Comments on: Independent 7,548/???

By: Phi

Phi — Mon, 27 Dec 2010 03:15:22 +0000

Merciful Heaven, so there was! Wish I’d planned it.

By: Scarpia

Scarpia — Sun, 26 Dec 2010 00:12:21 +0000

Thanks Ali.
I did this one from the ‘dead tree’ version,so the doctored clues weren’t so obvious.Thought there might have been a ballet theme at first (NIJINSKY/CYGNETS).
There was another NINA in the fifth row down.
Just going to give your puzzle a shot now.

By: flashling

flashling — Sat, 25 Dec 2010 00:16:38 +0000

Thanks Phi here’s to battling against you next year. I enjoy your style, thanks merry Christmas etc.

By: Phi

Phi — Fri, 24 Dec 2010 22:50:07 +0000

Merry Christmas, folks, from NZ where we are safely into Christmas Day now. Hope to keep you interested with a few hidden themes in the New Year.

By: Simon Harris

Simon Harris — Fri, 24 Dec 2010 17:41:12 +0000

Thanks, Ali. I didn’t quite grasp what was going on here, though I quickly decided that Phi was at large. I’ll probably tackle your puzzle tomorrow, along with a small Caol Ila

By: Mordred

Mordred — Fri, 24 Dec 2010 16:21:56 +0000

Greetings reciprocated, PHI. I look forward to more of your puzzles next year. And season’s greetings to all bloggers, commenters, setters and ed.

By: Stella Heath

Stella Heath — Fri, 24 Dec 2010 16:13:00 +0000

And seasons greetings to Phi to, as well as all the members of the 225 community.

I thought this was going to be quite easy having got the E half, and obviously the name of the author, but failed to see the full message until I’d finished, and needed help with a couple in the SW. Thanks for your explanations, Ali – I’ll look up your puzzle some time, but not just now as I have to take dogs for walkies and prepare Christmas dinner, which we have this evening here in Spain.

Feliz Navidad para todos.

By: Kathryn's Dad

Kathryn's Dad — Fri, 24 Dec 2010 15:34:18 +0000

Really enjoyed this one – as you say, for regulars the three squares highlighted in red were a bit of a giveaway, but I went through the grid in the normal order and then confirmed that Phi was the culprit. I did spot the Nina (getting better at this after fifteen months on 225) and this helped with the remainder, where there were one or two less familiar words.

PHRASE was good; ILIAD was nicely misleading; and TIDELINE was clever also.

Thanks to Phi for an inventive puzzle and to Ali for a clear blog as always. Will definitely be trying your crossword over the holidays. On which note, a good break to all and thanks to all setters for a very enjoyable year of puzzles in the Indy.

By: PeterO

PeterO — Fri, 24 Dec 2010 14:48:09 +0000

No: it’s just hit me that 12A is VAIN with the I moved up.

By: PeterO

PeterO — Fri, 24 Dec 2010 14:45:45 +0000

Ali,
Thanks for the blog. For once I saw the nina, which is unusual enough in itself, and more so that I saw it in time to help with the solution. Like you, I hoped that 27A would be a triple definition, but M + ARK seems more like it. Surely 12A splits up in the same way, I + VAN?