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mc_rapper67's avatarmc_rapper67

Independent 7596 by Bannsider (Saturday Prize Puzzle 19 February 2011)

Sat February 26, 2011 at 12:01 am by mc_rapper67

A nicely constructed and clued puzzle, with some wonderfully diverting surface readings, and a little theme-ette (nina?) woven in as well. The theme, not indicated by any preamble, but alluded to by the … Read more >>

Categories Independent 11 Comments

Enigmatic Variations No. 953 – Anniversary by Oxymoron

Sat February 19, 2011 at 12:01 am by mc_rapper67

Several of the classic components of an EV on display here – extra letters/words in clues building a thematic sentence (minus one key word), some entries (approximately half) reversed in the grid, and … Read more >>

Categories Enigmatic Variations 3 Comments

Independent 7566 by Klingsor (Saturday Prize Puzzle 15 January 2011)

Sun January 23, 2011 at 8:03 amSat January 22, 2011 at 12:01 am by mc_rapper67

This is my first Indy blog – and I believe there is another new starter next week – so ‘thank-you’ to the Saturday Indy team for letting a couple of newcomers into the … Read more >>

Categories Independent 20 Comments

Enigmatic Variations No. 949 – Square By Square by Piccadilly

Sat January 22, 2011 at 12:01 am by mc_rapper67

After a few weeks of seasonal/festive-themed EVs, we are back to business with a ‘normal’ EV – but no less enyoyable for that! A fiendish looking preamble – with ALL answers entered ‘cyclically’ … Read more >>

Categories Enigmatic Variations

Enigmatic Variations No. 945 – Cold Comfort by Loda

Fri December 31, 2010 at 9:36 amFri December 31, 2010 at 12:01 am by mc_rapper67

Cold comfort, indeed – a wonderfully themed EV for the weather at the time! The preamble seemed fairly complex – twenty answers entered ‘in a certain way’, most clues containing a misprint – … Read more >>

Categories Enigmatic Variations

Enigmatic Variations No. 941 – The Sign of Four by Salamanca

Mon November 29, 2010 at 5:42 pmSat November 27, 2010 at 12:01 am by mc_rapper67

A fellow EV blogger recently mused on the ‘blogger’s nightmare’ of being allocated a puzzle he/she can’t get to the bottom of. Well, here’s an example (unless the penny drops some time between writing … Read more >>

Categories Enigmatic Variations 6 Comments

Enigmatic Variations No. 937 – Upheaval by Raich

Fri November 5, 2010 at 1:30 pmSat October 30, 2010 at 12:01 am by mc_rapper67

 With ‘pencil recommended, at first’ and ‘upheaval’ threatened, I braced myself for some serious re-engineering of the grid post-solving…but in the end there was a relatively simple, but cleverly constructed, twist to the tale… … Read more >>

Categories Enigmatic Variations 6 Comments

Enigmatic Variations No. 933 – Grackles by Oxymoron

Sat October 2, 2010 at 12:01 am by mc_rapper67

I ‘missed the boat’ at first on this one – thinking it was referring to ‘grockles’, a mildly derogatory term for incomer, or tourist, in some parts of the UK, so I was … Read more >>

Categories Enigmatic Variations 2 Comments

Enigmatic Variations No. 925 – Gwent’s Tall Yew by Kruger

Sat August 7, 2010 at 2:45 pmSat August 7, 2010 at 12:01 am by mc_rapper67

The full 225 letters this week (unusual for an EV recently?), so value for money from Kruger, and more to blog for your’s truly…but, to paraphrase from John Cleese’s ‘great actor’ in the … Read more >>

Categories Enigmatic Variations 7 Comments

Enigmatic Variations No. 921 – Gang of Four by Hypnos

Sat July 10, 2010 at 10:11 amSat July 10, 2010 at 12:01 am by mc_rapper67

An ‘EV’ puzzle in more ways than one, as it turned out! Bit of a complicated preamble – the solver is searching for a ‘gang of four’ who aren’t actually in the grid, … Read more >>

Categories Enigmatic Variations 2 Comments

Enigmatic Variations No. 917 – Prime Mover by Samuel

Sat June 12, 2010 at 12:01 am by mc_rapper67

I came to this EV tired and jaded after a long weekend away golfing and drinking…(or was that the other way around?)…not having done a crossword of any form for 4 days – … Read more >>

Categories Enigmatic Variations 1 Comment

Enigmatic Variations No. 913 – Couples by Salamanca

Sat May 15, 2010 at 1:00 amSat May 15, 2010 at 12:01 am by mc_rapper67

A wonderfully crafted puzzle, which had me gaping in awe at the artistry of the themed-puzzle setter – although I found the clues generally easier than usual to solve, and it suffered a little from the … Read more >>

Categories Enigmatic Variations 2 Comments

Enigmatic Variations No. 909 – Three Graces by Rustic

Sat April 17, 2010 at 12:01 am by mc_rapper67

Although I got to the ‘bottom’ of the theme quite quickly, the second variation had me chasing my own tail, and even barking up the wrong tree, for a while. But(t), it was … Read more >>

Categories Enigmatic Variations 5 Comments
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