John

Born 1946. Since retiring (maths teacher) have spent an increasing amount of time on crosswords, something that was impossible before – am not in the sub-ten minutes league and probably never will be. Do The Times every day (more often than not in over half an hour), also an assortment of other puzzles. Have been doing Azed monthly for some years and entering his clue-setting competitions, occasionally with some success (I even won once, have had 36 VHCs and 138 HCs — yes, I keep a record, sad isn't it) but not enough for my liking. I've set a few crosswords: five in Oxford Today, a few on Derek Harrison's website, and five in The Independent, under the name Vernon. Also play a lot of chess and golf, although as I age I'm getting weaker at both.

Independent 10,429 by Atrica

Tue March 17, 2020 at 5:21 pmTue March 17, 2020 at 1:45 am by John

Atrica is a new name for me, although it isn’t: only five months ago I blogged one. I wrote then This is the first I’ve heard of Atrica, who doesn’t seem to have … Read more >>

Independent 10,424 by Morph

Wed March 11, 2020 at 10:37 amWed March 11, 2020 at 1:50 am by John

Well I suppose it is Tuesday [don’t even know what day it is, as Rabbit Dave reminds me], so we must expect something difficult [On Wednesday? Not in recent times, although things may … Read more >>

Independent 10,419 by Monk

Sun March 15, 2020 at 12:05 pmThu March 5, 2020 at 1:45 am by John

A rare appearance from Monk — once an ever-present — and, apart from one or two clues that are beyond me (but I would say that, wouldn’t I), an excellent solving experience. Definitions … Read more >>

Independent 10,414 by Phi

Fri February 28, 2020 at 12:30 pmFri February 28, 2020 at 1:25 am by John

Although there is one whose explanation defeats me, most of this crossword from Phi was easier than sometimes and of course was of the usual high standard. 8dn is beyond me I’m afraid. … Read more >>

Independent 10,405 by Radian

Tue February 18, 2020 at 1:17 pmTue February 18, 2020 at 1:45 am by John

An excellent set of clues as usual from Radian today. It was not all that easy, but perfectly understandable in retrospect. Definitions in olive, underlined. Anagram indicators in italics. The theme (Radian has … Read more >>

Independent 10,400 by Poins

Wed February 12, 2020 at 1:45 am by John

Not all that easy today; after all it is Wednesday. Perhaps Eimi is changing things a bit. Or perhaps it was in fact easy, but I was just incompetent. Definitions in tomato, underlined. … Read more >>

Independent 10,395 by Klingsor

Thu February 6, 2020 at 1:45 am by John

I always enjoy Klingsor’s crosswords: not horribly difficult, but not too easy either, and a nice variety of excellent clues with lovely surfaces. Definitions in darkviolet, underlined. Anagram indicators in italics. ACROSS … Read more >>

Independent 10,390 by Phi

Fri January 31, 2020 at 1:45 am by John

The usual tidy crossword from Phi. Things work smoothly almost every time. Phi often uses grids with unchecked letters at the sides, yet he always (I think) has at least 50% checking, which … Read more >>

Independent 10,381 by Alchemi

Tue January 21, 2020 at 1:30 am by John

Apart from my vague grumblings over the use of ‘possibly’, and what seems to me to be a bit doubtful in 26dn, Alchemi has as usual produced a very neat and enjoyable crossword. … Read more >>

Independent 10,371 by Knut

Thu January 9, 2020 at 1:37 am by John

A pleasant crossword from Knut today. I shall say no more because if I do the casual viewer of the top of this post may be alerted. Definitions in dark orchid, underlined. Anagram … Read more >>

Independent 10,366 by Phi

Fri January 3, 2020 at 11:08 amFri January 3, 2020 at 9:36 am by John

When one has solved a Phi clue the answer is so obvious that one wonders where the difficulty lay. Yet there was difficulty, to be sure. Perhaps it’s because, as Carol Vorderman used … Read more >>

Independent 10,358 by Radian

Tue December 24, 2019 at 9:49 am by John

My apologies for slight lateness today: computer problems and I’ve had to use an old version of the software I normally use for my blogs. Let’s hope it’s working all right (at this stage, before I click the ‘Publish’ button, everything looks fine) and the various things I’ve tried to do (like underlining the definition, which should be in maroon) appear as they should. Anagram indicators in italics.

An excellent crossword from Radian. All the clues run smoothly, with nice surfaces, and there are no wasted words so far as I can see.