Enigmatic Variations

Hands up all those who thought Stick Insect was going to get us to do a bit of ‘simple’ Left to Right (L-to-R) manipulation of letters to create something thematic in the grid?!…

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“Completing the four unclued perimetrical names (from US, J ROVED LONG for the unchecked letters) and the three barred-off cells will allow solvers to highlight two locations, one alphabetical and one “numerical” (27 cells in total), thereby illustrating a historical DISCOVERY. Chambers (2016) is recommended; Collins and other sources will confirm 34.”

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Hello everyone.  Today, a Skylark and a Kitty coincide …

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There have been many GREAT LEADERS in history…and some not-so-great ones at present… Who could Vismut be referring to in this puzzle?

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“The wordplay in every clue generates an extra letter, not to be entered into the grid. In clue order these letters provide a name (initial and surname) and an instruction which solvers must take ON BOARD. Chambers (2016) is recommended.”

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So three clues lack a definition but are local names for two unclued entries. Alternate clues have an extra letter in the wordplay which give an instruction. As preambles go pretty straight forward.

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Hi all, with apologies for the late appearance of this blog.

The preamble:

26 (2 words), near 44 14 8, the brainchild of 3 1 Across, was SUPERFICIALLY intended to be a showcase for 20, 27, 25 and 22. Every clue except the first and last contains an extra word of at least four letters that must be removed before solving. In clue order, the first, third or fifth letters of these extra words (approx. equal numbers of each) identify the legend to be written under the grid. Chambers (2016) is recommended. 39 is in ODE. One answer is an abbreviation.

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A ‘MAGIC SQUARE’ from Kcit this week – maybe blurring the boundaries between word puzzles and number puzzles, and a bit of a jigsaw puzzle as well!

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“Each clue is actually two clues run together. Either entry may be clued first; punctuation may mislead. Some answers are too short for their slots, and several others require two letters to occupy one cell; all enumerations count cells available. Cells in the latter group must each be divided by a diagonal line in a consistent way, entering one letter in each half such that entries read normally. Using the contents of these cells as a guide, solvers must insert an arrow in each vacant cell so that new words or phrases appropriate to the positions of the ONLOOKERS in the grid are symbolised. The Chambers Dictionary (2016) is recommended, but does not give the entry at 11 (in Collins and others).”

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A perimeter to fill in clued by surplus characters from each clue. Then highlight the final character in the completed grid. Sounds pretty straight forward, but probably isn’t

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Hello everyone.  The obvious comment to make here is that this is a 23 puzzle …

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Gaston has a CHORUS LINE for us this week – but will be all be singing from the same hymn-sheet?…

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“Some people (2 words) haven’t a clue and should take the advice of the also-clueless 24 (“1, 2, 3… GO!”), leaving real words in the final grid. 24 attributed this advice (regarding the appropriately numbered receptacles in the grid) to 7 Down’s Greek tutee. Wordplay in most clues leads to a redundant letter revealing unwanted consequences (selected from a variety of translations). Earliest consequences (3 words, 15 cells) must be highlighted. Chambers Dictionary (2016) is recommended.”

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