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 10,703 by Tees

Mon February 1, 2021 at 9:00 am by NealH

An excellent puzzle that had me delving quite deeply at times to see how the clues worked.

Independent 10,685 by Gila

Mon January 11, 2021 at 9:00 am by NealH

An enjoyable and mostly easy puzzle. ACROSS 1 SEINFELD US sitcom character‘s life ends badly (8) (Life ends)* 5 GRADES Grammar school receiving excellent 5th place in Ofsted’s rankings (6) G{rammar} … Read more >>

Independent 10,668 by Vigo

Mon December 21, 2020 at 9:00 am by NealH

Mostly on the easy side with a couple of exceptions. There might be a theme, as there seem to be quite a lot of food or plant-related items, but I'm not sure what … Read more >>

Independent 10,650 by Bluth

Mon November 30, 2020 at 9:00 am by NealH

A very challenging puzzle with some great surface definitions. As I'm currently on antibiotics for a severely infected left thumb, I could have done without 1 across, but it was an interesting clue … Read more >>

Independent 10,632 by Poins

Mon November 9, 2020 at 9:00 am by NealH

A very absorbing and enjoyable puzzle form Poins with some intricate wordplay in places and nice mixture of clues. ACROSS 1 BASIS The fundamental ingredient of cobbler essentially unaltered (5) [Cob]b[ler] + … Read more >>

Independent 10,614 by Shabbo

Mon October 19, 2020 at 4:58 pmMon October 19, 2020 at 9:00 am by NealH

I found this a mixture of quite easy and quite tough clues. There were a few more of the CD type, which I'm not normally a fan of. However, on this occasion, I … Read more >>

Independent 10,596 by Vigo

Mon September 28, 2020 at 9:00 am by NealH

An enjoyable and conventional puzzle from Vigo which was generally at the easier end of the spectrum. I quite liked the misdirection in 1 across where most solvers would instantly assume two pints … Read more >>

Independent 10,578 by Harold

Mon September 7, 2020 at 9:00 am by NealH

A challenging puzzle from newish compiler Harold. This wasn't entirely my cup of tea with quite a lot of slightly dodgy CDs and DDs but there were some interesting clues that required quite … Read more >>

Independent 10,560 by Tees

Mon August 17, 2020 at 9:00 am by NealH

Some good fun-packed clues from Tees. 21 and 16 stood out for me as excellent. ACROSS 9/10 GARDENING LEAVE Cruelly avenging leader in suspension from job (9,5) (Avenging leader)* 11 DROVE Resistance … Read more >>

Independent 10,542 by Tees

Mon July 27, 2020 at 9:00 am by NealH

I found this quite hard going with the longer clues proving to be quite a struggle. 1 across was particularly difficult with lots of short words, each of which had numerous possibilities. There … Read more >>

Independent 10,524 by Vigo

Mon July 6, 2020 at 9:00 am by NealH

A gentle Monday cryptic. I had a couple of quibbles, which I've detailed in the blog. There were a few old chestnuts like orchestra but also some good surface readings. 9 has to … Read more >>

Independent 10,506 by Harold

Mon June 15, 2020 at 9:31 amMon June 15, 2020 at 9:00 am by NealH

I've not come across Harold before and I found this a strange mixture of very easy clues and clues that I really struggled with. 3D was one of those annoying CD type clues … Read more >>