neildubya – Page 5 – Fifteensquared

Independent 6789/Phi (19-07-08)

July 25, 2008 at 10:43 am by neildubya

Spot the Nina time: the top and bottom rows of unchecked letters have SHOPPING PRECINCT. Inside the grid, there’s MARKS and SPENCER, along with BOOTS and BORDERS (although I guess one or both … Read more >>

Independent 6792/Dac

July 23, 2008 at 11:01 am by neildubya

After the surprise of Phi on a Tuesday, order is restored to crossword universe today. As ever with Dac this was mostly easy, completely fair and a pleasure to solve. I don’t understand … Read more >>

Independent 6783/Bannsider (12-07-08)

July 18, 2008 at 10:20 amJuly 18, 2008 at 9:22 am by neildubya

Brilliant puzzle. Very tough, but completely worth the effort it took to solve. I could have said something complimentary about almost every clue but I was afraid that might give the impression that … Read more >>

Independent 6785/Virgilius

July 15, 2008 at 11:46 am by neildubya

Easy, enjoyable and cleverly constructed puzzle from Virgilius with a theme explained in the three across answers in the middle of the grid, all of which are homophones of Ts. Every answer has … Read more >>

Situation Vacant

July 15, 2008 at 8:11 am by neildubya

One of our Guardian bloggers is stepping down from active duty so we have an opening. You don’t need to be a super solver but you will need to be able to blog … Read more >>

Independent 6777/Scorpion

July 11, 2008 at 11:30 am by neildubya

This was the best prize puzzle I’ve done in some time. That’s not to say the others weren’t any good, just that this one was really good. Lots of great clues and invention, … Read more >>

Independent 6782/Phi

July 11, 2008 at 10:30 am by neildubya

I had a feeling this might turn out to be pangrammatic when answers like 14,17a and 4 went in. I found this a bit tougher than usual for Phi and had to “reveal” … Read more >>

Guardian 24436 – placeholder

July 9, 2008 at 3:31 pm by neildubya

I haven’t heard from today’s blogger so I’m going to assume he can’t post for some reason. So feel free to start discussing the puzzle now…

Independent 6771/Nestor (28-06-08)

July 4, 2008 at 11:30 am by neildubya

I found this very easy but very enjoyable, as always from Nestor. Across 1 (BANAL MINUTIAE N)* – UNMAINTAINABLE. Had to UNsomethingABLE really. 11 RE,CU in SQUAT 12 A RANT in TELL,A 17 … Read more >>

Independent 6775/Nimrod

July 3, 2008 at 11:38 am by neildubya

A bit of a mixed bag this: very tough in places, very easy elsewhere. Still don’t understand 10, 11 and 19 though. Across 1 ERA,SPOT< in TRICES – TRICERATOPSES. I found this very … Read more >>

Independent 6765/Tees (21-06-08)

June 30, 2008 at 8:05 am by neildubya

Apologies – I wrote this up last week and then forgot to publish it. Across 9 (CULT AWARE)* – CATERWAUL. I liked “heated call” as the definition. 11 (ON ISLAM)* – OSMANLI 12/15 … Read more >>

Independent 6767/Virgilius

June 24, 2008 at 12:57 pm by neildubya

Great puzzle as usual from Virgilius but if there’s something going on here connected with 1/29 then it’s passed me by completely. Across 1/29 (I REPUBLIC SIMPLETON)* – SUBLIMINAL PERCEPTION. Haven’t the faintest … Read more >>

Guardian 24422 Rufus

June 23, 2008 at 10:28 am by neildubya

A typically pleasant Monday puzzle from Rufus with at least two classy clues (15d and 24a). I still don’t understand why we must always get an easy puzzle on Monday. There’s always the simpler crossword in … Read more >>

Independent 6764/Phi

June 20, 2008 at 12:04 pm by neildubya

Across 1 (MATERIAL SNAG)* – MARGINAL SEAT. 9 ORPHANAGE – I think this is a reference to Wilde’s line from The Importance of Being Earnest: “to lose one parent, Mr Worthing, may be … Read more >>

Independent 6759/Phi (14-06-08)

June 20, 2008 at 10:00 am by neildubya

I’ve always had something of a fascination with the 7 for 28 (maybe because I did my degree in English Lit) so this was fairly easy for me as I’d heard of all … Read more >>