I do parson in full flow (9)
PROSODIAN –  Anagram of I DO PARSON.
6 Councils stamp on terms for ancient monuments (5)
DIETS – DIE + [ancien]T [monument]S.
7 One got away from European space buzzing with eccentricity (7)
ESCAPEE – E + anagram of SPACE + E for eccentricity.
8 Unchanged before short relative (4, two words)
AS IS – A + SIS.
9 Potential energy in hot desert could be ravaged in law (8)
ESTREPED – ESTRE(P.E)D, where the enclosing letters are an anagram of DESERT.
14 Fish left in boxes — they’re near temples (9)
SIDELOCKS – S(IDE, L)OCKS.
15 We’re really on the ball recirculating cabin’s air (9)
BRAINIACS – Anagram of CABIN’S AIR.
16 Catholic with classy hamper — perhaps one’s pickled (8)
CUCUMBER –  C + U + CUMBER, with U as in upper-class.
18 A pound cut so mostly go to enjoy Italian taverns (8)
ALBERGHI – A + LB + ERG[o] + HI[e] – I think.   A tricky cryptic for an evident answer, showing a different development from the same Latin root as the French auberge.
19 Devil of section lifted bits of music (7)
SONATAS – SATAN O’ S, all upside-down.
22 Royal Navy invested in support for alloy (5)
TERNE – TE(R.N.)E, another clue for The Open.
23 Lean unsteadily over Earl to give final comfort (5)
ANELE – Anagram of LEAN + E.
24 Where to buy preserved meat in the north (4)
MART –  Double definition, mart(1) and mart(2) in Chambers.   The answer of HART given in the online solution is wrong.
26 Ballerina’s move where pressure’s on to be still (4)
PLIE – P + LIE.

10 comments on “Mephisto 3384 – Cheese!”

  1. I’m glad vinyl1 confirms the answer for 24d is wrong. When I looked this morning I was dismayed to see that I had apparently made a mistake.

    I found ALBERGHI hard to parse. In the end I thought ‘mostly go to enjoy’ might signal HI(T). I can see vinyl1’s reading as ‘mostly go’ HI(E) being more convincing.

    Could someone explain how A is signalled in 8d? I don’t see A defined as BEFORE in Chambers.

    1. A is “before” by way of Latin “ante”, a Mephisto equivalent of “about” indicating C. It should be findable in the Chambers definitions for “a” rather than “A”.

    2. ‘go to enjoy’ = HIT as in ‘hit the town’ (definition and example in Chambers).

  2. Apologies for the HART mistake. I’m guessing that Paul changed his mind about the word to clue and didn’t update the grid. I compounded it by failing to carry out the next step after solving – checking that my answers are as correct as they seem. I’ve requested an update on the club site.

    1. Thanks, I see that’s been updated now.
      Can you apply your influence to having the winners posted. That hasn’t been done since the 16th June. The 30th June appeared briefly but has gone.

  3. Not too hard. I hesitated over 1ac, where the pun across the top suggested that it must be STRIPPED. But I obviously couldn’t justify it so just had to accept that the pun was a particularly awful one even by Paul’s exalted standards!

  4. 18dn – I’d thought it was HI(E), but that didn’t explain “enjoy”. My ancient Chambers doesn’t give that meaning of HIT, but it sounds plausible. Otherwise, I found this pretty straightforward.
    Small query on 27ac: I thought “clock” meant to see or notice, which isn’t quite the same as face – does the latest Chambers give this additional meaning?

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