It seemed a bit like the Friday puzzle had been held over for Monday for this one. I was dismayed to get only two answers on my first run through the across clues, but fortunately found the down clues more amenable.
Author: vinyl1
Mephisto 3256 – In which Don Manley has the last word
I did not find this too bad for the most part, and got pretty far in one session. The next morning, I polished off most of the rest except for one stubborn hold-out.
Times 28507 – The aviary, and what to do about it!
I was definitely a bit off-wavelength with this one, and I expect that most solvers will have done better than I did.
Mephisto 3254 – Everything is turning red!
Yes, the spell checker thinks most of the answers aren’t valid words – I wouldn’t be surprised if the solvers have the same opinion. I struggled with this one, and didn’t think I would finish, but I managed to get myself into a fully cryptic mode and work out all the answers.
Times 28495 – Our audiophile Congress
This one was a bit of a biff-fest for me, so I’ll need to figure out the cryptics as I write the blog. As it turns out, there was nothing too difficult, so this puzzle might well be suitable for the Quickie crowd to try their hand on.
Mephisto 3152 – Welcome to the MephistoFest!
Yes, we have two Mephisto blogs this week. This one is by Paul McKenna, and offers moderate difficulty. I solved it in one sitting, taking a little over two hours.
Times 28483 – MacPherson’s Rant
This was quite a nice puzzle, with a number of original devices. It was easy only because I took the time to use the cryptics, which reward the solver very quickly.
If you’re looking for the Sunday Puzzle blogs….
…pleased be advised that the two puzzles published on December 18, the Sunday Jumbo Cryptic and Mephisto, are both prize puzzles with a deadline of midnight on December 31. The blogs will appear on January 1.
And now for the new bloggers!
As everyone is by now aware, Chris has decided to retire after nearly 9 years of blogging.
Mephisto 3250 – Coming down to the final Manleys
I found this puzzle pretty easy and finished in one sitting. The obscure words were not that obscure, and seemed highly likely What else could a lurdon be?