Enigmatic Variations No. 1271: When One Becomes Two by Harribobs
I believe there was a book (and a film?) titled ‘The Men Who Stare At Goats’…and, for a while, I thought I was auditioning for the sequel – the solver who stares at … Read more >>
mc_rapper67
Cyclops 594 – Tumescent Extrovert
More Trump-related, or rather Trump/US-dominated, cruciverbalism from Cyclops…to paraphrase various slogans…’read my lips…four more years’ (minus 50-odd days)…heaven (or your own preferred theological destination) help us… A few nods to matters more local, … Read more >>
Enigmatic Variations No. 1267: Half by Steve
As John Cleese once warbled in a Monty Python sketch: ‘Fiddle-de-dum, fiddle-di-dee, Eric the half-a-bee’… Steve seems to be challenging us to solve or find HALF a something in this EV…Eric the half-an-EV? … Read more >>
Independent 9482 by Serpent (Saturday Puzzle 4 March 2017)
I have had a few mental tussles with Serpent/Jack puzzles recently – regular and Genius/barred thematics – so approached this with some trepidation… …but it turned out to be a fairly straightforward solve, with … Read more >>
Cyclops 592 – Grievous (in)tolerance
A more UK-centric Cyclops this time round – the odd Trump/Clinton reference in the clues, but a host of old favourites in May, Boris, Gove, Nicola Sturgeon, the Speaker and the ‘shadow cabinet … Read more >>
Enigmatic Variations No. 1263: The Creeping Man by Jaques
The preamble to THE CREEPING MAN states that:“One letter must be removed from each clue before solving; in clue order, these identify a group of people associated with THE CREEPING MAN. Having completed … Read more >>
Independent 9452 by Klingsor (Saturday Puzzle 28 January 2017)
A nice solid cryptic offering from Klingsor here – with some interesting surface readings and mis-directions… No obvious theme or nina that I could see. There seems to be a higher than ‘average’ number … Read more >>
Cyclops 590 – Savage Character
1A of this puzzle sums the last week or so up perfectly…’US era’s, er, done for – cheer up!‘ And then it goes on to give some mixed messages about the past, present and future … Read more >>
Enigmatic Variations No. 1259: Address by Samuel
Location! Location! Location?…The title of ADDRESS, and three references to ‘locations’ in the preamble, suggest that there is some sort of geographical theme, or postcode lottery, going on…or are we being led up … Read more >>
Independent 9422 by Tees (Saturday Puzzle 24 December 2016)
Season’s greetings! Peace on earth and goodwill to all men? Sometimes seems an unlikely prospect, and Tees seems to have a gloomy message in today’s puzzle… …starting with 1A (THE MIDDLE EAST) and … Read more >>
Enigmatic Variations 1256: Stock Exchange by proXimal
proXimal invites us to take a punt on the STOCK EXCHANGE…will this pay dividends?…will there be a bull or bear market, or a great depression?! The preamble states that: “Twelve clues contain a … Read more >>
Cyclops 588 – Specious Election
A few Trump-ian references this time round – let’s face it, he will be ‘the gift that keeps on giving’ to satirists and crossword setters for the next four years – and the … Read more >>
Enigmatic Variations 1252: The Van by Ifor
My old man said ‘Follow the van…’…but what kind of ‘van’ does Ifor have in mind?…Van Morrison? ‘The Van’, by Roddy Doyle? or maybe a White-Van Man’ The preamble in full states that: … Read more >>
Cyclops 586 – Unleash Nasty Mess…
…or ‘One No-Trump’, maybe, as I think this is the first Cyclops in a while not to mention the orange-skinned self-publicist…thank goodness the US election is over, and we won’t have to worry … Read more >>
Independent 9392 by Maize (Saturday Puzzle 19 November 2016)
Another new (to me, at least) setter…I seem to have been saying this a lot recently, which can only be a good thing! I can’t find any previous Maize puzzles on this site, … Read more >>