This was fairly straightforward for a Mephisto, with very little ultra-obscure vocabulary. I finished in one sitting on a Saturday night.
Author: vinyl1
Times 28711 – Capital Zzzz?
This was probably a pretty easy puzzle, but since I could barely stay awake while solving, my brain had trouble making the necessary jumps to get to the answers.
Mephisto 3288 – Back to normal – phew!
Well, the all-clear has sounded, and I breezed through this one. The parsing was not difficult if you are willing to check a few things in Chambers.
Times 28699 – Singing of Mount Abora
I found this a typical Monday, and while I had trouble getting started, I was able to find a foothold in the bottom half and make rapid progress. I was also helped by a certain Quickie from last week, and broke out into the top half.
Mephisto 3286 – Shopping for some hardware, say?
This one was a little tricky, and my solve stretch into a following day. The bottom was easy enough, but the top was a bit difficult. As usual, I missed a few that should have been obvious, only to kick myself later.
Times 28687 – If you are the deer….
This is not a difficult puzzle, and I should have finished in good time. My momentum carried me to within three answers, but then I seemed to have lost all solving ability and was stuck for a good 10 minutes – I just couldn’t see the obvious.
Mephisto 3284 – George Martin, producer
I didn’t find this difficult, as there were quite a few easy ones to get started. The vocabulary was well suited to those who like to read Middle English and Early Modern texts.
Times 28675 – What kind of gypsies, Steve?
This was not exactly what you would call an ordinary Monday puzzle. Fortunately, I was able to biff my way through the most difficult parts by calling on that most able officer, General Knowledge.
Mephisto 3282 – Yes, that’s what it is!
This was quite easy for a Mephisto, and I solved it in one sitting while hardly cracking my Chambers. There were few really obscure words, at least for the hardened Mephisto solver.
Times 28663 – Up the creek without an atlas
I was treating this as a typical Monday puzzle, biffing my way through the grid. But at the end, I came to the NW corner, and really had to think hard, using knowledge I didn’t know I had.