Morph has given us his usual very sound and pleasant crossword. It was always my impression that Morph’s clues were on the wordy side, but I counted them (yes I really did, I have to admit) and the average word-length of each clue is only 7, which compares quite favourably with Dean Mayer’s last Sunday Times puzzle of 6.8. I had always thought that Dean’s clues were particularly pithy, but this one was not all that far behind. Anyway, perhaps it’s a bit silly to focus on length: quality is what it’s about, and there was plenty of quality here.
Independent
Independent 9245 / Dac
What can we say? Another excellent Dac, which for some reason we found slightly tougher than normal. As usual, excellent surfaces, with an ingenious definition at 1d. We were delighted that our favourite … Read more >>
Independent 9,244 / Crosophile
Crosophile has served up this morning’s cruciverbal fare. I enjoyed this puzzle, finding it a challenge but not an insurmountable one. There was no point at which the solution suddenly revealed itself to … Read more >>
Independent 9243/Daedalus
Daedalus and I keep running into each other on Fifteensquared. This is his ninth Indy puzzle and I’ve blogged five of them. I’m still not warming to his style – I find it … Read more >>
Independent on Sunday 1,371 by Alchemi
A fairly rare Sunday outing from Alchemi, the first since January, as far as I can tell. My last couple in included 25 across, which doesn’t seem all that difficult and is rather … Read more >>
Independent 9242 by Monk (Saturday Puzzle 28 May 2016)
Enjoyable fare from Monk today…some nice surface readings and clever clueing… …and a Nina to boot, although I only spotted it once the grid was completed and I was preparing to blog it. … Read more >>
Independent 9,241 by Phi
A nicely-accessible Phi today. I had no major problems with it.
Definitions underlined and in maroon.
Independent 9240 / Knut
We’re back in the UK after three weeks away with very limited internet access, and Knut provided us with a lovely challenge for our return. Thanks to Gaufrid for standing in for us. … Read more >>
Independent 9,239 / Quixote
It is the last Wednesday of the month, so Dac is taking a well-earned break from compiling duties. I think this puzzle was very much towards the easy end of the Quixote, and … Read more >>
Independent 9238 / Radian
Radian has given us a good test for Tuesday I did about threequarters of this without too much difficulty but the last quarter took me longer than the previous three. … Read more >>
Independent 9237 / Punk
I must be honest and say that I found this one tough, particularly for a Monday (though recently Mondays haven’t necessarily been easier in the Indy), so thanks for the challenge Punk. I … Read more >>
Independent on Sunday 1370/Poins
A well-crafted Sindy puzzle from Poins. One or two that were tricky to parse, but all clearly clued. Abbreviations cd cryptic definition dd double definition (xxxx)* anagram anagrind = anagram … Read more >>
Independent 9236 / Anax
With only a handful of entries during my first pass through the clues I thought I was going to be in for a bit of a slog and so it proved – but … Read more >>
Independent 9235 / Phi
Well, what can I say about this one? Phi has made his theme fairly obvious (unless I’ve missed something more devious). A rapid solve for me, with the NE quadrant being completed quickly … Read more >>
Independent 9,234 / Scorpion
Scorpion has provided today’s lexical challenge. It has been a while since it has fallen to me to solve/blog one of his puzzles. Scorpion has chosen to mark a special achievement with this … Read more >>