Independent

Solving time: 7:45 I really liked this puzzle on the theme of 11s (coincidentally the first clue I solved), though I wonder if I have missed some of the thematic references. A very … Read more >>

I got confused about who was writing what and wrote stuff on both of last Saturday’s puzzles.  So this one is a duplicate… another excuse for putting it up is that I referred to links … Read more >>

Solving Time:  23 minutes  An enjoyable Saturday romp from Nimrod with a topical theme given the recently announced departure of Des from Countdown.  If the puzzle had a weakness, it was that Countdown … Read more >>

Solving time: 11:05 Not the easiest, but I think I made a bit of a meal of some of this, although there were a few difficult words. Nimrod continues a recent theme of … Read more >>

I found this very easy, solved in 13 mins. Typical Quixote style, light in cultural references, homing in on the everyday experience of the solver.Simple constructions with, I think, just three complete anagrams. … Read more >>

Everything perfectly  constructed, wording to set you off on the wrong track at first in some cases. Solved in 18  mins – about average for me for a Phi Indy. ACROSS 7 PRINT … Read more >>

Across 1 PAD,U,A – accomodation=”pad” 4 CHE in BUT, RED – Nice clue for beginners: Che (Guevara) is the crossword solver’s favourite revolutionary and a communist is almost always “red”. 9 CH, APTER … Read more >>

Solving time : yonks, bits of two 40 minute bus journeys with interruptions This is a delayed post due to problems uploading the review last night, Neil stepping in when I didn’t appear. … Read more >>

Solving time: 11:30 First step: have a look at the grid. Notice that starting at the black cross next to 12, and emerging at the other side in the one next to 22, … Read more >>

A superb offering from Monk, one of my favourite setters. This was fairly easy in parts (I did half of it in about 15 minutes) but the NE corner was fiendishly difficult. Tough … Read more >>

Solving time 15:40 I like to see Scorpion puzzles, and I’m pleased to be writing the first Scorpion posting here on “225” – here’s why. From time to time, would-be setters send me … Read more >>

Solving time : about 20 minutes A classic Phi puzzle, very fair Ximenean clues with a few cryptic definitions thrown into the mix. Across 1 PAST+ORAL — ORAL is always a good guess … Read more >>

Quixote is, as most will know, Don Manley of the Chambers Crossword Manual, the 4th edtion of which has recently appeared. Highly recommended, especially for help in explaining all the clue types and … Read more >>

Solving time: 6:04 An impressive 11 answers on a 24dn theme, though only 13ac, 14dn and possibly 16ac are likely to have caused any difficulty for anyone with only a passing knowledge. I … Read more >>

This had all the attributes I associate with Dac – flowing clues, variation, trickery, always accessible in the end. Average in difficulty for a Dac for me – solved in 17 mins. ACROSS … Read more >>