Enigmatic Variations

The first few answers I got were an across answer that was normal and 4dn for which I though STOP was a satisfactory answer. So it took a few minutes to work out … Read more >>

A fairly gentle, but enjoyable, start to the EV new year from Loda, though it is a good job that a full copy of ‘The Bridal of Triermain’ is available on-line because, not … Read more >>

Lots going on in this preamble: a person appearing as an abbreviation (eh?), clues without definitions, unclued entries, and wordplay leading to an extra letter not entered. Plus something that appears in ODQ, … Read more >>

Oddly, I had just completed a Shark puzzle in Magpie before downloading the EV and discovering that it too was a Shark. I found the Magpie puzzle relatively easy but this one proved … Read more >>

There were quite a few easy, or relatively easy, clues in this puzzle so I had 90% of the grid (excluding the perimeter) filled in very quickly. It was then time to look … Read more >>

I have no idea what the title means, although it does sound a bit like a Swedish clothing company … or is that Hennes & Mauritz? Each across clue has a misprint, sometimes … Read more >>

I usually enjoy Samuel puzzles and this one was no exception. His puzzles are usually science-based or themed on old-chestnut jokes. This one was neither of these. Instead it was based on a … Read more >>

Misprints in the majority of definitions and twelve answers to be altered before entry according to the preamble, but no indication that these could both apply to the same clue. Also, ‘majority’ had … Read more >>

As far as I can see, Hugo is a new setter, so good luck to him with this puzzle. As far as I’m concerned, he’s off to a good start with lots of … Read more >>

In this puzzle you were required to deduce the title of a work by a figure (why that word was used I know not; it sounded a bit cryptic, but turned out not … Read more >>

I made good progress during the first session, solving most of the clues fairly quickly but was held up for a while at the end by 16a and, particularly, 51a. With these resolved … Read more >>

A relatively simple preamble: eight answers require modification based on a quotation and author running round the perimeter. Although some parts of the puzzle were a bit tricky, it helped seeing ?IRS?????LB? in … Read more >>

I printed this puzzle off on the day of its publication but set it aside due to work pressures. I intended to take it on holiday with me to Netherlands and Belgium. An … Read more >>

The subsidiary indication in each clue leads to an extra letter. These letters indicate the source of two questions (the second of which WAS rhetorical) and reveal a recent and unresolved problem (from … Read more >>

I didn’t know whether to expect a tricky puzzle from MynoT, or an easy one. He seems to be a setter who can produce varying levels of difficulty but, this being EV, I’ll … Read more >>