From the New Year we will start to cover the advanced cryptic puzzles that appear on a Saturday in the Independent Weekend Magazine. These puzzles are edited by Mike Laws and are generally easier than the Listener or Enigmatic Variations puzzles but a bit harder than a plain barred crossword so they’re ideal if you want to start exploring the world of special advanced cryptics. A review of a recent puzzle, “Squares” will appear on the 22^nd of Dec as a taste of things to come.

Another amazing tour de force by Virgilius, whose weekly Indy puzzles usually have a theme.

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I thought that this puzzle was quite tough for a Tuesday morning, or maybe my brain is starting to wind down for the festive season.  As usual. Paul demonstrated some clever wordplay, but he does take some liberties with the definitions in a couple of his clues.

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