Never knowingly undersolved
Hi everyone, and thanks to Charybdis for a good challenge which I much enjoyed. The preamble reads: Set A clues are arranged in alphabetical order of answers, not all of which enter … Read more >>
I blogged Wickball’s most recent EV – EV 1439, back in the depths of the first lockdown – which I introduced as ‘A pretty complicated preamble, and a pretty complicated solve…‘, sentiments I feel the need to repeat here!
The preamble
“Answers to the four asterisked clues are to be encoded using a Playfair code-square before entry in the grid. The three unclued entries have been encoded using the same code-square, as has BORICAHF. Chambers Dictionary (2016) is recommended. ”
Normal clues, but all 3 and 4 letter entries require amendment before entry. Two names to find (in 22 letters in the same position in 5/6/ letter clues) and finally a thematic replacement … Read more >>
Hi all. This is the second Kruger EV I have encountered and I would be happy to come back for more. The preamble reads: Nine clues each contain a misprint in their … Read more >>
Chalicea presents us with a poetic theme in DIFFERENCE. Poetry has never really been my thing, but I’ve now had two in a row, after EV 1483 – and this one is bound to be equally educational for me!…
“All clues are normal, but each of the answers to 43 clues must be entered with a single-letter misprint, always occurring in a cell shared with a crossing entry; in clue order, correct letters spell out a question. Solvers must change the contents of four cells in the grid to demonstrate the answer to SATISFACTION. The grid contains real words at every stage; Chambers Dictionary (2016) is recommended”
Spring is here and so is an elementary puzzle from Opsimath. Extra letters in the word play of some clues to spell out two titles. Find the author and the original title of … Read more >>
Hello everyone. EV 1484 – Check. Fun puzzle – Check. Many thanks – Check. 🙂 The preamble reads: Single-letter clashes occur in 13 cells and must be replaced by the same suitably … Read more >>
The first thing that struck me about this puzzle was the tiny font of the clue numbers in the grid! Just about at the limits of my already-aided eyesight – I suspect some solvers may have struggled to make them out? The second was the 12 x 14 grid…a rare-ish shape…and thirdly the asymmetry of some bars – both maybe suggestive of adaptations to fit in some elaborate thematic material? Will I have MIXED FEELINGS about this puzzle?…
“Eight suitably positioned and thematically connected elements are hidden in the completed grid. Five of these are of a kind and should be coloured appropriately (35 cells). Three others (the first and last two on the MAP) should each be highlighted by drawing rectangles round the relevant elements (13 cells in total). Solvers should add to the MAP by finding a ninth element, forever associated with the theme, whose six cells should be coloured brown, including one cell that had been shaded earlier. Apart from one that is L-shaped, all elements are in straight lines. Two answers are abbreviations. ”
A deliberately inaccessible preamble this week. I do tend to ignore them until I’ve at least read all the clues – so right up my street. I do think this was solvable without … Read more >>
Hello all. Thanks to Kcit for a fun puzzle, rather on the chewy side. The preamble reads: Fourteen clues are separate from the rest: each of these clues has wordplay omitting one … Read more >>
As far as I can tell, this is Wan’s first EV since 2013 (although there have been a few IQs in between), so welcome back! Chambers has various chemical, nuclear-physical, biological and alchemical definitions for TRANSMUTATIONS…let us see what ‘trans’pires…
“The correct letters of misprints in definitions, in clue order, provide a French version (ignoring one accent) of a common English idiom and some additional assistance, which together will explain each EXCUSEZ-MOI required in a number of undefined, but otherwise plain, clue answers. Enumerations refer to entry lengths. Chambers Dictionary (2016) is recommended; one answer is an abbreviation.”