Independent

I made a strong start to this one, but came very unstuck on the top half and had to resort to help on a few words and phrases that are new to me. … Read more >>

This saturday was the 65th Anniversary of V.E. Day and this crossword had a WWII theme with several references in both clues and answers topped and tailed by two Vera Lynn songs. Raich … Read more >>

To say that my heart sank when I saw that I had to blog one of Anax’s crosswords wouldn’t have been quite accurate: the knowledge that I was in for a tough solve … Read more >>

Happy Thursday all. Did all of this one pretty swiftly, apart from ‘agaric’, which we looked up in Bradford’s when we got home. In retrospect, ‘smelly plant’ = ‘garlic’ should have been pretty … Read more >>

Usual good puzzle from Dac, this one I found extremely easy, solving time, 12 mins. * = anagram ACROSS 1 SPARTA    SPAR(fight) TA(volunteers)   City in ancient Greece 8 FLETCHER    Double definition.    … Read more >>

It feels like a while since I tackled, let alone blogged, a Radian. This was characteristically inventive and good fun. For me the top half seemed toughest, though spotting the Nina in the … Read more >>

NealH has business commitments today so I agreed to stand in for him, thinking that it would make a change to cover an Indy. An interesting approach today, with all the down answers … Read more >>

An excellent crossword from Phi, with an extremely modern phrase in it that defeated me. As for disclosing a Nina, I can’t be accused of this today, for either there isn’t one or I … Read more >>

A fine puzzle, themed for General Election day in the UK.   A lot of clues had political references but quite a few were nicely misleading with the answers having nothing to do with … Read more >>

Just about the perfect Saturday puzzle for me – challenging enough to take my Times average time plus 50%, but not hard enough for there to be any serious doubt about finishing it. … Read more >>

An easier solve this week than last, with only 13dn causing any real problems. The anagram was perfectly clear, but it still took a while to figure out what the word was. The … Read more >>

The usual quality Wednesday puzzle from Dac, if a little tougher than some weeks. I failed at 1ac, at least, though everything else fell into place steadily enough. *=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, cd=cryptic … Read more >>

Always a pleasure to land a puzzle by Math, who is one of my favourite setters in the Indy stable. You can always expect some music references and other assorted pop culture, as … Read more >>

*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, CD=cryptic def, DD=double def, sp=spoonerism Another brilliant themed puzzle by Virgilius. The theme was set out in clue 14 (“marginal seats”) and all the words along the perimeter of … Read more >>

I found this very much on the easy side, solving time 13 mins.    As always with Phi, well-constructed, clear,  clues with little scope for doubt. * = anagram ACROSS 1 IDENTITY THEFT    ‘?’ … Read more >>