kenmac

In early 2022 I took over administration for this site. Born 1954. I've been fascinated by cryptic crosswords since childhood. My mother used to attempt the Daily Mail cryptic every day but I don't remember her ever finishing one. Then, when I started working, a colleague would bring in The Telegraph every day. It wasn't till my daughter started to get interested, when I bought her a "how to" book that I realized that the definition is "always" the first word (or words) or the last word (or words) of the clue. In 2000 I discovered the, then, Independent Weekend Crossword (now Inquisitor) and later Enigmatic Variations and The Listener. I solve The Inquisitor most weeks and won the Champagne once. In 2005 I achieved an ambition by having a barred crossword published in The Independent using the pseudonym Cayenne. Then I had another one in 2015 in collaboration with Anax. This was Inquisitor 1839.

Inquisitor 1219: Location by Kruger

Wed March 14, 2012 at 9:20 amWed March 14, 2012 at 1:23 am by kenmac

The preamble tells us that there are misprints in the definitions in some clues but doesn’t tell us how many. The corrected letters give a cryptic link to a location. Once the grid’s … Read more >>

Inquisitor 1215: Countdown by Schadenfreude

Wed February 15, 2012 at 1:35 pmWed February 15, 2012 at 1:23 am by kenmac

Phew what a workout! I just hope Schadenfreude derived a lot of “freude” from everyone’s’ “schade!” However, I got there in the end. Each answer had to be entered with one letter misprinted, though (as … Read more >>

Sloggers and Betters Ireland Meet (provisional)

Tue February 14, 2012 at 11:15 pm by kenmac

Hi, Just putting the feelers out to see if there is enough interest in meeting up somewhere in Ireland. Having been at the one in Birmingham last summer and having a great time. … Read more >>

Inquisitor 1211: Anticipation by Nutmeg

Wed January 18, 2012 at 1:23 am by kenmac

We have to find two quotes (from the same source) around the perimeter and then, cryptically, three down clues will combine to deliver the first. The allusion has to be completed by filling … Read more >>

Inquisitor 1207: A First Centenary by Schadenfreude

Thu December 22, 2011 at 9:06 pmWed December 21, 2011 at 1:23 am by kenmac

Inquisitor 1207 An unusually shaped grid this time. Also, it turns out, some of the bars and borders were missing from the published grid, which is a shame. On inspection, the grid is … Read more >>

Inquisitor 1203: Caveat by Hypnos

Wed November 23, 2011 at 7:08 pmWed November 23, 2011 at 1:23 am by kenmac

The title is “CAVEAT”, which means a notice or a warning! According to the preamble, the wordplay, in thirty clues, generates an extra letter giving a variant of a quotation. There are four … Read more >>

Inquisitor 1199: In Attendance by Phi

Thu October 27, 2011 at 7:35 pmWed October 26, 2011 at 1:23 am by kenmac

The preamble tells us that significant points (we’re not told how many) of a trajectory using a “33” (10 letters) and implied by a song are omitted from wordplay. (Yikes, what the H … Read more >>

Inquisitor 1196: Seriously … by Loda

Wed October 5, 2011 at 1:23 am by kenmac

There are four unclued answers, all fairly long, and all made up of multiple words. It seems that our setter, Loda, takes these four phrases seriously. Then there are six symmetrically placed answers … Read more >>

Inquisitor 1191: A Dream Holiday by Kruger

Thu September 1, 2011 at 3:20 pmWed August 31, 2011 at 1:23 am by kenmac

The preamble, rather vaguely, tells us that we need to highlight 23 squares and blank out 1 row. These items depict a musical reference and express the sentiment leading directly to the return … Read more >>

Inquisitor 1187: Not Funny by Loda

Wed August 3, 2011 at 1:23 am by kenmac

There are nine unclued entries. Eight of them represent eleven from a set and the ninth represents the last line of a quote formed by superfluous words in across clues. In the same … Read more >>

Inquisitor 1183 – Ignore Diddly? by Samuel

Wed July 6, 2011 at 9:48 pmWed July 6, 2011 at 1:23 am by kenmac

The blog now arriving on platform 152 is the late running 1183 from kenmac. What a tough offering from Samuel! This puzzle came out on the day of the Sloggers and Betters do … Read more >>

Inquisitor 1179 – Five Characters in Search of an Author by Samuel

Wed June 8, 2011 at 10:56 amWed June 8, 2011 at 1:23 am by kenmac

Unusually, I think, the title virtually gives away the theme. Certainly I wasn’t at all surprised when the theme revealed itself. Twelve of the clues lead to an extra letter which spell … Read more >>

Inquisitor 1175 – Left Out by Nimrod

Wed May 11, 2011 at 1:23 am by kenmac

The perimeter is clued thematically while the numbered clues (to the remainder of the grid) have a redundant letter in the wordplay, which spells out a message indicating what to do with the … Read more >>

Inquisitor 1171 – And a Prayer by Nutmeg

Wed April 13, 2011 at 8:40 pmWed April 13, 2011 at 1:23 am by kenmac

What rotten luck, to have to blog a reasonably difficult Inquisitor in a week where I had to drive to both Galway and Dublin for “all day” appointments. When I finally got time … Read more >>

Inquisitor 1167 – Film Club by Kea

Wed March 16, 2011 at 8:32 amWed March 16, 2011 at 1:23 am by kenmac

With apologies to Kea, I have to say that I didn’t really enjoy this puzzle 🙁 but I’ll try not to let it influence my blog too much. The preamble tells us that we’re looking … Read more >>