Independent

*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, cd=cryptic definition, dd=double definition. An interesting exercise in “words that are like other words, but with the initial letter chopped off”. I think it took longer to type out … Read more >>

*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, CD=cryptic def It’s fairly unusual for me to blog a Phi puzzle because they normally occupy the Friday slot. He’s actually one of my favourite compilers, with a straightforward … Read more >>

*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, cd=cryptic definition, dd=double definition. Aha, so here’s this week’s Dac. Whilst I do have a habit of missing such things, there doesn’t appear to be any particular Mayday theme … Read more >>

My first attempt at blogging a daily crossword, having previously blogged The Inquisitor regularly and Guardian Genius (once so far). I thought the clueing in this crossword was elegant with a number of … Read more >>

Hard as Nimrod usually is, solving time, 58 mins. Very hard to break into, but seeing 1 down was a breakthrough helping with the LHS of the grid. Never systematically counted but Nimrod’s … Read more >>

Great minds are still puzzling as to how Quixote has crossword 1002 in the 1000th issue of the paper which contained many articles and reminiscences to mark that occasion. The puzzle itself was … Read more >>

What’s Phi doing on a Wednesday? There must be something devious lined up for Mayday on Friday, and no doubt we’ll be seeing Dac on Saturday. Or perhaps he just needs a holiday, … Read more >>

Radian’s certainly developed a fairly unique and often fairly tricky style in his short time as an Indy setter, but I’m a fan. There’s some nice stuff here. There’s a kinda theme too … Read more >>

*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, CD=cryptic def A couple of rather loose definitions (laptop computer = means of communication ?) meant I found sections of this tricky. There was only one (15 down) I … Read more >>

*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, cd=cryptic definition, dd=double definition. A typically high-quality Friday Phi, I think. The SE corner put up a bit of a fight for me, but apart from that it all … Read more >>

Tough but fair, as always with this setter. The NW corner gave me lots of problems but I got there in the end with just one answer I’m not completely sure about at … Read more >>

*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, cd=cryptic definition, dd=double definition. A début? Certainly not a setter I’ve come across before. I didn’t find this unduly taxing, but everything was very well put together. There’s a … Read more >>

The standard excellent Quixote puzzle as it heads into the second thousand.   Solving time, 25 mins.     SW corner by far the hardest for me. * = anagram  < = reversed ACROSS 1 MI  … Read more >>

A not-too-tricky-but-not-in-any-way-less-enjoyable-than-usual offering today. Nice stuff. And apologies for the brief blog, I’ve been busy out enjoying the sun! Across 1 FAIR – F,AIR 4 ULTIMATELY – TIM in U,LATELY 9 MASTODON – … Read more >>

Another themed classic from Virgilius.    Every across answer is thematic. So are almost all the clues, which as usual are superb.   Some unusual words were forced in by the thematic requirements and Virgilius … Read more >>