This medium level puzzle by Robert Teuton was not too difficult to solve, although parsing some of the more difficult clues was another matter. I think I’ve finally got it all, after doing some research. The vocabulary was fairly straightforward for Mephisto, with osteomalacia and laeotropic probably the most obscure, but doable if you know the Greek words for bone and left. There were also quite a few easy clues – I read 1 across and wrote in the answer, just like that, which doesn’t often happen with Mephisto.
| Across | |
|---|---|
| 1 | Head of Tesla having given name after bearing a little more fruit (9, two words) |
| MUSKMELON – MUSK, (M[ore]),ELON | |
| 10 | About to be beset by a malaise too upsetting — softening of the bones? (12) |
| OSTEOMALACIA – Anagram of A MALAISE TOO around C. | |
| 11 | Pancake became very cold but is not zero (6) |
| FROISE – FRO(-z,+IS)E. | |
| 13 | Ancient tribe seen in Nice more than once? (5) |
| ICENI – Hidden in [n]ICE NI[ce]. | |
| 14 | Ban about attending college? (4, two words) |
| UP AT – TAPU backwards. Tapu is Maori, tabu is Tongan. | |
| 16 | Decoy duck for each within small group on river (7, two words) |
| ROPER IN – R (O, PER) IN. I interpret this as meaning that the in group is small, but there are other possibilities. | |
| 18 | Distinctive practices force judge to quit society (4) |
| ISMS – [j]ISMS. | |
| 20 | Mediocre singer in position to fend off (10, two words) |
| SECOND RATE – SECOND(RAT)E. Seconde is a fencing position. | |
| 22 | Puppet regime’s leader at one time changed … (10) |
| MARIONETTE – Anagram of R[egime] + AT ONE TIME. | |
| 23 | … for fear that noblest aristocrat’s exiled (4) |
| LEST – [nob]LEST, the easiest Mephisto clue ever! | |
| 26 | Sicilian contracts horrify, gang murder tipped to return (7) |
| APPALTI – APPAL + [h]IT backwards. | |
| 28 | Settlement’s time elapsed (4) |
| PAST – PA’S T, where a pa is a Maori settlement. | |
| 29 | Horizontal prop close to upright in a lot of soil (5) |
| STULL – S([uprigh]T)ULL[y]. | |
| 30 | Evergreen regularly colours lilac (6) |
| CLUSIA – C[o]L[o]U[r]S [l]I[l]A[c]. | |
| 31 | List of people to be tried once breaking rules — poor lot (12, two words) |
| PORTEOUS ROLL – Anagram of RULES POOR LOT. | |
| 32 | US Veep introducing English and European retribution (9) |
| VENGEANCE – V(ENG,E)ANCE. | |
| Down | |
|---|---|
| 1 | Rural spot’s housing commotion (8) |
| MOFUSSIL – MO(FUSS)IL. Moil meaning a spot or blemish is archaic. | |
| 2 | Carnivorous mammal foremost in stalking perfectly (5) |
| STOAT – S[talking] + TO A T. | |
| 3 | Last to survive in outfit left on account of rhino (7) |
| KEITLOA – K([surviv]E)IT + L + O.A. | |
| 4 | Male friend heading off to dance energetically (4) |
| MOSH – M + [t]OSH. Tosh is a Scots word meaning friendly, but I have not been able to find an example of tosh meaning friend. Other suggestions? | |
| 5 | Turning to the left in recess see one grandchild in doorway (10) |
| LAEOTROPIC – C + I + PORT(OE)AL, all upside-down. Oe, or oy, is a Scots word for grandchild | |
| 6 | Hunting-horn on edge of mouth hasn’t succeeded to blow (8) |
| OLIPHANT – O’ LIP HA[s]N’T. | |
| 7 | Dogsbodies perhaps passing off as decorators (5) |
| ICERS – [off]ICERS. | |
| 8 | Note provided for wheeling bikes (9) |
| MINIMOTOS – MINIM + SO TO upside down. | |
| 9 | Scottish tribute’s part of issue for First Lady (4) |
| CAIN – Cain is a Scots word meaning rent paid in kind. | |
| 12 | I orate and I broadcast beaming out (10) |
| ERADIATION – Anagram of I ORATE AND I | |
| 15 | Pressure on one receiving head of school (9) |
| PRECEPTOR – P + RECEPTOR. | |
| 17 | One joining desperate loner, withdrawn evasive person (8) |
| ENROLLEE – Anagram of LONER + EEL backwards. | |
| 19 | Scottish bar’s novel beer that’s not bitter (8, two words) |
| SWEET ALE – SWEE + TALE. | |
| 21 | Meal including chopped up rump and Japanese dish (7) |
| TEMPURA – TE(anagram of RUMP)A | |
| 24 | Outpouring to encourage onset of tears (5) |
| SPURT – SPUR + T[ears]. | |
| 25 | House in France I wanted to build in brick (5) |
| MASON – MA[i]SON. | |
| 26 | Ancient poplars recalled pleasant Sunday afternoon with son … (4) |
| ASPS – P.S.A backwards + S. Now known as aspens. | |
| 27 | … besides tea spent around Chelsea (4) |
| ELSE – [Ch]ELSE[a]. | |
I think ROPER IN is more straightforward:
The 4th adjectival meaning of IN in Chambers is “within small group”. The wordplay is simply to assemble O, PER, IN and put them on R
In 9d the first meaning of the double definition is Scottish for tribute – the 2nd definition in Chambers – not rent, which is the first.
I found this easier than last week’s but didn’t unravel correctly the wordplay for 20a. I agree with what you have Jonathan – thanks!
I considered Vinyl’s interpretation of IN in ROPER-IN but Chambers didn’t give IN as a noun in that sense. If the “small group” were RIN[-G], I couldn’t see how River played into it. This reminds us that often the clue adheres very closely to the sometimes idiosyncratic Chambers wording.