Independent

I thought this was rather good. This was certainly quite challenging, at least for me. Many clues took a lot of working out, and also a lot of discipline not be be misled … Read more >>

A quick scan of the 3 most recent blogs on Scorpion puzzles reveals ‘perfectly all right, ‘a remarkably quick solve’ and ‘a bit easier’. Today’s offering – which I found really hard – … Read more >>

*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, CD=cryptic def, DD=double def, sp=spoonerism Enjoyable puzzle by Mordred of middling difficulty. It was probably a better puzzle for more experienced solvers because it had a few old staples … Read more >>

As far as I can remember, this is the first time I’ve tried an Independent on Sunday crossword, and I found it surprisingly easy for a prize puzzle. *(••••) indicates an anagram Across … Read more >>

I would normally panic at seeing Nimrod’s name appear on a blogging day, but with a two hour train journey ahead of me, this was a welcome challenge. I’d filled about two thirds … Read more >>

I don’t know about you guys, but I found this remarkably hard, and I struggled to get anywhere today. This is not least due to the quantity of unfamiliar vocabulary in there. This … Read more >>

Eimi takes the stage today, and some suspicious minds might look at the date and think Armistice  Day. They’d be wrong as this appears to be a vanilla crossword, even if bits do … Read more >>

Great stufff as ever from Dac, who can make even the simplest double definition clue effortlessly elegant. There were one or two trickier clues in here I thought, but every one of them … Read more >>

A pleasant — pretty easy even I thought — crossword where the four books appear three times as answers (so for a while I was puzzled by the repeated ‘one of four here’) … Read more >>

Quite a tough puzzle which I enjoyed.    Made fairly quick progress at the start but then it got much harder esp in the lower half of the grid.    Solving time, 44 mins. * … Read more >>

Another very approachable puzzle this week, which we finished in good time and without having to reach for any books, with the exception of ‘Bargee’, which was new to us (at least in … Read more >>

Phi was hard at work in the Independent last Saturday.  He compiled the Inquisitor as well as the Saturday Prize Puzzle. I found this a slightly easier puzzle than many of Phi’s previous offerings. … Read more >>

Hands up who didn’t see a themed crossword coming today! Still, it’s never a chore to blog a Radian puzzle, and this was a very good one. Unfortunately, time pressures mean that I … Read more >>

Phi gets bumped from his usual Friday slot for the second week running, this time hopefully to make way for a Bonfire Night/Diwali special tomorrow! This was the usual high quality, neatly clued, … Read more >>

As usual a beautifully elegant construction from Dac. All the clues lead to their solutions with crystalline ease, and they can nearly all be explained in simple logical ways without resort to references, … Read more >>