Inquisitor

Welcome S.M.E.R.S.H. (unless you are someone else disguised as the Soviet CIA). What a crossword! I counted 18 answers (almost half!) which were words I’d never heard of or meanings I’d never imagined, … Read more >>

Preamble: Ten entries, clued without definition, may be sorted into pairs to provide five names associated with a protagonist, X. In all remaining clues, single extra letters involved in wordplay spell a further … Read more >>

A first solo Inquisitor offering from Ilver, but already known to us as one of the triumvirate Rasputin.   Wordplay in twenty-seven clues gives rise to single extra letters, in order giving an … Read more >>

Preamble: Wordplay in down clues leads to an extra letter not to be entered in the grid. In clue order, these letters give advice concerning 47 across. Definitely one of the shortest preambles … Read more >>

This is the second Eclogue Inquisitor that I have blogged.  The previous one had a literary theme.  This time …       .. we had a sporting reference as the theme. The … Read more >>

Schadenfreude is back again.   I paraphrase: “Each of 18 clues has a redundant word with one letter in common with its answer. These letters define the phrase to be entered in empty … Read more >>

LATO is a regular setter in the Inquisitor series and he always provides a good challenge.       The preamble told us that "12 of the thematic entries represent fortunately imaginary scenarios … Read more >>

The rubric stated: Corrections to single-letter misprints in the definitions of eleven clues give a phrase which explains how some answers are to be modified before entry, in the manner perhaps exhibited by the … Read more >>

This puzzle by Radler had a fairly short preamble, as follows:  "The title alludes to the eight unclued themed solutions.  Only one is from eight, and nine’s too many for the theme.  Seven … Read more >>

The editor refers to the “IQ debutant Jago“, but, assuming there’s only one setter that goes by that name, he’s produced well over 20 puzzles in the last 40 years for The Listener … Read more >>

Preamble: Six words, occupying three rows of the grid in total, are clued without their common definition. Using that common definition, with particular reference to one of the six and an answer elsewhere … Read more >>

This one was not so difficult as the last masterpiece of misdirection we had to blog (Soprano by Pointer) where we had to be corrected by johnsurdy!     I (Hi) was in Istanbul … Read more >>

The preamble for Ifor’s puzzle – Walk This ¬>Way told us that "Row clues must  each be divided at some point and the parts used to generate two answers.  Each must be modified … Read more >>

I reckon we’ve had the tough one for this quintet, so this puzzle from Shark should be easy or moderate – but there are no guarantees.   “A thematic reference appears in 8 … Read more >>