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Diabolically Arcane

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Huh 53 - plus Elusive Loroso

13 May, 2016

Hope you have your brains intact, as today's post pummels the grey cells. First up we have half-a-dozen Huh clues that need explaining, all culled form recent Brit puzzles. (and feel free to create your own clues too for these same six answers.)

And second - a devilish puzzle from Loroso of the Financial Times. (You and I know the setter better as Anax, an occasional visitor to this site.) OMG it's hard, but in that wondrous, thwartful way.

Here's hoping you can unravel both challenges:

1. The present writer's aim to start with something like chicotry = ENDIVE [How does I becone I'VE in this clue?]

2. Endlessly laborious phases in complex housing strategy finally = SISYPHEAN [Is this an oblique defintion, or am I missing the wordplay?]

3. One entering Yale, maybe, established ties with US Town = KEY WEST [Love the Yale curveball for KEY, but the rest for WEST?]

4. Italian syndicate finally restricts repeats = ITERATIONS [Italian = IT, then I lost it...]

5. A set of stories about old soldier and saint - one stidies the atmosphere = AEROLOGIST [C for Clunky and not 100% clear either]

6. Cutting through wound not covered in some placesSTARK NAKED? [SNAKED for wound is a tidy misdirection, but how TARK come to mean cutting? Unless it's TART, but is that even a thing?]

Now that your brain is limber, let it loose in this Loroso labyrinth. I'm still only halfway through solving the grid after 3 days of intermittent grazing. (Which is a compliment!) Would love your thoughts on the fairness ratio in this bad boy too. Have fun.

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