Independent

Some unusual features in this. Solving time: 30 mins * = anagram ACROSS 1 A W(i)RY Thought of ‘awry’ as a possibility from the start, but took much longer to confirm through the … Read more >>

Solving Time: 23 mins    A nice puzzle for a Thursday from Punk.  I really liked the big clue at 8/12 several of the other answers.  Fairly large smattering of cryptic defs today … Read more >>

This turned out to be a nightmare puzzle for me. I’m too busy at work preparing to take a break and so I didn’t find the space to do this puzzle justice. Some … Read more >>

Another wonderful thematic puzzle from Virgilius.    All the across entries are synonyms, as explained in the last down clue (26 down). Solving time: 24 mins * = anagram ACROSS 7 GAMMON   Double … Read more >>

Probably the easiest Mass puzzle I’ve solved (and definitely the easiest I’ve blogged). There were some really good clues in this but, again, I don’t think much of the cryptic definitions and I … Read more >>

Good quality puzzle from Phi with a handful of great anagrams. One clue has left me foxed. I think the grid was pangrammatic too. Across 8 DIPSOMANIA — (I SIP ON MAD)* + … Read more >>

Something of a novelty for me, this – a Nimrod puzzle where I understood everything (almost).  Original choice of theme too; it’s not National Anteater Day or something is it? Across 9 EMANATE … Read more >>

Solving time: 14 mins * = anagram ACROSS 1 DOGS BODY 5 AV Authorised Version (of the Bible) EST (“is” in French) A. Texts from Zoroastrianism (or had you moved on to the … Read more >>

An excellent and thoroughly enjoyable puzzle from Math. There’s a theme too, but you don’t need to know anything about The Simpsons in order to complete the grid as all of the thematic … Read more >>

Apologies for the lateness.  Trip to Manchester that turned into a nightmare and nearly resulted in an overnight hospital stay. Solving time: 23 minutes Like Phi, Dac always produces solid dependable puzzles that always … Read more >>

Even by Virgilius’ exalted standards, I thought this was really special – famous names reversed being a big part of it.    The theme revealed itself gradually as the grid filled up. Solving … Read more >>

Across 1 LOTHARIO – T + HARI in LOO 10 COMIC – COSMIC minus S (close to tears) 11 SEA URCHIN – SEA(U)RCH + IN 16 DONKEY – DON + KEY 26 ENNUI … Read more >>

Solving Time: 19 minutes Another reliable enjoyable puzzle from Phi.  Nothing too taxing today, although 4 across held me up for a little while.  Not too many anagrams today, either. ACROSS  * = ANAGRAM    … Read more >>

The first thing you noticed about this puzzle was that some of the clues were prefixed and suffixed with “(see [another clue number])…” – one clue referred to another and that one to … Read more >>

No two ways about it, Scorpion’s tricky. Thursday is also the day of the week I have least time for solving and blogging so apologies that this is a little late. I cracked … Read more >>