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Thanks K - I give up. I got the woordplay, but oh dear - get-away vehicle, that's just too much. I'd hate to give up on Mephisto, as I've never failed tosend it in, in so many years, but there's certainly no pleasure in McKenna's xwords. Do you remember the setter - only one - who did them years ago? I know he died a long time ago, but his puzzles were worded so meticulously - the definition exactly as given in Chambers.

Hi AJT

I also noticed a few weeks back that a puzzle attributed to Mr M, and which some of us commented on as an improvement, was actually set by someone else!

Thanks for everyone's replies. I was coming to think that they had published the wrong clue - it was that obscure.

You may all like to know that I've just written to the Times crossword club (I subscribe) to complain about Paul Mckenna's crosswords. If I get a reply, I'll write it here.

Hi AJT.

I'm in complete awe that you have done & sent in the Mephisto for such a long period of time. It will be interesting to see what reply you get from the Times Crossword Club.

The 7d clue is: "Where to find getaway vehicle belonging to despot caught right off?"
The answer seems to be: 'inksac' (although I think Chambers, at least, shows this to be hyphenated: 'ink-sac').

As K pointed out (post 10): "Squid use their ink as an escape to confuse predators".

In mild defence of Paul McKenna ...

Parts of the Chambers definition for 'vehicle' read: "a means of conveyance or transmission ... ... a medium, eg for the expressing or performing of something; a substance with which a medicine, a pigment, etc, is mixed for administration or application; ..."

In this case, 'ink' (substance containing a pigment) is the 'getaway vehicle' and is found where? In an 'inksac'!

It's definitely cryptic but it does seem to work!

JimC

Thank you, JumC. It wasn't just that particular clue. Since PaulMcK started setting Mephisto it's been getting worse all the time. Do you do Mephisto?. When I started all those years sg there was one setter - dead, now, of course - but his clues were meticulous. There were no extraneous words, and the definition was always exactly as given in Chambers. There was wit and humour, too - rather like Araucaria, I think. If it were just me complaining, I might think it was old age, but everyone seems to feel the same. Most of this I have said to the S.Times, so it will be interesting to see what they come back with - if they do.

Hi again AJT.

I do do the Mephisto when time permits but not every week and not over nearly so a long a period as you. I was even lucky enough to win a runner-up prize once!

I agree, the naughtier (ruder?) clues do seem to be generally missing nowadays though. Perhaps the Editor noticed.

It's probably a good thing to have more than one compiler in action, for variety if nothing else, and I expect the Publisher & Editor feel safer that way too.

Whether or not Chambers should be the start, middle and end of definitions is probably worthy of another debate. Except for proper nouns, I believe the Mephisto answer words are all supposed to be in Chambers but, personally, I don't mind if the definitions are (very) slightly bent from time-to-time if that makes for cryptically interesting clues/answers. It's not right, I know, and I'm probably in a minority with this.

BW
JimC

P.S. Your 'A' doesn't stand for 'Anthea' does it by any chance? Anthea doesn't like extraneous words either.

Hello again, Jim. First of all, no it's Audrey. I have noticed through life that after my generation the name dropped (mostly) so all of we Audreys are of a certain age.

I'm not comlaining that the clues are more difficult, because I really like a challenge, and maybe you've noticed that I very rarely ask for help. I like this site because you're in tune with some people of a similar mindset, and spark ideas from each other.

I have had quite a number of prizes from Mephisto over the years, in fact last year I won a prize in two consecutive weeks. I thought they'd made a mistake, but no, it was genuine. Whihc proves you just must keep sending it in!

Sorry, I didn't mean to write a book. As far as Paul McK is concerned, I think there are enough of us who feel the same to justify a grumble.

Thanks anyway.