Enigmatic Variations – Page 36

Enigmatic Variations 1254 November by Shark

Sat December 10, 2016 at 12:02 am by twencelas

We have to deal with a Shark puzzle this week – Hmm. A compiler whose puzzles I usually take some time to get tuned to the right wavelength. Misprints in the definitions this … Read more >>

Enigmatic Variations No. 1253: Famous Last Words by Kcit

Sat December 3, 2016 at 12:00 am by Shenanigans

Kcit’s puzzles range from the relatively straightforward to the definitely difficult, and you don’t know which it will be until about 30 minutes into the solve. His recent Listener, A Bit Up in … Read more >>

Enigmatic Variations 1252: The Van by Ifor

Sat November 26, 2016 at 12:01 am by mc_rapper67

My old man said ‘Follow the van…’…but what kind of ‘van’ does Ifor have in mind?…Van Morrison? ‘The Van’, by Roddy Doyle? or maybe a White-Van Man’ The preamble in full states that: … Read more >>

Enigmatic Variations No.1251 – Prevention by Charybdis

Sun December 4, 2016 at 9:20 amSat November 19, 2016 at 12:01 am by Mister Sting

The preamble tells us to ‘demand PROTECTION’ (capitalised – although that isn’t the given title?). No answer lengths are given, but we are told that ‘[a]ll cells must be filled such that all entries are real words’, so presumably some answers will be too short for their spaces? We also have to write ‘the theme word’ under the grid – a word that we’re told can be formed from the added letters.

Enigmatic Variations 1250 Second Best by Oxymoron

Fri November 11, 2016 at 9:49 pm by twencelas

As Chambers gives as an example of an Oxymoron – would this puzzle prove to be a form of cruel kindness or would that be falsely true. My tussles with Oxymoron or his … Read more >>

Enigmatic Variations No. 1249: Stateless by MynoT

Sat November 5, 2016 at 12:00 am by Shenanigans

MynoT is a fairly tricky setter, but his puzzles are always worth the challenge. Here, like many of his recent EVs we had an alphabetical jigsaw, with sixteen answers requiring thematic modification before … Read more >>

Enigmatic Variations 1248: Snowball by Harribobs

Sat October 29, 2016 at 12:01 am by mc_rapper67

O…M…G… I suspect we have a candidate for ‘EV of the year’, if not the decade, in terms of grid construction and denouément at least…I think I need a SNOWBALL cocktail (or two), … Read more >>

Enigmatic Variations No.1247 – Changing Roles by Samson

Sat October 22, 2016 at 12:01 am by Mister Sting

The preamble tells us that we are going to be introduced to six fictional characters who, engaged in a common endeavour, are temporarily CHANGING ROLES. What connection will there be between these roles and the cell that is to be left blank?

Enigmatic Variations 1246 Criticism Rejected by Piccadilly

Sat October 15, 2016 at 12:05 am by twencelas

A Playfair code this week – a bit like Marmite you either love them or hate them and neither are available at Tesco. Some unusual definitions were probably the hardest part of the … Read more >>

Enigmatic Variations No. 1245: Occupational Hazards by Clarence

Sat October 8, 2016 at 12:00 am by Shenanigans

I took this puzzle on a golfing holiday to Portugal with the intention of tackling it in quiet moments by the pool. For one reason or another, I never got near the pool, … Read more >>

Enigmatic Variations 1244: 3 Down by Serpent

Sat October 1, 2016 at 12:01 am by mc_rapper67

In a crescendo of coincidence, or a planned plethora(?), Serpent/Jack has had four puzzles out in the last month or so, across four different outlets – a Saturday Indie, which I also had the … Read more >>

Enigmatic Variations No.1243 – Potpourri by Ranunculus

Sat September 24, 2016 at 9:11 amSat September 24, 2016 at 12:01 am by Mister Sting

The POTPOURRI in question in EV1243 is, the preamble tells us, made up of seven ingredients (a further one is ‘controversially omitted’).

Enigmatic Variations 1242 Name of the Game by Chalicea

Sat September 17, 2016 at 12:05 am by twencelas

Extra letters in the wordplay spell out an instruction relating to a game – find its venue, fill in the participants and the Name of the Game. Could this be football related? – … Read more >>

Enigmatic Variations No. 1241: Wrecked and Salvaged by Kruger

Mon September 12, 2016 at 8:10 amSat September 10, 2016 at 12:00 am by Shenanigans

This was Kruger’s third EV of the year (and if you want more of this fine setter, he had his third Inquisitor of the year last Saturday). Here we had some extra wordplay … Read more >>

Enigmatic Variations 1240: Mass Transit by Ifor

Sat September 3, 2016 at 12:01 am by mc_rapper67

Ifor offers us some MASS TRANSIT this week – we could be ‘going underground’, with the Jam; we could be ‘on the buses’ with Reg Varney; or we could be on the EV … Read more >>