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 9139 / Phi

Fri January 29, 2016 at 7:59 am by Bertandjoyce

Phi on Ph-iday – just what we have come to expect and look forward to. There is one clue though that we have struggled with this week. Any thoughts on 7d would be … Read more >>

Independent 9130 / Hannah

Tue January 19, 2016 at 8:08 am by Bertandjoyce

Well, a Bowie theme yesterday and a Star Wars theme (at least in the clues) today. We love themed puzzles so this was right up our alley, even though some of the clues … Read more >>

Independent 9125 / DAC

Sun January 17, 2016 at 4:43 pmWed January 13, 2016 at 7:46 am by Bertandjoyce

It’s Wednesday, it’s Dac – What else can we say? Another excellent puzzle! 1 Attack viciously? Proceed towards jail, having broken a rule wrongly (2,3,3,7) GO FOR THE JUGULAR GO FORTH (proceed … Read more >>

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

Sat 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

Thu 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

Sun January 3, 2016 at 1:59 pmSun January 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

Fri 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

Tue December 22, 2015 at 3:20 pmTue December 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

Wed December 16, 2015 at 1:07 pmWed December 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

Thu 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

Sun December 6, 2015 at 9:56 pmSat December 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

Fri 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

Wed November 25, 2015 at 10:53 amTue November 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

Wed 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

Thu November 12, 2015 at 4:49 pmThu November 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 >>