Inquisitor

Most of the clues were reasonably straightforward, which was particularly necessary where there were clashes (sometimes multiple ones). Many were really inventive and entertaining. The puzzle element was considerably less straightforward! We were looking for a … Read more >>

A very enjoyable journey from Salamander I was well chuffed with it! The theme turned out to the the SETTLE-CARLISLE LINE, a beautiful and dramatic railway line linking the two towns and travelling … Read more >>

Solving time: about 2 hours, with reference help This puzzle presented thematic material in a novel way in the grid, and from each clue. We were told that the perimeter contained a writer … Read more >>

We were told that the initial letters of extra words in twenty-two (of forty-seven) clues would spell out the source of a quotation explaining what happens to seven answers. These initial letters would … Read more >>

Another challenging and well-constructed puzzle from Phi. I found the bottom half of the puzzle easier to solve than the top, and indeed only had one word in the top half before solving the … Read more >>

Even more minimal blog as I’m on holiday. I’ve not commented on the clues but as usual Loda’s clues were very good, except 13 where there is either a mistake or I’m missing … Read more >>

In each row’s pair of answers, one letter moved from one clue to the other, the moving letters giving two words, thematically described by 4 down. There were four unclued downs also matching … Read more >>

On my last blog, Inquisitor 106, Pared Down by Kea, I commented that I was lucky to have to blog only twenty-one clues. I shouldn’t have celebrated so much as I have lurched … Read more >>

An excellent offering from Lato. Some odd words and a clever and (we thought) pretty taxing theme. Entertaining though! The TRANSACTION referred to is 33D 23A – PART EXCHANGED and the answers had … Read more >>

An excellent puzzle from Phi as usual. The title immediately suggested something either astronomical or related to atmospheric physics. I considered rainbows and halos but eventually, after getting some letters in 44, saw … Read more >>

Solving time: not applicable! I’d started this puzzle and then left it for a bit with theme undiscovered, when another Inquisitor blogger forwarded me an e-mail about it. This gave away a good … Read more >>

There was a very short preamble on this puzzle – ‘each Across clue contains an extraneous definition of one of the Down Clues, which are otherwise unclued’. There were twenty-one Across clues. A … Read more >>

The usual shudder occurred when I saw that it was Schadenfreude this week and I wasn’t disappointed! Not only misprinted clues, but also columns with a letter to be moved. This meant that … Read more >>

The preamble stated that five words (one in a shortened form) of a song title would be spelled out in clue order, by single extra letters generated by wordplay in each of 25 … Read more >>

Solvers were told that nine clue-answers had to be jumbled to form new real-word grid entries. We were also told that the first letters of these nine clues would spell a word, referred … Read more >>