Independent

A pleasant — pretty easy even I thought — crossword where the four books appear three times as answers (so for a while I was puzzled by the repeated ‘one of four here’) … Read more >>

Quite a tough puzzle which I enjoyed.    Made fairly quick progress at the start but then it got much harder esp in the lower half of the grid.    Solving time, 44 mins. * … Read more >>

Another very approachable puzzle this week, which we finished in good time and without having to reach for any books, with the exception of ‘Bargee’, which was new to us (at least in … Read more >>

Phi was hard at work in the Independent last Saturday.  He compiled the Inquisitor as well as the Saturday Prize Puzzle. I found this a slightly easier puzzle than many of Phi’s previous offerings. … Read more >>

Hands up who didn’t see a themed crossword coming today! Still, it’s never a chore to blog a Radian puzzle, and this was a very good one. Unfortunately, time pressures mean that I … Read more >>

Phi gets bumped from his usual Friday slot for the second week running, this time hopefully to make way for a Bonfire Night/Diwali special tomorrow! This was the usual high quality, neatly clued, … Read more >>

As usual a beautifully elegant construction from Dac. All the clues lead to their solutions with crystalline ease, and they can nearly all be explained in simple logical ways without resort to references, … Read more >>

Well it is November and been stormy recently, but with Morph here it’s positively raining Cats and Dogs. Cats appear on the left hand side of the grid and dogs on the right. … Read more >>

*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, CD=cryptic def, DD=double def, sp=spoonerism Continuing the recent run of themed puzzles in the Indy, this one contained a number of literary adulteresses. It was quite easy to get … Read more >>

A gentler puzzle this week than last, with nothing to frighten the horses. 12ac was a real delight, and made us think for a while about the precision of wording needed in cryptic … Read more >>

The Indy’s Prize schedule and the blogging calendar have lately coincided so that more often than not I end up with Nestor. I find his crosswords a bit easier than the likes of … Read more >>

As usual from Anax, an enjoyable solve but for the first time I have a few quibbles about one of his puzzles (though this may be down to my not understanding the relevant … Read more >>

I couldn’t get a paper on the way to work this morning and I’m now doubtful of getting a lunch break too, so if anybody could step into the breach with a quick … Read more >>

Klingsor is a fairly recent addition to The Independent team and I know I’ve done his crosswords before, but I couldn’t remember what they were like and didn’t know what to expect. This … Read more >>

Wednesday and back with the Dac goodness, one new word to me but quite get-able, oh and sorry K’sD no hat trick I’m afraid you were on one but Dac’s not played ball. … Read more >>