“The unclued entries have been practising for the COUP DE GRACE by removing a thematic group of consecutive letters from eight normally clued entries, always leaving shorter, real words to be entered in the grid. In all other clues, wordplay indicates the answer with an extra letter; in clue order these letters reveal the theme. Solvers should administer the COUP DE GRACE themselves by blacking out two symmetrical groups of six.”
Enigmatic Variations
Enigmatic Variations 1393 Missing Person by Chalicea
A single letter missing from downs spelling out an instruction to fill in the unclued entries – a person to be removed and then another one to be highlighted. Quite a few unusual … Read more >>
Enigmatic Variations No. 1392: Name That Tune by X-Type
Hello everyone. I was happy to see a puzzle from a Jaguar (even if this one isn’t one of my cousins!). For me it was very much at the easier end of the … Read more >>
Enigmatic Variations No. 1391: Cary by The Ace of Hearts
I am familiar with ‘The Ace of Hearts’ from his(?) devious circular Listener puzzles, but a search of this site shows a few recent EVs and IQs, several of which I think I … Read more >>
Enigmatic Variations No.1390 – Bolder by Jaques
“In clue order, the first letters of the answers give part of a quotation (in ODQ). Solvers must fit the answers jigsaw-style into the grid, although some are too short for the available space and must be entered with initial blank cells. Where answers begin with the same letter, their clues are presented in conventional order. Having entered the answers, solvers must take the BOLDER choice from the quotation, adapting one entry and completing the
remainder. Finally, solvers must show suitable confidence with their choice by altering three other letters in the grid. Apart from one, which is thematic, all entries in the final grid are real words. Numbers in brackets refer to answer lengths.”
Enigmatic Variations 1389 Perimeter by Gila
A central area that needs letters to move to the top/bottom/ left or right and the wordplay and then something else to consider with the normal clues. Some relatively straight forward clues with … Read more >>
Enigmatic Variations No. 1388: The End by Stick Insect
Warm greetings to you all from a sunny London, where I have landed myself in comfortable air-conditioned lodgings for a long weekend. Purr! Stick Insect has relatively recently added blocked puzzles to his … Read more >>
Enigmatic Variations No. 1387: Wonderful Ghoul by Kcit
I thought this was a ‘blinking’ hard puzzle from Kcit (aka Phi)…educational and challenging…just how I like ’em… The preamble states that: “Wordplay in eleven clues varies from the entered answer by one … Read more >>
Enigmatic Variations No.1386 – Suitable Powder by Oxymoron
“In SUITABLE POWDER, two letters must be removed from the answers in each row and column and placed at either end of that row/column. All answers are affected and the leftmost/uppermost omitted letters are to be placed in the leftmost/uppermost cell of the column/row. Solvers must complete the grid and highlight a symmetrically disposed representation of the perimeter (6,4). Chambers Dictionary (2016) is recommended.”
Enigmatic Variations 1385 Winning Formula by proXimal
Across entries have a missing letter each time it occurs (indicated by wordplay) and 5 down clues need to be altered before entry to make new words. Well not quite – only the … Read more >>
Enigmatic Variations No. 1384: Handover by Samuel
Hello everyone. Another fun puzzle from Samuel, which I found to be one of the gentler EVs that I’ve done, but with plenty of entertainment value. The preamble reads: In HANDOVER, all … Read more >>
Enigmatic Variations No. 1383: One Down by Ifor
Some tricky (and educational) stuff from Ifor this week, which kept me going right to the submission deadline… The preamble states that: “16 clues contain a thematic item as an extra word. The … Read more >>
Enigmatic Variations No.1382 – Reconstructions by Hedge-sparrow
“In RECONSTRUCTIONS, the answers to seven clues must be reconstructed, in each case omitting one letter, to form thematic entries. When the grid has been filled, an eighth thematic reconstruction, formed from the omitted letters, must be entered so as to consume another entry (leaving crossing entries as real words). Solvers must highlight a hidden term (6) which completes all the thematic entries. Numbers in brackets refer to entry lengths.”
Enigmatic Variations 1381 To Avoid Offence by Kruger
A Sunday in May and a tussle with Kruger. 12 misprints to find to reveal the start of a quote. Then some clashes to resolve to find the originator. Then some other entries … Read more >>
Enigmatic Variations No. 1380: Vacation by Harribobs
Hi everyone. I’d never solved a Harribobs puzzle before, but had heard the name and was expecting great things. The preamble reads: Across clues, down clues, and answers all have references to … Read more >>