A Trivial Pursuit – II
Last year, as an exercise suggested by a solver who emailed to say that he was somewhat disgruntled by the lack of Literature themes, I broke down the Inquisitors of the Year into (quite loosely-defined) categories.
It was an informative procedure, both for me as editor and for the correspondent: Literature (if you counted puzzles based on quotes) accounted for precisely one quarter of 2018-9’s themes. Oddly, I never heard back from him, but it is to be hoped that he would have been relatively happy with this year’s breakdown. It was another good year for Literature (listed below as representing books in general), but you could certainly add some of the puzzles from the Quotation or Film (based on a book) categories:
Songs/Poems 7;
Words/Quotations 7;
Literature 9;
History/Geography 9;
Science 6;
The Arts 5;
Film 4;
Lifestyle/Sport/Games 5.
Events of the 20th Century figured quite prominently, accounting for quite a high representation in the History section, but themes involving other aspects of the 20th Century contributed to all of the categories. Compilers reflecting wistfully on better times, perhaps? Not surprisingly, we saw very little of Politics in 2020 IQs, or current affairs – and only one on The Current Affair, Ifor having convened PINK for some timely advice on sheltering.
Ups and Downs
To start with an Up, crosswords have never been in such high demand. Of course, that goes for brain-stimulation in whatever form – as evidenced, for example, by the increased pages newspapers now devote to puzzles of all kinds or by the proliferation of Zoom quiz nights. Like many, I’ve had no busier year in the crossword and quiz business. It is to be hoped that this year we have managed to attract new followers who will remain addicted to puzzles – maybe even thematic barred cryptics – long after this damned pandemic is over.
On the weekend of the Ides of March (read into that what you will), Jane and I managed to squeeze in the annual Listener Dinner in Shakespeare country before the first lockdown. My two main duties of the evening were to read an appreciation of the life of the late John Harrington (Schadenfreude), and to present Steve Bartlett (eXternal) with the IQ Shield for Puzzle of the Year, an award for which he was certainly due. I expect Steve to feature prominently again in this year’s vote.
The Listener Dinner for 2021 was cancelled many weeks ago after consultation with regular attenders. In spring there will instead be some sort of online event at which the annual awards are announced and other announcements are made. Among the latter, there is sure to be a tribute to another of the heroes of my formative crossword years who was lost to us last week. Richard Palmer was a regular contributor to this series when it started out as The Independent Magazine Crossword. He was known as Merlin to solvers of barred cryptics and the daily Independent; more recently he appeared in the Telegraph Toughie as Messinae and anonymously – but often on Saturdays – in the Telegraph’s daily back-page slot. Richard’s name appeared regularly in the Very Highly Commended column of Azed’s monthly clue-writing lists: indeed, his clue for STUDENTY won second prize in the most recent competition: ‘ ____ brood could be tutored by dons’. Regrettably, I never persuaded him to set an Inquisitor, although he was the main test solver for the Inquisitor that will appear on January 9.
Statistically…
I’m happy to report that the reliable old-stagers – Ifor (5 puzzles), Kruger and Phi (4 each), Chalicea and Eclogue (3 each) – all maintained their previous year’s output. Newer regulars eXtent, eXternal, Serpent, Vismut and yours truly were joined on two puzzles by Hedge-sparrow. This leaves single appearances by 21 other pseudonyms, four of which (Harpy, Nudnix, Panther and PINK) were – apparently – this year’s debut setters. Actually, they are all collaborations – consisting almost entirely of individuals who have appeared before. The one real debutant is one half of Panther; to whom congratulations and welcome.
From January to February, the IQ had an inaugural Ladies’ Month. It was an institution well received, and one which I would like to repeat. For that to happen, I shall have to temporarily tease Nutmeg away from her Guardian duties, so I hope she is reading this. Were she to file more often, Nutmeg would certainly feature among the yearly two-timers listed above.
Just a final word about puzzles tied in to certain weekends of the year. There were substantially more than usual, seven date-specific and two (1650 and 1666) IQ-number-specific. I’m not averse to these – it’s poignant to mark anniversaries – but they do have knock-on effects with scheduling, and I shall be monitoring them more carefully than usual. Setters, please note: request such slots well in advance! There are already three date-specifics in place for 2021.
Voting’s open
I invite you all to register your favourite puzzles of 2020. 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 Fifteensquared.
| . | END OF 2019 PUZZLES | . | ||
| 21/12/19:1626 | Civil Engineering [Rolling English Road] | Eclogue** | ||
| 28/12/19:1627 | Tourist Information [Cycling’s Grand Tour] | Harribobs*** | ||
| 2020 PUZZLES | ||||
| 04/01/20:1628 | Listen [DDT] | Ifor** | ||
| 11/01/20:1629 | Shortages [Ration stamps] | eXtent** | ||
| 18/01/20:1630 | Lawgiver [Isaac Asimov] | Nutmeg* | ||
| 25/01/20:1631 | Enchanted [The Magic Flute] | Chalicea** | ||
| 01/02/20:1632 | Missing [Mr Men] | Vismut** | ||
| 08/02/20:1633 | Impersonation [Poirot’s Last Case] | Skylark*** | ||
| 15/02/20:1634 | Desperation [“I’m Brian and so is my wife”] | Kruger** | ||
| 22/02/20:1635 | Double Checking [Mad Gardener’s Song] | Phi* | ||
| 29/02/20:1636 | Visitation [Angel of Death] | Hedge-Sparrow** | ||
| 07/03/20:1637 | Free TV Licences for the Poor [Painting theft] | Pointer** | ||
| 14/03/20:1638 | Remedial Action [Drunken Sailor] | eXternal** | ||
| 21/03/20:1639 | Guard wall ____ prosy exchanges [Bridge of Spies] | Ifor** | ||
| 28/03/20:1640 | A Spot in the Country [Something nasty…] | Augeas** | ||
| 04/04/20:1641 | April Fool [Tower Bridge prank] | Ferret** | ||
| 11/04/20:1642 | Transfer of Power [Apollo 13] | Phi** | ||
| 18/04/20:1643 | Two’s Company [Self-isolation] | PINK** | ||
| 25/04/20:1644 | Treatment [Medical deficiencies] | Charybdis** | ||
| 02/05/20:1645 | Billet-Doux [Le Petit et Le Grand] | Eclogue** | ||
| 09/05/20:1646 | Pocket Money [Lady with the Lamp] | Shark** | ||
| 16/05/20:1647 | Unlike the Rest [Omissions not Accidents] | Panther** | ||
| 23/05/20:1648 | Sniping [One man went to mow] | Ifor*** | ||
| 30/05/20:1649 | In Bosworth Field [Rainbow] | Chalicea* | ||
| 06/06/20:1650 | What…! [450 from Paddington] | Nimrod** | ||
| 13/06/20:1651 | Odd Situations [Cryptic place-names] | Kruger** | ||
| 20/06/20:1652 | Mirror Image III [III] | Serpent** | ||
| 27/06/20:1653 | Lemon Time [Japanese kidnap] | Triton** | ||
| 04/07/20:1654 | Spot the Difference [Before and After] | Artix** | ||
| 11/07/20:1655 | Write-off (29) [Floccinaucinihilipilification] | Xanthippe** | ||
| 18/07/20:1656 | Non-PC [Mushy peas and Potatoe] | Nudnix** | ||
| 25/07/20:1657 | Trivial Pursuit [Consecutive letter triads] | Opsimath* | ||
| 01/08/20:1658 | More Than One Problem [Divers(’) Problems] | Ifor*** | ||
| 08/08/20:1659 | Now You See Me [The Lady Vanishes] | Ace of Hearts** | ||
| 15/08/20:1660 | Caroline [named by Charleses] | Penumbra** | ||
| 22/08/20:1661 | Line Drawing [9-dot problem] | eXtent** | ||
| 29/08/20:1662 | The Return Of Ulysses [The Wind in the Willows] | Kruger** | ||
| 05/09/20:1663 | Equivalency [Laws/bottomless pits] | Eclogue** | ||
| 12/09/20:1664 | Codenames [Waiting for Godot] | Phi* | ||
| 19/09/20:1665 | Seize Them All [The Scarlet Pimpernel] | eXternal*** | ||
| 26/09/20:1666 | It’s an Ill Wind [The Great Fire of London] | Harpy** | ||
| 03/10/20:1667 | Follow the Leader [Pied Piper] | Serpent** | ||
| 10/10/20:1668 | Q [Marianne North] | Vismut** | ||
| 17/10/20:1669 | Glittering Career [Red Rum] | Nimrod** | ||
| 24/10/20:1670 | Hot and Cold? [Chillis] | Hedge-sparrow** | ||
| 31/10/20:1671 | Double Take [Cartoon panes] | Encota** | ||
| 07/11/20:1672 | Collapse [Tacoma Narrows Bridge] | Chalicea* | ||
| 14/11/20:1673 | Jacks [Zeroes] | Radler** | ||
| 21/11/20:1674 | Getaway [Withnail and I] | Gila** | ||
| 28/11/20:1675 | Queen of the North [Cassiopeia] | Phi*** | ||
| 05/12/20:1676 | Hands Across the Sea [Spanish patience] | Ifor** | ||
| 12/12/20:1677 | Dead End [Ring-a-Ring-of-Roses] | Kruger** |
The rules, as ever:
1 You have six points to distribute to a minimum of three puzzles from 2020, including the end-of-2019 puzzles Civil Engineering by Eclogue (1626) and Tourist Information by Harribobs (1627) but excluding Consumption by Eclogue (1678) and Heavy Metal Band by Harribobs (1679).
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: on the thread below; by emailing me at nimrod1@jetdoc.co.uk; or via Direct Message on Twitter to @enigmatistelgar.
4 Compilers may not vote for their own puzzles or puzzles which they have jointly compiled.
5 Example, using my own vote:
2pts (1658) More Than One Problem by Ifor
2pts (1675) Queen of the North by Phi
1pt (1626) Civil Engineering by Eclogue
1pt (1665) Seize Them All by eXternal
Please use this format when voting.
6 Deadline for votes: midnight on January 9th. As usual, it’s a very difficult task so best of luck! It took me quite a while to arrive at a short-list of eight, so special mentions (in no particular order) for Tourist Information by Harribobs, Free TV Licences for the Poor by Pointer, April Fool by Ferret and Now You See Me by The Ace of Hearts. If points were given for choices of themes alone, then the Man After My Own Heart Award would go to Hedge-sparrow’s Hot and Cold?
In closing…
My usual thanks to my splendid solving and blogging teams (respectively Jane, Helen, David and Richard; Godfrey, Ken, Duncan and George) and to Mike Hutchinson (Independent and i Crossword Editor) and Stuart Price, Production Editor at the i, the man who puts the weekly page together. Last but not least, I’m as ever indebted to Gaufrid (Geoff), who is responsible for the upkeep of this marvellous site.
To them, and to you, dear solvers, I wish a happy, healthy, prosperous – and better – 2021.
John
Last year, I solved 6 puzzles – this year that number has increased to 15(out of 51)
I’d like to think that the Editor gave us some easier ones during the uncertain times of lockdown, which was appreciated!
I feel that I can only really vote for puzzles that I completed, so I have decided to give half a mark to each of the following 12 crosswords:
1630 Lawgiver by Nutmeg
1631 Enchanted by Chalicea
1640 A spot in the country by Augeas
1641 April fool by Ferret
1644 Treatment by Charybdis
1645 Billet doux by Eclogue
1646 Pocket money by Shark
1647 Unlike the rest by Panther
1654 Spot the difference by Artix
1657 Trivial Pursuit by Opsimath
1662 The return of Ulysses by Kruger
1670 Hot and Cold? by Hedge Sparrow
Again, no apologies for choosing some of the easier puzzles – I’m still earning my stripes!
It’s just left to say “Thank you” to all the Editors/Setters/Bloggers/Test solvers/Solvers/Commenters for the past year for making this site and the Inquisitor possible and that I’m looking forward to another 52 of our “gentle cruciverbal tussles” in 2021!
Ylo
I attempted 47 of the 52 puzzles and completed 40. I keep a running log of those I attempt, noting in a couple of words (for later recall) what it was about and whether it was one that I especially enjoyed while solving and continued to appreciate afterwards. There were 10 in that top category, from which I could have made a shortlist of 5, but, not wanting to leave out any of those 10, I decided to give a half-point to eight of them and the full point to my top two.
1627 Harribobs Tourist Information 1
1666 Harpy It’s an Ill Wind 1
1635 Phi Double Checking ½
1637 Pointer Free TV Licences for the Poor ½
1643 P I N K Two’s Company ½
1650 Nimrod What…! ½
1651 Kruger Odd Situations ½
1652 Serpent Mirror Image III ½
1664 Phi Codenames ½
1665 eXternal Seize Them All ½
Heartfelt thanks to John and all other personnel mentioned above for doing whatever it takes to serve up such excellent puzzles every week.
I did every one of these. But,
2 points 1641 April Fool
2 points 1666 It’s an ill wind
1 point 1669 Glittering Career
1 point 1656 Non Pc
Last January I wrote of Harribobs on this forum “Give him the POTY trophy now!” and described Tourist Information as a tour de force. I have been scoring these puzzles for five years in order to make the annual vote easier and this was the first puzzle to receive 5 points on each of my two criteria of originality and fun.If the rules allowed I would award it six points in this exercise, but they don’t so my votes are as follows:
3 points to Tourist Information (1627)
1 point each to Thanks for the Help (1639), Seize Them All (1665) and Double Take (1671)
Thanks and Happy New Year to John and everyone involved
Harribobs set the bar incredibly high at the start of the year and, for me, that remained the outstanding puzzle of the year. My votes:
3 points = Tourist Information (1627)
1 point = Missing (1632)
1 point = April Fool (1641)
1 point = It’s an ill wind (1666)
plus an honourable mention for Hot and Cold? (1670)
Thanks and best wishes to John and the entire IQ team.
2 pts Gila -Getaway 1674
2pts Nimrod Red Rum 1669
2 pts Kruger Ulysses 1662
2 pts Double Checking by Phi
2 pts Free TV Licences by Pointer
2 pts Thanks for the Help by Ifor
These were the three I noted this year, in the place where I note the puzzles I particularly like. Last year, my choices turned out to be outliers, but I can live with that.
Many thanks to John and the team for brightening another year.
2pts (1627) Tourist Information : Harribobs
2pts (1665) Seize Them All : eXternal
½pt (1641) April Fool : Ferret
½pt (1661) Line Drawing : eXtent
Honourable mention to Ifor for 1639 [Bridge of Spies]: this came out as Lockdown 1 came in which meant I couldn’t tackle it at the time. Before I had time in late May to tackle it I had caught brief sight of the completed grid which spoilt the final step for me.
And this year there were about 10 puzzles where I needed help right at the end – an unusually high number. Is it me or was it the puzzles? (Or SARS-CoV-2?)
1 point to each of the following six puzzles:
1631 Enchanted by Chalicea
1645 Billet-doux by Eclogue
1650 What! by Nimrod
1651 Odd Situation by Kruger
1661 Line Drawing by eXtent
1665 Seize Them All by eXternal
I keep a weekly record of my successes and failures and rate the puzzles for difficulty and enjoyment – not always consistently with the setters’ ratings as shown above. I found it impossible this year to rank any single one above any of the others. On the basis of the votes cast here so far, there looks to be a good spread of favourites: I look forward to seeing the result. Many thanks as always to John and the team for providing such consistently good puzzles. Will the chocolates ever return, I wonder?
I won’t be voting this year, as I haven’t solved enough puzzles to make any fair choices. In a year when almost everyone else seemed to be finding ways to pass the time, with online quizzes and crosswords, even jigsaws etc, I have been really busy with work. Time not spent working seems to go on exercising an increasingly fit dog, gardening etc. I’ve been missing my trips to London for cricket, which are usually an opportunity to catch up on solving.
That said, of the ones I have solved, I very much enjoyed Double Checking by Phi. A good word also for Civil Engineering (Eclogue), It’s an Ill Wind (Harpy) and Glittering Career (Nimrod). And the theme of Hot and Cold? (Hedge-sparrow) is one dear to our culinary hearts here.
Wishing you all a happy and healthy 2021.
2 points apiece for the following from me:
1665 eXternal – Seize Them All
1670 Hedge-sparrow – Hot and Cold?
1637 Pointer – Free TV Licences for the Poor
Many thanks to JH and team, setters, bloggers and commenters.
Ali/Gila
As usual, my main criterion for deserving a vote is enjoyment, which does not mean easy. I like a puzzle where the preamble is initially daunting but becomes clearer as the solving proceeds, with some nice PDMs and an endgame which does not take longer than the clue solving. There have been plenty of these in 2020 and I have had trouble whittling down to 10, meaning a parsimonious distribution of my 6 points.
Disappointingly, there are a number of others where the grid construction and the endgame have been amazingly and impressively complex, which must be most gratifying and satisfying for the setter but frequently too much for poor souls like me, who eventually throw in the towel and find something more interesting to do. Some comments on this websites assure me that I am not alone.
End of tirade, here are the votes:
1 point each for
1656 NonPC by Nudmix
1674 Getaway by Gila
and ½ point each for
1633 Impersonation by Skylark
1635 Double Checking by Phi
1637 Free TV Licences…. by Pointer
1638 Remedial Action by eXternal
1641 April Fool by Ferret
1658 More Than One…. by Ifor
1661 Line Drawing by eXent
1667 Follow the Leader by Serpent
A Happy New Year to all
One point each for:-
1627 Tourist Information
1638 Remedial Action
1648 Sniping
1658 More than One Problem
1661 Line Drawing
1665 Seize Them All
I annotated my copy of No 1639 with the letters ‘VG’ so it had to have 2pts. One point each for the others. By the way, you seem to have a different title for No 1639.
2pts (1639) Thanks for the Help by Ifor
1pt (1640) A Spot in the Country by Augeus
1pt (1642) Transfer of Power by Phi
1pt (1665) Seize Them All by eXternal
1pt (1668) Q by Vismut
3 pts (1627) Tourist Information – Harribobs
1 pt (1650) What…! – Nimrod
1 pt (1652) Mirror Image III – Serpent
1 pt (1665) Seize Them All – eXternal
Thanks to all setters and bloggers as usual. I am sometimes grumpy about the puzzles (particularly those where the endgame on Google takes longer than the gridfill…) but I really don’t know what I’d do without them
Joyce here
4 points to Harribobs for 1627 Tourist Information
2 points to Hedge-sparrow for 1670 Hot and Cold?
Thanks to all the IQ team, editor, setters, bloggers and test solvers.
Whoops! Bert has just reminded me about the rules for voting and the requested format! Apologies to John……
3 pts (1627) Tourist Information – Harribobs
2 pts (1670) Hot and Cold? – Hedge-Sparrow
1pt (1641) April Fool – Ferret
Bert’s choice:
3 pts (1627) Tourist Information – Harribobs
2 pts (1638) Remedial Action – eXternal
1 pt (1670) Hot and Cold? – Hedge-Sparrow
Many thanks to John and the entire IQ team, setters, bloggers – Saturdays would never be the same without the IQ.
3 pts (1627) Remedial Action – Harribobs
2 pts (1665) Seize Them All – eXternal
1 pt (1641) April Fool – Ferret
Another brilliant year of Inquisitor puzzles – Saturdays would not be the same without it.
It looks like there will be a clear winner this year judging by the responses so far. I keep a copy of each puzzle and those I enjoyed get a VG* scribbled on the top corner. This year, as luck would have it, there were 12 such puzzles, so I am going to give each a 1/2 point.
1627 Tourist Information by Harribobs
1631 Enchanted by Chalicea
1633 Impersonation by Skylark
1642 Transfer of Power by Phi
1643 Two’s Company by PINK
1651 Odd Situations by Kruger
1654 Spot the Difference by Artix
1664 Codenames by Phi
1665 Seize Them All by eXternal
1669 Glittering Career by Nimrod
1674 Getaway by Gila
1676 Hands Across the Sea by Ifor
My huge thanks to all involved in creating and publishing the puzzles and those on this site who write the blogs.
Very many thanks to the Editor and all the setters for a great year. I’ve followed my usual custom of giving one vote to each of the six puzzles I most enjoyed, though there were many, many others I loved. Here are my scores: one each for
Two’s Company (PINK)
April Fool (Ferret)
What! (Nimrod)
Mirror Image III (Serpent)
It’s an Ill Wind (Harpy)
Hot and Cold (Hedge-sparrow)
Collapse (Chalicea)
All the best to everyone for 2021