EV1636 (Setter’s Blog)

EV1636

Mislaid by Luxor

Setter’s Blog

 

 

EGG fills gaps in seven entries.

Setter’s blog:

I’m quite new to this. It’s only a year since I sent my first tentative effort to the Telegraph on the off-chance it would be acceptable.  Since then, I’ve been hugely impressed by the advice and encouragement I’ve received from the EV editor and other setters, who’ve helped to shape this puzzle into a publishable form. Special thanks to Chalicea and Ifor.

MISLAID is intended to be the crossword equivalent of an Easter Egg hunt. Having decided on the theme of hidden eggs, the challenge was to find words containing those three letters, which would also leave a real word when they were removed. I was only able to discover the seven that appear in the puzzle.

Whilst commonly associated with Christianity, eggs have been traditional symbols of spring and the renewal of life in cultures all around the world. The practice of decorating eggshells is quite ancient. The oldest known examples of patterned ostrich eggs were discovered in Africa and date from 60,000 years ago. Chocolate eggs originated in eighteenth century France at the court of Louis XIV and were made by pouring liquid chocolate into empty egg shells. The practice soon caught on and Fry’s developed the simpler technique of using moulds. Today, around 80 million Easter eggs are enjoyed each year in the UK alone.

 

 

 

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A full review of this puzzle can be seen over on fifteensquared.