Inquisitor Review of 2023-24 by Nimrod

by

Inquisitor Review of 2023-24 by Nimrod

VOTING CLOSED

Season’s greetings to all from the IQ solving team, and many thanks to all setters for another splendid year of puzzles: I hope that you all enjoyed them as much as we did.

A Trivial Pursuit – VI

As an indicator of the changing balance of themes, here’s the usual breakdown in the (approximate) style of Triv categories, last year’s count in brackets:

  • History & Geography 5 (10)
  • Film & TV 6 (6)
  • Sport & Leisure 6 (4)
  • Music & the Arts 9 (3)
  • Science & Nature 8 (4)
  • Literature 11 (11)
  • Lifestyle 6 (8)
  • Logic 1 (5)

Even with overlapping categories and the subjective nature of my sorting (e.g. Poat’s Houdini-Kate Bush double act went into Music rather than Logic and Charybdis’s Beatrix Potter-Laboratory Cheese puzzle scored for Science rather than Literature or Lifestyle), the distribution was more even than last year, though within some of the ‘&’ categories the division was skewed in favour of the italicised category. Music, which heavily outweighed the Arts, had a particularly good showing early in the list (four out of the first six, though very different genres); and there was a noticeable absence of Geography in 2024.

As always, one of the great pleasures of puzzles in this series is educational value. Perhaps as a quiz-writer I ought to have heard of In C, Scarface Claw, choreomania, the Houdinis’ code, different words for animal poo, that there was more than one Richard Hannay novel and that Beatrix Potter had a science background. But to learn about a strange idea someone had to dispose of a dead whale, that a US TV host had a chimpanzee as a co-presenter and that there is a thing called heteropaternal superfecundation were all highlights of the year.

A special mention for solver and regular correspondent Dave Howell, who contacted me to say that, having solved Eclogue’s Richard Hannay puzzle, he had found a sixth relevant novel: in the last six letters of the answer URETHRA, he had found Sick Heart River. Fair enough, though Hannay was only a minor character. Was Dave trying too hard? Clearly not hard enough: he emailed me a day later to say that, with G and NU appearing in contiguous cells and already shaded in the thematic colour, had Eclogue also represented The Green Wildebeest? Dave wins 2024’s virtual Persistence [aka Obsession?] Award.

Talking of unofficial Awards, the Puzzle Title of the Year goes to eXternal’s Inquisitor involving the battle of Salamis: “Sausage Competition”. That did make me titter. Nice one, Steve.

Requiescat in pace

Another awful one in CrossWorld, sad to say. We lost some leading lights in 2024. Alan Scott was Falcon in the FT, Tracy in the Times Quick Cryptic, anonymous in the main puzzle, the “Monday Man” on the Telegraph back page cryptic and Campbell in its Toughie, Everyman in the Observer (1994-2015) and Ascot in the Spectator and the Listener, to whom the annual trophy for the best puzzle of the year is a memorial. Michael Curl was Orlando in the Guardian, Cincinnus in the FT, Grumpy in the Times Quick Cryptic and anonymous on its back page; he was also behind the website Best for Puzzles. Andy Stewart’s last Dysart puzzle for the Listener was published last weekend; his last Inquisitor will appear in January. Richard Pauptit, a great presence at crossword socials, was – as Dutch – the Friday blogger of the Telegraph Toughie, and had just started publishing puzzles in his own right in the Independent; his skills as a solver and blogger (particularly of, ahem, Elgar puzzles) were particularly noteworthy, as English was not his first language. On the subject of expert solvers, we were shocked to learn late in the year of the passing of Charles Curran, a familiar attender with his wife Shirley (our Chalicea) at Listener Dinners, where they were invariably all-correct for the year.

Perhaps most heavily felt of all the deaths in 2024 was that of Times Crossword editor Richard Rogan. If you were unaware of Richard’s stature in the crossword world, do take a look at the Times for the Times website entry for June 3rd. He was an utter genius in the art of compiling. He was Bannsider in the Independent, Aragon in the Listener and, as editor, the setter of three Times back-pagers and one Jumbo per month. Of course these were anonymous, but his brilliant style gave him away more often than not. https://timesforthetimes.co.uk/richard-rogan-rip

Give Me a Clue

With the re-branding of the i Paper (as it’s now officially known) and the associated new design of the Puzzles section, there is at the moment no room for GMaC. The powers that be are currently dealing with the influx of letters from disgruntled solvers, but I am hoping that (as well as losing the pink colour) I’ll get my little column back. It’s a voluntary thing, but it enables me to maintain a dialogue with solvers.

Social Media

Like a number of cruciverbalists who have already jumped ship, I’ve joined the altogether more pleasant Bluesky service. It’s very easy to do, and I’m winding down on Twitter, which I still refuse to call by its new name (except in crossword clues). You can find me (at) @enigmatistelgar.bsky.social.

2025

I’ve already put together a schedule for 2025. I see at least five new names on the roster, one of which I am delighted to say is female, which means I can reinstate Ladies’ Month in June.

Statistically …

There were, apparently, three Inquisitor debutants in 2024. As Fer-de-Lance is a team comprising Ferret and Serpent, only Moreton and Sauce were real newbies. Because of his contract as the new Times crossword editor, Jason Crampton will be taking a sabbatical from the IQ: although there are for now no more eXtents or Fer-de-Lances, watch out for two previously submitted Serpent puzzles in 2025.

I count thirty-four different setter names this year (the same as in 2023), including four collaborating teams (Eclogue, eXtent, Moreton and Fer-de-Lance). A few notable names missing from the 2024 list are – don’t worry – in the 2025 schedule.

Voting’s Open

I invite you all to register your favourite puzzles of 2024. As usual, a handy list (and bracketed memory jogs) follows, with the team’s average difficulty ratings appended as asterisks in each bunch of five. Of course, each puzzle has a full blog on Fifteen Squared.

2023
PUZZLES

23/12/23

1835

Easy As
… (“Christmas Alphabet”)

Shark**

30/12/23

1836

Blithe
Spirit (The Lark Ascending)

Hedge-sparrow**

2024
PUZZLES

06/01/24

1837

Sea Air
(Skegness is so bracing)

Chalicea*

13/01/24

1838

Blown
Away (“A beginning, a muddle …”)

Ifor***

20/01/24

1839

Minimalist
(In C)

Nathan
Panning**

27/01/24

1840

All My
Own Work (Tubular Bells)

Nudd**

03/02/24

1841

Playing
With a Defensive Formation? (Mah-jongg)

Kruger**

10/02/24

1842

Sausage
Competition (Battle of Salamis)

eXternal**

17/02/24

1843

Too
Much (Goodbyeee, Blackadder)

Skylark**

24/02/24

1844

Serenade
(“You are my honey …)

Eclogue**

02/03/24

1845

Pieces
of Work (Pictures at an Exhibition)

Phi**

09/03/24

1846

Palimpsest
(PMs & Rolling Stones)

Moreton**

16/03/24

1847

Out of
the Shadows (Scarface Claw)

Cranberry**

23/03/24

1848

Inappropriate
(Only Fools and Horses)

Ploy**

30/03/24

1849

Farm
Sail (Hot-air balloon)

Ifor**

06/04/24

1850

Blast
Off (Exploding whale)

Serpent**

13/04/24

1851

National
Treasures (Grand National winners)

Pointer**

20/04/24

1852

Made
Runny (A Dream of Toasted Cheese)

Charybdis**

27/04/24

1853

From A
to B (and Back Again) (Cryptic ABBA hits)

Kruger**

04/05/24

1854

Force
Fields (Rhubarb Triangle)

Karla*

11/05/24

1855

Virtue
Rewarded? (Spenserian words)

Arcadia***

18/05/24

1856

Shade
(Gods losing their way)

Dysart**

25/05/24

1857

Mixed
Doubles (Heteropaternal Superfecundation)

eXtent**

01/06/24

1858

Knowledge
Gap (The Satanic Verses)

Phi**

08/06/24

1859

Battleships

Eclogue**

15/06/24

1860

Bed and
Breakfast (Goldilocks/Procrustes)

Ifor
and others**

22/06/24

1861

Generation
(Windrush)

Chalicea*

29/06/24

1862

Hot Air
(Clouds)

Elpenor**

06/07/24

1863

Pub
Quiz

Harribobs**

13/07/24

1864

Lady’s
Man (Transsexual doctor)

Fer-de-Lance***

20/07/24

1865

Hero to
Zero (The one-eyed man)

eXternal**

27/07/24

1866

Formation
(English Football League)

Vismut**

03/08/24

1867

Passed
On (The sexton tolling the bell)

Jaques**

10/08/24

1868

Long
Division (Divided by a common language)

Kruger**

17/08/24

1869

16 say
(Painkillers)

Xanthippe**

24/08/24

1870

Rough
Justice (Disqualification in the Derby)

Kirsanov**

31/08/24

1871

Empty
Handed (The Karate Kid)

Check**

07/09/24

1872

The
Siege (Dung)

The Ace
of Hearts***

14/09/24

1873

Construction
(Three bridges)

Chalicea*

21/09/24

1874

Stepping
Out of Line (Choreomania)

Serpent**

28/09/24

1875

Intruders
(Gooseberry)

Phi**

05/10/24

1876

Wrongful
Arrest (Huis Clos)

Ifor**

12/10/24

1877

Right-hand
Man (Cryptic Hannay)

Eclogue**

19/10/24

1878

Last
Light (John Alcock)

Radler**

26/10/24

1879

Looking
for Inspiration (Lightbulb)

Nimrod**

02/11/24

1880

Transformers
(Werewolf)

Cranberry**

09/11/24

1881

Get the
Message (Houdini & Kate Bush)

Poat**

16/11/24

1882

Broadcasting
Company (Dave Garraway & J Fred Muggs)

Vismut*

23/11/24

1883

Marks
(Silver Blaze/Haddon)

Sauce***

30/11/24

1884

Odds
& Evens (Reassembled clues)

Kruger**

07/11/24

1885

Don’t
Look Up (Space Debris)

Phi**

14/12/24

1886

Talk
Among Yourselves (SPOTY)

Ifor**

The rules:

  1. You have six points to distribute to a minimum of three puzzles from 2024, including the end-of-2023 puzzles Easy As … by Shark (1835) and Blithe Spirit by Hedge-sparrow (1836), but excluding Song 2 by eXtent (1887) and Pictures at an Exhibition by Harribobs (1888).
  2. You may allocate no more than three points to your top puzzle. If you are unable to decide between two or more puzzles, you may use half points (but no other fractions, please!).
  3. Please register your vote in any of the following ways: publicly on the thread below; or privately by emailing me at nimrod1@jetdoc.co.uk or via Direct Message on Bluesky (see above).
  4. Compilers may not vote for their own puzzles or puzzles which they have jointly compiled.
  5. Example, using my own vote:

3 pts: 1852 Made Runny by Charybdis

2 pts: 1822 Intruders by Phi

½ pt: 1883 Marks by Sauce

½ pt: 1886 Talk Among Yourselves by Ifor

Please use the above format when voting.

6 Deadline for votes: midnight on January 18th, a little bit of extra thinking time this year – you may need it!

Acknowledgments

My thanks as always, to my ever-reliable, thorough and supportive Inquisitor solving team. Other thank-yous to kenmac/“Admin”, the manager of this precious establishment; Richard Heald for his weekly checking of Give Me a Clue; and, as always, Mike and Stuart who make sure that everything looks good on the Inquisitor page each week.

To all of them, to the compilers – and to you, the solvers, I wish a peaceful, prosperous and healthy 2025.

John

 

26 comments on “Inquisitor Review of 2023-24 by Nimrod”

  1. 1 point each for:
    1867: Passed On by Jaques
    1869: 16 say by Xanthippe
    1875: Intruders by Phi

    1 and a half points each for:
    1840: All my own Work by Nudd
    1850: Blast Off by Serpent

    Another excellent year; many thanks to John and the setters and bloggers.

  2. Thanks John & team, and all sloggers & betters, for another superb year.

    3 pts: 1842 Sausage Competition by eXternal
    1½ pts: 1866 Formation by Vismut
    1 pt: 1850 Blast Off by Serpent
    ½ pt: 1881 Get the Message by Poat

  3. A big thanks you to John and the team – IQ is a highlight of the week.

    3 pts: 1842 Sausage Competition by eXternal (an opinion I held as soon as I solved it, and nothing has changed my mind since!)
    1.5 pts: 1840 All My Own Work by Nudd
    1 pt: 1880 Transformers by Cranberry
    0.5 pt: 1853 From A to B (and Back Again) by Kruger

  4. I didn’t attempt all the puzzles, and choosing between such varied offerings feels, to paraphrase Orwell, like choosing between a rose and a sausage. I’d be interested to know whether Nimrod’s difficulty ratings are based on anything tangible, or are simply personal assessments (I have no problem either way, but personally found quite a few of the two star puzzles a lot harder than the Spenser one (1855) or the Dung (1872).

    Nevertheless my marks are
    3 pts for 1842 Sausage competition by eXternal; just so clever to combine the 3 great Greek tragedians with apt descriptions of their relationship to Salamis, include a work by each, and throw in a new name (to me). Plus the best title.

    2 points for 1846 Palimpsest by Moreton, for the surrealistic joy of finding that Keith Richards could lurk beneath Margaret Thatcher and Charlie Watts beneath Liz Truss.

    1 point for 1850 Blast Off by Serpent; mad but hilarious, and narrowly edging out 1882 by Vismut with J Fred Muggs.

    A pedantic but significant amendment; the theme of 1851 National Treasures by Pointer was not Grand National winners (Esha Ness did not really win the race because the race was declared void), but famous Grand National horses trained at Lambourne. I feel sensitive about this because the proper theme was clearly signposted in a Betjeman poem to which the puzzle referred, and was readily verifiable on Wikipedia, and I made a fool of myself by harrumphing about the setter’s incompetence when the incompetence lay with me).

    Many thanks to all setters for the enjoyment they gave me in 2024, and to the bloggers for elucidating the mysteries every week.

  5. I was unable to attempt some of the puzzles in the latter half of last year, unfortunately, but in spite of that I found that the general quality of the many puzzles that I did attempt was every bit as good as the previous year, which I thought then was the best year for these puzzles since I started in 2018.

    Forcing myself to pick my top puzzles of 2024, I have come up with the following list:
    1½ pts: 1838 Blown Away by Ifor
    1½ pts: 1842 Sausage Competition by eXternal
    1½ pts: 1850 Blast Off by Serpent
    1½ pts: 1875 Intruders by Phi

    Thanks again to John and everyone else involved in keeping this series of puzzles going.

  6. In a year where puzzles and quizzes restored my (in)sanity, thank you to the setters with the amazing ideas. Not all worked for me, and sadly my three-clue three hour rule consigned a few to the waste-paper basket of time, one or two too early possibly but most were justified to me.

    3pts 1852 Made Runny Charybdis

    2pts 1863 Pub Quiz Harribobs

    1/2 pts 1881 Get the Message Poat

    1/2 pts 1866 Formation Vismut

    Sad I can’t vote for the recent Harribobs puzzle. I hope it doesn’t get lost in the mists of time.

  7. The standard has been exceptionally high this year. I flag potential 3-pointers as I go, and have this year ended up with 10 of them! So I’m spreading the points around:

    1 pt: 1838 Blown Away by Ifor
    1 pt: 1853 From A to B (and Back Again) by Kruger

    ½ pt: 1842 Sausage Competition by eXternal
    ½ pt: 1855 Virtue Rewarded? by Arcadia
    ½ pt: 1869 16 say by Xanthippe
    ½ pt: 1871 Empty Handed by Check
    ½ pt: 1875 Intruders by Phi
    ½ pt: 1879 Looking for Inspiration by Nimrod
    ½ pt: 1880 Transformers by Cranberry
    ½ pt: 1885 Don’t Look Up by Phi

  8. One point each for
    1839 Minimalist
    1840 All my own work
    1845 Pieces of Work
    1852 Made Runny
    1863 Pub Quiz
    1864 Lady’s Man

  9. I picked out 12 that I felt were worthy of mention – here are my top 5:

    2½ pts: 1852 Made Runny by Charybdis
    1½ pts: 1842 Sausage Competition by eXternal
    1 pt: 1835 Easy As … by Shark
    ½ pt: 1876 Wrongful Arrest by Ifor
    ½ pt: 1887 Song 2 by eXtent

  10. HolyGhost @9 – 1887 Song 2 is ineligible as per The Rules (point 1) in the original blog post above, it will fall into the 2025 list. I spotted this as I too wanted to vote for it in this year 🙂

  11. Thanks, Rob T @10.
    John – In my submission @9, please replace (the ineligible 1887 Song 2) by

    ½ pt: 1840 All My Own Work by Nudd

    Thanks, HolyGhost

  12. Joyce –

    If I looked at all the puzzles again tomorrow, I could well come up with a different list. There were 10 on my original shortlist. It came down to ones that we enjoyed solving but also made us smile, laugh or had a really interesting endgame.

    1 point each to:
    1840 All my own work
    1842 Sausage Competition
    1847 Out of the Shadows – had to include this one because of our grandchildren who love the book!
    1850 Blast Off – amazing story
    1852 Made Runny – amazing construction
    1886 Talk Among Yourselves

  13. Thank you to all the sloggers & betters in 2024 – it’s truly a weekly highlight to tackle the Inquisitor, and there is great satisfaction upon completion.

    In terms of my vote I’d like to give 1 pt each to the following please:

    1839 Minimalist (always fun to have non traditional outcomes)
    1842 Sausage Competition (and non traditional grids)
    1847 Out of the Shadows (loved the theme and execution)
    1859 Battleships (yet again an unusual outcome)
    1880 Transformers (also a great execution of a fun theme)’
    1884 Odds and Evens (again a novel way to set the problem)

  14. This was my first full year solving the Inquisitor and I had a great time with lots of excellent puzzles. Many thanks and my votes…

    3 points
    1847 Out of the Shadows

    2 points
    1839 Minimalist

    0.5 points
    1853 From A to B (and Back Again)
    1844 Serenade

  15. I will not vote this time, having missed quite a few puzzles in the latter half of 2024, so sure I missed some crackers. But wanted to note what a good year it has been again,

  16. Very many thanks to all setters (and test-solvers and The Editor) for another terrific year of Inquisitors. I’ve followed by usual practice of giving one point each to my six favourites:

    1842 Sausage Competition
    1847 Out of the Shadows
    1850 Blast Off
    1853 From A to B (and Back Again)
    1863 Pub Quiz
    1884 Odds & Evens

  17. Many thanks once again to all setters and members of the IQ team!

    I’ve spent the last couple of weeks trying to hurriedly complete several of those I failed to finish earlier in the year; a few still remain in the unfinished pile, unfortunately.

    2 points:
    1850 Blast Off

    1 point each:
    1835 Easy as…
    1886 Talk among yourselves
    1836 Blithe Spirit
    1871 Empty handed

  18. Late but not forgotten, many thanks to all involved for another very solid year of puzzles. Hard to choose a list, and as per some previous comments, if I went through the list again later today I would probably end up with a different six…

    One point each for:

    1839 Minimalist
    1846 Palimpsest
    1850 Blast Off
    1852 Made Runny
    1859 Battleships
    1863 Pub Quiz

    Look forward to another (pinker?) year ahead for the IQ.

  19. Thank you to all setters and bloggers, and all others involved in putting together these crosswords through the year. How on earth do the setters come up with such amazing ideas. These are the ones that have stuck in my memory this year … it’s been very difficult to choose.

    2 points each for
    1850 Blast Off
    1852 Made Runny

    1 point each for
    1839 Minimalist
    1840 All My Own Work

  20. I can’t believe it’s a year since I last collated my scores. Another brilliant year with so much to admire from each and every setter. I had 14 puzzles which I’d marked as VG or above. So, very difficult for me to streamline.

    Here’s the marks from the Tynemouth jury :

    2 points
    1883 Marks by Sauce.

    1 point
    1836 Blithe Spirit by Hedge-Sparrow
    1842 Sausage Competition by eXternal
    1865 Hero to Zero by eXternal

    ½ point
    1886 Talk Among Yourselves by Ifor
    1846 Palimpsest by Moreton

    Huge appreciation to all involved in maintaining an always astonishing level of humour, ingenuity and joy.

    I know we aren’t asked for clue of the year but I absolutely loved Chalicea’s 32D in Construction (1873). “Gas about extremes of lawless London columnist? (6)”

  21. 3 pts: 1852 Made Runny by Charybdis

    1 pt: 1868 Long Division by Kruger

    1 pt: 1844 Serenade by Eclogue

    1 pt: 1839 Minimalist by Nathan Panning

    1 pt: 1864 Lady’s Man by Fer-de-Lance

    Thanks for another great year. Choosing favourites is almost as hard as solving the bloody things.

  22. I was in the middle of the edit! Ignore the last comment. Here’s the real one (sorry, Fer-de-Lance):

    3 pts: 1852 Made Runny by Charybdis

    1 pt: 1868 Long Division by Kruger

    1 pt: 1844 Serenade by Eclogue

    1 pt: 1839 Minimalist by Nathan Panning

    Thanks for another great year. Choosing favourites is almost as hard as solving the bloody things.

  23. A vintage year I think, so thanks to everyone involved.
    2 pts: 1842 Sausage Competition by eXternal
    I thought I had gone too high too early when I marked this in February, but it remained alone at the top of my list until:
    2pts: 1883 Marks by Sauce

    1pt: 1886 Talk Among Yourselves by Ifor
    All of Ifor’s puzzles were excellent as usual, but this one just shaded it.

    1pt: 1851 National Treasures by Pointer
    If I ever set a thematic puzzle (very unlikely) it will be based on either Betjeman or horse racing, so I was delighted to find that Pointer had combined the two themes! If Pointer is reading this I hope he is pleased that somebody loved his puzzle, which attracted much unwarranted criticism on this site. I only solved it last week when catching up with ones I’d missed earlier. Had I solved it at the time of publication, I would have commented then to counter the chorus of disapproval. Bizarrely, the year’s other puzzle with a racing theme (1870 Rough Justice) also came in for some unfair criticism here.

  25. My thanks for another wonderful IQ year! All of these, my top ten deserve more points than I have available. And many good puzzles missed out, so I hope they get points from other solvers.

    1 point each:
    1838 Blown Away – Ifor
    1842 Sausage Competition – eXternal (still takes my breath away)

    ½ point each:
    1850 Blast Off – Serpent
    1852 Made Runny – Charybdis
    1855 Virtue Rewarded? – Arcadia
    1864 Lady’s Man – Fer-de-Lance
    1865 Hero to Zero – eXternal
    1867 Passed On – Jaques
    1877 Right-hand Man – Eclogue
    1879 Looking for Inspiration – Nimrod (I love puzzle number as anniversary – hope to see a few more before the chance to do it is gone forever)

    This year I made my most determined effort yet and failed on only three puzzles (1856: grid filled but missing the theme word to write below; 1881: grid filled but no idea about the music; 1859 Battleships: great idea but I have not yet solved enough clues to attempt a grid fill.)

  26. PS: Apologies for overlooking 1883 Marks – Sauce … I didn’t give it any points, but I wrote in the margin that I considered it perfect in every way. Thank you!

Comments are closed.