Putting the words to lights – crossword clues explained in plain English
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Brock is a familiar name to Listener solvers. His ‘Bunch of Fives’ erlier this year was a beautiful creation and he amused us with spoonerisms on a Spooner anniversary not long ago.… Continue reading
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Regular EV solvers will have met Ranunculus already. This is his ninth EV crossword and he has set as many for the Inquisitor series but with a different pseudonym, and others for the Listener and Magpie with other pseudonyms yet again.… Continue reading
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Ifor will be a very familiar name to thematic cryptic crossword solvers. 95 crosswords by Ifor appear on Dave Hennings’ Crossword Data Base and they have been set for the Listener, The Magpie, the Inquisitor series and the Enigmatic Variations series so you can be confident that you are being challenged by the work of a polished setter.… Continue reading
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If you are a relative newcomer to the Enigmatic Variations Series, Gaston will probably be a new setter name for you as he doesn’t set for any of the other thematic cryptic outlets but this is his eighteenth crossword for the EV. In view of the devices he uses, Gaston’s crosswords are among the more difficult EV ones but well worth the effort because of the fine p.d.m. moments. Continue reading “EV 1458 (Hints)”
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Like Skylark, Vismut joined the relatively small band of lady setters just a couple of years ago and has challenged solvers of the Listener, Magpie, Inquisitor and Enigmatic Variations series with crosswords that nearly always oblige us to extend our knowledge of a fascinating range of subjects. This one is no exception. Continue reading “EV 1457 (Hints)”
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Stick insect will be a familiar setter for Toughie solvers. He has been setting EV crosswords for some years and also appears annually in the Listener series and has recently set for the Magpie too. With such an experienced setter you can be confident that his clues will be well set and fair. We found this crossword to be of about the same difficulty as the ‘average’ Listener (a Magpie C rating, say) and it will challenge newer EV solvers but it will be well worth sticking with it as you will probably love the endgame (one Numpty did – the other ‘hadn’t a clue’). Continue reading “EV 1456 (Hints)”
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Skylark joined the relatively small band of lady setters just a couple of years ago and has delighted solvers of the Listener, Magpie, Inquisitor and Enigmatic Variations series with crosswords on literary and musical themes (Jazz, the Beatles, Endeavour Morse, Jeeves, Hercule Poirot, Frank Muir – his ‘Aisle Altar Hymn’, Oscar Hammerstein and Robert Graves). Continue reading “EV 1455 (Hints)”
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We have been finding crosswords by the Eclogue team in a range of publications of thematic cryptics over the last ten years, the EV, Crossword, the Inquisitor series and the Magpie, and we know that the clues will challenge us but be fair and that there will be a smile when we spot the theme. Continue reading “EV 1454 (Hints)”
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Piccadilly has been setting crosswords mostly in the Enigmatic Variations series and for the Listener for over thirty years so you can be confident that his clues will be fair and balanced. When we see his name as the setter of a Listener numerical crossword, we tend to shiver (though his recent numerical one had a memorable finish – the numbers had to be converted to words and they gave I HATE NUMERICAL CROSSWORDS BECAUSE MAKING A MISTAKE MEANS STARTING ALL OVER AGAIN) but fortunately we are dealing with words here. Continue reading “EV 1453 (Hints)”
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This is the second of the series of gentle puzzles with hints and tips to help newer solvers.
Previous crosswords in the series by X-Type have been noted for his classic style of cluing. With a different pseudonym, he is a Listener and EV setter of long standing (over thirty years!) who can be relied on to produce relatively gentle puzzles. Continue reading “EV 1452 (Hints)”