neildubya

I found this really difficult but never frustratingly so. There seemed to be just right mix of easy clues to get you started and tough ones to stop you getting too cocky. I … Read more >>

A new name for the Independent but one our regular readers will certainly recognise! I don’t think I’ve ever seen a crossword attributed to more than one setter before, although the Guardian does … Read more >>

There was a lot to admire in this puzzle but I can’t say that I enjoyed it that much. I found it a bit of slog and I filled in too many (for … Read more >>

A trickier than usual puzzle from Phi, which is to be expected for a Saturday. A few words I didn’t know but the wordplay is as fair ever so they weren’t too tricky … Read more >>

A nice puzzle from Mr Friday-but-also-occasionally-Saturday. Across 1 HR in COME – “on the contrary” here indicates that you should do the reverse of what is indicated by the wordplay. Nice clue, reads … Read more >>

Listener solvers will recognise the pseudonym but I think this is the first Glow-worm puzzle to appear in the Independent since we started this blog. I found it pretty easy but good fun … Read more >>

As with my last review of a Nimrod puzzle there were a few clues in this that I didn’t understand so I’m obviously still having problems tuning in. To be fair, I don’t … Read more >>

We’re looking for another Independent crossword solver to join our team. You’ll need to be able to post once a week (on any weekday as we have a rota which changes each week) … Read more >>

Got off to a slow start, then raced through most of the puzzle and ground to a halt with 5A and 2D. I also twigged one part of theme before even solving a … Read more >>

A bit easier than last week’s Nimrod I think but there were still a few I didn’t understand. I’m obviously not tuned in to the Nimrodian frequency at the moment but that didn’t … Read more >>

I found this quite tricky after 4 or 5 clues and couldn’t make any impact at all. Maybe that’s what happens when you try to solve a puzzle at 6.20am. Anyway, once I’d … Read more >>

I usually find Monk quite difficult but this wasn’t too tricky. I guessed the phrase that appears in the unchecked letters on the sides of the grid fairly early on so I filled … Read more >>