Independent – Page 242 – Fifteensquared

Independent 9358 / Hoskins

Tue October 11, 2016 at 7:30 am by duncanshiell

A crossword today from Hoskins with a couple of names or geographical locations as well as some slightly unusual words among the entries. The appearance of names and unusual words is … Read more >>

Independent 9,357 by Phi

Mon October 10, 2016 at 9:00 am by NealH

It’s fairly unusual to see Phi on a Monday, so this was a rare treat for me. After a run of quite difficult Monday puzzles, it was also nice to have something a little easier to get one’s teeth into. I thought this was very enjoyable and was able to keep going without long periods of getting stuck.

Independent on Sunday 1390/Daedalus

Sun October 9, 2016 at 12:01 am by Pierre

I simply cannot get on this setter’s wavelength, which must be frustrating for him because I seem to end up blogging the majority of his puzzles. It took me three goes to finish … Read more >>

Independent 9356 / Hob

Sat October 8, 2016 at 8:55 am by Bertandjoyce

Well…… this was a bit of a ‘tour de force’ by Hob. It wasn’t until Joyce came to write up the blog that Bert suddenly worked out the parsing for 24d and 19d. … Read more >>

Independent 9355 / Phi

Fri October 7, 2016 at 8:11 am by Bertandjoyce

Unfortunately, we didn’t really enjoy this offering from Phi today. When this happens, regardless of the setter, we both try and analyse why – perhaps today it was the fact that some of … Read more >>

Independent 9,354 / S.Park

Fri October 7, 2016 at 9:21 amThu October 6, 2016 at 12:51 pm by RatkojaRiku

This was my first experience of solving, let alone blogging, a puzzle by S.Park, although a quick trawl through the site reveals that this is the third Indy puzzle published under this pseudonym. … Read more >>

Independent 9353 / Serpent

Wed October 5, 2016 at 7:30 am by duncanshiell

It’s Wednesday, it’s D.. – no it’s not, it’s Serpent with what I thought was quite a tough puzzle I found this one of the most difficult Independent puzzles that … Read more >>

Independent 9,352 by Eimi

Tue October 4, 2016 at 10:17 am by John

It seems that Eimi wants to make a point to all us pedants who endlessly carp on about less than 50% checking: more than 57% of the answers are of this type, which is clearly of no concern to him.

Two other things struck me about this offering from Eimi: the apparently large number of full anagrams (seven I think), and what Brian Greer once referred to in his excellent crossword articles in the Times of the late 90s as something whose exact name I can’t remember, but it was typically apposite and referred to anagrams which hit you in the face and can be nothing but anagrams (‘Paint Lucy’, ‘Canopus’, ‘Dench loafs’). Which is not to say that I found it easy: as you’d expect Eimi has included various references to a world that is less well-known to me than to him, and occasionally some rather good clues (I’d have liked the RSC one if it had been printed properly).

Independent 9351/Vigo

Mon October 3, 2016 at 7:30 am by Pierre

I enjoyed this one from Vigo. She’s put together a tidy puzzle in the old Monday style. Some very good surface readings. A bit heavy on charades and insertions, but for a crossword … Read more >>

Independent on Sunday 1389 Poins

Mon October 3, 2016 at 4:12 amSun October 2, 2016 at 12:01 am by scchua

Thanks to Poins for an enjoyable Sunday puzzle. Definitions are underlined in the clues. Across 1 Stop in cobbled side street (6) DESIST : Anagram of(cobbled) SIDE + ST(abbrev. for “street”). 4 Indifferent … Read more >>

Independent 9,350 by Nimrod

Sat October 1, 2016 at 11:53 amSat October 1, 2016 at 12:01 am by Simon Harding

Presumably this is my comeuppance for recently suggesting that Saturdays were getting easier. We have an unusual grid stuffed with a great number of very unfamiliar terms, at least to me. There’s a … Read more >>

Independent 9,349 / Phi

Sat October 1, 2016 at 7:08 pmFri September 30, 2016 at 12:42 pm by RatkojaRiku

It is customary to close the working week with a puzzle from Phi, and this week is no exception to that. I found this to be towards the easier end of the Phi … Read more >>

Independent 9348 / Tees

Thu September 29, 2016 at 8:46 amThu September 29, 2016 at 7:30 am by duncanshiell

Tees makes his fairly regular appearance today There are three clues where I have struggled with the word play. For 10 across, LIME, I think I am in the right … Read more >>

Independent 9,347 by Dac

Wed September 28, 2016 at 9:19 am by John

Dac is absolutely back to his best after his illness. The surfaces are as convincing as ever and this was a remarkably simple blog to do since the constructions are all so sound and straightforward. Which is not to say that the crossword is a doddle: yes, on the easy side, but one still has to stop and think from time to time.

Independent 9346 / Scorpion

Tue September 27, 2016 at 8:01 am by Bertandjoyce

Scorpion seems to have entered a time warp with this puzzle. There have been a few comments recently about reverse solving which thankfully we are more than happy with. There were some solutions here … Read more >>