{"id":6884,"date":"2026-05-28T14:05:41","date_gmt":"2026-05-28T13:05:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/clueclinic.com\/?page_id=6884"},"modified":"2026-05-31T14:17:34","modified_gmt":"2026-05-31T13:17:34","slug":"digest","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/clueclinic.com\/index.php\/digest\/","title":{"rendered":"Digest"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

At the end of each month a Digest is published, containing news, summaries of data updates, reflections on aspects of clueing, a reader poll, and anything else that we feel may be of interest to site visitors. If there are any topics that you would like us to cover in the Digest, please leave a comment on the latest edition (using the hyperlink under the blog title – previous comments can also be viewed using this link) or email us using the details on the Contact<\/a> page.<\/p>\n\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t

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Digest – July 2026<\/a><\/h2>\t\t\t
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Doctor’s Notes<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Summer: that heady season when we retrieve our dusty deckchairs from a cobwebbed corner of the shed, pour ourselves a cold beer or chop fresh fruit for Pimm’s, and don our fraying sunhats for a cryptic crossword al fresco<\/em>. We ponder preambles and attempt anagrams against a soundtrack of birdsong, the drowsy buzzing of bees, and the cheerful chime of the ice cream van on its rounds. Bliss… – until every power tool and lawnmower within a half-mile radius inevitably starts up. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The long dry days of summer are the perfect time for maintenance work, it seems, and the Clue Clinic is no exception. Despite the heat, the Clinical Data office has been busy carrying out updates and improvements to the lists of indicators. We were happy to hear from one regular visitor that “the recently introduced drop-down filter is a significant improvement that undoubtedly makes life easier for setters”. We changed the pagination settings, so that almost all the lists of indicators are now displayed in full on one page by default, and added expandable notes above each table. Further details of changes made within<\/em> the lists can be found below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We also added “lipogram” to the Glossary in response to a suggestion from another visitor. A lipogram is a piece of text from which a particular letter has been completely excluded. The clues for Gemelo 2<\/a>, published this time last year, formed an e-lipogram. If you enjoyed that puzzle, you may be interested in Mark Dunn’s 2001 novel Ella Minnow Pea<\/em>, the hardcover version of which was subtitled “a progressively lipogrammatic epistolary fable”. If you were unfamiliar with lipograms – or you’ve been wondering why Dr Clue was talking about “green paint” in one of his comments on Gemelo 41 – then the aforementioned Glossary (at the end of The Setting Room page<\/a>) is a good place to look.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Clinical Observations<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Our round-up of this month’s Observer <\/em>barred puzzles:<\/p>\n\n\n\n