Shenanigans

This week we had an alphabetical jigsaw from Jaques. I have to confess that they’re not my favourite, although I’ve had my fair share to blog at Listen With Others. They generally involve … Read more >>

So who’s Elroy? Well it’s a character in The Jetsons cartoon series however it’s also an anagram of Leroy, Royle or Oyler. As this puzzle was a joint effort by the editor, Samuel, … Read more >>

It looked like it would be an easy week for me here. It was a small 10×6 grid, and there were only twenty clues, with no misprints or extra letters, and what seemed … Read more >>

The old move letters into the perimeter trick this week. Letters latent with the latent letters moving. Definition and wordplay were to the full answer; we just had to work out which letter … Read more >>

This is Serpent’s first EV, although I remember his IQ a few months back that was quite tricky. Here we had 12 acrosses that need modification before entry — six each of two … Read more >>

I’ve come to treat an Ifor puzzle with some trepidation. His last EV was No. 1188, Portmanteau, with its phrases for helping the aspiring solver: spilling the beans, giving the game away, and … Read more >>

The second Oxymoron puzzle of the year, following on from King Lear’s “The wheel has come full circle.” This week we have to draw lines through a work and its creator’s first and … Read more >>

I stand to be corrected, but I think this is Kcit’s 50th Enigmatic Variations crossword, the first being no. 29, Layettes back in 1993. That’s some feat, especially since, under his other pseudonym, … Read more >>

Raffles is a relatively new setter with his first EV last November, no. 1149 Common Usage with its Nancy Mitford theme. His first Listener was a few weeks ago — no. 4356 Mashonaland, … Read more >>

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 >>

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 >>

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 >>

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 >>

There have been some fun puzzles from Stick Insect over the last few years, including his recent Listener puzzle, Reductio Ad Absurdum. I was surprised that this solve started off quickly and continued … Read more >>

One of my favourite setters this week, and a nice short preamble. Nine answers were connected to their grid entry in some way, with the remaining clues having something restored before solving. 1ac … Read more >>