Independent

Excellent puzzle as per. Any theme is lost on me although the grid suggests one. Across 9 IMMORAL — MM in I+ORAL — good surface though exam is often a giveaway. 11 CAPRICE … Read more >>

This was a satisfying mix of relatively easy and difficult clues. Of particular note were 5 down, 13 across and 25 across, all of which had clever cryptic definitions. Across 1 Uzbekistan: (bet … Read more >>

I found this unusually difficult for Phi, but perhaps that’s just because of my own incompetence. Certainly several clues that eluded me at first were simple enough when the answer eventually came. No … Read more >>

A very good (and tough in places) puzzle with an unusual theme: the top and bottom rows read OUR COUNTRY WEE ONE ENGLAND NIL. See 21a for a full explanation as to what … Read more >>

This is the first puzzle I’ve solved in what has so far been a pretty miserable week, with myself and MrsD both laid low with a virus and our 8 month old son … Read more >>

I found this quite an easy puzzle – solving time 15 mins but there’s one I do not understand. Notes on some clues below, including that one. Happy to explain others if asked … Read more >>

A pleasing puzzle by Dac.    Solving time: 18 mins * = (anagram)*   < = reversed ACROSS 1 DEF (l = L) ECT       Excellent misleading surface 11 RO (A) ST (i) … Read more >>

Another highly thematic puzzle from Virgilius. In this case all the down answers can be seen as dangerous women. Corrections and clarifications are in italics. Across 9 AZORES — “as oars” 14 ENAMEL … Read more >>

One of those themed crosswords where a large number of the clues draw their definition from one of the other clues (in this case 11 across). With this type of puzzle, you either … Read more >>

I’d read four or five clues before I realised that something odd was going on and at first I thought the wrong grid had been printed. Then I spotted that there was no … Read more >>

Solving time: 10 minutes when I gave up … … trying to work out 6D. I don’t know quite enough gods and ?A?A?A?A doesn’t help much. I guess the story is a SAGA, … Read more >>

Across 4 (SHE COSTS O)* – COHOSTESS. Quite a strange clue as it’s not really an &lit (“She costs nothing when partying”) but it reads like one. 9 ATE in NS – NATES … Read more >>

Unfortunately I’m not the best person to be blogging this, since I have never read anything by Philip Pullman, but Google always helps. Probably I’ve missed something. It seems that this is timed … Read more >>

This site was ringing with praise for Virgilius last week. This puzzle was another excellent example of why. A theme (as usual) reasonably obvious and which helped speed up solving at the end. … Read more >>