Independent

I found this a pretty straightforward and enjoyable puzzle from The Don in his fortnightly Indy slot.  A good one for less experienced solvers, I think; for this reason I’ve tried to give … Read more >>

A bit of a mixed bag from Poins — all clues are sound, but some are very simple indeed, while some (25a, 26d, for example) have more deceptive wordplay and were much more … Read more >>

A veritable tour de force from Anax, on my first opportunity to blog one of his puzzles. After filling in my first five or six solves – including a laugh-out-loud moment with 5D – I twigged … Read more >>

My first blog of an Indy puzzle – as a one-off substitute for flashling, who’s been away setting off spectacular fireworks. I know to expect a Nina or theme from Phi and the … Read more >>

When you have a Nimrod puzzle to solve or to blog, you know you are in for a challenge, and true to form, he has not disappointed today. For me, more so with … Read more >>

Lovely stuff as always from Dac, with the full range of clue types on show and elegant surfaces. It’s rare to have any problems with Dac, but I needed some help from the … Read more >>

There was a time when Monk’s crosswords were the ones I anticipated most eagerly of all. Which suggests that I am lukewarm about this one: not the case; it was easier than his … Read more >>

This is a pseudonym I do not recall seeing in the Indy before.     It’s an anagram of Arachne so I guess it’s not beyond the bounds of possibility that it has some connection … Read more >>

Wow! Hypnos three weeks in a row. Let’s hope the IOS does not follow a four-setters cycle since the four bloggers do … then we will end up blogging the same setter. Nothing … Read more >>

IThis puzzle was published on the first weekend of the new Football League season in England.  A new team in League 2 was AFC Wimbledon.  This was the club that was formed when … Read more >>

I feel as though I have been put through my paces this morning, by a set of Phi’s typically ultra-sound clues. As for how the solving went, it was a puzzle of two … Read more >>

It was nice to have bit longer to spend on this week’s puzzle and blog. And probably just as well, given that it’s Thursday and Scorpion never gives solvers an easy ride. Such … Read more >>

As always a silky-smooth production from Dac. Some of the surfaces are, even by his high standards, quite excellent. Across 1 CHAP EL{i} 5 APPOSITE — (op(rev). sit) in a PE — breathtakingly … Read more >>

When I started to blog here I never thought I’d be reporting from a war zone. So a warm, ok fiery welcome from SE London Gosh I found this hard, the theme is … Read more >>

*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, CD=cryptic def, DD=double def, sp=spoonerism I found this a bit tougher than the usual Quixote. The presence of a few unusual words like moot, halberdier and imprest meant it … Read more >>