kenmac

In early 2022 I took over administration for this site. Born 1954. I've been fascinated by cryptic crosswords since childhood. My mother used to attempt the Daily Mail cryptic every day but I don't remember her ever finishing one. Then, when I started working, a colleague would bring in The Telegraph every day. It wasn't till my daughter started to get interested, when I bought her a "how to" book that I realized that the definition is "always" the first word (or words) or the last word (or words) of the clue. In 2000 I discovered the, then, Independent Weekend Crossword (now Inquisitor) and later Enigmatic Variations and The Listener. I solve The Inquisitor most weeks and won the Champagne once. In 2005 I achieved an ambition by having a barred crossword published in The Independent using the pseudonym Cayenne. Then I had another one in 2015 in collaboration with Anax. This was Inquisitor 1839.

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This page is where you can provide feedback relating to Fifteensquared or raise issues regarding the website itself. Comments posted before 2025-08-03 can be found here. New comments can be posted here. If you … Read more >>

Inquisitor 1903: Lines by Pandiculator

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Lines by Pandiculator

In the completed grid, solvers must replace two cells’ contents with digits and draw two thematic lines, each joining two grid edges. Each answer whose entry crosses the shorter line must be thematically treated to form its entry, while each clue whose entry crosses the longer line contains a misprint representative of the change resulting from the crossing.
All other clues contain an extra word which must be removed before solving. The first letters of these spell: (i) an abbreviated form of a third line that had a property notably associated with the first two; and (ii) three things that must be highlighted (30 cells) to form a diagram of a notable claimed occurrence. Ignoring digits, real words are maintained throughout.
Enumerations refer to entry length.

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New security measure

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IMPORTANT (updated) I’ve now changed the security level from “critical” to “high”. Thanks all for your indulgence. Many of you will have experienced slow response times and/or error messages on Monday. This morning, … Read more >>

Inquisitor 1895: Neck Rub by Ifor

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Neck Rub by Ifor

All perimeter entries are words derived by modifying their clue answers in a consistent way. A two-word phrase, from which the puzzle title has been derived in the same way, must be written under the grid. All other clues contain an extra letter. Those extra letters in the clues to 4- and 5-letter answers, read in clue order, describe which non-perimeter letters must be identified; likewise those from clues to 6-, 7- and 8-letter answers explain what must then be done.

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