Independent on Sunday 1,714 by Raich

Hello and Happy New Year to you all.  I hope it proves to be a peaceful, healthy and fulfilling one.

We ring in the new year at the Independent with Raich … but which year?  For several of the across clues, we are in 1963.

I enjoyed solving the puzzle and discovering the theme, my highlight being “King’s Speech”.  Thanks Raich!

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Enigmatic Variations No. 1560: It’s Not What You Say by Vagans

Hello everyone, and the now-usual thanks to mc_rapper for ensuring that we bloggers have access to a usable version of the puzzle.  That I wasted a few moments wondering what relevance Daniel had in 24d is due only to my own imperfect proof-reading of the converted text!  As for the puzzle itself, another enjoyable EV from Vagans, to whom thanks.

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Enigmatic Variations No. 1556: Limitations by Jaques

Hi, intrepid EV-ers, and congratulations on securing access to the puzzle despite the LIMITATIONS those in charge at the paper have introduced.  (Not the EV or puzzles editors, I hasten to add – their skills and commitment to the series have steered it through this far.)  Before getting to the puzzle, I must give a big thank you to my fellow blogger mc_rapper for supplying me with a copy, complete with perfectly OCR-ed clues.

The two previous Jaques puzzles I’ve had the pleasure of blogging should have put me in a good frame of mind for this one but, perhaps because blogging the EV gets a smidge less fun with every attempt to kill it, I didn’t get around to starting this until Tuesday evening.  I was lucky that it wasn’t a monster!  Instead, it was all most enjoyable with a satisfying ending.

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Independent 11,205 by Crosophile

The puzzle is available here.   Hello everyone, it’s been a while.  Many thanks to the lovely Flashling for standing in for me expertly while I was away. For today’s entertainment it’s thanks … Read more >>