We have had some complaints about highly offensive spam. As you may know, we have six administrators scattered around the globe who can delete spam and other inappropriate posts, and keep the blog in order. … Read more “Times for the Times and Spammers – Everyone Please Read!”
Author: vinyl1
Mephisto 3166 – Oh, what a feeling!
You can’t really say that a Mephisto is easy, or that the answers should be obvious, but of the three setters I find that it is the puzzles of Don Manley where many answers do … Read more “Mephisto 3166 – Oh, what a feeling!”
Times 27967 – Let me check….
Time: 40 minutesMusic: Beethoven, Emperor Concerto, Schnabel/Galliera This one was difficult in my book, although some may find it otherwise. The answers persistently turned out to something I was not expecting at all, and the … Read more “Times 27967 – Let me check….”
Mephisto 3164 – Donovan, my Ninja Turtle
I made good progress for a while, but then had trouble finishing. I picked away at the more difficult answers for a couple of days, but in the end I was most thoroughly stuck. Consulting … Read more “Mephisto 3164 – Donovan, my Ninja Turtle”
Times 27955 – The gum-chewing dogs, say??
Time: 29 minutesMusic: Bizet, L’Arlesienne Suites, Morel, Royal Opera House Orchestra Well, I admit, I’m not usually expecting a challenging puzzle on Monday. But this one had some elusive answers, and perhaps some over-clever wordplay, … Read more “Times 27955 – The gum-chewing dogs, say??”
Mephisto 3162 – Paul’s right, it’s wrong!
This puzzle turned into a lengthy struggle that spanned the week, as I slowly reduced the stubborn areas. While I did come up with a correct and complete solution, I still cannot parse some of … Read more “Mephisto 3162 – Paul’s right, it’s wrong!”
Times 27943 – The devil, you say?
Time: 21 minutesMusic: Elgar, Enigma Variations, Boult/LSO. Not so easy a Monday, for a change. I made a decent time only because I biffed like mad, and only used the cryptics when needed. This setter … Read more “Times 27943 – The devil, you say?”
Mephisto 3160 – The Hight Report
Well, here’s one for Mephisto beginners – I’ve actually got a time, 48 minutes. I mostly just filled in the obvious answers, glancing at Chambers every once in a while, until I had only a … Read more “Mephisto 3160 – The Hight Report”
Times 27931 – No, not the Audiophiliac…
Time: 27 minutesMusic: Bach, Goldberg Variations, Glenn Gould This was a perfectly simple Monday puzzle, and I did most of it very quickly, before slowing down at the end. There were some rather complex cryptics, … Read more “Times 27931 – No, not the Audiophiliac…”
Mephisto 3158 – The Earl of Rochester, for example
I found this one rather tough. The grid is very unfriendly to the solver, as eight of the answers have an unchecked first letter, and there are two entries where more than half of the … Read more “Mephisto 3158 – The Earl of Rochester, for example”