Skip to content

Buy Me a Coffee

Fifteensquared

Never knowingly undersolved

  • Home
  • Info
    • Setters
    • Bloggers
    • FAQ
    • Links
    • About Fifteensquared
  • Blogs
    • Enigmatic Variations
    • FT
      • FT Daily Cryptic
      • FT Jumbo
      • FT Sunday
    • Guardian
      • Guardian Genius
      • Guardian Quiptic
      • Quick Cryptic
    • Independent
    • Inquisitor
    • Listener
    • MyCrossword Featured Puzzle
    • Observer
      • Everyman
      • Azed
      • Gemelo
    • Private Eye/Cyclops
    • Spectator
  • Share your thoughts
    • Site Feedback
    • General Discussion
  • Policies
    • Site Policy
    • Privacy Policy
    • Cookies
  • Newbie Corner

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.

Inquisitor 1727: On Track by Phi

Wed December 8, 2021 at 10:02 pmTue December 7, 2021 at 10:00 am by kenmac

On Track by Phi Nineteen clues are unnumbered and their answers are to be entered where they will fit, after being treated. The mode of treatment is hinted at by the three words … Read more >>

Categories Inquisitor 9 Comments

Inquisitor 1723: Bandits Scuppered Her Plans by Radler

Tue November 9, 2021 at 10:00 am by kenmac

Bandits Scuppered Her Plans by Radler In twelve thematic clues the entry is formed by changing the defined answer in one of two ways. Wordplay and letter counts refer to the entry. Eleven … Read more >>

Categories Inquisitor 11 Comments

Inquisitor 1719: Whowasdun by Charybdis

Tue October 12, 2021 at 10:54 pmTue October 12, 2021 at 10:00 am by kenmac

  Whowasdun by Charybdis 35ac and the title of a detective mystery are to be deduced and the detective (thematically affected) highlighted in the grid. Alas, the person addressed in the title (4, … Read more >>

Categories Inquisitor 21 Comments

Inquisitor 1715: For Her Eyes Only by Artix

Wed September 15, 2021 at 11:20 pmTue September 14, 2021 at 10:00 am by kenmac

  For Her Eyes Only by Artix Initial letters of single extra words in 11 clues may be rearranged to give the author of a series of works whose eponym – omitting an … Read more >>

Categories Inquisitor 23 Comments

Inquisitor 1711: Across the Board by Opsimath

Mon August 23, 2021 at 9:59 amTue August 17, 2021 at 10:00 am by kenmac

  Across the Board by Opsimath Clues are listed in alphabetical order of their answers, which are to be fitted into the grid wherever they will go. Ten thematic answers (two of 2 … Read more >>

Categories Inquisitor 27 Comments

Inquisitor 1707: Passing Thought by Nutmeg

Tue July 20, 2021 at 10:37 pmTue July 20, 2021 at 10:00 am by kenmac

Passing Thought by Nutmeg Each across clue has a single-letter misprint in its definition. Correct letters in clue order form a sequence, stripped of its first and last elements, connected with a celebrated … Read more >>

Categories Inquisitor 23 Comments

Inquisitor 1703: War and Peace by eXtent

Tue June 22, 2021 at 10:39 amTue June 22, 2021 at 10:00 am by kenmac

War and Peace by eXtent Across clues comprise wordplay and definition for answers in symmetrically opposite grid entries, either of which may be clued first. One of the answers in each clue with … Read more >>

Categories Inquisitor 15 Comments

Inquisitor 1699 An Alternative Guide to Wonderland by Phi

Thu May 27, 2021 at 3:32 pmTue May 25, 2021 at 10:00 am by kenmac

  An Alternative Guide to Wonderland by Phi Most clues define the answer that is entered but have wordplay that ignores up to four letters of that answer. The cells containing these ignored … Read more >>

Categories Inquisitor 12 Comments

Inquisitor 1695: Sign Up Here! by Ploy

Tue April 27, 2021 at 3:45 pmTue April 27, 2021 at 10:00 am by kenmac

Sign Up Here! by Ploy A group of two or three letters must be removed from each of ten clues, to form new clues to be solved. In the remaining clues, the wordplay … Read more >>

Categories Inquisitor 17 Comments

Inquisitor 1691: Death Wish by Serpent

Wed March 31, 2021 at 12:26 pmTue March 30, 2021 at 10:00 am by kenmac

  Death Wish by Serpent The wordplay in 12 clues leads to an extra letter; solvers must use these letters to complete the unclued entries. Each of the remaining clues contains a string … Read more >>

Categories Inquisitor 15 Comments

Inquisitor 1687: Observation by Chalicea

Sat March 6, 2021 at 11:04 amTue March 2, 2021 at 10:00 am by kenmac

  Observation by Chalicea Nine consecutive clues contain an extra word that is not required for the solution. Read in clue order, the initial letters of those words will identify the observation that … Read more >>

Categories Inquisitor 18 Comments

Inquisitor 1683: Ground Force by Ifor

Wed February 3, 2021 at 8:48 pmTue February 2, 2021 at 10:00 am by kenmac

Ground Force by Ifor All clues bar five contain either a single or two consecutive extra letters to be removed, always from a single word, and leaving a shorter word. When read in … Read more >>

Categories Inquisitor 14 Comments

Inquisitor 1679: Heavy Metal Band by Harribobs

Tue January 5, 2021 at 9:51 pmTue January 5, 2021 at 10:00 am by kenmac

  Heavy Metal Band by Harribobs Entries run clockwise in a chain, starting at the peak of 1, with the last letter of each entry being the first of the next. Entries start … Read more >>

Categories Inquisitor 34 Comments

Inquisitor 1675: Queen of the North by Phi

Fri December 11, 2020 at 2:26 pmTue December 8, 2020 at 10:00 am by kenmac

  Queen of the North by Phi Several squares will need to contain multiple letters for the clue answers to fit – solvers should replace these with the same appropriate symbol. The solutions … Read more >>

Categories Inquisitor 15 Comments

Inquisitor 1671: Double Take by Encota

Tue November 10, 2020 at 3:24 pmTue November 10, 2020 at 10:00 am by kenmac

Double Take by Encota Four unclued thematic entries must be completed. Clue numbers must not be entered initially. Nine clues are common to each pane and must be entered in the same place … Read more >>

Categories Inquisitor 18 Comments
Older posts
Newer posts
← Previous Page1 … Page7 Page8 Page9 … Page18 Next →

Announcements

None at present

Today’s Cryptics

Daily
Financial Times
Guardian
Independent
Sunday
Azed
Everyman
Gemelo

Recent Posts

  • Financial Times 18,338 by SLORMGORM
  • MyCrossword Featured crossword No 8 by Temple
  • Independent 12,322 by Italicus
  • Guardian 29,973: Brendan
  • Financial Times 18,337 by Mudd
  • Financial Times Sunday 139 – World by Hamilton
  • Independent on Sunday 1884 Filbert
  • Guardian Quiptic 1,376 by Dice
  • Everyman 4.145/29 March
  • Gemelo 29
  • Guardian Genius 273 / Turnstone
  • Guardian Quick Cryptic 105 by Dice
  • Independent 12,321 by Bluebird
  • Test
  • Guardian Prize Prize crossword No 29,966 by Imogen
  • Independent 12,320 / Phi
  • Listener 4911: Ish by Twin
  • Guardian 29,971: Yank
  • Financial Times 18,335 by NEO
  • Guardian Cryptic 29970 Brummie
  • Independent 12319 / Ringoe
  • Financial Times 18,334 by MUDD
  • Enigmatic Variations No. 1739: ABC Order by Vagans
  • Financial Times 18,333 by MONK
  • Independent 12,318 by Nimrod

Categories

Site Search

Calendar

April 2026
M T W T F S S
 12345
6789101112
13141516171819
20212223242526
27282930  
« Mar    

Archives

Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org
© 2026 Fifteensquared • Built with GeneratePress