Independent

This seemed to be one of those days where I filled in a lot of answers without fully understanding them. Some will hopefully become clear as I blog, but there’ll no doubt be … Read more >>

I found this quite easy. Some answers that were new to me I worked out from the friendly wordplay. Solving time, 13 mins. * = anagram < = reversed ACROSS 1 HE CATOMB … Read more >>

An unusually tricky Dac today. I don’t remember ever, in one of his crosswords, making so many marks by clues reminding me to look things up afterwards. This does not itself reflect on … Read more >>

*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, cd=cryptic definition, dd=double definition. Hands up who didn’t foresee a presidential-themed crossword for today? I do tend to enjoy Radian’s outings, and this was no exception. Pretty easy overall, … Read more >>

*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone I found this extremely tough and struggled to get going. Repeatedly misreading 20 down as “hackneyed phrase” didn’t help. However, all the answers made sense to me. Across 1 … Read more >>

Great puzzle. I can’t believe how long it took me to spot what was going on at 1a and 29a. Across 1 (NOTA BENE I MOVED)* – ABOVE-MENTIONED. A self-referential clue as it … Read more >>

*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, cd=cryptic definition, dd=double definition. I can’t pretend that Nimrod is my favourite setter. Here, once again, the clueing tends towards brilliance, but becomes gimmicky in places, and then leaves … Read more >>

The first puzzle I’ve had chance to look at in what appears to have been a tricky batch so far this week, and this one certainly adds to that pile. I managed only … Read more >>

Solving time, 22 mins * = anagram ACROSS 1 SA (DIS) T 4 S (TACK) S 8 KISMET (mistake)* less a (top grade) 9 WEAK SPOT cf ‘speak wot’ , I think 10 … Read more >>

A very tough puzzle from Dac, with some excellent misdirection and great variation all through.   Very satisfying to finish, solving time, 36 mins * = anagram ACROSS 1 (B)RIGHTO(n) 4 TASHKENT   (The tanks)*    … Read more >>

Now that Virgilius has appeared two weeks in a row, has he decided that he can now do every week again? That would be wonderful, although we shall have to wait and see. … Read more >>

*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone Across 1 Bored: ore in BD. 4 Games: Gas around ME. 9 Itchy: [T]itchy. 10 Solitaire: So I lit a [f]ire. 11 Scrabble: (BB + arcs)< + le. 13 … Read more >>

Excellent puzzle from Phi, thought it was going to be relatively easy when I got both 14-letter entries on first run through, but I found it was tricky in both SW and particularly … Read more >>

An enjoyable solve, this – very tough in places, easier in others. Not sure about the wordplay in 14 and I’m not confident I’ve got the right answer at 19 either. The grid … Read more >>

Into the New Year that should see No 1000 in this series. Solving time, 17 mins, if I have solved it – some doubts that I’ll know for sure about only when solution … Read more >>