Independent

Independent 8,610 by Radian

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A high-quality crossword from Radian which took me longer than it should have done in retrospect, since the clues are generally quite clear, as witness the fact that many of the explanations below have been explained without words.

The theme is 18ac words, of which we have examples in 11ac (probably), 25ac, 13dn, 15dn, 19dn and no doubt several others that I can’t immediately see. There are some words, like 4dn or 23dn, whose letters are formed in a certain way, but they are not so far as I know 18ac words.

Definitions in italics.

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Independent 8603 by Morph

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*=anagram [] = removed e.g. char[m]=char ()=abbreviation e.g. A(mpere)=a Hom. = homophone This was a very clever idea, with the across clues being cast as nonsense limericks, a form of verse popularized by … Read more >>

Independent 8,600 by Monk

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Monk is always good. There are some excellent clues here and one or two where I’d be grateful for a little explanation. We differ over the matter of CDs, but Monk isn’t the only setter who uses them. However, if there were no well-known setters who dislike them I’d keep quiet.

Surprise surprise — I’ve seen the Nina, or at any rate as much of it as I’m likely to see: look at the horizontal unchecked letters in the middle followed by the vertical unchecked letters in the middle, but quite where the climax of it all is I can’t see.

Definitions in italics.

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