What has Jaques served up for us this EV week? For PIE CRUST, will we have to fil-o the grid with some unusual ingredients?…and will our efforts prove a bit flaky?!…
Enigmatic Variations
Enigmatic Variations No.1602 – Birds by Picadilly
“In eight clues a consecutive group of letters is to be removed, affecting the surface reading. These groups of letters can be rearranged as BIRDS, which are to be inserted into eight normally clued answers to form new words. Numbers in brackets refer to lengths of grid entries. Chambers Dictionary (2016) is recommended; one entry is in Collins.”
Enigmatic Variations 1601 Lame by Vismut
11 clues which contain a thematic word with its position in the clue defining a letter in the answer used. THis shows in the gird a character whose previous condition made them look … Read more >>
Enigmatic Variations No. 1600: Count by proXimal
Hello, and welcome to EV 40 squared. We are always in good hands with proXimal.
Enigmatic Variations No. 1599: Full Steam Ahead by X-type
No fancy clueing devices from X-type this week, but we have a perimetral message, and something that looks like a speedometer in the middle of the grid, which is a first, I think! Are we going train-spotting?…FULL STEAM AHEAD!
Enigmatic Variations No.1598 – Action-packed by Eclogue
“Answers to five clues consisting of wordplay only are thematically connected to their entries. The wordplay part of every other clue includes an additional letter which must be removed prior to solving (always leaving real words). In clue order, these letters provide a refrain (with one variant spelling) of the reporters of this ACTION-PACKED sequence of events, who must also be completed (sharing a single letter). Numbers in brackets relate to entries. Chambers Dictionary (2016) is recommended.”
Enigmatic Variations No. 1597 Illumination by Vagans
July brings a puzzle from a new compiler to me – Vagans. I await my illumination. The preamble took several reads to reveal four words to comprise a book’s title and four key … Read more >>
Enigmatic Variations No. 1595: Barred Off by Chalicea
Chalicea offers us a relatively small (11 x 11) grid, with an extra row BARRED OFF across the top…
(Apologies for the late posting of this blog – there have been a few technical issues with the site, and it has taken me a while to log on and finish this off…)
Enigmatic Variations No.1594 – Vicinities by Stick Insect
“In each clue, one word must take flight before solving, replacing the escapee from the next clue (or first across clue from the last down clue). In clue order, initial letters of these words provide a relevant source and what must be amended to show VICINITIES (read cryptically), leaving all real words in the grid. Chambers Dictionary (2016) is recommended; 4dn is in Collins.”
Enigmatic Variations No. 1593 APPARENTLY by SkyLark
All aboard the Skylark – Cap’n Pugwash? Anyway a puzzle with extra letters and extra words – sounds challenging. And 28 cells to highlight. And challenging it was – some tricky clues … Read more >>
Enigmatic Variations No. 1591: Split Personality by Check
I think this is Check’s third EV (plus a couple of Inquisitors, that I can see on this site), but only the second I’ve managed to complete, and the first I have had the pleasure to blog…
Enigmatic Variations No. 1590 – Anthology by Charybdis
“Clues are presented in conventional order. Solvers should initially add vertical bars. The four answers to obelised clues stand for two words from a traditional saying. Two adjacent words (ten cells) from this saying can be found in the grid. Solvers must remove two vertical bars, add an extra one, and alter the contents of eight cells to reveal the ANTHOLOGY. Two examples (3 and 3) must then be highlighted at the beginning and end of the ten cells along with seven other examples (in all, 45 cells).”
Enigmatic Variations No. 1589 RQAKHNNE WZFADE by Piccadilly
Three asterisked clues need encoding by a Playfair square before entry and three unclued need to be entered likewise. Needless to say the Playfair needs to be derived. Some very straight forward clues … Read more >>