kenmac

This puzzle contained a device I’d never seen before, which, at first glance looked like it was going to prove troublesome. In the end, however, it was fairly easy-going. Each entry had to rebound off … Read more >>

Inquisitor 1146 Another fairly complex preamble. In essence it says that twelve entries are not clued in the conventional way. Four of them are clued by single extra words in four clues. Further, … Read more >>

The preamble tells us that redundancies have been made in 12 entries and their clues. My first thought was that we were probably looking for various standard crossword “workers” (bee, hand, ant, man, … Read more >>

This puzzle has an interesting preamble – “a significant minority of clues contain a misprint …” First thought is “What on Earth does that mean?” It could be anywhere between 1 and 16 … Read more >>

Probably my quickest Inquisitor ever, I had it done-and-dusted in less than an hour. Every clue contained an extra word, I must admit that I usually find those types of clues a tad … Read more >>

Pretty easy going at first. I had the grid (with the exception of the four thematics) filled in about an hour. The thematics, however, proved a little troublesome until the penny dropped. The … Read more >>

Well, this one put up a fight but I won through in the end. I guess it must have taken me about 5 hours over about 4 days. The title and preamble didn’t … Read more >>

Once a year, on average, two like-minded friends (I and A) and myself (K) meet for an IKA weekend of crosswords and beer. This year we chose to meet in my home town, … Read more >>

When I learned that The Inquisitor numbers were changing to what they would have been if they had gone sequentially from 1, I wondered if the editor had something up his sleeve for … Read more >>

Is there a conspiracy?  My turn to blog and there’s no magazine, again!  Still, thanks to a fellow blogger, I appropriated a copy. 🙂 Though I don’t feel I can submit my entry since … Read more >>

What a struggle. Firstly there was no magazine in The Independent in my local shop and none to be had in the nearest big city. A quick SOS email to my bellow floggers … Read more >>

What a bad start, I thought. I looked at 1 across and got the answer straight away.  Usually when that happens, I’m doomed to failure. But, as it happens, it wasn’t an omen, I … Read more >>

This wasn’t a particularly entertaining puzzle for a non-cricketing, non-English person.  Though I have to admit that I, unwittingly, asked an Australian friend for assistance with the dénouement.  Or should I say ex-friend?  … Read more >>

This has to be one of the toughest Inquisitors I have ever tackled. I think I have the grid correct though I’m not sure about some of the thematic material. Solving time: several … Read more >>

Well, here goes with my first blog. I picked up my Independent with some trepidation but as soon as I turned to The Inquisitor and saw that it was by Phi, I breathed … Read more >>