Independent

Skinny provides the Tuesday challenge.       Ah! I thought; this grid will have a message round the outside.  Wrong! There was a theme though which I spotted towards the end of … Read more >>

Another very witty puzzle from Bluth, who first appeared as an Independent setter a few months ago and seems to have settled in as a regular contributor. The clues range from fairly easy … Read more >>

Tees has become a regular IoS setter recently. I found this more tricky than many a Tees puzzle, but that could just have been me being a bit mentally sluggish this morning.   … Read more >>

It’s the end of another week and once again it’s Phi-Day. It’s always a pleasure to blog a Phi puzzle as even when you think you have finished you are still looking for … Read more >>

Knut has set today’s cruciverbal challenge. It is some time since it last fell to me to blog one of his puzzles. One is tempted to think that there may have been a … Read more >>

I always enjoy blogging an Eccles puzzle.       This was good fun with lots of smooth clues as always.  My favourite was the one for ENTERITIS at 3 down where the … Read more >>

Very hard work today. Kairos has produced a sound enough crossword so far as I can see, but I have to admit that I didn’t really enjoy it much, probably my fault because … Read more >>

A gentle Monday cryptic. I had a couple of quibbles, which I've detailed in the blog. There were a few old chestnuts like orchestra but also some good surface readings. 9 has to … Read more >>

Another Sunday Teeser.  Thanks to Tees.  Definitions are underlined in the clues. Across 1 Bloomer from servant in base with Poles touring States (5-4,5) BLACK-EYED SUSAN :  LACKEY(a servant) contained in(in) BED(base/bottom, such … Read more >>

We solved the last Tyrus at the end of May which we said was ‘a pleasant solve’. We wish that we could have said the same again today. Our least favourite was 18ac … Read more >>

Phi has rounded off yet another suite of mid-week puzzles, as one might expect. This puzzle uses a less common grid that allows for a lot of variety in terms of word length … Read more >>

Serpent has given us quite a challenge today.       I got three of the four 10-letter entries quite quickly which also very quickly created four mini crosswords in each corner.  I … Read more >>

All very pleasant and what we usually expect on a Wednesday — a fairly gentle but not totally easy crossword with some nice clues. It seems to be perfectly sound (I’m quite happy … Read more >>

You never know who to expect on Tuesday ………   …. but we do expect a theme. We guessed it could be SYMPHONIES having noticed UNFINISHED and PASTORAL in the completed grid. We … Read more >>