Harper's "Upgrades"

The gauntlet was thrown, so on Saturday I picked up the February issue of Harper's Magazine and spent Sunday staring at the cryptically cryptic puzzle, "Upgrades," by Richard E. Maltby Jr.

The cryptic clues are challenge enough, one would think. But, no, apparently one thinks wrong. This month's special directions state that before they can be entered, 25 of the answers must undergo some sort of (unspecified) change, an "upgrade," in a consistent system to be discovered by the solver. There are 25 such upgrades available in the system, and each appears once in the puzzle.

So my first (and only) thought is that the "upgrade" is alphabetical, with 25 rather than 26 iterations available possibly because there is no A-Z wraparound. And if there is no wraparound, then we are talking about either one letter prior or one letter after whatever letter it is that is to be "upgraded."

Which brings us to the clues and resulting entries themselves. Of which I have, after hours of staring, only 1-d (given me by Ellen when I couldn't come up with it immediately, as she did) and 18-a.

I can do cryptics. Really I can. Fraser Simpson (he of the New Yorker style cryptics) and I are on the same wavelength, apparently, but I manage to solve other cryptics as well and greatly enjoy them.

Of course, for the Harper's cryptic, I have a whole month of pencil-chewing available before admitting defeat. Who knows? I may get another entry today. Stay tuned.