Enigmatic Variations

So some shaded squares this week to help define the problem and 6 clues to be entered in a non standard way to indicate the title. Other than that everything is straight forward. Is it … Read more >>

A fairly small grid this week, 11 × 11, and consequently fewer clues than normal as well. Across answers were to be entered with a letter missing, subsidiary indications being to the entered … Read more >>

With the new football season only a week or two away, and given the title, and the preamble indicating that 8 answers have to be replaced (substituted?), one could be forgiven for expecting this to be … Read more >>

I haven’t looked at an EV for the best part of four months but when the scheduled blogger wrote to me to say that he had been unable to solve this one I … Read more >>

Well what a preamble – redundant letters spell out a phrase concerning one of the puzzle’s numbers. Then it entered the world of Edward Lear, in my opinion – I’ll save decoding its … Read more >>

Ifor is a relatively new setter whose recent puzzles I have enjoyed. His latest Listener (4137: Frightened Catherine), was fairly tricky, and his last EV (956: Ego Problem) was quite amusing! There were … Read more >>

A double dose of Samuel this week, with the (rather more light-hearted?) Inquisitor 1183 in the Indy on Saturday as well. The preamble here indicated a quotation from extra letters in wordplay, a thematic … Read more >>

Ah, forgive me. Once again, the days run away from me and you are left without your due, a run down of EV972. I read somewhere that Oxymoron was considered “scrupulously fair”. I … Read more >>

So clashes in across and downs this week will define a track with non-clashing clues containing a misprint which will guide you on your way. Also some thematic unclued entries to deduce. Sounds … Read more >>

Having just finished spending far too long tearing my hair out on Sabre’s latest Listener, it was a pleasant relief to tackle Chalicea’s first EV puzzle. Correct letters of misprints spelt out a … Read more >>

What a preamble?! An author and one of his works to be found in the grid. Another thematic phrase to be resolved from clashing entries in the grid. And there’s more… Wow. Educational…eventually…once the … Read more >>

This was my favourite EV for some time. It was also one of the easiest, which – I insist – is entirely coincidental. Who would have thought that any language needed a word … Read more >>

Well all straight clues this week  – apart from 4 with missing directions (N,E,W,S) to allow the correct quadrant of the carte-blanche grid to be completed – which means no clue numbers and … Read more >>

A fairly straightforward offering from Rustic this week: solve the clues, move a letter to the perimeter and reveal a quotation and the person it describes. Each clue was two clues side by … Read more >>

With the preamble to this EV referring to an assertion by an unclued ‘somebody’ in ‘something’, also unclued, and recommending use of a dictionary of quotations, I don’t think it is giving too much … Read more >>