Independent

I found this very much on the easy side, with quite a few clues solved on first run through, solving time 16 mins.     Excellent as always. * = anagram 1 VIPERS    ER re … Read more >>

A very tough puzzle, involving several unfamiliar words, from one of my favourite setters. I came close to cheating a few times, but was eventually pleased to complete this one unaided. No doubt … Read more >>

*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, CD=cryptic def, DD=double def, sp=spoonerism Some very nice clues here that were mostly very accessible and didn’t require much general knowledge. 15 and 20 were my favourites overall. There … Read more >>

I didn’t time this accurately but thought it was about average difficulty for a Scorpion puzzle – which means pretty tricky. It might have been easier if I’d solved 4A early on, as … Read more >>

A very nice offering from Raich, who has been an excellent addition to the Independent stable this year. I even saw the Nina. Something that many people get very excited about happened on … Read more >>

I found this a quite easy puzzle from Phi, solving time 16 mins, with 4 answers in the NW corner taking the final 6 mins after I managed the rest in a very … Read more >>

We are proud to say that we raced through this one, and although we didn’t time ourselves, we had only drunk half of our pints before finishing it! We really enjoyed this one, … Read more >>

This was quite an interesting one, with the left side feeling far tougher than the right, which fell into place pretty quickly. Many of the surface readings here seem remarkably smooth, though maybe … Read more >>

A characteristically clever puzzle from Virgilius, with plenty of thematic stuff to chew on in the clues and completed grid. x and y can be used in cryptic clues in a variety of … Read more >>

*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, CD=cryptic def, DD=double def, sp=spoonerism A pleasant, not too demanding crossword from Glow-Worm. Most of the clues were fairly straightforward, although there were a couple I’m not entirely confident … Read more >>

A special puzzle to mark a special day as Nimrod and Jetdoc marry.   A puzzle that nmsindy found extremely hard with a massive anagram, eventually after about 2 hours had to confess defeat … Read more >>

Eimi has advised me that “the enumeration for the long answer in today’s online Indy crossword should be: (4,4,2,4,3,4,7,4,3,2,3,6,3,5,2,3,4)”.

A fairly challenging but ultimately manageable themed puzzle from Eimi this week, published the day before the quatercentenary of the death of 1ac. I must admit I solved the whole thing without spotting … Read more >>

A surprise Thursday appearance from Phi, and I suspect that’s a straight swap, with tomorrow being something of a special occasion for Nimrod. Either way, this one was good fun and not too … Read more >>

Good morning all. A departure from the usual IoS fare this week, with a themed offering. The fact that we’d not encountered a themed IoS before meant that we were rather slow off … Read more >>