Never knowingly undersolved
Hello everyone. It’s always good to see a Chalicea puzzle. The preamble to this one reads: The slightly adapted statement at 1a, 42, six words expressing the speaker’s FEAR, was made at … Read more >>
Most EV puzzles involve some sort of DISGUISE, or subterfuge, in the solving process or the end-game…so what is Jaques trying to disguise from us here?…
The preamble
“Three of the unclued perimeter entries each contain one or more thematic members of a group which is celebrating the centenary of its QUEST this year. The fourth perimeter entry reveals (in the country’s language) where the group first met. Eight clues contain an extra word; solvers should extract two consecutive letters from these words, which, read in clue order, will give a reaction (in English) to this first meeting . Solvers must write this reaction under the grid and highlight two parallel chains of cells (15 in total) which reveal the source of the QUEST. Unchecked perimeter letters could spell HALF HELD REGRETS and BOO; Chambers Dictionary (2016) is recommended.”
Vismut this week with misprints in clues spelling out a message to allow two further messages to be read. Then some shading and a curve to be drawn. Sounds interesting and what are … Read more >>
Hello everybody. Thanks to Brock for a great value puzzle. The preamble reads: Solvers are invited to make use of a SPECIAL OFFER. It is valid for wordplay only and is strictly … Read more >>
Vagans seems to be a new setter (or collaboration?) on the block – a quick search of this site shows a single Vagans Inquisitor (1716) back in September this year. So this may be a first ENCOUNTER with Vagans for many EV solvers, your blogger included…
“In 31 clues an extra letter must be removed before solving; in clue order, they apply to one of a pair, as does a phrase in the grid. Solvers must change the phrase to describe the second member of the pair (retaining/creating real-word crossing entries, one confirmed in Collins) and highlight six other words and phrases (47 cells), which also describe the person. Chambers Dictionary (2016) is recommended, 35d is in Collins; one answer is an abbreviation; solvers should consult the original version of the work of CONTRASTS.”
A flow chart from Ifor this week – no bars in the grid initially anyway but seven cells bars need to be added at the end. Misprints in wordplay and definitions give two … Read more >>
Hi everyone. As 2021 rolls towards its end it is becoming more usual to get OUT AND ABOUT. I hope you all manage to keep well. Not much to say this week. All … Read more >>
A challenge of a puzzle from Curmudgeon, to keep solvers busy for the subsequent week-or-so…
“One letter must be removed from each clue before solving; in clue order, these letters spell out four headwords/subheads (2 x two words, 2 x one word) in Chambers which have similar meanings. A trickster (six letters, to be highlighted) has implemented the definition of one of these words (which might be cryptically described as POTATO SCRAPS) on the completed grid; solvers must restore the grid to its original state by changing four letters in one entry. All entries in the original and final grid are real words; Chambers Dictionary (2016) is recommended. ”
Two straight lines – straight clues but four identical quadrants for the 4 sets of clues to go into. Two words to be highlighted in the end – in two straight lines Relatively … Read more >>
Hello all. This was a Vismutastic weekend for me as I also picked up Vismut’s Listener puzzle from the weekend before. I won’t say anything about that puzzle now of course, but here … Read more >>
Is X-Type going to lead us up the PROVERBIAL path, or take us any which WAY?…
“The eight unclued entries are thematically linked and each must be entered in an appropriate style. Pairs of clues in numerical sequence provide (one per clue, in either order) a one-word definition and a letter mixture (beginning or ending at a word boundary) of a word that will fit in an unclued slot, giving two alternatives for each of seven slots. The theme dictates both the correct choice for each specific grid location and the style in which it must be entered. Were the non-thematic options used instead, their eight unchecked letters (read in conventional grid order) would spell out THE NAME OF THE GAME, which must be entered under the grid; this provides a further hint to the final thematic entry. Chambers Dictionary (2016) is recommended.”