Independent

A mixed one for me, having raced through all but three clues in mere minutes, to find myself completely stumped on 10, 25 and 28. I’ll blame the fact that today’s post has … Read more >>

Seems to have been a while since I blogged a Radian puzzle, so nice of him to pop up. There’s a good ornithological theme to this one, with references in many clues and … Read more >>

*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, CD=cryptic def, DD=double def, sp=spoonerism It’s probably a first for me to be blogging the same compiler two Mondays running. This one seems to be timed to coincide with … Read more >>

Usual excellent puzzle from Phi, solving time 32 mins. * = anagram   < = reversed Themed, NW corner I found the hardest. ACROSS 1 LAM Back      Theme of the puzzle, was 4A (MEATS) … Read more >>

I seem to have got off lightly after some of the toughies we’ve had on recent Saturdays, which I’ve really struggled with. This, by stark contrast, didn’t put up much of a fight … Read more >>

We polished this one off in the Bridge in Topsham, with pints of Branoc and hot pasties. What a wonderful afternoon. Found this easier than the previous puzzle, the vocab in this puzzle … Read more >>

An interesting one this, I think – neither too hard nor too easy, though for several the answer came more easily than the explanation. There’s a Nina across the third and antepenultimate rows … Read more >>

It’s been a tough week so far in the Indy, but a good one. Dac’s puzzles are generally on the easier side, but never anything less than brilliant. I found the right hand … Read more >>

Tough: I don’t know what I’d have done without the reveal facility on the Independent website. But I’m the one at fault, for, apart from one or two quibbles, the clues were understandable … Read more >>

*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, CD=cryptic def, DD=double def, sp=spoonerism Entertaining puzzle by Eimi that mentions a couple of composers, although I don’t know if there is meant to be some hidden theme there. … Read more >>

A very enjoyable one here. I had expected to say that I found this a bit easier than usual for a Tees, but then I started to struggle towards the end. Still, here … Read more >>

As I only blog Independent puzzles once a month, I don’t have a great deal of experience of individual setters.  A little research though shows that I have solved Bannsider’s puzzles before as … Read more >>

A nice puzzle from Morph with some great cryptic definitions and humourous touches, as appears to be his wont! I found the NW corner very hard, but overall a very satisfying solve. Across … Read more >>

Two unknown words and one unknown spelling made this a tougher challenge for your faithful correspondents. One clue we haven’t successfully parsed. ACROSS 4. POUND triple definition. 6. HE I NOUS 8. CONNIVER … Read more >>

Typically mellifluous surfaces. I found one or two of the clues unusually hard for Dac. Across 1 I would never have got this, because I never knew that a bertha was a woman’s … Read more >>