I was surprised to find this puzzle relatively approachable, as Robert Teuton has given me considerable trouble in the past. But I was able to solve a fair number of clues without cracking Chambers.
Author: vinyl1
Times 29299 – Not on the wavelength
I was able to get many of the answers very quickly, as there are quite a few clues here we have seen before. Unfortunately, there are also some that require a little thought, and since my cryptic brain was falling asleep I had to struggle.
Mephisto 3386 – Football player and politician
I sometimes have trouble with Grimshaw puzzles, but this one was not particularly difficult. There are definitely a few easy ones to get you started, and for once one across was a write-in.
Times 29287 – Paging Casey Jones!
My solve was held back by over-confident mistakes. Seeing that 1 across was obvious, I started writing in obvious answers which were not, in fact, the correct answers.
Mephisto 3384 – Cheese!
This was not terribly difficult, as is often the case with Paul McKenna puzzles, and I didn’t even need the pun to help me solve. The answer words are mostly well-known, although perhaps the meanings used here are a bit obscure.
Times 29275 – Playing bridge?
While I did solve this puzzle fairly promptly, there were some rather tricky cryptics. Fortunately, regular solvers don’t have to dive in the parsing for every clue – that task is reserved for the blogger.
Mephisto 3382 – Get you a copper kettle….
I have to admit, this wasn’t easy. I spent all week, as time was available, adding an answer or two. Even when I finished, there were many questions, and I had to do a fair amount of research to write the blog.
Mephisto 3380 – Land of the Navajo!
I solved this one more by instinct than by analyzing the clues; experienced solvers just get a feel for what the answers are going to be. A half-remembered fragment of a Greek or Germanic root is often enough to point the mind in the right direction.
Times 29245 – Fun with Dick and Jane
This puzzle should not have been that hard, but I was slowed down by clues that should have been write-ins. Sure, there were some things I didn’t know, but I might have been a bit quicker to guess.
Mephisto 3378 – Puzzle, yes, pun, no!
This was not very difficult, although I had a hard time getting started, and had to open up operations in the southeast corner of the grid. But as usually happens in Mephisto, once you have a few crossing letters, more answers become obvious and you can expand around the grid.