Independent

This was a Cocker-knee rhyming slang special. I ‘ad t’scratch me old loaf a bit to solve this one. There were a good sprinkling of relatively easy clues for a saturday to get … Read more >>

I found this one a pretty stiff challenge, but that may simply be because when I see that the setter is Scorpion I tend to panic a little. The wordplay is complex, but … Read more >>

Solving time, 17 mins * = anagram < = reversed ACROSS 1 F (LE AB) AG     able-bodied seaman 5 S (A BIN)E    Ancient people in Italy 8 I BEG YOUR PARDON   (brooder guy … Read more >>

A little tougher than usual for Dac today I thought, but great stuff as ever. Across 1 PARADE – “RAID” on P.A 4 CHAIRMAN – C(onservative),HAIR MAN (barber!) 9 LAVISH – LAV-ISH, ‘John’ … Read more >>

As almost always with Virgilius, a beautiful production with an original and enjoyable theme. I think it’s simply 13dn, with 19dn, 5dn and 2dn appearing in the grid, and many of the answers … Read more >>

*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, CD=cryptic def, DD=double def An enjoyable puzzle which was just challenging enough for a Monday morning. The only one I didn’t follow was 20 down, which still doesn’t make … Read more >>

*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, cd=cryptic definition, dd=double definition. A very quick solve indeed, although I had to think about a couple of them, and ANTONINE was new to me (to my shame, given … Read more >>

Solving time: 30 mins I got on better with this than the previous Tyrus puzzles. Unless I’m being dense there’s no really strong theme. I can’t quite explain 2D. Across 1 HIGH = … Read more >>

Something must have been right with the world this morning because I raced through this in a little over 20 minutes. The same thing happened with Nimrod’s recent Saturday puzzle, all of which … Read more >>

Special puzzle, because of 16 across. Thought it was going to be very difficult when I solved just one clue on first run through, but it became a bit easier after that. Solving … Read more >>

The usual excellent straightforward uncontroversial (I think) puzzle from Dac. Across 1 BA SIC 4 REP LI(CAT)E 9 I NEX(AC)T 10 IN SHORT — ref. Clare Short 11 FINE TWIST — obviously a … Read more >>

Re note below, thanks, Eimi, for confirming it is indeed nonsense and thats it’s a Indy début.   I’ve a theory about that too, but after one failed flyer will confine myself to saying … Read more >>

*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, CD=cryptic def, DD=double def A fairly enjoyable crossword that was mostly straightforward, but had a couple of unusual words. Across 1 Debt: Bed< + t. Not sure the surface … Read more >>

Phi’s usual well-constructed puzzle which all stacks up. Ranged for me from very easy in places to quite tricky. Solving time, 19 mins. * = anagram < = reversed ACROSS 7 BIRTHDAY H(ON)OURS … Read more >>

*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, cd=cryptic definition, dd=double definition. I must admit I’ve slowly become something of a fan of Nimrod’s work despite initially struggling with his style. This one seemed relatively easy overall, … Read more >>