Never knowingly undersolved
Eleven unclued answers, but all the clues are normal then four cells to highlight (the missing item that could n’t be kept). A short preamble indeed but is it also a short solve? … Read more >>
A fairly short preamble this week, and no special clue types. An easy week for me… NOT! In NECESSARY EXPOSURE, 15 answers are entered normally; all other answers must be partially treated before … Read more >>
Our esteemed EV editor has clearly decided that jigsaws are for life, not just for Christmas! At least on alternate weeks, as this is the second Samuel jigsaw I have blogged in a … Read more >>
’11dn, when MOONLIGHTING, is appropriately positioned in relation to the 15ac between 44 and 10, and carried the other unclued entries. Solvers must highlight its creator (seven cells); Chambers Dictionary (2016) is recommended.’
A double carte blanche with 2 missing clues and merged clues. At least the clues in are normal order, albeit without the word lengths. If that was not enough, a four word phrase … Read more >>
A fairly simple preamble greeted us this week: In RANTING, eight answers must be altered thematically on entry; clues to these answers consist of a definition for the answer, and wordplay leading to … Read more >>
Ah…the Christmas period – turkey, presents, carols, family, arguments, board games, arguments…and, of course, jigsaws! Followed, or accompanied, by more arguments… OK, this jigsaw came out on 31 December, so slightly post-Christmas, but what is … Read more >>
“Nine clues consist of jokes that might be found in CRACKERS; the grid entry in each case is the punchline. In 40 clues, the wordplay leads to the answer plus an additional letter not to be entered in the grid; in clue order these give another joke, the punchline to which (13 letters) must be highlighted. Chambers Dictionary (2016) is recommended.”
Sixteen additional words in clues to be removed and 10 answers requiring treatment before grid entry. But no clue as to that treatment until the 16 are found and their first or last … Read more >>
I had the dubious honour of blogging MynoT’s last EV, No 1280 Occasional Item of Furniture which required all answers to be encoded using the element numbers from the periodic table. I hoped … Read more >>
Chambers defines CLASSIC as, among other things, a great writer or work; a particular horse race; (in plural) Greek or Latin studies; a stylish clothing look. But which of these does Hedge-Sparrow, or Prunella … Read more >>
“In A DROP IN THE OCEAN, six solutions, when entered correctly, have spaces into which solvers must appropriately move a thematic item which, carrying 19 and 22, ran into trouble at 25 and broke 36, finally settling on the 47. The wordplay in each across clue leads to the answer and an additional letter not to be entered into the grid; these letters give a further instruction. Initial and final grids, ignoring empty cells, contain only real words.”
8 unclued answers – * clues with additional words which are anagrams (plus a letter) of associations to the unclued answers. Quite quirky and a new setter for me Clarence. A good mix … Read more >>
This weekend, I have two Artix puzzles to blog. The first is over at Listen With Others, Follow the Directions and has Charles Kingsley’s Westward Ho as its theme. Unusually for Artix, the … Read more >>
I think this is my first blog of a Gaston EV, although I have solved a few over the years. (S)he made it into the WHO’S WHO of setters celebrated in the recent … Read more >>