Clues with fewer letters: Clues that have fewer letters in the answer tend to be easier to solve, so it's a good idea to start with these clues. These are simple, straightforward teasers that ask you to solve direct questions. There are a few common types of these clues: Start with an easier puzzle, then work your way up. If you’re looking up Monday and Tuesday NYT crosswords’ cheats, don’t discourage yourself by trying a Thursday grid. Easy puzzles are a great place to start, with crosswords later in the week getting progressively harder. Don’t expect to be a wiz at a difficult crossword right off the bat!

The World’s Sunday crossword begins to spread to other newspapers. The Pittsburgh Press publishes their first crosswords this year.

How to Be an Expert Crossword Puzzle-Solver

The book Two Across by Jeff Bartsch tells the story of a romance in which two brainy people communicate their love via clever crosswords.

It can be hard to understand a crossword clue because crossword-writers are absolutely notorious for being cryptic. A good crossword player is typically a master riddle-solver, as one has to really think outside of the box to figure out some of these more difficult hints. Here are a few crossword-solving tips: Anagram Clues: Anagram clues give a clue to an answer that must be rearranged to form the word that the solver must fill in. For example, the clue might be "Rearrange the letters to find a type of fish" and the answer could be "SALMON." Question marks often imply wordplay or puns. Usually, crossword clues are written with no punctuation at all, so if you see a question mark, it implies that the answer won’t be as straightforward as you’d think. Think of puns, wordplay, homonyms, and less-obvious answers. Read the clue carefully: Crossword clues can be written in a way that is meant to be misleading, so it's important to read the clue carefully and think about what it is really asking for.In crossword puzzles, uncommon clues are those that are not easily recognizable or familiar to most people. These clues can be more difficult to solve than more common clues, and can add an extra challenge to the puzzle. Here are a few examples of uncommon clues that you might encounter: Rare synonyms: Crossword clues can ask for synonyms that are not well-known or used frequently, which can make the puzzle more challenging. 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. Consider the all-important theme. Crossword writers frequently use themes or even tell stories with their clever puzzles. For instance, if the theme is ballet, an easy answer to “point of pain for dancers” might be “toe.”