Crossword Puzzles 101If you are new to crossword puzzles, this page is for you. It explains what a crossword is and how to best tackle those clues.
What Are Crosswords?Crosswords are word puzzles laid out in grids, with black and white squares. The white squares are filled with letters to form words or phrases that pertain to clues you are given. The black squares are spacers between words.Typically the white square that begins a word is numbered and corresponds to a clue number. The Parts Of A Crossword TitleSome crosswords will have a fun title name, others will just state whether they are easy, medium, hard or challenging.The GridMost crossword grids consist of black and white squares set into a square or rectangular pattern.There are also diagram-less puzzles where the squares are all white and not numbered. The CluesClues are numbered and sorted into across and down columns for both diagram-less and regular crosswords.Crosswords that you find in newspapers are symmetrical. The grid of black and white squares remains the same when the puzzle is upside down. The answers are densely set and interlock. Every letter is used in both an across word and a down word. Free-form crossword puzzles have no particular shape and are not published in newspapers as a general rule. The answer words for free-form puzzles generally intersect in only a few places. The photo to the left is a sample of a symmetrical crossword puzzle. If you turned the grid upside down it would look the same as it does upright. Help Solving CrosswordWhen you have chosen a crossword to solve, the first step is to read the clues and note those that you think you can answer easily.The down column generally will contain the most easy to solve clues, so start with that column first. Write the answer next to the clue and do a quick check of the puzzle to see if you have the correct number of letters to fit into the grid. Once you have a few answers written down, start placing them in the grid. Work the grid from the words you have put into place. It's easier to solve some of the clues when you have a letter already in place. Crossword HelpersThe best crossword helpers to have are a college level dictionary and a crossword dictionary.I have a copy of Webster's Encyclopedia of Dictionaries that was found at a used book sale. It contains a regular dictionary as well as a x-word dictionary, medical and science dictionaries and more. It cost me less than a dollar!
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