NealH

I've been doing crosswords off and on since university back in the 1980s. I used to do the Guardian, but defected to the Independent a year ago. My solving standard is still not what I'd like. I'd love to be able to knock off a crossword in 10 minutes, but find I'm still getting stuck for long periods when the inspiration doesn't quite arrive. I once had a go at compiling crosswords but, after a very rude rejection for the editor of the Telegraph, I didn't bother any further.

Independent 9,483 by Peter

Mon March 6, 2017 at 9:00 am by NealH

An enjoyable and fairly easy puzzle with some amusing clues.

Independent 9,465 by Dutch

Mon February 13, 2017 at 7:58 pmMon February 13, 2017 at 9:00 am by NealH

Top-notch stuff from Dutch. There was a good balance of clues and some had excellent surface readings.

Independent 9,447 by Vigo

Mon January 23, 2017 at 9:00 am by NealH

An excellent and absorbing puzzle with lots of very subtle touches.

Independent 9,429 by Punk

Mon January 2, 2017 at 8:12 pm by NealH

A very late appearance of this on the Indy website means the blog has been considerably delayed. It’s not giving too much away to say there was a theme of cities.

Independent 9,411 by Anglio

Mon December 12, 2016 at 9:00 am by NealH

I found this a bit of a grind with lots of quite involved clues and a number of off-centre or obscure word usages making the clues seem more difficult than they actually were.

Independent 9,393 by Gila

Mon November 21, 2016 at 10:33 amMon November 21, 2016 at 9:00 am by NealH

A puzzle full of intricate clues, but also some humour.

Independent 9,375 by Peter

Mon October 31, 2016 at 9:00 am by NealH

Peter is another fairly new setter for the Indy. The style seems similar to Dac with generally straightforward clues and polished surfaces.

Independent 9,357 by Phi

Mon October 10, 2016 at 9:00 am by NealH

It’s fairly unusual to see Phi on a Monday, so this was a rare treat for me. After a run of quite difficult Monday puzzles, it was also nice to have something a little easier to get one’s teeth into. I thought this was very enjoyable and was able to keep going without long periods of getting stuck.

Independent 9,339 by Crosophile

Mon September 19, 2016 at 9:00 am by NealH

Crosophile continues to please with some imaginative clues which often succeed in getting away from the standard anagram, charade etc model altogether.

Independent 9,321 by Lohengrin

Mon August 29, 2016 at 9:47 pmMon August 29, 2016 at 9:00 am by NealH

I found this difficult in places and finished it in a stop/start fashion.

Independent 9,303 by Punk

Mon August 8, 2016 at 3:59 pmMon August 8, 2016 at 9:00 am by NealH

An enjoyable puzzle from one of the few remaining Indy regulars from before the paper’s decline. There seemed to be a bit of theme in the clues with lots of words which rhyme with Punk e.g. hunk, spunk, trunk. Not sure if there is anything beyond that.

Independent 9,285 by Kairos

Mon July 18, 2016 at 9:00 am by NealH

I found this a bit of a struggle, particularly in the top half of the puzzle. There were a few slightly obscure answers and word associations.

Independent 9,267 by Punk

Mon June 27, 2016 at 3:19 pmMon June 27, 2016 at 9:00 am by NealH

I found this extremely tough and almost ground to a halt completely a couple of times. But with some perseverence I managed to finish it.

Independent 9,249 by Gila

Mon June 6, 2016 at 10:22 amMon June 6, 2016 at 9:00 am by NealH

I’ve not come across Gila much before but this was a solid offering which was generally at the easier end of the spectrum. Not sure if the name refers to the Gila monster, a type of lizard – perhaps the compiler will enlighten us.

Independent 9231 by Vigo

Mon May 16, 2016 at 3:33 pmMon May 16, 2016 at 12:14 am by NealH

I had a couple of minor quibbles on this but overall it was nice puzzle with a reasonable range of clues from fairly easy starters to more demanding fare.