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150 or so

November 22, 2019 By Phixwd Leave a Comment

No new puzzle this week – and I did skip a week so that I could put the update out today.

All being well, Saturday 23 November will see my 150th Inquisitor puzzle.  Or so.  I haven’t seen the final proofs yet so there may be a last-minute substitution, but I hope not.

Why ‘Or so’?  Well, the counting of the puzzles got a little complicated with the appearance of SPINK.  First of all, I’m not sure I should count the two collaborative SPINK puzzles as full Phi puzzles – but nor should they be zero.  I think I’ve counted one and not the other.  Secondly, the second SPINK puzzle was not not taken into consideration when I first totted up the approach to 150.  

So 150-ish.  In any case, I got the totting up wrong, and Saturday’s puzzle isn’t the one I planned for the slot.  But it’s actually not bad – the twist (I think, anyway!) is certainly worthy of a commemorative slot.  The actual 150th I planned will follow in due course (and probably not the next one either…)

Devotees of the splendid Dave Hennings’ database will be able to do a quick search and find 61 Phi Inquisitors and 31 Phi Independent Weekend puzzles, which is by no means 150.  But Mr H starts on 3 January 1998 for the Independent Weekend Magazine puzzle – and I start on 8 October 1988 (with this puzzle).  For the first year I appeared pretty much monthly, and even allowing for less frequent appearances later during that nine-and-a-bit years I racked up the 50+ needed to make up the shortfall.

I am not sure I have an opinion on reaching 150.  Dave’s database provides a quick list of post-1998 titles, most of which are quite beyond recall (Look Here! No, Here! No, Here! – what was going on there?).  I am checking up on the solution notes he provides, but there’s part of me that doesn’t want to, and to wallow in perplexity as to what I could possibly have been thinking.  And just to continue the theme of the last two blogs, I don’t have a favourite – I can’t remember enough of them to do the selection justice.  But I do enjoy looking through them when choosing puzzles for the site, so that will continue.

As will new Inquisitor puzzles, I trust.  There are at least two in the possession of the editor, and another one is close to finishing on my iPad.  And then there’s a Post-it note to the left of this keyboard with six thematic words on it and ‘IQ’ jotted in the corner.  The horror of not having a new idea is still being held at bay.

Beyond the 150th IQ, next week sees three puzzles from me: a Kcit Toughie on Thursday 28, the usual Independent puzzle on Friday and a Times Jumbo to round off the month.

 

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About me

This is the website of Paul Henderson, who sets crosswords for The Independent (London) under the pseudonyms Phi, for the Daily Telegraph (London) under the pseudonym Kcit, and anonymously for The Times (London) amongst many other outlets. For a more detailed biography see the About Me page.

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