Independent

Enjoyable puzzle from Quixote, which I found perhaps a tad more difficult that he usually is.    Solving time, 21 mins, and pleased to learn two completely new words getting them from the wordplay … Read more >>

A puzzle with enjoyable surfaces.  Thanks Glowworm. Definitions are underlined in the clues.  [[The pictures at the bottom have an unidentified link to the puzzle.]] Across 1 Seconds a beanpole may welcome? (7-2) … Read more >>

This is our 25th blog on 225 and, amazingly, our first Anax, so we approached it with eager anticipation, as he is one of the most challenging Indy setters and one of our … Read more >>

We don’t think there has been a Phi puzzle that we haven’t liked. There are often themes, some of which we have missed when we have been blogging so we looked long and … Read more >>

My apologies to one and all for the late post – I was kept away from my computer until after lunch. In my humble opinion, a Nestor puzzle is always a joy to … Read more >>

Dac is a regular contributor of Independent crosswords on a Wednesday.  He doesn’t seem to use obscure words in the grid and his clues always read very well. I think his puzzles will … Read more >>

An excellent workout from Tees today. The theme is the long clue 3/22/9/20, and the unchecked letters on the left-hand and right-hand sides of the grid, which I saw fairly early in the … Read more >>

*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, CD=cryptic def, DD=double def, sp=spoonerism This was a slightly odd puzzle with lots of short words. There were lots of nice, inventive clues and I’m sure there must be … Read more >>

The 2nd Hypnos puzzle on the trot for me. This was just as good as the last one, though a bit harder as it took me two attempts to finish it off. Very … Read more >>

Radian’s themed crossword puzzles are always entertaining, and tend to involve a very thorough treatment of the theme. This week’s revolves around various interpretations of the entry at 10ac. I’ve never watched the … Read more >>

It is Friday today so, in the absence of any special occasion calling for a commemorative puzzle, it must be a Phi-day! I took longer over this one than I do over the … Read more >>

I am not sure if I have blogged a puzzle by Morph before, but I really enjoyed this after a slow start.       I got the theme word at 8 down … Read more >>

Rather a hard Dac today, I thought. The clues are as always clever and pleasing, but in one or two cases they require an unusually long stretch before you see what is happening. … Read more >>

Another themed offering from Scorpion today. We had difficulty on the first run-through of the clues and it wasn’t until we solved a couple of the themed entries that we managed to solve … Read more >>

It’s Monday, it’s Quixote, and it’s the usual mix of fine surfaces, clear definitions, and polished wordplay.  Quixote was mentioned in nms’s recent survey as being one of the ‘easier’ Indy setters, and … Read more >>