Mephisto & Polymath

[macpark]

Can anyone tell me which publication/day of week these 2 crosswords appear?

And does anyone do the Enigmatic Variations crossword in the Sunday Telegraph?

I have often looked at it and not even understood the instructions but \i would love to have a go with some guidance!!

[kayakamina]

Mephisto is in the Sunday Times

[kayakamina]

Polymath is in the Financial Times.

Enigmatic Variations is the most difficult of the three and is aimed at the advanced solver. Polymath can be completed using Google , but I would suggest that you try the Mephisto first if you are already solving the daily crosswords quite easily.

Good luck K

[Tenter]

I read the instructions every week on Enigma and I'm convinced it's a foreign language or just a random arrangement of words or I'm just too thick to comprehend, must be the latter as someone wins every week!

[macpark]

Thank you K.
Tenter, you make me feel so much better - I'm sure we're not stupid as I do the telegraph crosswords fairly easily but that one is in a whole dofferent league!

[bangor]

To Trenter
You are not alone - I have put Enigmatic Variations in the too hard basket. I'd love to be able to do it.

[bangor]

macpark - sorry I meant to send my post to you as well as Trenter

[Tenter]

I do the Telegraph every day and by and large finding it a bit easy, usually takes about half hour Sundays a bit longer. Enigma is way too hard I've tried the Guardian but found the standard so variable usually very hard.
Is the Times more difficult than Telegraph when I've tried it not found a lot of difference.

[kayakamina]

I have been told by friends that they are 'thrown' by their initial reading of the instructions and the clues. I advise them to not panic but try to get even one answer from which they will doubtless get another and so on.
Perseverence is the key and there is no better example than our own Crofter who, even though he is an esteemed and highly competent solver, took two weeks to complete a recent puzzle.

[novalis]

Re EV crossword - as already suggested, persevere. To get you started on this week's the three unclued answers are "beginnings" ( to be entered in the 1 down position ),
"intermediates" ( to be entered across the middle row ) and "endings" ( to be entered in the last across position ).
The dagger-marked answers all fit in with one of those three words and gain an extra letter e.g. "arrack" ( answer to the third clue ) becomes "barrack" wnen entered next to the "b" of "beginnings". "Verifier" ( answer to next to last clue ) is entered in the final column and becomes "versifiers" picking up "s" from both "intermediates" and "endings". I'm sure you will be able to work out most of the answers but watch "bird enclosure". It's "ree" not "pen" and is entered above "versifiers" in the final column". "Agacante" ( 1st answer" and the only clued 8 letter entry ) goes in the third row up from the bottom.
Hope that helps! If you have a go and get stuck post another message please.
Best wishes and happy solving!

[crofter]

My good friend kayakamina is absolutely right - it took me two weeks to complete a EV and I thought it was a class above anything I had ever tried before.

However two facts remain: it was the first time I had ever laid eyes on an EV & I have changed my Sunday paper as from this weekend to the ST!

My ambition is one day to be a prize winner on EV
The ant and the rubber-tree plant come to mind!

Krophta, he say: If you don't have targets, how will you be able to tell when you've failed?

[macpark]

You all inspire me to have a go!!
My late mother did a crossword in the Glasgow Herald every Monday called the wee stinker. She eventually won it and the prize.....? A T-shirt with the winning grid on the back and the clues across the chest! She never wore it but she was proud to have it.