Greetings, barred-grid fans
When I was solving this I thought it was a tough one, though a week later coming back to write it up, I wonder how I had so many struggles. There is some very complex wordplay.
The pun in the top row is cruel because I’m hungry.
Away we go…
| Across | |
| 1 | Misconceive women’s pause while speaking (5) |
| WREST – W (women’s), then REST (pause in speaking) | |
| 5 | Old playwright recreated recent eccentricity (7) |
| TERENCE – anagram of RECENT, then E (eccentricity) | |
| 10 | Flier in distress keeping special advantage first (12, two words) |
| HEDGE SPARROW – HARROW (distress) containing SP (special) after EDGE (advantage) | |
| 11 | Never run away from deal after backing strong posts (9, three words) |
| ST TIB’S EVE – remove R (run) from SERVE (deal) after BITTS (strong posts) reversed | |
| 13 | Strangeness in case of emergency driver (4) |
| SICE – S (strangeness) then ICE (in case of emergency) | |
| 15 | Move to and fro in White Horse, say, sheltering last of these (5) |
| WEAVE – WAVE (white horse is a wave) containing the last letter of thesE | |
| 16 | Entertain exploit involving bottle (maturity not needed) (7) |
| ACCOURT – ACT (exploit) containing COURAGE (bottle) minus AGE (maturity) | |
| 17 | Sea-bred officer behind veering west (4) |
| TARP – PRAT (buttocks, behind) reversed | |
| 18 | Crowded spikes are meant to be free (6) |
| AMENTA – A (are) and an anagram of MEANT | |
| 21 | One of the orchestra is filling old bottle (6) |
| OBOIST – IS inside O (old), BOT (bottle) | |
| 23 | So, American boarded vessel plying the Levant (4) |
| SAIC – SIC (so) with A (American) inside | |
| 24 | Harrow, eg, returned rubbish Rector misplaced in Square (7) |
| TORTURE – reversal of ROT (rubbish), then TRUE (square) with the R (Rector) moved one spot | |
| 26 | Surging oil well without good marshal (5) |
| USHER – GUSHER (surging oil well) minus G (good) | |
| 28 | Mystic — one to make a song and dance about being cut (4) |
| SUFI – I (one) next to FUSS (make a song and dance) reversed minus the last letter | |
| 29 | Morse or the like is one who rambles about apron? Vice versa (9) |
| PINNIPEDE – PED (pedestrian, one who rambles) inside PINNIE (apron). A morse is a walrus. | |
| 30 | Judge it next to one smashing flirt (12) |
| HEARTBREAKER – HEAR (judge), ‘T (it) next to BREAKER (one smashing) | |
| 31 | Self-discipline caused by second one being in lost cases (7) |
| ASCESIS – S (second) and I (one) inside an anagram of CASES | |
| 32 | Fried dish, it’s gold when flipped (5) |
| ROSTI – IT’S OR (gold) all reversed | |
| Down | |
| 1 | Unconventional show with Henry on a collection of lives? (7, two words) |
| WHO’S WHO – anagram of SHOW, then W (with), H (henry, the unit) O (on) | |
| 2 | They give oversight on struggle with chap that is small (12, two words) |
| REVIEW BODIES – RE (on), VIE (struggle), W (with), BOD (chap), IE (that is), S (small) | |
| 3 | A core duty could be presented as didactic (9) |
| EDUCATORY – anagram of A,CORE,DUTY | |
| 4 | Eruptions in chains? Time for frequency (7) |
| TETTERS – FETTERS (chains) with T (time) replacing F (frequency) | |
| 5 | First to twist concerns over bit of shoe (6) |
| T-STRAP – first letter of Twist, then PARTS (concerns) reversed | |
| 6 | Scots joke about one canine affected by a disease? (5) |
| RABIC – RAB C. (Scots joke, reference to Rab C. Nesbitt) surrounding I (one). See the comments – the intention was BAR (scots joke) reversed, then I (one), C (canine). | |
| 7 | One such as Blofeld being nameless at first (4) |
| ERST – ERNST Blofeld is the head of SPECTRE in the James Bond novels and movies. Remove N (name). My favourite version was the super campy Donald Pleasence tern. | |
| 8 | Pass a motion in secret and peer endlessly into issue? (12, three words) |
| COVER THE FEET – COVERT (secret) then the internal letters of fEET inside HEFT (instalment of a serial publication). | |
| 9 | Wartime inflatable parent childishly dumped near to Scots (5) |
| EWEST – MAE WEST (wartime inflatable) minus MA (parent) | |
| 12 | Old language’s inclusive term for tatpurusha (4) |
| INCA – INC (inclusive) and the last letter of tatpurushA | |
| 14 | One avowed of obedience casts arm of Japanese (9) |
| NUNCHUCKS – NUN (one avowed of obedience), CHUCKS (casts) | |
| 19 | Mumper to mutter, “Up in the morning and out” (7) |
| MAUNDER – two definitions. Reverse AM (in the morning) then UNDER (out, as in sedated for surgery) | |
| 20 | Anonymous old Italian magistrate, one involving deduction (7, two words) |
| A PRIORI – A (anonymous), PRIOR (old Italian magistrate) then I (one) | |
| 22 | Jolly small flock of sheep (4) |
| TRIP – two definitions | |
| 23 | Cuts being mostly cruel and ultimately pointless (6) |
| SEVERS – SEVERE (cruel) minus the last letter and the last letter of pointlesS | |
| 24 | Genus of marsh plants going through fusty phases (5) |
| TYPHA – hidden inside fusTY PHAses | |
| 25 | Togs perhaps got from upper-class nanas (5) |
| UNITS – U (upper-class), NITS (nanas) | |
| 27 | Anger about politician’s term is concerning (4, two words) |
| IN RE – IRE (anger) surrounding the last letter of politiciaN | |
Couple of small amends to the blog:
6dn: the Scottish joke is BAR, reversed (about), followed by I (one) and C for canine, the definition being “affected by a disease”.
8dn: COVERT uses the T already – the “issue” here is HEFT (definition 4 in Chambers: “an instalment of a serial publication”).
I found some clues tricky and my LOI was St Tib’s eve – I couldn’t believe the crossing letters and kept rechecking my other answers, until I finally thought of St for the first word.
Agree on both 6 and 8. 1dn, you’ve missed out the ‘with’. Thanks for explaining St Tib’s Eve. I hadn’t a scooby.
Thanks all – three whoopsies, maybe I’m ready to be put out to pasture. I’ll admit I jumped on Rab C, since Paul McKenna introduced me to the character, without looking for any other possibilities.
Yes I had exactly the same experience with ST TIBS EVE. Such an unlikely-looking set of letters!
Generally found this reasonably gentle.
Had this done by Monday. The last thing I got to the bottom of was the sense of HEFT in the… unlikely-looking COVER THE FEET. The Nation’s double issue coming out in a couple months for the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence will certainly be (for us, anyway) a HEFT.
I did solve this puzzle, and I’m glad I didn’t have to explain the wordplay. I would say that the whole point of Mephisto is that you can solve it correctly without understanding every detail. As usual with Paul’s puzzles, many of the cryptics and answers can be understood without a dictionary, although I certainly had to look up St Tib’s Eve to make sure it was really a thing.
See everyone next week!