Inquisitor

Preamble: Five across answers of a kind are entered as anagrams, representing a thematic process: wordplay in these clues leads to original answer, definition to grid entry. From 12 down clues, a letter … Read more >>

Possibly the best Inquisitor puzzle ever? Certainly one of my favourites! Thanks to Charybdis for hours of fun. Difficulty level was just right for me, and the denouement, just stunning! It made me … Read more >>

Samuel is a prolific setter of barred crosswords (with a few blocked ones thrown in for good measure).  He is also the editor of the Enigmatic Variations barred series in the Sunday Telegraph. … Read more >>

We’ve seen Radler about once a year since his debut in 2013 (theme: QUARKs).   Preamble: Eight clues lead to answers that are the wrong size: they must be used to fill the … Read more >>

Preamble: Fourteen solutions must be thematically adjusted before entry. Solvers must highlight a statement expressing a character’s confidence that the adjustment would be performed for him, and his name. Only real words appear … Read more >>

Shark’s last offering in the series was number 1370, yielding a picture of a hand, which I much enjoyed, so I had high hopes for this one. I remember that we found the clues … Read more >>

Having missed a blog due to holidays, I find I am blogging my second Schadenfreude Inquisitor in a row.  Not that I’m complaining.  We always get something to think about with a Schadenfreude puzzle. … Read more >>

I have a soft spot for Nutmeg‘s puzzles; typical clues are polished gems.   Preamble: Down answers are entered with one letter out of place, that letter being moved to the shaded upper/lower … Read more >>

Preamble: Ten answers, each forming at least a significant part of a member of a larger thematic set, must be modified before entry. Half of these entries indicate progress while the rest display … Read more >>

Swaps due to holidays (mainly afloat!) mean that I have two blogs in a row. This time Ho is on holiday, so it was down to me (Hi) to complete and blog this … Read more >>

First my (Hi) very grateful thanks to Ho for his solution to this difficult offering from Phi. I was sailing back from Devon in rough seas and not a little rain at the … Read more >>

Nimrod‘s bagging #1400 with his 13th Inquisitor – unlucky for some? Hope not.   Preamble: Corrections to single-letter misprints in the definition part of each down clue in order hint at Theme A. … Read more >>

Preamble: When the unclued light is filled, the completed grid describes the position before the story started. Solvers must then change the contents of nine cells to describe the position at the end. … Read more >>

Long, but easily understood preamble this week. A letter has been dropped from each clue (except 38) and should be reinserted before solving. In clue order, the dropped letters spell a song title … Read more >>

This is Schadenfreude’s fifty-ninth puzzle in the Inquisitor series and it really made me think.       The preamble told us that thirteen clues include an extra word which has only one … Read more >>