Crossword blog

Tips, history, and guides for crossword fans. New to wordplay? Start with how to solve cryptic crosswords, then explore the rest. Prefer to just play? Jump in below.

• How to Solve Cryptic Crosswords: A Beginner's Guide

  A beginner's guide to solving cryptic crosswords: how the two-part clue works, the enumeration in brackets, and the main clue types — anagrams, hidden words, charades, containers and homophones.

• The History of the Crossword Puzzle: From 1913 to the New York Times

  The history of the crossword puzzle: Arthur Wynne's first 'Word-Cross' in 1913, the 1920s craze, the first crossword book, and how the New York Times finally gave in.

• What Is Crosswordese? The Words That Appear in Every Crossword

  Crosswordese is the set of odd little words that turn up in crossword after crossword. Learn what they are, why constructors use them, and a list of common crosswordese to memorise.

• Do Crossword Puzzles Help Prevent Dementia? What the Research Says

  Are crossword puzzles good for your brain? A clear, balanced look at the research on crosswords, memory and dementia risk — what the studies actually found, and what they didn't.

• How to Get Better at Crosswords: Habits of Fast Solvers

  Want to get better at crosswords? These are the habits that turn slow, frustrated solvers into fast ones — from working the crossings to reading clue conventions and building a daily streak.

• How Are Crossword Puzzles Made? Inside Crossword Construction

  How crossword puzzles are made, step by step: grid symmetry, theme entries, filling the grid, and writing the clues. A look inside the craft of crossword construction.

• Why Are Saturday Crosswords the Hardest? Crossword Difficulty by Day

  Why are Saturday crosswords the hardest and Monday the easiest? How crossword difficulty by day works, what makes late-week clues tricky, and how to climb the difficulty curve.

• Famous Crossword Puzzles and the Stories Behind Them

  The most famous crossword puzzles in history and the stories behind them: the D-Day crossword panic of 1944, the 1996 Election Day puzzle with two answers, and the very first grid.

• What Is a Rebus Crossword? The Puzzles That Break the Grid

  A rebus crossword squeezes multiple letters, a word, a number or a symbol into a single square. Here's what a rebus crossword is, how to spot one, and how to solve it.