Enigmatic Variations No. 1315: Get Ready by Samuel
Our esteemed EV editor has clearly decided that jigsaws are for life, not just for Christmas! At least on alternate weeks, as this is the second Samuel jigsaw I have blogged in a … Read more >>
mc_rapper67
Cyclops 617 – Crummy Policy
Cyclops on top form this fortnight…surface readings, political/establishment targets, and the usual level of schoolboy smuttery… 10A is a great surface reading and an apposite anagram…and 14A hits the spot on many levels…is … Read more >>
Independent 9751 by Monk (Saturday Puzzle 13 January 2018)
After the recent smorgasbord of Christmas/festive thematic/Jumbo puzzles – on which I may have overindulged – it was nice to get back-to-basics with a good-old proper 15×15 cryptic with no extra trimmings, as … Read more >>
Enigmatic Variations No. 1311: Given Up by Samuel
Ah…the Christmas period – turkey, presents, carols, family, arguments, board games, arguments…and, of course, jigsaws! Followed, or accompanied, by more arguments… OK, this jigsaw came out on 31 December, so slightly post-Christmas, but what is … Read more >>
Cyclops 615 – Xmas Special (Tweet-le-dumb Britain?)
My fellow Cyclops blogger beermagnet kindly ‘took one for the team’ and allowed me to have the Xmas special this year, even though it fell on his shift. Much appreciated… This is the … Read more >>
Cyclops 614 – Old-School Pain-in-the-arse
To whom could Cyclops possibly be referring?…oh yes, there he is at 1A… An enjoyable, and not too taxing, solve this fortnight, or rather this week, as Private Eye seem to have squeezed … Read more >>
Enigmatic Variations No. 1307: Classic by Hedge-Sparrow
Chambers defines CLASSIC as, among other things, a great writer or work; a particular horse race; (in plural) Greek or Latin studies; a stylish clothing look. But which of these does Hedge-Sparrow, or Prunella … Read more >>
Independent 9722 by Monk (Saturday Puzzle 9 December 2017)
Some clever stuff from Monk today… …a high standard of clueing/misdirection, and a Nina to boot! After a couple of runs through the clues, the SW quarter remained stubbornly underpopulated, and it took … Read more >>
Cyclops 612 – Water-bed Geriatric
It may just be a product of my febrile (50-year-old) teenage imagination, but this puzzle seems to be a bit of a homage to the late Hugh Hefner… There is a WATER BED … Read more >>
Enigmatic Variations No. 1303: Who’s Who by Gaston
I think this is my first blog of a Gaston EV, although I have solved a few over the years. (S)he made it into the WHO’S WHO of setters celebrated in the recent … Read more >>
Guardian Genius 172 by Chandler
‘Chandler’ is a new name to me, and not obviously present on this site or the inter-web generally, so either a debutant(e?) or yet another collaboration of existing setters… The preamble states that: … Read more >>
Independent 9692 by Anax (Saturday Puzzle 4 November 2017)
A challenging puzzle from Anax this week…with some clever cross-references, silky surface readings and a bit of mirthful misdirection… After a bit of a flying start from letting my eye roam straight to 23D … Read more >>
Cyclops 610 – Florid Tycoon
The usual mix of excellent surface readings, political targets at home and across the water, and a lower-than-usual reading on the Smut-ometer from Cyclops this fortnight… An impressive, if maybe sub-Araucarian and even sub-Paulesque, … Read more >>
Enigmatic Variations No. 1299: Vicious Circle by Raffles
‘Only’ thirty clues (with a quotation round the perimeter), so surely VICIOUS CIRCLE is an EV blogger’s delight? But I found it hard to get going at first, although I squared the circle in … Read more >>
Cyclops 608 – Backstabbing Party
It is political conference season (in the UK), and Cyclops has highlighted a few pertinent aspects – without naming too many names… …BACKSTABBING, WANNABE, PSYCHOBABBLE, (political) ROOTS, – and presumably nothing actually gets AGREED. … Read more >>