Never knowingly undersolved
After my last EV slog blog (Mynot’s atomic numbers), hopefully an easier week with Chalicea. The preamble was straightforward, so all boded well: In TEAM, 20ac (two words) in the 27ac was the … Read more >>
Hmm…what sort of ‘COASTLINE CLASHES’ is Oxymoron testing us with this week? I’m not so good on history, so if it is sea battles I might struggle… The preamble states: “Each of the six … Read more >>
“The puzzle’s theme is a work by a well-known British crime writer.” Well, I just read a book by a well-known British crime writer, and I know who I think it is…
No bars this week. Extra letters in all the clues which spell out a line from a play. The letters within the speaker of this line then need to be highlighted. Sounds amusing. … Read more >>
All answers in this puzzle needed to be changed thematically before entry, “[w]ith the help of an OCCASIONAL ITEM OF FURNITURE”. (Do you like the way I put square brackets around the initial … Read more >>
A cinematic pun-fest from Samuel this week, in MYTHOLOGICAL FILM CLUB… The preamble states that: “In a game of MYTHOLOGICAL FILM CLUB, ten thematic clues each consist of a partial film title which … Read more >>
The wordplay in all across clues and in sixteen down clues are thematically modified. The across clues have extra letters, which spell out a message; the modifications applied to down clues are to be worked out. There are also two unclued entries, which must be replaced in line with the theme.
Half the clues lose a letter and the other half gain, with the letters lost matching the letters gained. These letters can then be rearranged to provide a thematic link to a surname … Read more >>
Here we had Ifor opening his soul to us, but obviously in code. The preamble read: An exhausted and destitute Ifor says “I’m XXXXX and on my XXXXX, so I’m going to stop … Read more >>
I have to admit I found REPLACEMENTS by Artix a pretty tough EV – so much so that I even considered calling for ‘replacements’, from amongst my fellow EV bloggers. But I persevered, accumulating answers … Read more >>
Puzzles like this one, where the clues given in alphabetical order of their answers, tend to involve a fair amount of cold solving before a tipping point where (if the solver is lucky) everything slots into place. I have a soft spot for them, but the obvious worry is that one will run into difficulty with the cold solving.
Bonjour Gaston – Extra letters in the wordplay – these give a pointer to the number, order and content of the 7 unclued entries. The ending is to highlight a character. Sounds like … Read more >>
Oh dear… a musical theme this week: not my forte. I just hoped it wouldn’t be too technical, although the preamble indicated otherwise: The FUGUE’s four-note motif appears four times, entering lower each … Read more >>
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 >>
The preamble tells us that there is an UPLIFTING sentiment found in five sides of the perimeter. However, the grid is a square, so what does this mean?