Spectator 2641 -Mastermind By Mr Magoo

[Matakari]

Good evening, Mr Magoo has caught me in the slips
 with the following for which I would like some help!
 Many thanks in advance!

14a   Cast spell over snake in Paradise Lost? (6) :  ?????A?

25a   Songbird’s attempt to conceal guano in retreat (8) :  ???O??AL

34a   Using French, I trade in odd ME capital (9)  :  ?E?TS??I?

43a    Plagiariser caught cheating in deserted stock? (4-8) :  ?L????R?M???

9d      President (America) backed sacking a governor (7)  : ?AN????

[Neveracrossword]

Aww, Matakari - I'm disappointed! I was pleased when I saw Mr Magoo, you said you'd 'solved him pretty easily' before... so I was hoping today's would be ideal.

34 You will know the 'Using French  I..' better than most of us! Your T and I are wrong. The answer is a very famous ME capital.

43 Simply an anagram, though you have a wrong letter there (the M) too.

14 Your A is wrong.

25 An unusual songbird. Guano leads to a childish word for 'excrement', reversed within the answer.

 

 

[Neveracrossword]

9 A very common word for a governor, one who oversees things. There's a very common six-letter ex-President who drops  an 'a' (sacking a) and there's a usual abbreviation for America at the beginning. Both parts are reversed.

[newmodarmy]

I've no idea what the ME means (I see it's an another clue too) but I'm going for JERUSALEM

[Neveracrossword]

NMA, ME is just Middle East, and it's in Chambers. (It's Je, I, Rum, odd, with Sale, trade).

[newmodarmy]

Yes I got the parsing and knew it was  a capital,- I should have guessed what ME was

[newmodarmy]

25a- got that POO reversed in a word for an attempt/a try

[newmodarmy]

for 43 the stock is to do with trains/carriages not anything to do with gravy or cattle

[Neveracrossword]

Thanks, NMA.I am hoping our  hints will  be a big help for Matakari. 

[Matakari]

Thanks, NACW and NMA, I got them except for 14a.

[newmodarmy]

for 14a is it 6 as you're showing 7 spaces. Do you have any letters now please?

[Neveracrossword]

Thanks, Matakari, glad we could help. 

14 A. 'Cast' is an anagram of the next two words, using the usual abbreviation for the second. PS You showed seven spaces, the answer is only 6.

[Matakari]

Many thanks, all! I spotted the theme and should be able to complete this one pretty easily now, I hope.

[Neveracrossword]

Matakari, glad the two of us could help and that you feel you  should manage to complete this one now. Mr Magoo seems to have felt like being gentle with us! 

[newmodarmy]

Matakari- what did you get for 14a please? I can see the likely anagram (cast being the indicator) but I can't find an anagram that fits the definition. 

[roslyn251254]

14a anagram of spell + O to give the required snake from paradise lost...

[newmodarmy]

Yes I knew the letters Roslyn but when I googled the only 4 permutations (psello,spello,ellops, spolle) I could see along with snake paradise lost I got nothing suitable. I'd guess the spolle is most likely though

[Neveracrossword]

NMA, your third choice is the correct option...

[newmodarmy]

ok thanks- i found it with one L not two.

i thought I'd found SPOLLE im Paradise Lost but when I looked closer it said spoile

[Boethius]

11A Custom I outlaw, hiding books for islander - I thought must be the 'islander' in The Tempest, but it doesn't go with Milton's snake. Am I on the wrong track?