Posted by duncanshiell on 17th May 2012
Klingsor appears in The Independent every 5 to 6 weeks at the moment. Based on comments on this site and others, I assume his name is derived from the magician in Richard Wagner’s opera Parsifal.
Posted in Independent | 15 Comments »
Posted by John on 16th May 2012
Rather harder than the usual Dac I thought, with one or two words that were less than familiar. But, as always, the sort of thing he serves up week after week, with never apparently any diminution of standard and some first-class clues. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Independent | 13 Comments »
Posted by Bertandjoyce on 15th May 2012
A new compiler or someone in disguise?
So many of the clues were related that it was difficult to know where to start. For the first five minutes – nothing! It wasn’t until we had solved 23a, which thankfully was a straightforward clue, that the rest of the puzzle began to open up.
Posted in Independent | 29 Comments »
Posted by nmsindy on 14th May 2012
Very good puzzle from Quixote. Very good surface readings, all fair. Straightforward wordplay for less familiar words. On another xword blogging site, one of the bloggers lists the (classical) music listened to while solving. Wondered if Quixote did so while creating the grid for this as it is full of music references, mainly, though not all, classical. But little specialised knowledge of that needed I’d say from the fairness of the clues. I found it, even for the normally v accessible Quixote, very much on the easy side. Solving time, 13 times, v fast indeed for me, ideal for a Monday.
Posted in Independent | 8 Comments »
Posted by Simon Harris on 13th May 2012
It’s been a little while since I’ve drawn a Sunday Crosophile, and this one seemed to be in keeping with those I’ve encountered before: generally medium difficulty with a few curveballs thrown in to keep us on our toes. For example, 2dn beat me, and I can’t see the parsing for 19dn, though the answer is clear.
Posted in Independent | 3 Comments »
Posted by Simon Harris on 12th May 2012
Monk’s puzzles are always challenging and inventive, and this was no exception. I honestly want to be able to enjoy them, as he seems like an awfully nice chap, but for me this felt more like an unrewarding slog than anything else.
Posted in Independent | 9 Comments »
Posted by duncanshiell on 11th May 2012
Posted in Independent | 19 Comments »
Posted by John on 10th May 2012
I didn’t enjoy this. The two long phrases were hardly known to me, certainly one of them at any rate, and I couldn’t find either of them in Chambers. Which isn’t to say that they can’t be found somewhere, but in cases like this it seems only fair that the long expressions should be bona fide phrases, otherwise a whole lot of the crossword is inaccessible.
Posted in Independent | 25 Comments »
Posted by Bertandjoyce on 9th May 2012
Excellent surface readings as usual in this enjoyable puzzle from Dac. As avid filmgoers, we thought 15d read extremely well (even though we are not fans of the Rocky films!) as there really was a Director’s cut of Rocky V that was released online. Our COD is perhaps 4d which brought a smile to our faces but there was a fair amount of competition!
Posted in Independent | 8 Comments »
Posted by RatkojaRiku on 8th May 2012
You can never be sure whose puzzle you’ll get as the Tuesday blogger, and I knew I was in for a challenge, and a lot of fun, when I saw it was Anax today.
Posted in Independent | 13 Comments »
Posted by NealH on 7th May 2012
*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, CD=cryptic def, DD=double def, sp=spoonerism
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Independent | 22 Comments »
Posted by Pierre on 6th May 2012
My sense is that the Independent on Sunday puzzle is one that’s pitched at a reasonably accessible level so that ‘lesser mortals’ (and I have deliberately used the inverted commas) can have a crack at winning the prize. Of the ones that I’ve blogged so far, however, I would say that this is the hardest I’ve come across. Which means I need help to pin down the parsing on a couple, please.
Posted in Independent | 9 Comments »
Posted by beermagnet on 5th May 2012
Nimrod has been lurking around the restricted section of the etymological library again and half-inched the special dictionary of obscure words.
Posted in Independent | 9 Comments »
Posted by John on 4th May 2012
A typically satisfactory puzzle from Phi, with so far as I can see no controversial clues. Everything is of a high standard.
Posted in Independent | 12 Comments »
Posted by Bertandjoyce on 3rd May 2012
A good Thursday work-out from Morph with some topical references, excellent surface readings and great attention to detail (see 5d). 23a and 25a are new to us but they were readily solvable from the wordplay. The references to the present Government in 1a and 10a brought a smile to our faces.
Posted in Independent | 15 Comments »
Posted by RatkojaRiku on 2nd May 2012
It’s Wednesday today, and not the last Wednesday in the month, so it ought to be a Dac puzzle today, and indeed it is!
Posted in Independent | 22 Comments »
Posted by duncanshiell on 1st May 2012
Raich is a regular contributor to puzzles in the Independent, Inquisitor and Listener series. I think also that I have seen him once in the Guardian. His clues are generally clear and not too difficult to solve once you have got a start into the grid. Today’s puzzle was no exception.
Posted in Independent | 19 Comments »
Posted by Pierre on 30th April 2012
Another sound and enjoyable Monday morning puzzle from Quixote, but one which I found more difficult than some in the past. However, once I got my way into it, it fell out nicely.
Posted in Independent | 16 Comments »
Posted by scchua on 29th April 2012
This is my debut Indy blog, and an enjoyable and not too difficult puzzle to start off with. Thanks Hypnos. Definitions are underlined in the clues. The pictures at the bottom each has an unidentified link to the puzzle.
Posted in Independent | 7 Comments »
Posted by twencelas on 28th April 2012
Another Saturday blog day for me and another Tyrus puzzle. But am I bovvered?
Posted in Independent | 7 Comments »
Posted by Bertandjoyce on 27th April 2012
We were pleased to see that it was Phi again in his regular Friday slot. As usual, smooth surface readings and some tricky misdirections, especially in 8a and 25a. A really enjoyable puzzle and the more that we looked at it, the more we admired the compilation of the crossword. We felt that last Friday’s Phi wasn’t quite up to his usual high standards, but this is definitely back on form! Thanks Phi!
Posted in Independent | 14 Comments »
Posted by RatkojaRiku on 26th April 2012
My Thursday slot often presents me with a puzzle by Nestor and today was one such day.
Posted in Independent | 7 Comments »
Posted by duncanshiell on 25th April 2012
This looks like a fairly standard crossword from Crosophile. The clues are not too difficult, the wordplay is not too complex and the vocabulary of the entries comprises words I would expect to find in Independent news articles and features.
Posted in Independent | 19 Comments »
Posted by John on 24th April 2012
A quite excellent crossword from Anax. He seems to be a frequent contributor to the Independent (or perhaps it’s just that he always seems to get me) and although his crosswords are on the hard side, something a blogger is not always all that enthusiastic about, they are unfailingly high-quality and always enjoyable.
Posted in Independent | 15 Comments »
Posted by nmsindy on 23rd April 2012
A puzzle which I enjoyed, solving time 32 mins. I found the top half very easy but the bottom half far more difficult.
Posted in Independent | 11 Comments »