Putting the words to lights – crossword clues explained in plain English
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This will be Cranberry’s second EV and we see that he/she has also produced a couple of crosswords in the Inquisitor series.… Continue reading
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I wonder if Jaques, a new setter for me, is as melancholy as his name suggests? Of course, his pseudonym may have nothing to do with the Bard – the OED tells me that ‘jaques’ is an old term for a privy, so that could perhaps work if his real initials are WC. But then there’s Jacques of London, the famous maker of games, in particular the Staunton chess set. Am I getting warm…?
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This is the second time that I have provided the hints for a puzzle by Piccadilly, probably the only setter to name himself after a cigarette, though I can’t help feeling that Capstan Full Strength has more of a ring about it. I wonder if this particular crossword should carry a health warning…
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I’m afraid that I’m no nearer being able to explain this setter’s pseudonym than I was last time around, but I’ve entertained myself by trying to come up with a wordplay for it. Best so far: “I must start on various puzzles”. Yes, I know, ‘could do better’…
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With proXimal, we know that we have a familiar setter who also sets as eXternal in the IQ and Listener series (and combines with another setter as eXtent). You might know him as Artexlen in the FT and Boz in The Herald. Big Dave’s regulars will know him from Thursday/Friday Toughies and back-pagers, where he’s also normally put in Fridays (used to be Thursdays). With such a range of setting experience, you can be sure you are in safe hands. Continue reading “EV 1600 (Hints)”
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Dave Hennings’ Crossword Database tells us that this will be X-Type’s seventh EV crossword, previous ones being on I.K.Brunel’s… Continue reading
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Eclogue set crosswords for all the thematic crossword outlets. This is their sixteenth in the EV series.… Continue reading
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I believe that we may be dealing here with an episcopus vagans, or wandering bishop. My usual source of information on all things historical is 1066 and All That, but it appears to be silent on this subject. However, what I have gleaned from other sources is that the Middle Ages engendered a Wave of Wandering Bishops, deflocked clerics who considered domus to be wherever their mitres came to rest. The Sitting Bishops, who were trained to recognize a crook at a hundred ells, declared their itinerant counterparts parsonae non gratae and united against them under the banner nolo episcopari (‘no nasty episcopalians’), mercilessly moving them on using crosiers especially sharpened for the purpose. The Wandering Bishops were thus a Bad Thing, whose only lasting legacy is the expression ‘long time no see’.
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Kcit needs no introduction for EV solvers. Dave Hennings’ crossword database tells us that he has been setting them since 1993.… Continue reading
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To say that Chalicea is a prolific setter is akin to describing Elon Musk as quite well off. As with any puzzle by my fellow EV blogger, we can expect sound clues, accurate definitions, and a level of difficulty towards the lower end of the spectrum.