“In accordance with the state of the unclued HATER before and after a cryptic HATER, three down clues need a pair of consecutive letters omitted and 12 across clues need a letter to be added before solving; these letters give a source. Solvers must change the HATER to the source of scorn, making a word of a personal message to solvers. Finally, a cryptic HATER should be applied to four down entries to reveal the message (four across entries to be highlighted). All entries are real words or phrases at every stage.”
Mister Sting
Enigmatic Variations No.1618 – Different Relation by Hedge-Sparrow
“Three related unclued entries all suggest how ten answers must be modified before entry. In the completed grid, solvers must highlight five words (suitably disposed, 38 cells in total, all confirmed by Chambers) which have a DIFFERENT RELATION to one of the unclued entries. Chambers Dictionary (2016) is recommended; all entries are real words or names.”
Enigmatic Variations No.1614 – Hide and Seek by Piccadilly
“In this puzzle, solvers play HIDE AND SEEK, whereby the answer to each clue is concealed within it, as is the definition for another answer. The pattern linking definitions and answers is to be discovered. Clues are listed in conventional order, and solvers must add bars so that the completed grid shows 180° rotational symmetry. Chambers Dictionary (2016) is recommended; one answer is a prefix and one proper noun has a two-word definition.”
Enigmatic Variations No.1610 – Adversaries by Shark
“The two unclued ADVERSARIES must be changed to the phrase uttered when one caught sight of the other (creating real-word crossing entries). Single-letter clashes occur in five cells; the letters to be kept spell out who actually spoke these words. Solvers must highlight six cells in a straight line offering (overlapping) four-word confirmation of the sighting. Chambers Dictionary (2016) is recommended.”
Enigmatic Variations No.1606 – Mind Your Language by Ovid
“A change of regime has led to a new political correctness. Six clues have no definition and their answers must be altered to comply with the new requirement to MIND YOUR LANGUAGE. Extra letters generated by the wordplay of down clues spell out a further instruction affecting 12 cells. Numbers in brackets refer to entry lengths. Chambers Dictionary (2016) is recommended, One answer is an abbreviation; 20dn is in Collins.”
Enigmatic Variations No.1602 – Birds by Picadilly
“In eight clues a consecutive group of letters is to be removed, affecting the surface reading. These groups of letters can be rearranged as BIRDS, which are to be inserted into eight normally clued answers to form new words. Numbers in brackets refer to lengths of grid entries. Chambers Dictionary (2016) is recommended; one entry is in Collins.”
Enigmatic Variations No.1598 – Action-packed by Eclogue
“Answers to five clues consisting of wordplay only are thematically connected to their entries. The wordplay part of every other clue includes an additional letter which must be removed prior to solving (always leaving real words). In clue order, these letters provide a refrain (with one variant spelling) of the reporters of this ACTION-PACKED sequence of events, who must also be completed (sharing a single letter). Numbers in brackets relate to entries. Chambers Dictionary (2016) is recommended.”
Enigmatic Variations No.1594 – Vicinities by Stick Insect
“In each clue, one word must take flight before solving, replacing the escapee from the next clue (or first across clue from the last down clue). In clue order, initial letters of these words provide a relevant source and what must be amended to show VICINITIES (read cryptically), leaving all real words in the grid. Chambers Dictionary (2016) is recommended; 4dn is in Collins.”
Enigmatic Variations No. 1590 – Anthology by Charybdis
“Clues are presented in conventional order. Solvers should initially add vertical bars. The four answers to obelised clues stand for two words from a traditional saying. Two adjacent words (ten cells) from this saying can be found in the grid. Solvers must remove two vertical bars, add an extra one, and alter the contents of eight cells to reveal the ANTHOLOGY. Two examples (3 and 3) must then be highlighted at the beginning and end of the ten cells along with seven other examples (in all, 45 cells).”
Enigmatic Variations No.1586 – Who Said It by Vismut
“Highlight 20 cells in two straight lines showing WHO SAID IT. Chambers Dictionary (2016) and ODQ are recommended; 17 is in Collins.”
Enigmatic Variations No. 1582: Undefined Parameters by Cagey
“Some cells accommodate more than one letter, clashing with crossing entries to form thematic material (only the first and last letters of these should be entered). Other UNDEFINED PARAMETERS provide an instruction. Chambers Dictionary (2016) is recommended.”
Enigmatic Variations No.1578 – Two Words by Piccadilly
“The wordplay in some clues leads to the answer plus an extra letter, not to be entered in the grid. These letters in clue order spell TWO WORDS indicating pairs of words overlapping by two or more letters which form the unclued entries. Chambers Dictionary (2016) is recommended.”
Enigmatic Variations No.1577 – Reality Check by Opsimath
“Ten answers must undergo a REALITY CHECK before entry in the grid. Numbers in brackets show entry lengths. Chambers Dictionary (2016) is recommended.”
Enigmatic Variations No.1574 – Obscurity by Chalicea
“Four members of a group and the name of the man who devised the group must be highlighted (all in straight lines). The wordplay in 23 clues produces an extra letter in addition to those required by the answer. In clue order, these lead to a two-word thematic hint to guide solvers out of OBSCURITY.”
Enigmatic Variations No.1570 – Scratching the Surface by Cranberry
“Clues are listed in conventional order. All bars touching the perimeter (SCRATCHING THE SURFACE, say) are provided. Locations of further bars, displaying 180° symmetry, are to be deduced (but need not be entered). Ten clues contain single extra words. For each of these, one or two letters (not aways consecutive), as indicated by the extra word, must be removed from the defined answer before jumbling the remainder to make the thematic grid entry. All other clues lead to the answer plus one extra letter. In order, these spell out the theme. Enumerations refer to unmodified answers.”