“Four members of a group and the name of the man who devised the group must be highlighted (all in straight lines). The wordplay in 23 clues produces an extra letter in addition to those required by the answer. In clue order, these lead to a two-word thematic hint to guide solvers out of OBSCURITY.”
Mister Sting
Enigmatic Variations No.1570 – Scratching the Surface by Cranberry
“Clues are listed in conventional order. All bars touching the perimeter (SCRATCHING THE SURFACE, say) are provided. Locations of further bars, displaying 180° symmetry, are to be deduced (but need not be entered). Ten clues contain single extra words. For each of these, one or two letters (not aways consecutive), as indicated by the extra word, must be removed from the defined answer before jumbling the remainder to make the thematic grid entry. All other clues lead to the answer plus one extra letter. In order, these spell out the theme. Enumerations refer to unmodified answers.”
Enigmatic Variations No.1566 – Head Back Home by Inkling
“Eight clues comprise wordplay only. Solvers should identify a set of single-word synonyms of the answers to these clues. Leaving the body of the synonyms behind, solvers should take a poetic action and HEAD BACK HOME, arranging the heads into a suitable response. This response (which can be found in ODQ) will, in turn, provide a guide to the missing three-letter word in the centre of the grid. Finally, solvers must draw a continuous line through eleven cells to identify the source. Chambers Dictionary (2016) is recommended; 11 is in Collins.
(This is the first and final Enigmatic Variations puzzle by Chris Dunn (inkling), who, sadly, passed away in July.)”
Enigmatic Variations No.1562 – Loss by KCIT
Clues to the nine-letter entries — all real words — consist of three definitions to component parts in order. To form the entry, each part must suffer an identical LOSS affecting the same letter each time in a given clue. The six letters thus obtained can be arranged to give a relevant two-word phrase, which must be written below the grid. Nine other entries are deemed to have suffered the same LOSS leading to a different word being clued. However, the entries have their losses restored, always in checked cells. Numbers in brackets refer to the spaces available. Chambers Dictionary (2016) is recommended; 5 is in ODE.
Enigmatic Variations No.1558 – Name that Tune II by X-Type
“NAME THAT TUNE to be highlighted in the grid, behaving in a manner befitting its title. The unclued entries making up the top row composed the song. The album from which the song is taken is the other unclued entry. Chambers Dictionary (2016) is recommended.”
Enigmatic Variations No. 1554 – Absolutely Nothing by Kruger
Wordplay in each of fifteen clues yields an extra letter that is not entered in the grid. In clue order, these letters give the start of a quotation from a poem (in ODQ and associated with ABSOLUTELY NOTHING) and the initials of its source. The third line of this quotation suggests how twelve answers are to be thematically treated before entry. Lengths in brackets refer to grid entries while word counts refer to original answers. Chambers Dictionary (2016) and ODQ7 are recommended; 21 is in Collins.
Enigmatic Variations No.1550 – Elementary Solutions by A Few
“Each quadrant represents one of five ELEMENTARY SOLUTIONS; solvers must determine which quadrant each set belongs to. Clues are in normal order within each group. All entries except one at every stage are real words or names. Initial answers may not fit the space allocated. Solvers must highlight four examples of the fifth solution, each spanning two quadrants (16 cells). Chambers Dictionary (2016) is recommended.”
Enigmatic Variations No.1546 – Elementary I: Staying Alive by X-Type
“In the final grid, solvers must highlight a continuous sequence of eight symbols, all of which occur in the single unclued down entry. Five symbols consist of two letters, which must share the same cell. Of the three unclued across entries: two name examples of the third unclued entry, which we must reduce to continue STAYING ALIVE. Chambers Dictionary (2016) is recommended.”
Enigmatic Variations No.1542 – Battle by Stick Insect
“In each clue, half of one word must be removed before solving, always leaving a real word. The initial letters of the removed halves, in clue order, spell the beginning of a line referring to a BATTLE whose author fills the unclued entries, initially blank. One unclued entry must then be modified in accordance with the end of the line and the result shaded an appropriate colour. Chambers Dictionary (2016) is recommended; 4 down is in Collins Dictionary.”
Enigmatic Variations No.1538 – Tour by Vismut
“Alternate down clues have an extra word, to be removed before solving, taken from a prayer which is always said before the start of an annual TOUR, which can have different high spots; their position in the clue indexes which letter to use from that word. In clue order, these letters have undergone some ups and downs and must be restored to the correct order to give the title of this prayer which indicates what runs around the perimeter of the grid in a clockwise direction and completes four unclued entries. Finally, one thematic destination must be changed to a general location. Unchecked letters of thematic entries give A DARK HILL HUMOUR SHOWS A BIT and all words before or after any changes are proper nouns or can be found in Chambers Dictionary (2016).”
Enigmatic Variations No.1534 – Six Thieves by Aver
“Each clue contains an extra word that must be removed before solving; selecting either the first or last letter of these words spells an incomplete sentence, while the other letters spell two instructions. Solvers must carry out the two instructions to reveal the SIX THIEVES. Chambers Dictionary (2016) and ODQ are recommended; all entries at all stages are real words or phrases.”
Enigmatic Variations No.1530 – Bare Necessities by Check
“In 24 clues an extra word must be removed before solving; in clue order, the central letters of these words spell out a creative duo and a cryptically abridged introduction to one of their works. Solvers must reveal the BARE NECESSITIES by deleting the contents of some cells in the final grid to form a thematic shape. Chambers Dictionary (2016) is recommended.”
Enigmatic Variations No.1526 – Elimination by Wan
“In 27 clues an extra letter (always in the wordplay part) must be discarded before solving, thereby completing most of A PROCESS OF ELIMINATION; another to be eliminated must be removed from the grid. The finisher must be revealed by replacing an appropriate word (six cells). The theme must be highlighted in the grid, apart from the 1st, 5th and 14th (last) letters. Finally, the two parts must be linked by adding a bar and then both parts embellished (in the solver’s own style) to depict the finisher. All changes leave real words; Chambers Dictionary (2016) is recommended.”
Enigmatic Variations No.1522 – Consequences by Eclogue
“The answers to eight normal clues each provide the potential CONSEQUENCES for their respective entries. All other clues must have a letter removed prior to solving (always leaving real words) which, in clue order, provide the thematic reference (as cited in ODQ7). Read in grid order, the circled letters followed by the entry number of one of two thematic entries narrow down the reference material, which is further pinpointed by those two entries, as well as the sum of their entry numbers; the outlier is thematically numbered. Enumerations refer to grid entries. Chambers Dictionary (2016) is recommended.”
Enigmatic Variations No.1518 – Burned Out by Nudd
“All clues contain a misprint of one letter in the definition part. The correct letters in clue order give two suggestions as to the nature of the twelve unclued entries (the second of these suggestions proceeds to indicate why these particular entries might be BURNED OUT). Chambers Dictionary (2016) is recommended; all entries are real words or phrases.”