EV Hints – Big Dave's Crossword Blog

EV 1749 (Hints)

Enigmatic Variations 1749 (Hints)
Connection by Ranunculus
Hints and tips by Gabriel

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Gemini was quite excited by the opportunity to search for an innovator and a connection and proposed several candidate innovations and inventors – the most promising were: “The Electric Battery”, Volta (5), symbols=”+,-”, and “The Electric Telegraph”, Morse (5), symbols = (Dot) and (Dash).Continue reading

EV 1747 (Hints)

Enigmatic Variations 1747 (Hints)
Group of Four by Ifor
Hints and tips by Gabriel / Jpeg

I-four has set us a four-midable challenge today. Although one can imagine many appropriate musical groups of four, our favourite AI model has suggested a particularly noteworthy four-piece band as a common thread for various song titles that could affect modes of entry.Continue reading

EV 1746 (Hints)

Enigmatic Variations 1746 (Hints)

In Part by Miles

Hints and tips by Phibs

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I was at school with Tony Miles, who went on to become the first UK-born over-the-board chess grandmaster, in the process winning the £5,000 prize put up by Jim Slater.

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EV 1744 (Hints)

Enigmatic Variations 1744 (Hints)

Reassuring by Chalicea

Hints and tips by Phibs

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It’s probably fair to say that in my four years of doing EV hints a significant majority of the puzzles have been beyond an imaginary halfway line in terms of difficulty.

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EV 1741 (Hints)

Enigmatic Variations 1741 (Hints)
Ex Troubles by Deuce
Hints and tips by Gabriel

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Well, Gemini you really have to start paying attention to your prompts: this time it confidently corrected me: “This is EV 1664 by Cid, which you may have seen mislabeled or re-indexed as 1741 in certain digital archives or collections.Continue reading

EV 1740 (Hints)

Enigmatic Variations 1740 (Hints)

Gentle Observations by Luxor

Hints and tips by Phibs

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Having got clearance through from the Pentagon, I asked Claude, “In a themed crossword puzzle, we are asked to identify a work and its creator (not ‘author’) and then position three words appropriately in the grid, each one representing a ‘gentle observation’. Have you any idea what the theme might be?”

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