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 11,602 by Hoskins

Mon December 18, 2023 at 9:00 am by NealH

I found this mostly on the easy side with a few that I struggled to get at the end.

Independent 11,584 by Gila

Mon November 27, 2023 at 9:00 am by NealH

This was a very intricate and challenging puzzle.

Independent 11,566 by Tees

Mon November 6, 2023 at 9:00 am by NealH

I found this a slightly mixed bag, with a lot of nice clues but one or two where I struggled to justify the parsing. The breadth of Tees's vocabulary is, as ever, impressive.

Independent 11,548 by Stamp

Mon October 16, 2023 at 9:00 am by NealH

I've not seen this compiler before and I found it quite tricky in places.

Independent 11,530 by Filbert

Mon September 25, 2023 at 9:00 am by NealH

Another excellent puzzle with clues that were both concise and precise.

Independent 11,512 by Umpire

Mon September 4, 2023 at 9:00 am by NealH

Umpire is a new compiler to me and I did wonder if it was a made up name for the duration of the US Open tennis, but I can see that there have already been puzzles by this compiler that have been blogged on the site.

Independent 11,494 by Knut

Mon August 14, 2023 at 9:00 am by NealH

A very enjoyable and tricky puzzle.

Independent 11,476 by Bluth

Mon July 24, 2023 at 9:00 am by NealH

I found this to be a very enjoyable and inventive puzzle which was on the more difficult side.

Independent 11458 by Vigo

Mon November 27, 2023 at 5:30 pmMon July 3, 2023 at 9:00 am by NealH

With all the problems over the weekend, I’ve had to build the HTML for this entirely by hand. Therefore it’s unlikely there aren’t a few places where the clue text is wrong or has the wrong enumeration.

This was a mostly gentle puzzle, although I did struggle to work out the parsing of a couple.

Independent 11,440 by Kairos

Mon June 12, 2023 at 9:00 am by NealH

There was an excellent puzzle with lots of very subtle touches.

Independent 11,422 by Xestobium

Mon May 22, 2023 at 9:00 am by NealH

Xestobium (the scientific name for the Death Watch beetle) seems to have made a couple of previous appearances.

Independent 11,404 by Saladin

Mon May 1, 2023 at 9:00 am by NealH

I've not seen Saladin before, so I'm not sure if it's a new compiler or it's a pseudonym used for a special purpose.

Independent 11,386 by Wire

Mon April 10, 2023 at 9:16 am by NealH

An excellent and challenging puzzle.

Independent 11,368 by Vernon

Mon March 20, 2023 at 9:00 am by NealH

This was an entertaining puzzle which had some difficult clues.

Independent 11,350 by Filbert

Mon February 27, 2023 at 9:17 am by NealH

This was quite a bit tougher than normal for a Monday.