Independent

More great stuff from the mid-week master, with some class clues along the way. A very enjoyable way to spend a bus journey to work. Across 1 CASELOAD – CASE,LOAD – “Bar work” … Read more >>

A very pleasant crosword from Merlin – several nice clues. I didn’t find him so difficult as usual. Across 1 NAPS – (span)rev. 3 TOUCH-ME-NOT? – this seems to be the only plant that fits, … Read more >>

*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed I haven’t done a lot of Monk puzzles but those I have done I found relatively straightforward. This was no exception and I completed it fairly quickly (about half an … Read more >>

It was obvious that something was in store for today, Phi having been moved to Thursday. So far as I can see it’s because it’s 64 years after D-Day. But 64? Is that … Read more >>

The theme for this puzzle is Chaucer’s “Canterbury Tales”. The 12, the 13, the 18, the 20, the 24 and the 8 all have their own tales, as does the Nun’s 22. Indeed,”Canterbury … Read more >>

Unusual for Phi to appear other than on a Friday. Not sure if this means some themed puzzle is planned for this Friday 6 June. This I found very well put together as … Read more >>

With Listener puzzle 4000 due this year (20 September to be exact) we should not forget Quixote has less than a year to make the 1000. If my calculations are correct this is … Read more >>

Across 1 MAT,THE,W – not sure which writer this is referring to; perhaps the author of the Gospel of MATTHEW? 5 DEFACED – the letters of which are all musical notes. 10 OB,[-a]VIATING … Read more >>

Inventive stuff as per usual from Punk. A nice mix of clues – some easy, some harder, some cheeky and some just downright inspired. I struggled with the NW corner and there are … Read more >>

*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed I was too stingy to buy the paper this morning, but I had a quick glance at the newsagents to find out who the compiler was. I believe it was … Read more >>

 Ran into a brick wall about halfway through this one and then spotted the Nina (referenced in 9), which got things moving again. Still don’t understand a few things here and there though. … Read more >>

I struggled to get going with this, only solving one of the Across clues on my first pass. A few nice, long cryptic definitions eventually got the ball rolling and everything else then … Read more >>

I found this easier than usual for this setter but there are still a few bits and pieces that I don’t understand. Across 1 (STOUT MUSCULAR)* – interestingly, this could have been CUMULOSTRATUS … Read more >>

Solving time, 22 mins. * = anagram < = reversal ACROSS 5 A WARD’S Maybe not exclusively an urban district, but usually so. 7 SLE EVE (eve Els)< If golfer Ernie Els could … Read more >>

An excellent themed puzzle by Radian, timed, I expect, to coincide with Sebastian Faulks’ new James Bond book on the centenary of Ian Fleming’s birth, I think.    I got the theme almost instantly … Read more >>