Independent

*=anag, []=dropped, <=rev. Very tough puzzle by Scorpion, I thought.   There were three I didn’t fully understand. Across 7  Mincer:  cryptic definition. 8  Heighten:  he + (the gin)* 9  Leo Minor:  Odd letters … Read more >>

As usual, an excellent puzzle from the ever-reliable Phi. Solving time, 21 mins. * = anagram < = reversed ACROSS 1 (PIPPED) (AT THE POST) Tempted at first by the 15 letters after … Read more >>

Great pangrammatic puzzle from the Bulletprooof one. Not sure about 2 and 3 though. I think they’re both right but I can’t say why. Across 1 H in WORKSOP – I think the … Read more >>

I found this exceptionally easy – Solving time, 10 mins * = anagram ACROSS 7 CHARGE Double definition 8 G U I DANCE 9 HOUSEMAID’S KNEE Good cryptic definition 10 M1 D O … Read more >>

– Blog Number 1 from me, so first things first, hello! A puzzle of two halves for me. The bottom half went in fairly easily, but I came a bit unstuck on the … Read more >>

Across 1 PET,RA – an archeological site in Jordan and one of the New Seven Wonders of the World. Would “old city” been a fairer definition? 4 (GERMAN IS T)* – great clue, … Read more >>

Well not really; rather good, as I have come to expect from Punk. At first he seemed rather difficult and unsatisfactory, but increasingly nowadays I enjoy his well-constructed crosswords. Across 1 RHUBARB. There … Read more >>

*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed The Independent continued its trend of trying out less well-known compilers for the Monday puzzle. Radian was another new compiler for me, although I don’t know if it’s actually a … Read more >>

The usual sound and enjoyable stuff from Phi – there don’t seem to be many novels here and I wonder if I’m missing anything. Across 9 TO THE LIGHTHOUSE, one of the four … Read more >>

Excellent puzzle from Morph with a theme that must be close to the heart of many a crossword solver: 10A. The ones I recognised were 4a,9a,27a,3d,4d,6d and 17d. I think I noticed what … Read more >>

I’ll have to admit defeat on this one. The two main features were a line of an Elton John song covering 5 clues and many clues linked to one word from it. When … Read more >>

I found this harder than usual – solving time 39 minutes. * = anagram ACROSS 1 CAR ACT (A CU) S Chieftain who fought the Romans in Britain Cu = copper 10 CON … Read more >>

Dac was described last week as a “class act” by a fellow blogger – I couldn’t agree more. Across 1 HAS,TEN – I briefly considered N for “mid-morning”. 10 IRAQI – I think … Read more >>

Full blog to appear soon…

*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed The nuclear accident theme of some of the clues helping me to get off to a flying start on this, but then I started to struggle, with my lack of … Read more >>