Two grids for the price of one this week.
Preamble: The answers must be entered in grid 2. Every clue has a misprint in the wordplay which must be corrected before solving; the correct letter is to be entered alongside the clue label in grid 1 (e.g. for clue A next to the letter A), while the letters replaced spell a message.
HolyGhost
Inquisitor 1924: Sausage Competition II by eXternal
eXternal is back with a second Sausage Competition. The first one was a real joy and a great puzzle so this sequel has a lot to live up to.
Inquisitor 1920: Sunken Island by The Ace of Hearts
It looks like we see The Ace of Hearts about once a year.
Preamble: One letter must be added to each clue to enable solving; in clue order these letters spell the first ten words of a quotation from a film (available on the IMDb website).
Inquisitor 1916: Workout by Poat
There have typically been about 100 puzzles between successive appearances by Poat, but the one prior to this was #1881 Get the Message, last November.
Preamble: Four creative works suggest how the answers to each group of clues must be treated. In the fifth group, each clue contains an extra letter which must be removed to enable solving; extras can be arranged to make the creator. The entry at 22dn is two words.
Inquisitor 1912: Absences by Skylark
Does Skylark herald the start of ladies’ month?
Preamble: From each of thirty-six clues, a letter must be removed before solving, giving items from a thematic group. From each of five other clues, a surplus word must be removed before solving. After inspecting the completed grid, solvers must enter absences below it.
Inquisitor 1908: Labor Works by Twin
Twin, new to the Inquisitor.
Preamble: The puzzle features a thematic property. The wordplay in each clue leads to the answer plus a letter not entered in the grid. These letters, referring to the clues themselves, lead to a required entry method and the source for a superlative word that must be highlighted in the grid.
Inquisitor 1904: Hotpot by Tack
A warm welcome to Tack. (That may of course get warmer or cooler as the puzzle progresses.)
Preamble: Solutions are to be entered jigsaw fashion, wherever they will go. A word of at least three letters must be removed from clues before solving. Omitted words hint at a series of successful plays first performed in the theatre in 1983, forming a pattern which the clue order must follow. Otherwise, clues are ordered alphabetically by their solutions.
Inquisitor 1900: Nine in One Hundred by PINK
PINK – what other combo would we expect for a centenary puzzle?
Preamble: Clues are in normal order. Solvers must temporarily insert the same letter into each of the barred-off cells such that it could be plugged correctly into the circumscribing 8-letter words; a phrase describing the outcome (6, 9) must be written under the grid.
Inquisitor 1896: Alphabets by Phi
Phi now tops the count of Inquisitor puzzles, and seems destined to extend his lead in the coming months and years. (And yes, I know there were puzzles of his & others before the name change around the beginning of 2007.)
Preamble: The puzzle celebrates a creator of multiple alphabet books, covering three such titles.
Inquisitor 1892: Woodcuts by Dysart
Dysart, sadly his last puzzle here, as he died last July.
Preamble: The unclued entry is the title of a work (minus its definite article). 12 clues contain a misprint in the definition; correct letters give the name of its author. Six answers are shorter than their allotted space, and will leave empty cells.
Inquisitor 1888: Pictures at an Exhibition by Harribobs
Harribobs takes us through into the new year …
Preamble: Wordplay in 45 clues leads to the answer plus an extra letter, not entered in the grid. In clue order, extra letters give two instructions. Eighteen artists (three using given names as well as surnames), are represented in the exhibition. Each artist’s piece is square or rectangular and marked in its top right corner by ‘*’ (or ‘A’ for a key piece). The solver must frame all pieces. The website WikiArt.org is recommended.
Inquisitor index
“The series of crosswords, now known as Inquisitor, began in 1988, headed simply Crossword. It has since appeared every Saturday, except on Christmas Days and with one accidental omission. Changes in presentation have occurred, but the team of contributors has continued to develop naturally, as has the style. Today’s crossword is number 1106 in the series. In future, Inquisitor will be numbered accordingly.”
Mike Laws, Crossword Editor, Boxing Day 2009.
The first blog on this site, by Pete Biddlecombe, contains some more information on the name changes and number restarts.
Inquisitor index: Setters
Some setters use more than one pseudonym …
Inquisitor index: 2025
Puzzles 1889 –
Inquisitor 1884: Odds & Evens by Kruger
Kruger, notching up his sixty-second puzzle in the Inquisitor sequence.
Preamble: Every clue contains a definition and wordplay. Odd-numbered across clues consist of definition/wordplay for another odd-numbered across entry and wordplay/definition for an even-numbered down entry. Likewise, even-numbered down clues consist of definition/wordplay for another even-numbered down entry and wordplay/definition for an odd-numbered across entry.