Bertandjoyce

There was a tradition in both our families of solving Telegraph concise and cryptic crosswords. During our student days we moved on to the Observer. When we could afford a daily, we enjoyed the Guardian cryptics until the Indy arrived on the scene. Nowadays, Saturdays are not complete without the Inquisitor in the i paper. We never time ourselves but we do feel cheated if we finish quickly and really enjoy seeking out themes and ninas etc. We are now retired and when time allows, we supplement the daily Indy solve with the on-line Guardian cryptic, Genius and the occasional Quiptic. Finding fifteensquared was a revelation – we realised we are not alone in our attempts to stave off Alzheimer’s!

Independent 8182 / Phi

Fri January 4, 2013 at 8:21 am by Bertandjoyce

Another great Friday offering from Phi. We always suspect a possible Nina with this sort of grid, especially from Phi, and lo and behold, there it is! (clockwise in the perimeter starting bottom … Read more >>

Independent 8169 / Dac

Wed December 19, 2012 at 12:21 pmWed December 19, 2012 at 7:56 am by Bertandjoyce

A very pleasing puzzle from Dac. There was much to enjoy. We thought that the surface reading of many of the clues was excellent – 12 ac, 14ac and 24ac for example. 19d … Read more >>

Guardian Quiptic 683 / Pan

Mon December 17, 2012 at 4:54 pmMon December 17, 2012 at 2:39 pm by Bertandjoyce

This was a delightful way to start the week. We don’t think we have done a Pan puzzle before but we will keep an eye out from now on. The surface reading of … Read more >>

Independent 8160 / Bannsider (Saturday Prize Puzzle 08/12/12)

Sun December 16, 2012 at 12:31 amSat December 15, 2012 at 8:00 am by Bertandjoyce

Well – we really made a mess of this one! Joyce takes full responsibility as Bert was busy earning money!! We only have access to an ipad at present so we may not … Read more >>

Independent 8164 / Crosophile

Thu December 13, 2012 at 8:47 amThu December 13, 2012 at 8:10 am by Bertandjoyce

A good Thursday work-out from Crosophile. We started quickly, completed almost half the grid and then came to a sudden halt! All of the clues were fair but some of the more devious … Read more >>

Independent 8159 / Phi

Fri December 7, 2012 at 11:26 amFri December 7, 2012 at 8:30 am by Bertandjoyce

Another Phi-day to end the week! First of all though – Many thanks to PeeDee and Eileen who stood in for us while we were on holiday! We thought there may be a … Read more >>

Independent 8140 / Morph

Thu November 15, 2012 at 8:15 am by Bertandjoyce

Thanks Morph for another enjoyable puzzle. Some of the clues left us very puzzled but when the penny dropped we could see that the clues were fair (but very often mischievous!). A good … Read more >>

Independent 8130 by Klingsor (Saturday Prize Puzzle 3/11/12 )

Sat November 10, 2012 at 8:00 am by Bertandjoyce

A good challenge both in the initial solve and then again a few days later when we came to write up the blog! We like Klingsor’s puzzles so were very pleased to see … Read more >>

Independent 8135 /Phi

Fri November 9, 2012 at 8:00 am by Bertandjoyce

Another enjoyable puzzle from Phi to end the week. We always like the smooth reading in Phi’s clues and 2d was an absolute delight! We’ve searched for a theme or nina but haven’t … Read more >>

Independent 8126 / Radian

Tue October 30, 2012 at 12:07 pmTue October 30, 2012 at 7:47 am by Bertandjoyce

We found this a really enjoyable, and not too difficult, Tuesday puzzle, with a ‘hidden’ theme that really only revealed itself as we followed up the connection between 20A/18A and 2D/7A. Whilst we had … Read more >>

Independent 8121 / Dac

Wed October 24, 2012 at 3:31 pmWed October 24, 2012 at 8:20 am by Bertandjoyce

As Duncan said a few weeks ago, Dac really does write clues that make good sense. There were a few clues that we puzzled over for a while but all were very fair. … Read more >>

Independent 8116 / Monk

Thu October 18, 2012 at 8:06 am by Bertandjoyce

We found this a relatively straightforward work-out for a Thursday puzzle. The clueing was all very fair, with good surface readings, but we did need some assistance to check some unusual definitions and … Read more >>

Independent 8111 / Phi

Fri October 12, 2012 at 8:15 am by Bertandjoyce

We’re always pleased to solve a Phi-day puzzle at the end of the week. We started off thinking that this was a fairly easy puzzle until we ground to a halt about two-thirds … Read more >>

Independent Prize Puzzle 8100 / Tees

Sat October 6, 2012 at 12:20 am by Bertandjoyce

Sorry, Tees, but we didn’t really enjoy this as much as we had hoped – but then again, maybe we’re missing something? We found some of the definitions a little too tenuous, and … Read more >>

Independent 8102 / Radian

Tue October 2, 2012 at 8:08 am by Bertandjoyce

We found this trickier than the average Radian, with what initially appeared to be a straightforward theme (see 22A, 17D, 18D, 21D and 23D). As we worked our way through the puzzle we … Read more >>