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 6652 by Hypnos

February 11, 2008 at 1:24 pm by NealH

* = anag, < = reversed A solid puzzle by Hypnos – reasonably challenging without being too difficult. I finished it fairly quickly, but there were a couple of clues I didn’t entirely … Read more >>

Independent 6646 (Merlin)

October 26, 2008 at 8:02 pmFebruary 4, 2008 at 1:20 pm by NealH

Quite a tough puzzle from Merlin and I didn’t manage to finish it, getting stuck on 25 across, 5 across and 8 down. Across 1 Bludgeon: B(l)udge on. 5 Ageism ? Clue was … Read more >>

Independent 6640 (Mass)

January 28, 2008 at 1:16 pm by NealH

Initially I thought this was going to be very easy. I got through most of the clues fairly quickly but then got hopelessly stuck on 8 across, 25 across and 24 down, some … Read more >>

Independent 6634 (Glow-Worm)

January 21, 2008 at 1:48 pm by NealH

A solid puzzle by Glow-Worm, but I didn’t really understand the logic behind either of the 12 clues. Across 1 Curriculum Vitae: Cryptic def (possibly more of a reference to its latin meaning … Read more >>

Independent 6628 by Math – “Left, Right; Left, Right..”

January 14, 2008 at 1:31 pmJanuary 14, 2008 at 1:00 pm by NealH

A relatively easy puzzle from Math, with a few tricky clues in the lower part of the grid. I was only able to get 23 across after I’d noticed that the extreme left … Read more >>

Independent 6622 (Hypnos)

January 7, 2008 at 11:41 am by NealH

There were some excellent clues in this, but I found it a little unbalanced in that I finished the across clues very quickly but was left with 6 down clues that I found … Read more >>

Independent 6605 (Morph) – Some Excellent Cryptic Definitions

December 17, 2007 at 2:35 pm by NealH

This was a satisfying mix of relatively easy and difficult clues. Of particular note were 5 down, 13 across and 25 across, all of which had clever cryptic definitions. Across 1 Uzbekistan: (bet … Read more >>

Independent 6599 by Punk – Nation States

December 10, 2007 at 3:29 pm by NealH

One of those themed crosswords where a large number of the clues draw their definition from one of the other clues (in this case 11 across). With this type of puzzle, you either … Read more >>

Independent 6593 by Dac

December 3, 2007 at 1:42 pm by NealH

After a really tough puzzle by Tees last week, I was relieved to find this one was a little easier. I even had some time to read the paper (although most of the … Read more >>

Independent No 6587 by Tees – Paradise Made Difficult

November 26, 2007 at 1:42 pm by NealH

I found this very tough, although the Milton theme helped a lot if you were at all familiar with his work. My favourite clue was 25 – a superbly hidden anagram. Across 8 … Read more >>

Independent No 6581 by Mordred

November 19, 2007 at 1:29 pm by NealH

Across 9 Capo: Truman Capote (US writer) – TE (note from doh, re..) 10 Metalloidal: (made a lot ill)*. Tricky word. 13 Octopod: Initial letters running backwards. Also some & lit because the … Read more >>