Independent

You could not ask for much more from a puzzle than is in this one. I found it quite difficult, solving time, 48 mins. 7/1 is POETS’ CORNER and the name of several … Read more >>

*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, CD=cryptic def, DD=double def, sp=spoonerism There was an Irish provinces theme to this and, although I can see three of the four Irish provinces, I haven’t noticed the fourth … Read more >>

Just as Wednesdays wouldn’t be the same without a bit of Dac, so Friday = Phi day. Great stuff as ever with some excellent anagrams. Across 9 BORACIC – CAR rev. in BO … Read more >>

Sat 13th Feb was the opening day of the Winter Olympics in Vancouver so I was not surprised to find this was the main theme of the puzzle. This meant I could fill … Read more >>

We were glad of a slightly trickier puzzle this weekend, as we tackled this one on a lengthy rail replacement bus service. Once again, we’re embarrassed that our name erroneously indicates some kind … Read more >>

This is one of the first Thursday puzzles I’ve ever blogged, and I was a bit uneasy, knowing that some of the more user-friendly setters were not due. Would this be something by … Read more >>

Not sure if Wednesday would be quite the same without a Dac Indy puzzle.    This, as always, was great, particularly liked the surface readings.    Turned out to be quite a easy one for … Read more >>

This was quite a challenge, though the very thoroughly-implemented theme was a big help once it clicked. *=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, cd=cryptic definition, dd=double definition. Across 6 BROWN – BROW + N. 8 … Read more >>

*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, CD=cryptic def, DD=double def, sp=spoonerism Quaiteaux is a relatively recent recruit to the Indy stable and this was a decent, if fairly easy, effort. Surface readings were mostly quite … Read more >>

… or so said Nimrod by e-mail when it turned out that I’d found an extra bit of thematic material. Solving time: 11:27 A fairly easy but well-crafted example of the multi-cross-reference puzzle … Read more >>

All very good as usual. I enjoyed the four long entries around the perimeter, the solving of each one in turn greatly helping to fill another quarter of the grid. My one slip … Read more >>

A joy to solve from this talented setter, showing puzzles don’t have to be hard to be good.  Maybe because I saw quite a few of the answers from the definitions and emerging … Read more >>

Post-revelry solve, so slightly longer than it should have been really, about 25 minutes. Very happy to be joining the blogging team having been long-time readers! Highlights for us were 6 and 8 … Read more >>

As usual, what can one say, apart from perfect smooth surfaces and hardly anything to whine about? Dac’s crosswords never have those rough edges where words like ‘of’,  ‘with’ and ‘by’ are used … Read more >>

Another very impressive themed puzzle from Virgilius. Took me a while to spot what was going on and I found the bottom half tougher than the top, but once I’d twigged the drinks-related … Read more >>