Independent

Phi has been shifted around the schedule a couple of times recently, although I suspect we find him on Tuesday this week not because of the Bank Holiday, but because this was a … Read more >>

Pleasing puzzle in the Quixote style, solving time 25 mins * = anagram ACROSS 1  AGHA’S   losT 4 O  LEANDER    Hero and Leander from Greek mythology 9 SUSSED    Sussex with d for x … Read more >>

This was perhaps at the more challenging end of the spectrum for Independent on Sunday puzzles, but nevertheless reasonably straightforward. Across 1 HOPELESS Henry slopes off without sweetheart, dejected H = Henry (SI … Read more >>

Nimrod is one of the most prolific compilers at the moment, under a variety of pseudonyms.  He is also Enigmatist in the Guardian, Io in the Financial Times and Elgar in the Daily … Read more >>

Another Bank Holiday? They’re like buses at the moment. Well what could be happening today? Phi moves over for Morph. A week with neither Phi or DAC, very odd. Edit Phi did saturday’s … Read more >>

This is my first attempt at blogging a Mordred crossword and I have to say that it has been a real struggle, first to solve and above all to blog. I fear that … Read more >>

My first time blogging a Crosophile puzzle, and a very nice one it was too. There was nothing too tricky here, but plenty of excellent cryptic defs and elegant surfaces. I particularly liked … Read more >>

Poor old Anax keeps on getting me at the moment. This wasn’t nearly so hard as his offering last week; the theme, which became clear when the long clue at 16ac was solved, … Read more >>

A generally straightforward puzzle though I needed on-line assistance to work out part of the parsing in 6dn and 14ac had me completely beaten but I think I have now worked out the … Read more >>

I have always found Quixote to be scrupulously fair and Ximenean so when I approached this first non-Quixote puzzle in this series, I was filled with a bit of trepidation. My fear, alas, … Read more >>

A strange one this. Certainly very tough, and I found it hard to get any momentum going. Spotting the theme late didn’t help, of course. In fact, there are elements of it that … Read more >>

Solving today’s crossword has made a not insignificant contribution to my vocabulary, both for new words in the language (such as at 6 and 15) and for words which have doubtless been around … Read more >>

Hmmm, I’ve got mixed feelings about this one. On the one hand, I would have liked to have had more time at it (on a Bank Holiday for example!), but a lack of … Read more >>

As elegant an offering from Dac as I can remember. The surfaces are uniformly excellent and all make good sense, and there is nothing at all that I can see as being remotely … Read more >>

Tuesday and a sterling effort from Radian, I was a bit nervous after struggling with one or two of his in the past. . When I say sterling, I meant Sterling; Latin isn’t … Read more >>