Enigmatic Variations – Page 39

Enigmatic Variations No.1187 – Homograms IV by Kruger

Sat August 29, 2015 at 2:26 pmSat August 29, 2015 at 12:00 am by Mister Sting

In Homograms IV, there are 12 clues (two sets of 6) that involve two different pairs of changes before they are written in the grid. In one set, the subsidiary indication clues a homonym of the definition, and the grid entry is an anagram of the homonym. In the other set, the subsidiary indication clues an anagram of the definition, and the grid entry is a homonym of the anagram. Clear?

The solving method was new to me. Homograms III (No.879) was published in 2009, about when I was starting to solve EVs, but I think I missed it.

Enigmatic Variations 1186 Conversion by Dysart

Sat August 22, 2015 at 12:00 am by twencelas

Straight clues this week but 6 special clues and then 27 letters to change to restore homogeneity to the grid – sounds interesting. A relatively straight-forward grid fill though some clues took some … Read more >>

Enigmatic Variations No 1185: One Short by Ranunculus

Sat August 15, 2015 at 8:00 am by Shenanigans

This is Ranunculus’s second EV, and I blogged the first whch was published in December last year. It was No. 1153 and had corner new corner squares to change obscure words into more … Read more >>

Enigmatic Variations No. 1184: The Big Picture by Artix

Sat August 8, 2015 at 12:01 am by mc_rapper67

A strange-looking (horned?) mostly-jigsaw of a grid, and clues laid out in a jumbled order in three different ‘groups’…certainly looks like a curved ball being thrown at us by Artix in THE BIG … Read more >>

Enigmatic Variations No.1183 – Reinstate by Wiglaf

Sat August 1, 2015 at 10:43 amSat August 1, 2015 at 12:00 am by Mister Sting

“A sentence (now obsolete) that could help memorise a well-known series of objects (in the correct order) appears in the perimeter starting in the top left hand corner.”

Any ideas?

Enigmatic Variations 1182 Sticky End by Ferret

Fri July 24, 2015 at 10:23 pmFri July 24, 2015 at 9:08 pm by twencelas

A new setter for me to blog – we’ve got 7 clashes, extra letters in the wordplay, three semicircles to draw and some names to find – Maybe I will come to a … Read more >>

Enigmatic Variations No. 1181: Connection by Glow-worm

Sat July 18, 2015 at 1:00 am by Shenanigans

This week, we were greeted with five unclued answers thematically related, plus 15 and 22 hinting at how a “20” should be taken from thirteen clues. A 3×3 block would need highlighting together … Read more >>

Enigmatic Variations No. 1180: End of the Line by proXimal

Sat July 11, 2015 at 12:33 amSat July 11, 2015 at 12:01 am by mc_rapper67

In the preamble for the ‘END OF THE LINE’, proXimal tells us that: “eight song titles associated with a group are given only as word lengths within clues; solvers must deduce the full titles in order … Read more >>

Enigmatic Variations No.1179 – Revolution by Oxymoron

Sat July 4, 2015 at 12:46 amSat July 4, 2015 at 12:00 am by Mister Sting

In REVOLUTION, some answers have blank cells that are to be filled… but with what?

Enigmatic Variations 1178 The Pine Man by the Ace of Hearts

Fri June 26, 2015 at 8:40 pm by twencelas

Words to be removed from each clue and latent letters to be removed from each answer. Nothing like a straight cryptic crossword! And a name to find too – who is the Pine … Read more >>

Enigmatic Variations No. 1177: Neigh by Gos

Sat June 20, 2015 at 2:00 am by Shenanigans

The preamble this week told us we needed to uncover a murder mystery novel, the title of which was cryptically represented. This was probably given by the title of our puzzle, but I … Read more >>

Enigmatic Variations No. 1176: Obstacle by Chalicea

Sat June 13, 2015 at 12:01 am by mc_rapper67

The preamble to OBSTACLE says that solvers have to find in the grid: a desired ‘union’, a place, and an obstacle to said union (37 letters in all) – with 19 corrected misprints providing … Read more >>

Enigmatic Variations No 1175 – Here’s Looking at You, Kcit

Sat June 6, 2015 at 12:00 am by Mister Sting

Here’s the preamble in full:

Clues are presented in the correct order. The completed grid, which does not have one letter per square, displays mirror symmetry, and resembles the item given by the unclued entry (verifiable, though not the precise form used, in the Oxford Dictionary of English). Clue numbers and bars must not be entered. Those letters which are not one per square, when combined with those in the four shaded cells, can be rearranged to give a thematic word which must be written under the grid. Chambers Dictionary (2014) is recommended, but does not contain one reasonably common foreign word; one entry is an abbreviation.

Enigmatic Variatons 1174 Fates by Gaston

Fri May 29, 2015 at 10:55 pm by twencelas

2 unclued entries to find and every clued entry with an extra letter in it’s wordplay. Then 41 squares to identify connected with the theme subtly revealed by the extra letters A new … Read more >>

Enigmatic Variations No. 1173: 21 7s by Shark

Sat May 23, 2015 at 12:00 am by Shenanigans

This week, there was the second Shark puzzle since the clocks went forward at the end of March. It probably meant that we had a date-related theme in front of us. I’ve had … Read more >>