Independent

After last month’s exceedingly tricky Anax puzzle, I was a little worried about this one, but it turned out to be a lot more manageable. No obvious theme, but a pangrammatic grid, if … Read more >>

Friday already so it must be Phi and it is. The usual Phi standard with the one exception that I could never have got. Yes I know, cue the rumblings about the poor … Read more >>

It’s Thursday, it’s Scorpion and it’s a theme about which I know very little, so this had me very worried for a while. In the end this was a remarkably quick solve, although … Read more >>

I never got round to tackling yesterday’s Tees, and I guess today’s puzzle would have come as a relief to those that did. As to whether or not it was any good? It’s … Read more >>

An incredibly difficult offering from Tees today. Incredibly difficult, so far as I’m concerned, anyway. I can just imagine all those people logging on to this blog in the hope that they can … Read more >>

Pleasing puzzle which I found not too difficult, the 15-letter answers around the perimeter yielded quite quickly, solving time 18 mins. * = anagram ACROSS 1 MIDDLE-OF-THE-ROAD    Double definition 9 SUSS OUT  USS … Read more >>

A smooth and speedy solve this week, with only 24ac leaving us scratching our heads for a bit. The anagram at 15ac was enjoyable, as was the switch from the verb to the … Read more >>

I found this very difficult, I think – I didn’t manage to record my solving time. The grid has 6 15-letter answers, and most of these were used for phrases that you don’t … Read more >>

I think after Phi popped up on Tuesday, it was anybody’s guess who we’d be doing battle with today. In the end it was Punk, who we haven’t seen for a little while. … Read more >>

Always a pleasure to get a Morph puzzle, and I don’t say that just because I know he’ll be reading this. There’s always a good dose of humour in his puzzles and some … Read more >>

The usual excellent crossword from Dac. There is absolutely nothing (apart perhaps from 20dn) that I have any problem with, and all the clues have a deceptively simple and elegant surface. Across 1 HOPELESS … Read more >>

Well, what have we here, Phi on a Tuesday, unusual. Still a mostly gentle ride today. 1 Repapered, REP + APE + RED 6 Sugar, Sweet. Don’t get the wordplay here, it’s probably … Read more >>

*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, CD=cryptic def, DD=double def, sp=spoonerism I think this was mostly up to the usual Independent standard and had a nice mixture of clues with some well-concealed definitions. A couple … Read more >>

This week’s IoS was of average difficulty we reckoned, taking just under half an hour. A number of enjoyable surfaces and a couple of words that were new to us. Only 19dn remains … Read more >>

I can’t spell Tiananmen. I had it as Tiannamen for ages which held me up on the SW corner and 15D in particular of course. In fact, I would’ve spelt it Tianamen except … Read more >>