Independent

Unusually difficult for Phi today, I thought: on my first pass I solved far fewer clues than usual. Perhaps this was the result of my incompetence but one factor was the number of … Read more >>

Nimrod again, I’m sure I seem to get more than my fair share of his recently. I found bits of this tough and some clues I still can’t explain to myself properly so help … Read more >>

Another crop of concisely worded, sound clues with silky smooth surface readings – one would expect nothing else of Dac, of course. As Ali mentioned in his Dac blog last week, let’s hope … Read more >>

Apologies for the delay with the blog. This was quite something, with 2 very long thematic answers relating to 16/12. I haven’t actually read any of his work, but am familiar with the … Read more >>

Quixote’s first Indy appearance of 2012 and the usual excellent puzzle.    A little on the easy side even by Quixote’s accessible standards, I found.    Solving time, 15 mins. * = anagram ACROSS 1 … Read more >>

This puzzle did not leave me very happy as I couldn’t see the word-play in 23Across and took ages to stumble on the conjointed INTO in 29Across. Not a very satisfactory state of … Read more >>

A pleasant puzzle to round the year off – with a number of clue readings and answers nodding respectfully to the date, and a lovely clue at 18D, which I am considering adopting … Read more >>

It’s that Friday feeling, Phi returns. Can’t spot any  Ninas or themes –  ghost or otherwise but I was wrong last time I said that about a Phi puzzle. This seemed quite easy … Read more >>

I looked through my past blogs this morning to see if I had blogged a Monk before, and to my surprise, since Monk has featured on my crosswording landscape for a very long … Read more >>

A new year, but the same old Dac. Which of course means consistently elegant clueing and lovely surfaces. Here’s to another 51 of these before the year’s out! He’s got one over on … Read more >>

I posted the other day saying that in my opinion Raich’s puzzles were the easiest (but among the best) of those in the Indy. At first this statement seemed to be coming back … Read more >>

*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, CD=cryptic def, DD=double def, sp=spoonerism When I saw this was a Tyrus themed puzzle, my temptation was to start hitting the cheat button straight away. If it hadn’t been … Read more >>

As in previous years, since 15 sq began in 2006, I’m posting an annual review for the Indy cryptic puzzles (including IoS) giving average solving times for puzzles for each setter.    As before, … Read more >>

There were a few mini themes running through this enjoyable puzzle which was two letters short of a  pangram.  I can’t see a W or a Q.       Turning to the … Read more >>

Like many readers, I have been pigging out on crosswords as well as on turkey and mince pies over the past week, with so many Christmas specials to get my teeth into. Why … Read more >>