Independent

Brilliant puzzle. Rock-solid cluing with some excellent surface readings and very clever definitions. 18 and 20 will no doubt annoy those who don’t like too much pop culture in their puzzles and I’m … Read more >>

I enjoyed this puzzle a lot. Scorpion is one of the harder Indy setters and clues with great rigour, it was very enjoyable teasing it all out. Solving time, 43 mins. Great surface … Read more >>

Solving time, 30 mins * = anagram ACROSS 6 P (O TAT) O The river Po, well-known to solvers 8 REST RAIN definition: hamper 9 TAKING THE LEAD Double definition 10 HE SIT … Read more >>

*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone Hello everyone. This is my first post here, so I hope you’ll forgive any rookie errors. I think neildubya went easy on me, handing me this enjoyable one from … Read more >>

Quite simply as oustanding an example of a themed daily cryptic as you could hope to see, made all the more special for me because 9D was the penultimate clue I solved and, … Read more >>

*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone It was good value today, with a lot of clues. Most were fairly straightforward, with many easy-to-spot anagrams, but there were a few harder clues sprinkled in. It took … Read more >>

Everything I associate with a Phi puzzle, bullet-proof clues with excellent surface readings , references to classical music and matters astronomical.   As there were 4 15-letter entries around the perimeter, I said I’d … Read more >>

It’s been a while since we last saw Monk in the Indy so this was, for this solver at least, a welcome return. Just one query at 3. Across 1 POST,P ONE – … Read more >>

Pretty much everything you could want from Nimrod here – his unique style, pretty tough overall, some lovely clues and some which I’ll need fellow solvers to explain. I do admire the way … Read more >>

Solving time, 21 mins * = anagram < = reversed ACROSS 1 CUPIDS DARTS Got this when I’d some crossing letters – thanks, Wikipedia for telling me where it comes from – a … Read more >>

Excellent as ever from Dac but I’m not sure about 1d and 21. Across 1 (TEACHER TRACKS)*,CH – CHARACTER SKETCH. 9 MOO’S,E 10 M,OMEN,TO,US 11 (TIES USA)* – AT ISSUE. 12 DR,OP’S,IN 13 … Read more >>

The wordplay is always fine, but forgive me if I’m lukewarm about some of the surfaces, which seem to me to be a bit thin. ‘Publication with no trouble elevated colour’; ‘A liberal honour … Read more >>

*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone A Christmas list themed puzzle that had some well-constructed clues, but a little too much obscure stuff (e.g. abolla, ibo) for my liking. There were a couple I didn’t … Read more >>

A nice 4-based crossword from Phi today. Across 1 THE MOONSTONE — them (not so)* one — OK once one has 4 8 FLORIDA — (fair old)* — excellent &lit. 9 V AUNTED … Read more >>

It’s not often we see a preamble in an Indy puzzle, and I’m not really sure we needed one here. If the X in the thematic clues was replaced by 7 then surely … Read more >>