Independent

Quite an easy puzzle from Phi, I thought, getting quite a bit from definitions, verifying wordplay later.    Solving time, 15 mins. * = anagram  < = reversed 1 TIME S H(E)ET 6  STUB   … Read more >>

A fitting theme for a puzzle that appeared the day before 4. A couple of clues make reference to “ladies of tomorrow”, or “ladies celebrated on Sunday”, and there are a number of … Read more >>

I found this pretty tough going, though Thursdays are generally the hardest weekday. I made a flying start with some of the across clues, but then slowed up, mainly because I thought that … Read more >>

Some excellent misdirection in the definition parts in this puzzle. Solving time, 22 mins. * = anagram ACROSS 1 CHEESY Double definition, Leicester being a type of cheese. Clue wording clearly pointing to … Read more >>

Everything typically elegant and natural today. Across 1 FEAT HERB RAINED — One of the signs of a good charade clue is that the long word is split into components that are not … Read more >>

*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, cd=cryptic definition, dd=double definition. I had noticed that number 7,000 was on its way, and wondered what to expect. What we got was a typically strong Virgilius puzzle, with … Read more >>

*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, CD=cryptic def I found this a nicely balanced puzzle, challenging without being too difficult and having a good mix of clues. Across 1 Requiescat: (quiet acres)* – quite a … Read more >>

*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, cd=cryptic definition, dd=double definition. What a week for us Independent solvers. I’m a little relieved to have drawn the Friday, all things considered. That said, I felt the pressure, … Read more >>

Across 7/25/4 NINE TILL FIVE – “when on duty” is the def, and “Norma Bolton” is a reference to the clue numbers of those answers – 9d and 5d respectively. 8 (I FOUND … Read more >>

This was a marvellous crossword, many thanks, Mordred. Great clues all through, very difficult (solving time, 53 mins) but very satisfying to finish. There’s also quite a subtle Nina (hidden message not necessary … Read more >>

I find Quixote the easiest of the Indy setters – I solved this in 11 mins.    I recommend it, along with Everyman in the Observer, to those thinking of first dipping their toes … Read more >>

Tougher than usual for Dac I thought, but the fact that I had to solve this whilst standing up on a bus and trying not to fall into people probably didn’t help my … Read more >>

It was with a sinking heart that I embarked on this. Despite what it says at the top of this page under SETTERS, Tees is not medium in difficulty. In fact in my … Read more >>

*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, CD=cryptic def An enjoyable puzzle with nothing too difficult or controversial. I couldn’t see any obvious NINA. Across 9 Orchestra: I think this is just a CD relating to … Read more >>

I found this unusually difficult — the two-word clues were a problem and one or two short answers are even now not totally clear. But apart from one or two quibbles, a typically … Read more >>