Bertandjoyce

There was a tradition in both our families of solving Telegraph concise and cryptic crosswords. During our student days we moved on to the Observer. When we could afford a daily, we enjoyed the Guardian cryptics until the Indy arrived on the scene. Nowadays, Saturdays are not complete without the Inquisitor in the i paper. We never time ourselves but we do feel cheated if we finish quickly and really enjoy seeking out themes and ninas etc. We are now retired and when time allows, we supplement the daily Indy solve with the on-line Guardian cryptic, Genius and the occasional Quiptic. Finding fifteensquared was a revelation – we realised we are not alone in our attempts to stave off Alzheimer’s!

Inquisitor 1930: Mistaken Identity by Radler

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Preamble:

The anti-clockwise perimeter names (not in order) a convicted murderer, his victim, the workers who discovered the body and the police officer in charge of the case. Unchecked letters therein could provide TED BLAZED DRUG DPT. All but four clues have a single letter misprint in the definition which must be corrected. The correct letters in clue order, explain how to treat the other four answers (producing real words). Solvers must highlight the appropriately revealed discovery (7 letters). The perfectly reasonable form at 26 is not in the main dictionaries. 7 is in Chambers, but not as a headword.

Well, we certainly had a struggle sorting everything out this week.

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York Attendees by Henri

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Henri has set a number of puzzles for S&B events. He also set Inquisitor 1901 which was quite a challenge but very satisfying at the end when the theme revealed itself. Once again, Henri has given up his time in setting a puzzle for us for which he will receive no fee! Many thanks.

Preamble

Welcome to York! Eight Down answers of a kind must be modified before entry. An Across answer, similar but different to the eight, describes the state of the modified entries. Ten further clues contain an extra word; eight of these indicate a thematic word and the other two are useful for solving. The unclued entry is a ninth example of the theme. One grid entry that is outwardly ambiguous can be resolved by deduction. In the completed grid highlight an appropriate set of four contiguous cells.

If you were not able to attend the S&B at York but would like to solve his barred puzzle, click HERE.

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