Eight years ago today the first blog was published on Fifteensquared by the site’s founder neildubya (it was for a Janus puzzle in the Guardian which had appeared two days earlier). Since then we have posted blogs for many puzzles, in fact during the past week we passed the 10,000 mark. These posts have attracted in excess of 120,000 comments (not to mention over 3,000,000 spam comments, the vast majority of which have fortunately been intercepted by the excellent Akismet spam filter).
For those of you wondering why this announcement didn’t appear earlier today, I decided that it should be published at the same time as the inaugural post, ie 4:38pm (though that was on a Wednesday).
Happy birthday site!
And appropriately I see seven + ? = 15
OK, I give up. Why is Fifteensquared now Twocubed?
Forget that last comment please, two cubed is eight obviously. Its late and I need to go to bed…
Many happy returns to a great boon to crossword solvers.
WOW! I share my birthday with fifteensquared though I’ve been around a little longer.
I’m now fifteentimestwosquared.
Here’s to a long and informative future.
Congratulations! It is only now that I realise, after more than five years of posting comments, that I share my “name” with the illustrious founder. 🙂 🙂 🙂
Thank you – I am rubbish at cryptics, can just about do half a Rufus or Everyman so this site is incredible – one day I might even complete a full one
Thank you Fifteensquared for all the fun, and to all you amazing contributors and bloggers.
Very much appreciated here.
John (Paul)
Just to underline what John (Paul) said: it’s been a lot of fun, which is what crosswords should be about. As I was getting back into cryptics five or so years ago, this site was a godsend. And still is. In addition, it’s enabled those interested in the dark arts to meet up and socialise in person rather than online – witness the latest event in York, where there were over 60 attendees. That would never have happened without Fifteensquared.
Happy Birthday, 225.
One of my questions at S and B gatherings is, ‘How did you come across 15²?’ – and I’d be interested to hear more stories.
My introduction to this great site was on 21st February, 2008, when I was perplexed by ‘Bramwell, shorter by a head, weakest of the family (5)’*
The answer, from the crossers, was [eventually, after reseach] obviously RONTE [alternative for ‘runt’, I discovered] – but the Bronte brother was surely BraNwell? I googled something like ‘Bramwell, ronte’ and it came up with Shirley’s 15² comment:
“What confused us about 21D – apart from the fact we’d never heard of a ronte- was that the Bronte’s brother was called BraNwell not BraMwell!
We spent ages trying to find out who Bramwell was.
Is this a typo in the online version or has the editor let it slip through?.”
I had no idea that such sites existed. Pure Serendipity – I’ve expressed my eternal gratitude to Shirley more than once.
* I see that the Guardian archive http://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/cryptic/24317 now has ‘Branwell’. 😉
Congrats 15^2, and thanks indeed to all the bloggers and contributors who make this game, great as it is, so much more fun than it otherwise would be.
PB
Well done for keeping this going. As a setter, it is always good to know you have some friends (as well as some not-quite-friends, of course!) and the daily analysis of clues will help many on their way to successful solving. This blog (along with others) gets a mention in the new edition of my Chambers Crossword Manual, published last Friday (sorry, had to get that in!).
Congratulations 15^2.
I found the site when someone on the Crossword Help Forum http://www.crosswordsolver.org/forum/ told me about it.
Yes, congratulations to all for keeping such a valuable resource healthy. I have probably mentioned this before but I came across the site while trying to remember Paul’s anagram for Synchronised Swimming, which was something like “drowning my own misses”, and my solving skills have improved hugely since then.
I discovered the site through my neighbour and occasional solving partner, Timon. Peter Biddlecombe helped me with a template for my first blogs, although we now have the benefit of the excellent programs from Pee Dee and Nick. It’s good to know that what we do here is read and appreciated (well, most of the time, anyway!) Thanks to Gaufrid for remembering the anniversary and for keeping the site up and running.
Congratulations and many thanks to all you setters and bloggers and active commenters. Like Eileen, I discovered 15×15 serendipitously. I was baffled by a phrase in a particularly fiendish clue in a prize crossword about 2 years ago, now forgotten. So I used google and the top entry was for 15×15! You are now my favourite “favourite” on safari. Many happy returns
Fabulous site, many thanks Gaufrid for keeping it going and being so helpful.
A few years ago I picked up my Monday Guardian and attempted the cryptic. I was amazed that I managed to solve it [not knowing that Monday was supposed to be easier.] When I tried the Tuesday one, I ground to a stop and then Googled and found 225.
Many thanks to setters, solvers and bloggers – what a great community (as partially witnessed at York.)
Happy birthday! Here’s to the next year and 3squared!
Happy Birthday 225
Happy Birthday to this great site.
Geoff – Thanks for keeping this intellectual watering hole alive and thriving for S&Bs alike!! Given the recent gettogether in York, we should do something grand when it becomes RootHundred.
Regards,
TL
the quality of discussion and analysis) on this site is always a delight (present company excepted). Especially thanks to Neil W and Peter B who were wiling to take on a relative neophyte as myself back when I thought TBRB was the name of a bed and breakfast.