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 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 >>

Inquisitor 1163: Common Knowledge by Samuel

Thu February 17, 2011 at 1:13 pmWed February 16, 2011 at 1:23 am by kenmac

A nice easy preamble for a change. We’re told that six entries are clued without definition and all the other clues generate an extra letter. The extra letters generate a “line”, which identifies … Read more >>

Inquisitor 1159: House Call by Schadenfreude

Wed January 19, 2011 at 1:23 am by kenmac

Ah, Schadenfreude, probably my favourite Inquisitor compiler! I tend to find the clues seem very hard on first or second reading but on third or fourth (or fifth, etc.) reading, they start to reveal all. We’re told … Read more >>

Inquisitor 1156 – Touché by Charybdis

Wed December 22, 2010 at 1:23 am by kenmac

What a great puzzle. If it wasn’t so cold, I’d take my hat off to Charybdis! The preamble is very confusing. Firstly we’re told that a 5-letter thematic character has to be found in … Read more >>

Inquisitor 1151 – On the Rebound by Kruger

Wed November 17, 2010 at 11:29 pmWed November 17, 2010 at 1:23 am by kenmac

This puzzle contained a device I’d never seen before, which, at first glance looked like it was going to prove troublesome. In the end, however, it was fairly easy-going. Each entry had to rebound off … Read more >>

Inquisitor 1146: Grub Up by Lato

Wed October 13, 2010 at 1:23 am by kenmac

Inquisitor 1146 Another fairly complex preamble. In essence it says that twelve entries are not clued in the conventional way. Four of them are clued by single extra words in four clues. Further, … Read more >>