Enigmatic Variations

Quite a complex preamble – 9 unclued entries, 11 with redundant words and 5 with redundant phrases and if that isn’t enough a central square to complete at the end. This was certainly … Read more >>

It’s always a pleasure to blog an Oxymoron (or Schadenfreude!) puzzle, and this one was titled A Figure produced by Oxymoron—intriguing! Only eleven misprint clues this week, the balance being made up of … Read more >>

All the hallmarks of a classic EV in the preamble: misprints in the definitions of fourteen clues leading to a ‘suggestion’ as to how to enter eight answers ‘thematically’ – with three other … Read more >>

I got through this one quite quickly, aided by a liberal use of solving aids once I’d worked out how the clue worked (always useful for anagrams of words that are new to … Read more >>

Straight clues, but an unconventional entry for one down clue in each column. A phrase to be deduced and advice against using a pen to fill the grid! Once I got over my … Read more >>

“Four musical CROWNING GLORIES are clued without definition.” So we were celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Queen’s coronation. That would explain why she popped up in so many of the clues. Sixteen … Read more >>

I found this puzzle quite challenging, partly due to a gap in my cultural references, which will be revealed – although I suspect many people who don’t have this gap may have got … Read more >>

Relatively straight forward in the preamble department – extra letters from the wordplay spell out a quotation and this will enable the solver to complete the un-clued perimeter cells. Sounds straight forward enough. … Read more >>

Little did I realise when I wrote my last fifteensquared blog that I would be blogging another Rustic puzzle this month as well … for all the wrong reasons. Sadly, James Leonard, Rustic … Read more >>

Some sad news to report first – which I don’t think has been mentioned on this site yet – is that the preamble to EV1069, published on Sun 5 May informs us that James Leonard, … Read more >>

So how taxing is taxing? That is my first question – Misprints in the definitions of all but 2 clues, once corrected they will reveal a French proverb and ten thematic adjustments to … Read more >>

Having escaped from the jaws of Playfair codes with yesterday’s Listener (Oh, No! Not Another Playfair), courtesy of Mordred, here I am well and truly in at the deep end! Time to see … Read more >>

OK – I know when I’m beaten – I surrender! I’ll come out quietly with my hands up. A seemingly simple preamble, a reasonably quick grid fill, and then two-plus weeks staring at … Read more >>