Independent

Nothing too challenging, or indeed thematic, for the Jubilee weekend. Rather we have a quality Sunday cryptic from Poins. The only potential sticking points for me were caused by my own wilful ignorance … Read more >>

  That Anax, he is a “One” isn’t he …. … and he can take that any way he likes (we had to). Thank God for the long weekend – despite which I … Read more >>

It’s Friday – it’s Phi – so all’s well with the Independent crossword world.       Another good sound puzzle with only a couple entries that were unfamiliar to me.  I think … Read more >>

A very pleasant crossword from Mordred, with a   theatrical connection — several of the answers are of this type, but I’ll leave you to find them. The less than perfect checking can, … Read more >>

Back to work in the UK today as the Indy moves into the ninth thousand of cryptic puzzles in its series.      Who better to set it than the Indy stalwart Dac.     Typical Dac … Read more >>

In the midst of the Diamond Jubilee celebrations it seems only fitting that we should be marking a landmark of our own: a cruciverbal milestone, namely the publication today of the eight-thousandth Independent … Read more >>

This is our first Monday blog. Our first surprise was that the grid seemed to have a lack of crossing letters connecting the 4 corners. As we completed the grid we could see … Read more >>

I’ve blogged two or three Sunday Glow-worms before, and I’ve thought they were pleasing puzzles.  But I’ve been a bit critical this morning: I think there are some clunky surfaces, remote synonyms and … Read more >>

So a puzzle from Scorpion today and I sense a theme. The multiple references to 14 7 in the clues, mean that the 2 obvious clues to start with are 14 and 7. 7 was … Read more >>

Rather a harder Phi than usual I thought today. It took me quite a while to get going properly, although all the answers are as usual very precisely clued. As you would expect … Read more >>

When we saw that it was Nimrod we knew we were in for a challenge. We particularly enjoy his Inquisitor puzzles which demand even more head-scratching than his daily offerings but all his … Read more >>

As it is the last Wednesday of the month, one would expect to find Crosophile standing in for Dac. I found this puzzle hard to get into, perhaps because, as I realised today, … Read more >>

As a straight crossword puzzle this was a fairly standard Independent offering.         One or two of the entries were words not in everyday use, but generally it was populated … Read more >>

*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, CD=cryptic def, DD=double def, sp=spoonerism A fairly straightforward Monday puzzle. It was very accessible today with only 14 down containing a slightly unusual word.  Across 1 Joseph: J + … Read more >>

Sometimes Eimi can be quite tricky, but it looks as if he’s toned it down for a relaxing Sunday with this enjoyable piece.  Thanks Eimi.  From past experience, Eimi’s puzzles have been known to have … Read more >>