Independent

Although it is always a delight to blog a Virgilius crossword, my heart is for ever in my mouth because of the Nina: what a fool I’ll look when I don’t see it. … Read more >>

*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, CD=cryptic def, DD=double def I found this very difficult, although having finished it, the clues don’t seem that hard, so maybe I was just completely off form. Most of … Read more >>

An excellent Saturday puzzle, challenging but ultimately manageable. I’m particularly struck by the exceptional quality of the surface readings. *=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, cd=cryptic definition, dd=double definition. Across 1 BABE RUTH – BABE … Read more >>

Excellent puzzle from Phi, solving time, 24 mins * = anagram  < = reversed ACROSS 1 MA (GI) C AL(l) 5 SIDECAR   (is)<  (raced)< 9 DEAD TREE EDITION    My penultimate answer – new … Read more >>

*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, cd=cryptic definition, dd=double definition. Entertaining and challenging, as one tends to expect from Nestor. I’ve done my best to explain them, but I’ve failed in several places. I’ll blame … Read more >>

Not too difficult, solving time 16 mins * = anagram < = reversed ACROSS 6 BULL(y) y = yen (Japanese currency) 7 RINGO STA RR (Organist)* bishop = RR (Right Reverend) The Beatles’ … Read more >>

A rare departure from Wednesdays for Dac, but this Merlin offering is excellent. To begin with I found it very easy and it seemed that all would be done quickly by my standards, … Read more >>

Pretty much everything you could want from Nimrod here – lots of 15-letter answers, some lovely anagrams, an answer that defies all standard clue-type classification and a handful that will need further explaining. … Read more >>

*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, CD=cryptic def, DD=double def A neat, cricket-themed puzzle that was fairly enjoyable. There was some clever cricket misdirection, 2 down being a good example. There ware one or two … Read more >>

What one always gets from Phi — sound clueing, much of it very pleasing, a few complete anagrams, and the occasional musical reference (actually only one I think, unusually few). Across 5 A D JUST … Read more >>

09:00 Saturday morning, 11th July, before I had gone out to buy the Independent,  there was a news item on the radio that indicated it was 150 years to the day since the … Read more >>

A puzzle in the offbeat style I associate with Morph who I had the pleasure of meeting at Sloggers and Betters 5 back in May. Solving time, 29 mins. Two intersecting 13-letter entries … Read more >>

Solving time, 20 mins. * = anagram < = reversed ACROSS 1 FAST Double definition – clue dividing at anything/impure 3 HACKNEYED My favourite clue “Overfamiliar and cheeky when mixing” (and cheeky)* 9 … Read more >>

Lovely stuff as ever from Dac, and pleasingly not too difficult to solve post-midnight Across 1 RUSTLE – ST. in RULE 4 TAFFRAIL – A,FF in TRAIL 9 SARONG – SA,”Wrong” 10 SCHEDULE … Read more >>

*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, cd=cryptic definition, dd=double definition. Quite tough in places, with one or two that I’m not sure about. It’s often worth checking for a theme or Nina with Virgilius, but … Read more >>