NealH's avatarNealH

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 6957 by Merlin

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*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone A Groundhog Day themed puzzle, although the joke of having the phrase appear three times owed more to the Bill Murray film than the weather forecasting event. I think … Read more >>

Independent 6951 by Punk

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*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone An enjoyable puzzle that didn’t require vast amounts of general knowledge. There were some excellent surface definitions that appeared utterly bewildering at first glance (particularly 21 down). Across 9 … Read more >>

Independent 6945 by Monk

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*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone I found this extremely tough and struggled to get going. Repeatedly misreading 20 down as “hackneyed phrase” didn’t help. However, all the answers made sense to me. Across 1 … Read more >>

Independent 6933 by Hypnos

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*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone I found this surprisingly easy, given it was littered with the sort of clues that I normally struggle with (e.g. double definitions involving the names of celebrities). Most of … Read more >>

Independent 6927 by Punk

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*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone An enjoyable puzzle with a good mix of clues. The only one I didn’t follow was 21 down. Across 1 Attache: Cryptic def (attache case). 5 Sampler: S[titches] + … Read more >>

Independent 6922 by Dac

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*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone A gentle start to Christmas week from Dac with some well-written and enjoyable clues. Across 1 Aer Lingus: (singlur + E[ire])*. 6 Scrub: First letters of spring cleaning + … Read more >>

Independent 6916 by Tees

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*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone I found this a little easier than some Tees puzzles, but one or two left me a bit bewildered (especially 19 across). The three clues linked by pillow talk … Read more >>

Independent 6910 by Math

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*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone It was good value today, with a lot of clues. Most were fairly straightforward, with many easy-to-spot anagrams, but there were a few harder clues sprinkled in. It took … Read more >>

Independent 6904 / Glowworm

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*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone A Christmas list themed puzzle that had some well-constructed clues, but a little too much obscure stuff (e.g. abolla, ibo) for my liking. There were a couple I didn’t … Read more >>

Independent 6898 by Radian

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*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone This was mostly fairly easy, but had a couple of clues that I struggled to understand even after I’d got the answer. My only criticism would be that there … Read more >>

Independent 6892 by Punk

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*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone A good variety of clues with some excellent surface readings.  There were just a couple that I thought were a little questionable. Across 1 Miaow: (I am)* + ow. 4 … Read more >>

Independent 6886 by Morph

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*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone After my abject failure with last Monday’s puzzle, I got up half an hour earlier to give myself extra time to complete this one. I needn’t have worried, since … Read more >>

Independent 6880 by Nimrod

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*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone Apologies for the late posting. I was too busy at work today to give this the two or three hours of attention I would have needed to get through … Read more >>