Inquisitor

We get an Inquisitor puzzle from Serpent about twice a year, sometimes quite hard, often quite fun.   Preamble: Four symmetrically-placed across clues have standard wordplay and definitions. In each of the remaining … Read more >>

Barcode by Xanthippe Clues are given in normal order and solvers must complete the grid, which has no symmetry and contains 4 barred off empty cells. Two entries are clued by wordplay only … Read more >>

Wiglaf is an irregular but welcome setter in the Inquisitor series. His two previous puzzles date from 2013, a literary puzzle and 2016 XXXX which resolved itself to be 20/20. Both were well … Read more >>

I last blogged a Gila Inquisitor in May 2014 when the subject was the television quiz programme Bullseye.       The preamble in this puzzle told us that twenty clues contain a … Read more >>

Two previous Inquisitor puzzles have had the byline Nitsy … but they were in 2007 & 2009 – that’s certainly a while back.   Preamble: Thirteen clues contain no definitions: the answers to … Read more >>

Noble Aims by Nimrod Wordplay in all except six clues leads to an extra letter not entered in the grid; these letters in order reveal a cryptic clue to one version of a … Read more >>

It’s a long while since I blogged a puzzle by Ifor – in fact I’m not sure I ever have, despite his being a regular setter. Quite a long preamble this week: All … Read more >>

Shark provided the Inquisition this week.       The preamble told us that four clashes need to be resolved by producing real words in the final grid.  In order to create this, … Read more >>

Schadenfreude shows up here about every couple of months.   Preamble: Seven of a set of ten are to appear clockwise in the perimeter. The initial letters of single words to be removed … Read more >>

Back and Forward by Kruger Most clues have had either their definition or wordplay moved back or forward by one or two clues (1ac assumed to follow 32dn). The original clues must be … Read more >>

Note to self: READ THE RUBRIC CAREFULLY! I missed the fifth word of the rubric, equal, which would have helped quite a lot. I noticed it when I had almost finished and used it … Read more >>

Eclogue is becoming a fairly regular setter of Inquisitor puzzles.       This week, the preamble stated that "In clue order the correct letters from misprints in definitions provide the opening to … Read more >>

A puzzle by eXternal … but not Clue Two IV (yet).   Preamble: Single letter clashes occur in six cells and each should be resolved in favour of a third letter to make … Read more >>

Don’t Get Me Wrong by Opsimath Ignoring obstructive bars and replacing letters in barred-off and corner cells with the letters IN GRIM AUTHOR’S CV, three sides of the completed grid will reveal a … Read more >>

This was another Serpentine puzzle. I had the pleasure of sorting out and blogging “Mirror Image” in June. This one was less artistic, but equally devious. A carte blanche with blanks in it … Read more >>