Never knowingly undersolved
Ifor offers us some MASS TRANSIT this week – we could be ‘going underground’, with the Jam; we could be ‘on the buses’ with Reg Varney; or we could be on the EV … Read more >>
Half of the clues have an extra letter coming from the wordplay, and the other half have an extra letter in the clue itself. The former ‘spell out an interpretation to be placed on the grid. The latter ‘spell out what must be highlighted in the completed grid, and why five of the 17 cells involved must be distinguished from the other 12.’ The completed grid will also have ‘a thematic comment that identifies the distinguishing feature’.
How very curious.
A puzzle by Eclogue this week – four cells containing clashes, the wordplay in each clue having an extra letter and the first line of a verse to find. If that’s not enough … Read more >>
Oxymoron puzzles vary in difficulty from ‘not too tricky’ to ‘fiendish’, and I wondered what degree of difficulty the gods had given me this week. But before I go any further, apologies for … Read more >>
With the Olympics starting at approximately the same time as this puzzle’s submission date, is Nutmeg going to give us some sporting records to decipher…will this be a marathon or a sprint?…or perhaps … Read more >>
Omitted letters from across clues – unusually along with ‘what has happened to them’ – spell out ‘an extract from a quotation’. The puzzle’s title is from the symbolised RESPONSE that is to be highlighted in the completed grid.
Puzzle 1234 – whilst not a round number a nice one. This brings a puzzle from Gila with a portrait to be found. Additional words in clues interspersed with extra letters in wordplay … Read more >>
This week I have to grapple with Shark. He can be one tough setter, predominantly creating D-grade puzzles for Magpie. (FYI D-grades are very tough, but just short of E-grades which are impossible!) … Read more >>
On first inspection of SOMETHING ISN’T THERE, I had a touch of the Rumsfelds – there are ‘known unknowns’, and there might well be some ‘unknown unknowns’… Will Samuel be using his weapons of … Read more >>
This is my second ‘enter where they will fit’ puzzle in a row. I normally enjoy these, but this one has an additional element on top of the cold solving – ten answers must be ‘thematically treated’.
A perimeter to be filled in with a maxim and its author – this depicts people who win or lose? And must be obeyed before entering all answers. A bit of a chicken … Read more >>
A smaller than average grid for me this week — just 11×11 and 22 cells to be highlighted. Each across clue contained an extra thematic word, the first letters of which give an … Read more >>
What will EV solvers find at the ‘Artix Circle’?…A vast expanse of whiteness for a start! With no numbers and very few bars, we have ourselves another jigsaw EV…albeit at least with the … Read more >>
Thinking Outside the Box is an ‘enter where they will fit’ puzzle. These typically require a lot of cold solving, so we’re (more than usually) at the mercy of the setter. If the clues are very difficult, these take a great deal of work. So how much thinking – inside or outside the box – will Piccadilly’s puzzle require?
Down clues are normal – always a good start. Acrosses however have alternate misprints in the definition or wordplay. The misprints yield what is partly forbidden and does not appear. One down entry … Read more >>