Independent

Nothing fancy (that I could see, anyway) from Anax here, in terms of thematics, ninas, etc. – which is quite rare in a Saturday prize Indy, recently. Just a nice, enjoyable cryptic workout. There … Read more >>

The Independent crossword that I blogged last week – the one by Hypnos with the whistleblower theme – generated a good deal of comment and controversy.  I feel sure that this one will … Read more >>

As expected Monk has produced a good crossword with a nice range of clue-types. And also as expected I have failed to understand some of them, so what seems to be his brilliance … Read more >>

Good surface reading again from Dac. All fairly straightforward and in our opinion a good introductory puzzle for new solvers. We don’t time ourselves but this seemed to over and done with fairly … Read more >>

Although I am familiar with Radian’s work from this and other publications as a solver, this is the first time I have blogged a puzzle of his for the Indy. It was clear … Read more >>

Enjoyable puzzle in the Punk style.     Some of it was fairly easy, but then I struggled to finish with some answers that were less familiar (to me anyway).    Solving time, 27 mins * … Read more >>

I enjoyed the last Glow-worm IoS puzzle that I blogged, but this one was better in my opinion – a nice lightness of touch and some very cleverly constructed clues.  It was also … Read more >>

It took a little while to get started on this one. The first one to go in was 26d and the last one was 16a. We were half expecting a NINA with the … Read more >>

Musical chairs have been much in evidence this week, with Phi, who has usually been on Friday, on Monday, and Quixote now in Phi’s usual place. When I saw Phi on Monday I … Read more >>

Our first Thursday blog! We’re new to blogging and were somewhat apprehensive given the reputation of Thursday puzzles. Recent Indy puzzles have generated quite a bit of activity – almost as much as … Read more >>

A(nother) tidy set of exquisitely sound clues today from Dac, through which I worked more quickly than is usual for me with one of his puzzles. I needed Wikipedia to confirm that 13 … Read more >>

I have solved puzzles by Hypnos in the past, but I think this is the first one that I have blogged.       This was the kind of puzzle I really enjoy … Read more >>

*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, CD=cryptic def, DD=double def, sp=spoonerism Phi has been quite busy in the Indy recently, setting Friday’s and Monday’s puzzles as well as a few recent prize puzzles. I found … Read more >>

Apologies for the late posting. As usual from Poins, a not-too-difficult puzzle with some nice twists in the surface reading. If someone could fully explain 6d, I would be grateful (and I will … Read more >>

When Phi didn’t appear in the Independent during the week, it seemed likely that we’d be tackling one of his puzzles when Saturday came, and so it was. One probably couldn’t describe this … Read more >>