Crossword Clue Book

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If you’re a teacher or a parent trying to learn how to create a crossword puzzle as an educational tool, it’s quite easy! Make a first pass in one direction, usually starting with 1 Across, and solve the most obvious clues first. For instance, solve for fill-in-the-blank questions first, as they tend to be more obvious than others. You’ll need a crossword-maker. Here are a few places where you can make your own free printable crossword puzzles for kids: Make a first pass in the other direction, usually starting with 1 Down, solving for the most obvious clues first and making sure there aren’t discrepancies. Find some obvious clues, and make sure they fit together when written out.

Despite the fact that female editors have been important to crossword construction for many years, there has been a distinct drop in female crossword editors and constructors in the Shortz era. To combat this, two different projects — Women of Letters and The Inkubator — seek to highlight female crossword creators. Word Crossy: Cheats for Word Crossy can be found with our crossword-solver tool. Imagine crosswords but with coin collection and competition. Fill-in-the-blank questions are typically easiest. Usually, you’ll see a common idiom, phrase, or pop culture reference that’s only missing one section. Keep in mind, though, that non-native English speakers might struggle with this because phrases can be so regional and colloquial; see this list of common idioms if you’re struggling. Wordscapes: Another app that’s not completely simple crosswords but more of a mix, Wordscapes is a lot of fun and great for people who aren’t great spellers. Repeat these steps, taking breaks occasionally to look at the crossword quiz answers in a new way. Do this until you’re done. Keep considering the theme, look out for anagrams, and consider consulting a synonym and antonym finder to find new words that are similar to the clues. Remember to think outside of the box when trying to fill in those boxes!The prolific Margaret Farrar is succeeded at The New York Times by Will Weng, who is later succeeded by Eugene T. Maleska.

The New York Times crossword is created by a team of skilled puzzle constructors and editors, who work to ensure that each puzzle is both entertaining and challenging for solvers. The puzzles are often themed, with clues and answers related to a particular subject or concept, and they frequently feature wordplay and puns. Image via NYT CrosswordThe most important tip is to practice. Max Deutsch took a month to master the Saturday New York Times crossword, and it required consistent practice, about 46 hours in total. He used a lot of memorization with letter training, memorizing crossword answers and clue pairings and completing a sizable number of puzzles. Practice is a huge piece of the puzzle but not the only piece, as harder puzzles like cryptic crosswords require divergent and flexible thinking. Depending on the difficulty and the specific newspaper editor, you might find cryptic crossword clues with weird traits like these: Famed lyricist Stephen Sondheim (of Sweeney Todd, Into the Woods, and A Little Night Music) introduces Americans to the British-style cryptic crossword in New York magazine.

Merriam-Webster Dictionary Crossword: The dictionary has a ton of word games, and this is just one of them. WSJ Crossword: The Wall Street Journal’s puzzles are, in their words, “America’s most elegant, adventurous, and addictive crosswords.” They’re frequently themed and can be quite difficult to figure out crossword solutions for. Approaching a crossword clue can be intimidating, especially if you're new to solving puzzles. The first step is to read the clue carefully and try to identify any obvious hints or clues. Is the clue a definition, a pun, or a play on words? What tense or part of speech is the answer likely to be? Answering these questions can give you a head start in figuring out the solution. Reversals involve reversing the letters of the clue to get the answer. The reverse of “era” is “are,” for example.

Somewhat ironically, The New York Times complains that crosswords are a “sinful waste” in which solvers “get nothing out of it except a primitive form of mental exercise, and success or failure in any given attempt is equally irrelevant to mental development.” ( The New York Times will later become famous for its top-notch crosswords.) Deletions involve deleting one or two letters to get a different answer. For instance, “mend” minus a letter could be “end” or “men.” One Clue Crossword: Answers can be difficult to figure out when you only get one clue, which is typically a picture. Many editors like homophones, which are words that sound like other words but are spelled differently. “Their,” “they’re,” and “there” are homophones.