Independent

Scorpion has a reputation as one of the tougher Indie setters but I found this pretty easy. Good fun to solve too, which is the most important thing after all. Just two queries … Read more >>

A mixed week for me here. A handful of very good clues, some others (especially the dds) which I could take or leave, and a few I can’t fully explain. There’s a “cattle” … Read more >>

Solving time, 19 mins * = anagram < = reversed ACROSS 8 LAP IDA TED  pal< Archaic word meaning ‘pelted with stones’ that I worked out from the wordplay, verifying after. 9 D(rum)ROLL … Read more >>

Excellent puzzle from Dac, as usual, solving time 14 mins * = anagram  < = reversed ACROSS 1 HALV(e) AH   Pleased to work out a new word from the clear wordplay.  Turkish sweetmeat … Read more >>

A typically nice themed puzzle from Virgilius, with the 6 outermost across and down answers linking to the 2 centre answers WATER and WATCH. I found most of this quite easy, but there … Read more >>

*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, CD=cryptic def The combination of cryptic definitions and very long anagrams meant I found this quite hard going, although it was quite satisfying to get through.   It seemed to … Read more >>

Busy half-day for me today, so I’ll need to be brief. A tougher-than-usual Phi I thought, with impressive use of multiple grid entries for double-word clues intersecting in the grid. I fell down … Read more >>

Probably the toughest puzzle I’ve attempted in a while, which explains my dismal performance: two answers missing and a whole load more that I filled in but can’t explain. Great puzzle though, as always … Read more >>

Tough puzzle from Nimrod with 6 15-letter entries. Solving time, 46 mins. * = anagram < = reversed ACROSS 8 NON-PROFESSIONAL Well-concealed with the misleading ‘Lay on line’. Definition is ‘lay’ (On line … Read more >>

Solving time, 11 mins. * = anagram ACROSS 1 A M (O) S      Book of Old Testament 4 BACK (here again)- TO-BACK (give support to) 9 MA LAW I 10 BAND  ANNA   Square … Read more >>

The usual excellent crossword from Dac, but when is he ever less than excellent? I found this unusually easy apart from two clues, one of which I got wrong. After doing 4ac and … Read more >>

*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, cd=cryptic definition, dd=double definition. I’ve never blogged a Monk before, so didn’t know what to expect. It turned out to be a fairly quick solve with some top-notch surfaces, … Read more >>

*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, CD=cryptic def Relatively straightforward with well written clues. There was just one clue I didn’t follow fully (24 down). Across 1 Automatic: Double definition (refers to an automatic car). … Read more >>

My first venture into blogging about the Independent, and an enjoyable puzzle to start with! Plenty of good surfaces and not too many unfamiliar words (1dn and 23ac being the only times I … Read more >>

Top-notch puzzle from Nestor which, annoyingly, I was unable to finish. I really should be able to get 3 as it’s only a short word but 6 is more of a mystery. Any … Read more >>