neildubya – Page 10 – Fifteensquared

Independent 6655/Nimrod

Thu February 14, 2008 at 11:15 am by neildubya

I found this very tough but fun. There are still a few clues that I don’t fully understand though – 10a, 25a,27a and 18d. There’s also a Valentine’s Day Nina in the unchecked … Read more >>

Guardian 24,309 – Brendan : “Don’t bring me down”

Tue February 12, 2008 at 9:55 am by neildubya

I don’t have a lot of time this morning, so it was convenient that I got most of this quite quickly. Lots of long solutions, with lots of falling, dropping and coming to … Read more >>

Independent 6645/Morph

Fri February 8, 2008 at 2:50 pm by neildubya

Across 8 FAST FOOD – I think this could be considered an oxymoron because fasting means not eating at all. 9 NET,(LET)* – “stingy” is made all the more deceiving because of the … Read more >>

Independent 6649/Nimrod

Thu February 7, 2008 at 2:37 pmThu February 7, 2008 at 12:20 pm by neildubya

Across 1 A BIT OF ALL RIGHT – OK being another word for ALL RIGHT. 8 LET THEM EAT CAKE 9 (SO ONE ENCHAINED)* – CHEESE AND ONION. The capital R in “Rolls” … Read more >>

Guardian – 24303(Araucaria) By George!

Wed February 6, 2008 at 1:05 amTue February 5, 2008 at 4:58 pm by neildubya

My first blog and — as luck would have it — it’s the monkey-puzzle man himself. At first, I was regretting that third tequila last night but once the triple espresso kicked in, things started … Read more >>

Guardian 24,302 Rufus : “Baggsies !”

Mon February 4, 2008 at 9:37 am by neildubya

Another Monday, another Rufus – it’ s starting to become rather a comforting sight. Although I did stare at this puzzle to no good effect for a worrying length of time wondering if I’d … Read more >>

Guardian 24,300 – Enigmatist : Xenon the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

Fri February 1, 2008 at 1:14 pmFri February 1, 2008 at 10:46 am by neildubya

I always find Enigmatist crosswords difficult, and I’m prepared to accept that may be because of a shortage of horsepower between my ears. But this time I did get there. Lots of great clues … Read more >>

Independent 6639/Bannsider

Fri February 1, 2008 at 9:43 am by neildubya

In a comment a few weeks back, Eimi mentioned that his favourite clue of the year so far was in a forthcoming puzzle by Bannsider. Assuming this is that puzzle, then I’m none … Read more >>

Independent 6641/Virgilius

Tue January 29, 2008 at 12:57 pmTue January 29, 2008 at 12:01 pm by neildubya

Another thematic tour-de-force from Virgilius; this time almost every clue or answer has a royal flavour to it. Across 8 BALMORALS – which is a type of brimless cap. I think I half-remembered that … Read more >>

Independent 6633/Nimrod

Fri January 25, 2008 at 10:59 am by neildubya

Having just blogged Nimrod’s Thursday puzzle (6637) I can say that I found this one the easier of the two. I’m not really a big fan of long anagrams and I was lucky … Read more >>

Independent 6637/Nimrod – Double Trouble

Thu January 24, 2008 at 12:04 pm by neildubya

Some clever grid construction here as one phrase appears twice in the grid and there’s a Nina too (see 5a below for an explanation). I found this quite hard going in places – … Read more >>

Guardian 24293 Brummie : Tree or False

Thu January 24, 2008 at 1:00 pmThu January 24, 2008 at 10:26 am by neildubya

As previous discussed, I’m not a nature-boy, but “False Acacia” seems a tad obscure – oh well, thanks for the Botany lesson, Brummie. Otherwise quite a blood-thirsty set of clues todays with some great wordplay. … Read more >>

Independent crosswords now online

Wed January 23, 2008 at 3:40 pm by neildubya

The cryptic puzzle is here and the concise/simple puzzle is here. Each puzzle is currently a day late – so the one on the website right now is yesterday’s Virgilius. Prize puzzles will be published … Read more >>

Independent 6627/Punk (12-01-08)

Fri January 18, 2008 at 12:55 pm by neildubya

Across 1 (MARIA FOLLOWING)*,E – WILLIAM OF ORANGE. “After the Reformation” is the anagram indicator so the capitalized R is more than a bit cheeky. 9 DUMB,FOUND – great definition (“stump”) but does … Read more >>

Guardian 24,286 – Paul : Fizzy Pop

Wed January 16, 2008 at 2:36 pmWed January 16, 2008 at 10:02 am by neildubya

A man notices a blonde sucking on the bottom of a Coke can. Curious, he asks her what she’s doing. “Duh! It says for best taste drink by date on the bottom.” ACROSS … Read more >>