Bertandjoyce

There was a tradition in both our families of solving Telegraph concise and cryptic crosswords. During our student days we moved on to the Observer. When we could afford a daily, we enjoyed the Guardian cryptics until the Indy arrived on the scene. Nowadays, Saturdays are not complete without the Inquisitor in the i paper. We never time ourselves but we do feel cheated if we finish quickly and really enjoy seeking out themes and ninas etc. We are now retired and when time allows, we supplement the daily Indy solve with the on-line Guardian cryptic, Genius and the occasional Quiptic. Finding fifteensquared was a revelation – we realised we are not alone in our attempts to stave off Alzheimer’s!

Independent Saturday Prize Puzzle 9116 / Nestor (2nd Jan 2016)

January 9, 2016 at 12:16 am by Bertandjoyce

As expected, we found this an enjoyable Saturday prize puzzle from Nestor, but we still can’t figure out part of the clue for 11across. We’re not sure about the relevance of the … Read more >>

Independent 9120 / Nimrod

January 7, 2016 at 8:03 am by Bertandjoyce

As expected, a challenging Nimrod this Thursday with, in our humble opinion, a number of rather over-long, convoluted clues. However, when the true ingenuity of the puzzle was finally revealed, we forgave him. … Read more >>

Guardian Genius 150 / Boatman

January 3, 2016 at 1:59 pmJanuary 3, 2016 at 1:00 am by Bertandjoyce

The preamble states that: In one way or another 20,9 is missing from each clue. Our first one in was 21d – INNARDS which actually turned out to be incorrect but it took … Read more >>

Independent 9115 / Phi

January 1, 2016 at 8:01 am by Bertandjoyce

A fairly straightforward topical themed puzzle from Phi to start the year off in the manner we have come to expect. All good fun, with only one unusual word (14D), no doubt resulting … Read more >>

Independent 9107 / Knut

December 22, 2015 at 3:20 pmDecember 22, 2015 at 7:59 am by Bertandjoyce

Knut seems to be trying out a few new tricks on us in this puzzle. There were a number of clues which we solved once we had some crossing letters but it took … Read more >>

Independent 9102 / Dac

December 16, 2015 at 1:07 pmDecember 16, 2015 at 7:38 am by Bertandjoyce

Another Wednesday, another excellent Dac. We love Dac’s puzzles, but are always stuck for anything to say about them as there never seems to be anything to criticise or query. We are really … Read more >>

Independent 9097 / Vigo

December 10, 2015 at 7:57 am by Bertandjoyce

This is our first blog of a Vigo puzzle, and we’re already looking forward to the next! There are some great clues here, with a good range of difficulty – just what … Read more >>

Independent Saturday Prize 9087 Monk 28/11/15

December 6, 2015 at 9:56 pmDecember 5, 2015 at 10:05 am by Bertandjoyce

Apologies for the late posting of this week’s blog – it’s been a hectic week. This was a good, moderately challenging puzzle, as expected from Monk. We thoroughly enjoyed it. We do however … Read more >>

Independent 9092 / Phi

December 4, 2015 at 7:45 am by Bertandjoyce

Another week over and another Phi to end it with. During the solve Bert noticed that LADY BENCHER could be found in the unches in the SE corner. It wasn’t until the … Read more >>

Independent 9083 / Quaiteaux

November 25, 2015 at 10:53 amNovember 24, 2015 at 8:07 am by Bertandjoyce

The 225 archive shows that this is only the sixth Quaiteaux Indy puzzle, and that is more than four years since this setter last appeared in the Indy – so long ago, in fact, that … Read more >>

Independent 9078 / Dac

November 18, 2015 at 8:06 am by Bertandjoyce

Another Wednesday, another excellent Dac puzzle. As always, excellent surfaces and very fair clueing. This puzzle includes three proper names – not what we have come to expect from Dac. No criticism, just … Read more >>

Independent 9073 / Knut

November 12, 2015 at 4:49 pmNovember 12, 2015 at 7:41 am by Bertandjoyce

This is the third Knut puzzle that we have blogged. We have enjoyed the others with their topical themes but for some reason or other this did not hit the spot today. Maybe … Read more >>

Independent 9068 / Phi

November 6, 2015 at 7:55 am by Bertandjoyce

Is it just us or is Phi getting harder? It’s not that the clues are more complex we feel rather that some of the synonyms are a little more obscure. We’re not complaining … Read more >>

Independent Saturday Prize puzzle 9057 – Monk (24th Oct 2015)

October 31, 2015 at 12:05 am by Bertandjoyce

This was a tricky puzzle, as we expect for a Saturday Prize offering, with some crafty misdirections and good surface readings, as we expect from Monk. 23d was definitely our clue of the … Read more >>

Independent 9059 – Radian

October 27, 2015 at 8:05 am by Bertandjoyce

We found this a tricky solve today, with some very crafty misdirections, and one or two solutions that needed a bit of research to check. However, the wordplay was very fair when we’d … Read more >>