Independent

Very much on the easy side, I thought. Good puzzle from Phi as ever. Solving time, 13 mins. <  = reversed * = anagram ACROSS 5 BESIDE ONESELF Double definition, the second slightly … Read more >>

Tough-in-places but enjoyable-all-over puzzle from Nestor. Still not sure about 19a and 4d though. Across 1 P in ELM,AXED,ABATES – SET A BAD EXAMPLE. Cleverly constructed clue although the wordplay completely passed me … Read more >>

Across 1 (THE LAW)* in LEAP,ON – LETHAL WEAPON. 9 KIN,IS,G,ZED – I always think KIN whenever I see “family” so I got this fairly quickly. 10 SINUS – the wordplay seems to … Read more >>

Solving time 13 mins. A long quote which might have made all the difference as I knew it and entered it first time round. * = anagram < = reversed ACROSS 6 CHOR … Read more >>

This blog is brought to you you in association with the NHS – caring for you every day! Well that will teach me!  Out on the town with the Sloggers and Betters and I … Read more >>

Heavens what an effort. After a long time I’d done very little, and really thought that I’d have to cheat and look at the website, but eventually it all worked out, although there … Read more >>

*=anag, <=reversed, [] =dropped I’ve not come across this compiler before, so wasn’t sure what to expect. It was a good, although not horrendously difficult puzzle with some excellent attempts at deception. The … Read more >>

This took a little longer than usual because so far as I could see there were some rather unusual words and meanings, and I also got one answer wrong, which threw me for … Read more >>

This seemed quite a bit easier than previous Scorpion puzzles but still provided lots to chew over. I liked 23a and the definition in 17d is excellent. Across 5 MIR[-ror],AGE 10 UNION CARD … Read more >>

A very tough puzzle by Bannsider.   Solving time, 64 mins.    Tremendous rigour and invention in clueing.   Just two that I do not fully understand, though I got them from definitions and crossing letters.   … Read more >>

Solving time, 24 mins. * = anagram < = reversed ACROSS 1 DEB T OR 4 M ERIN O 8 VICIOUS CIRCLE 10 BRA (w) N 11 SERBO-CROAT (a rector sob)* 12 WO … Read more >>

A classic themed puzzle from Virgilius, which I was on to before I’d filled a single answer in as I saw “Idiot” twice in the Across clues, plus “nincompoop” and then quickly realised … Read more >>

* = anag, < = reversed, () = dropped A moderately difficult puzzle with a couple of excellent clues in 3 and 22 dn. There was one I didn’t quite follow (12 down). … Read more >>

Solving time: 29 minutes I found it quite a challenge today and a suitable warm-up for the new Listener due in a wee while.  Am a bit baffled about parsing 9 down, my guess … Read more >>

4/14 provided the theme for this enjoyable puzzle, which I found a bit tougher than usual for this setter. What’s a bit strange though is that I count 13 men’s names in the … Read more >>