Independent

*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, cd=cryptic definition, dd=double definition. Top quality as always from Phi. There’s something of a cricket theme going on, for obvious reasons, and “RE” comes up a lot – I’m … Read more >>

I haven’t blogged an Anax puzzle before – in fact I’m not sure that I’ve even seen one in the Independent. That said, the name is of course more than a little familiar … Read more >>

This was one of the hardest Indy puzzles I’ve ever tackled.   Only one answer entered on first run through as a tentative guess which, as the rest of the puzzle was solved, turned … Read more >>

Solving time, 24 mins * = anagram ACROSS 1 S (AU CE) PAN 6 BU(i)CK 9 Shed NAILS 10 RE PR IS AL 11 BUSINESS LETTER 12 FA(C)T O TUM 13 (ma)LICE 16 … Read more >>

Apologies for the late posting. Lousy workload! Nowt lousy about this offering from the mid-week maestro though. Elegant stuff from Dac, who never fails to impress. Across 1 LIBIDO – I in LIB … Read more >>

Whenever ones sees several answers that are not ‘properly’ checked (in other words which have more unchecked than checked letters) one is alerted to the fact that there is some theme; although I … Read more >>

*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, CD=cryptic def, DD=double def This was a brilliant piece of work by Morph. I don’t know if the idea has been used before or not – it’s such a … Read more >>

A nice end to the week from Phi. Started this as I got on the bus to work, and finished just before I needed to get off. Perfect. Across 1 SUPERCHARGED – PERCH … Read more >>

I struggled with this puzzle having to return to it a number of times.  With hindsight I think that the wordplay was clever but very fair.  The definitions were well disguised which made … Read more >>

An enjoyable crossword from Scorpion. As you might expect there was some tricky wordplay — in many of these its explanation needs to be separate from the answer. Across 1 SILICON VALLEY — 2 defs, … Read more >>

Solving time, 19 mins, so not too difficult. * = anagram  < = reversed ACROSS 1 NAT HAN(d)   tan< 4 S (PORT) ING 9 B (EAR) OUT 11 UP P (SAL)A 12 SONS … Read more >>

*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, CD=cryptic def, DD=double def This was an enjoyable puzzle that was mostly straightfoward but I had some trouble with the SW corner. For some reason, that often seems to … Read more >>

*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, cd=cryptic definition, dd=double definition. For once I’ve actually picked up on a theme and spotted a Nina, although the penny dropped much later in the game than I should … Read more >>

*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, CD=cryptic def, DD=double def This was themed around Philip Marlowe and the actors who have played him in films. Marlowe himself appears as a homophone in 10 and 11. … Read more >>

Excellent puzzle, solving time 27 mins.   A mini-theme perhaps with symmetrically placed 4 down and 13 down similar. * = anagram  < = reversed ACROSS 1 COWL  (th)ICK      thick hiding half of that … Read more >>