Never knowingly undersolved
Hello all. Xanthippe was a setter unfamiliar to me, and I looked forward to dipping my toes into new waters … The preamble reads: In seven across clues a letter must be … Read more >>
A debut EV for Karla, I believe, who according to this site seems to have one Grauniad Genius and one IQ to his name so far…nothing like jumping in at the deep end, eh?!
“In 27 clues an extra letter (always in the wordplay part) must be discarded before solving, thereby completing most of A PROCESS OF ELIMINATION; another to be eliminated must be removed from the grid. The finisher must be revealed by replacing an appropriate word (six cells). The theme must be highlighted in the grid, apart from the 1st, 5th and 14th (last) letters. Finally, the two parts must be linked by adding a bar and then both parts embellished (in the solver’s own style) to depict the finisher. All changes leave real words; Chambers Dictionary (2016) is recommended.”
February and Chalicea provides our neural stimulation. Normal clues apart from some unclued ones (18 led to 1ac and 38) and four unclued needles also to find. Finally a name needs to be … Read more >>
Hi all. It has been nearly two and a half years since I last had the pleasure of blogging an Ifor puzzle (No. 1396: Up and Down and Round and Round) but this … Read more >>
When I discovered that it was a Harribobs EV on my turn to blog, my first instinct was to go and hide behind the sofa…
“The answers to eight normal clues each provide the potential CONSEQUENCES for their respective entries. All other clues must have a letter removed prior to solving (always leaving real words) which, in clue order, provide the thematic reference (as cited in ODQ7). Read in grid order, the circled letters followed by the entry number of one of two thematic entries narrow down the reference material, which is further pinpointed by those two entries, as well as the sum of their entry numbers; the outlier is thematically numbered. Enumerations refer to grid entries. Chambers Dictionary (2016) is recommended.”
Welcome to the new year everyone. Tops and tails has 8 clues with wordplay having an extra letter and these need to be rearranged to show something connecting 6 unclued down answers – … Read more >>
Hi everybody. Stick Insect has given us a game of consequences – the main consequence being some good old groanworthy word-based fun. Thanks Stick Insect! The preamble reads: Entries to six normal … Read more >>
I’ve certainly had plenty of SATISFACTION from 2021’s EV puzzles. Maybe our esteemed EV editor, proXimal, is asking whether you have had SATISFACTION 2?…
“All clues contain a misprint of one letter in the definition part. The correct letters in clue order give two suggestions as to the nature of the twelve unclued entries (the second of these suggestions proceeds to indicate why these particular entries might be BURNED OUT). Chambers Dictionary (2016) is recommended; all entries are real words or phrases.”
21 clues with an extra letter give an example of a false pseudonym. Then four entries to be amended adding a word of four letters to make non-words. these give the real pseudonym … Read more >>
Hello everyone. It’s always good to see a Chalicea puzzle. The preamble to this one reads: The slightly adapted statement at 1a, 42, six words expressing the speaker’s FEAR, was made at … Read more >>
Most EV puzzles involve some sort of DISGUISE, or subterfuge, in the solving process or the end-game…so what is Jaques trying to disguise from us here?…
The preamble
“Three of the unclued perimeter entries each contain one or more thematic members of a group which is celebrating the centenary of its QUEST this year. The fourth perimeter entry reveals (in the country’s language) where the group first met. Eight clues contain an extra word; solvers should extract two consecutive letters from these words, which, read in clue order, will give a reaction (in English) to this first meeting . Solvers must write this reaction under the grid and highlight two parallel chains of cells (15 in total) which reveal the source of the QUEST. Unchecked perimeter letters could spell HALF HELD REGRETS and BOO; Chambers Dictionary (2016) is recommended.”