This was a relatively easy from Paul; both the cryptics and answers involved very few obscure words or meanings. The main problem for many solvers will be to start thinking in terms of ordinary words and well-know expressions.
Author: vinyl1
Times 29167 – In which we travel a a long way from Charing Cross
Was this tough? Well there were some tricky definitions and some unusual words, so it depends on how good you are.
Mephisto 3364 – Ninja Turtle found in the Valley of Fear
I did OK with this, until I got stuck in the south-west corner. My problem turned out to be that I was looking at the wrong clues for the ones I was trying to solve, because my scribbles had covered up the clue numbers in the grid.
Times 29155 – In C Major?
This one was not too bad, and I got through most of it fairly quickly before getting stuck at the end.
Mephisto 3362 – This one’s for you, Larry!
Last Saturday I was still a bit under the weather, and couldn’t get anywhere with this puzzle. It really wasn’t that difficult, but I wasn’t sharp enough to tackle it, and couldn’t get any of the four long answers, which is the key to solving this particular grid.
Times 29143 – Solvable!
I have had an annoying cold this week, and it seems to have impacted my solving. I felt very slow solving this one, even though my time was acceptable.
Mephisto 3360 – Or maybe over easy?
This one was not too bad, although a bit harder than Paul’s usual. After much struggle, I kept saying I should have seen that one right away.
Times 29131 – The Pardoner’s Tale? No!
Another easy Monday; I went quite fast for a while, and then got just a little stuck at the end. I got the two long ones quickly, but the bottom row gave trouble, and I biffed a wrong answer for the final across clue before seeing what the answer must be.
Sunday Times 2602 From 1975
Owing to various unfortunate contingencies, the management here at TftT only just learned of the publication of these historical puzzles. They are being published to celebrate the hundredth anniversary of the very first Sunday Times puzzle in 1925, and are accompanied by an article by Sunday Times puzzle editor (and founder of TftT) Peter Biddlecombe.
Mephisto 3358 – A strange monkish ritual?
This one was a little tough, even though I finished most of it on a Saturday night, and polished off most of the rest the next morning. Most, but not all.