Crosswords

Never a cross word...

Crosswords are one of the most popular and enduring of all puzzles.

A perennial favourite of magazines and newspapers, the crossword has seemingly forever graced the back page of many magazines and sold millions of books.

The crossword puzzle can test both our vocabulary and our logical abilities; it tests our thinking faculties and ability to recall synonyms. With cryptic crosswords there are all sorts of techniques and triggers that you need to learn and use. This article focusses on the simpler, quick crosswords, rather than cryptic crosswords which would be another article in itself.

When solving a quick crossword, what tips can you employ?

Well, first of all there is no need to start at the top left and work your way across and down, though many people do this it is not necessarily the best way.

It is usually advisable to scan the list of clues first and see if there are any where you think there is only one possible answer (synonym) with a quick crossword. For instance, clues such as 'win' are not the best starting point since there are so many possible answers.

But if the clue has one specific answer, then write in those answers first.

Then work through using the clues you have for words to help you solve other words. Clearly the more letters you have the easier the clue usually is to solve. The first letter of a word is, of course, particularly useful. Also look for clues that have longer words for answers as these can often be easier to solve straight away as most synonyms for a clue will be eight or less letters long.

When you get stuck on a crossword, remember there are certain hints and tips you may be able to use to guess likely letters and carry on. Looking at the tense is one important thing you can do.

For instance, if the clue is 'guessing' but you are not sure of the answer, then remember it is reasonably like that it will end in 'ing' too. Now, if that 'g' were the first letter of another word you can't get, then see what you can think of if it were 'g' - if there is a candidate then it is likely this is the combination. So even though you don't know one answer, you can guess its likely ending to solve another clue.

Similarly with the past tense; words will often end in '-ed' for instance. Also look for plurals as these are of course likely to end in 's'.

When you start to struggle, particularly with quick crosswords it is useful to think about the word for other meanings.

For instance, if the clue is 'minute' then most of us will automatically be thinking of words to do with time. But remember that it could also be 'minute' as in tiny, or small. Often when you get really stuck on a clue it is because there is another meaning for the word that you have not thought of so far.

If you get really stuck, there is always the synonym dictionary; though for many people this is basically cheating it can of course trigger you along a chain of thought and lead to the answer, or indeed it may give you the answer directly from the page.

If you are looking to buy crosswords or have a promotional crossword created rather than just get some tips on playing crosswords, then please visit this buy crossword puzzles page.

Crosswords

Author: Dan

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Last Updated: Sep 6th 2006

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