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.

Azed 1907 — Plain

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A fairly standard Azed, I think.  Lots of words of which I’d never heard, fairly predictable and verified in Chambers, and as usual a very well-constructed grid, with words of many lengths (except that … Read more >>

Independent 6914/Phi

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I didn’t time myself for this as I was listening to England’s heroics in India at the same time, so probably not giving it quite the usual attention. It seemed the usual Phi thing, … Read more >>

Independent 6905/Hypnos

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The wordplay is always fine, but forgive me if I’m lukewarm about some of the surfaces, which seem to me to be a bit thin. ‘Publication with no trouble elevated colour’; ‘A liberal honour … Read more >>

Independent 6894/Dac

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As always with Dac, clue after clue hits the button. Across 1 SUBJECT — 2 defs 5 DA(STAR)D — although the similar word with a different initial letter has a similar meaning, at … Read more >>

Independent 6887/Eimi

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A Remembrance Day-themed crossword from Eimi most of which was pleasant and accessible but which I found hard to finish. Help needed with 22dn, please. Across 1 MIMI C — I’m not keen on the … Read more >>

Independent 6882/Dac

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How is it possible, week after week, to say anything new about Dac? As always, the surfaces are elegant and smooth and there are no real points of contention, so far as I can … Read more >>

Independent 6878/Phi

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A typically nice crossword, but trickier than usual for Phi. Some long words were slow to come. Across 7 DOZE(n) 8 BOTTLENECK — I don’t really understand this — why wouldn’t you expect to find jam in … Read more >>

Azed 1899/19th October

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A nice crossword from Azed, with several good clues. His grids are always excellent: how he manages to fit in so many long words and avoid using three-letter-words I don’t know. Across 1 STARCH BLOCKER — … Read more >>

Independent 6870/Dac

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Several quite brilliant long anagrams in Dac’s typically excellent crossword today Across 1 POP SHOP — 2 defs 5 B(IOM)ASS 9 NO RM A 10/11 INSPECTOR CLOUSEAU — (counters a US police)* 12 … Read more >>