Inquisitor

Plumrot is a new compiler to me so I wasn’t sure what to expect in this puzzle.  The grid was a fairly compact 11 * 11 size, presumably to fit with key elements … Read more >>

Chalicea – a setter new to the Inquisitor {but see comment 7}, and, appropriately for me, I flew to Zürich the day after the puzzle’s publication and I’m blogging from the Bernese alps. … Read more >>

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 >>

It was relatively easy to identify the Guru of the title, less so to complete this multi-threaded puzzle. First there were two completely barred off squares, one preceded the IKE of ikebana, the … Read more >>

The preamble stated that unchecked letters of the 10 unclued grid entries, including mutual crossing letters, spell CELIBATE BEDTIME WEEK. The unclued entries could be described by 13 contiguous cells (3,6,4) which extend … Read more >>

Extra letters in the wordplay of across clues indicate how answers to down clues are to be entered. Seven letters have to be highlighted in the completed grid.   An 11×11 grid, and … Read more >>

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 >>

Having failed even to start the blank grid in 1177 by Phi, my heart sank when I saw another blank grid for this week’s puzzle. I find these difficult to do, but even harder to blog! … Read more >>

Another puzzle, another preamble that has me wondering ‘What?’ on the first run through.  In the end though it all made sense.  This was a wonderful puzzle which took a couple of days … Read more >>

I must admit to having a soft spot for Samuel’s puzzles, so I was quite looking forward to this.  Seventeen clues have a misprint in the definition, correct letters spelling an instruction about … Read more >>

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 >>

The title told us that we were in the weddings arena, though the proximity of the forthcoming royal nuptials seemed to be less of a help than I expected. My first solution was … Read more >>

This puzzle had a preamble that I had to read a few times before I really understood it, and even then the whole thing didn’t make complete sense until I had completed the … Read more >>

Back from a week’s walking north of Alnwick, and after the ‘moorland treks’ provided by the previous two puzzles, this one was more of ‘a stroll on the beach’.  Across clues have a … Read more >>

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 >>