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Shenanigans

I have been doing The Listener crossword on and off (mainly off) since I was about 16. I am now slightly older, and finally have a lot of time on my hands to devote to this beauty and others like it. In its honour, I created the Crossword Database, which you can get to from the Fifteensquared Links page. I try and complete The Listener, Inquisitor and Enigmatic Variations every week, with about a 90% success rate (which translates into a 0.1% prize rate). I treat all these puzzles like treasure hunts where, well not to put too fine a point on it, anything goes in trying to get to the elusive pot of gold … except of course asking someone else. I have no qualms about using Bradford's or Chambers Crossword Dictionaries or about Googling whatever seems appropriate. On the non-crosswording front I play golf and tinker with computery stuff. I grew up with William Hartnell's Doctor Who and Monty Python, but feel at home in the 21st century with Matt Smith's Doctor, Little Britain and the League of Gentlemen.

Listener No 4853, “Twisted Sister”, A Setter’s Blog by Ifor

February 22, 2025 at 10:00 am by Shenanigans

The idea for this puzzle came from a friend; unlike (it seems) many solvers, while being familiar with the illusion I’d not heard of Harbin. The concept of moving blocks of cells obviously … Read more >>

Categories Listener

Listener No 4853, “Twisted Sister” by Ifor

February 21, 2025 at 4:00 pm by Shenanigans

Listener number fifteen from Ifor this week and you know you’ll be in for a treat. A carte blanche, no clue numbers and no entry or answer lengths! There were no entry lengths … Read more >>

Categories Listener 9 Comments

Listener No 4852, “Genius” by Degen

February 15, 2025 at 4:19 pmFebruary 14, 2025 at 4:00 pm by Shenanigans

A seemingly new setter this week, although from his entry over at the Listener Crossword website, it appears that he has been in a previous collaboration.

Read more >>

Categories Listener 1 Comment

Listener No 4851, “loglog” by Botox

February 8, 2025 at 12:00 pm by Shenanigans

Botox is a collaboration between two long-standing Listener setters, Artix (who is pretty tough) and Shark (who is also pretty tough). Last year’s Listener dinner was held in Lincoln, and I bumped into … Read more >>

Categories Listener 2 Comments

Listener No 4849, “Peace at Last”: A Setter’s Blog by Priest

February 4, 2025 at 5:00 pm by Shenanigans

I have been intrigued by Eliot’s poetry (without ever fully understanding it) since I first read The Waste Land at university. What fascinates me is the richness of the literary allusions from a … Read more >>

Categories Listener

Listener No 4850, “Counterfeit” by Charybdis

January 31, 2025 at 4:00 pm by Shenanigans

Just over a year since the last Listener puzzle from Charybdis and that was based on the Necker cube. [As of writing, solver and setter blogs for Charybdis Listeners can still be seen … Read more >>

Categories Listener 1 Comment

Listener No 4849, “Peace at Last” by Priest

January 24, 2025 at 4:00 pm by Shenanigans

Here we are with the first puzzle of 2025. It’s also the first time in over 33 years that entries will go winging their way to an address not in St Albans. It’s … Read more >>

Categories Listener 3 Comments

Listener No 4848, “Return” by Dysart

January 17, 2025 at 4:00 pm by Shenanigans

This was the final puzzle from Dysart (the late Andy Stewart) following on from no. 4829, Bigfoot in August. I was surprised to find that this was his 64th, going way back to … Read more >>

Categories Listener 2 Comments

Listener No 4847, ”Demeaning” by Lionheart

January 10, 2025 at 4:00 pm by Shenanigans

As this puzzle was published, the run-up to Christmas 2024 and New Year 2025 was in full swing. This week and next would be the final hurdle for those so far all-correct to … Read more >>

Categories Listener 1 Comment

Listener No 4846, “Malined Work” by Hypnos

January 3, 2025 at 4:00 pm by Shenanigans

Today sees the migration of Listen With Others to fifteensquared under the category Listener. I have been setting blogs over at LWO for the best part of fifteen years although there has been … Read more >>

Categories Listener 1 Comment

Enigmatic Variations No. 1356: One Fine Day by Charismatix

November 24, 2018 at 12:00 am by Shenanigans

A relatively straightforward preamble this week (and my last). In the completed grid, the contents of the coloured cells can be arranged into six words from which solvers must deduce the unclued ONE … Read more >>

Categories Enigmatic Variations 3 Comments

Enigmatic Variations No. 1352: Corruption by Eclogue

October 27, 2018 at 12:00 am by Shenanigans

Here’s the preamble: Nine clues lack a definition, seven of which appear in the grid reformed after a thematic adjustment; the remaining two are untouched by such CORRUPTION. All clues have been corrupted … Read more >>

Categories Enigmatic Variations 3 Comments

Enigmatic Variations No. 1348: Musical Theme and Variations by Jago

September 29, 2018 at 6:44 amSeptember 29, 2018 at 12:00 am by Shenanigans

A relatively straightforward preamble this week. In MUSICAL THEME AND VARIATIONS, the THEME (16dn) is a musical work — probably its composer’s best-known piece — and the VARIATIONS are literally based on its … Read more >>

Categories Enigmatic Variations

Enigmatic Variations No. 1344: Frustration by Kruger

September 1, 2018 at 12:00 am by Shenanigans

This week’s preamble: In most clues, the wordplay leads to the defined answer and an additional letter not to be entered into the grid. Additional letters from across clues identify where a source … Read more >>

Categories Enigmatic Variations

Enigmatic Variations No. 1340: What It Says on the Tin by Gaston

August 5, 2018 at 6:55 amAugust 4, 2018 at 12:00 am by Shenanigans

For those who didn’t see my blog last month, you didn’t miss much. It described the abject failure I had with Sadly Lacking by Ranunculus. I didn’t major in Happy Families… and I … Read more >>

Categories Enigmatic Variations 4 Comments
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