How to Solve Crossword Puzzles: A Beginner's Guide

To solve a crossword puzzle, start with the fill-in-the-blank clues and the short answers you know for certain, then use their letters to crack the crossing answers. Read each clue for its signals: an abbreviation in the clue means the answer is abbreviated, a question mark means wordplay, and the answer always matches the clue's tense, number and part of speech. Skip anything you do not know on the first pass and come back once crossings give you letters.

That is the core method. Below you will find each clue convention explained with examples, the short "crosswordese" words worth memorizing, a solving routine and a primer on cryptic clues.

How a crossword grid works

In a standard American-style crossword, every white square belongs to both an Across answer and a Down answer, so every letter is "checked" by a second clue. That is the most important fact for solving: when you are unsure about one answer, the crossing answer can confirm or correct it.

A few other conventions are useful to know:

• Size. Weekday newspaper puzzles are usually 15 by 15 squares. Sunday puzzles are often 21 by 21.
• Symmetry. The black squares usually form a pattern that looks the same when the grid is rotated half a turn.
• Answer length. Answers are normally at least three letters long.
• Multi-word answers. Phrases run together with no spaces. The answer to a clue like "Gotcha!" might be ISEE, meaning I SEE.
• Themes. Many puzzles have a theme linking the longest answers, sometimes explained by a final "revealer" answer.

In the New York Times, difficulty rises from Monday to Saturday. Monday is the gentlest place to begin.

Clue conventions every solver should know

Crossword clues follow rules that are rarely written down. Once you know them, many clues that looked impossible become fair.

The answer matches the clue's grammar

If the clue is plural, the answer is plural. If it is past tense, the answer is past tense. If it is an adjective, the answer is an adjective.

• "Felines" → CATS
• "Escaped" → FLED
• "Chilly" → COLD

This is a powerful check. If your answer is a noun but the clue is a verb, one of them is wrong.

Abbreviations signal abbreviated answers

When a clue contains an abbreviation or the tag "Abbr.", the answer is shortened too.

• "Mo. after Jan." → FEB
• "Doctors' org." → AMA
• "Sept. follower" → OCT

Fill-in-the-blank clues

A blank, shown as a line of underscores, asks you to complete a familiar phrase. These are usually the easiest clues in the grid, so look for them first.

• "___ and void" → NULL
• "Hold ___ horses!" → YOUR
• "Once upon a ___" → TIME

"E.g.", "for one", "perhaps" and "say"

These words mean the clue gives an example and the answer is the category, or the other way around.

• "Oak, e.g." → TREE
• "Poodle, for one" → DOG
• "Red or blue, say" → COLOR

Foreign-language clues

A place or language in the clue tells you the answer is in that language.

• "Friend, in Paris" → AMI
• "Sea, in France" → MER
• "Yes, in Spanish" → SI

The question mark means wordplay

A question mark at the end warns you not to read the clue literally. It usually marks a pun or a second meaning.

• "Flower of London?" → THAMES (a river is something that flows)
• "Present time?" → BIRTHDAY (a time for presents)

When a clue ends with a question mark, ask what else each word could mean.

Quotation marks mean spoken words

A clue in quotation marks wants something a person might say with the same meaning.

• "Gotcha!" → ISEE
• "Not so fast!" → WAIT

Cross-references

A clue such as "See 17-Across" or "With 23-Down, a famous duo" means two answers work together. Solve the easier partner first.

Crosswordese: short words that keep appearing

Crossword grids need lots of short words with friendly letters, especially vowels. That has created a small vocabulary of answers that appear far more often in puzzles than in conversation. Learning them pays off quickly.

You will spot these in almost every beginner puzzle. After a few weeks they start filling themselves in.

A beginner's solving routine

• Pass one: skim for easy wins. Read the fill-in-the-blanks and short clues. Write in only what you are sure of.
• Pass two: work the crossings. Pick the area with the most letters filled and focus there. Two or three letters in a five-letter answer often make it obvious.
• Pencil in likely endings. If the clue is plural, an S at the end is likely, but not certain (MICE and GEESE are plural too). Past-tense clues often end in ED. Write these lightly, or leave them blank until a crossing confirms them.
• Switch direction when stuck. If an Across clue will not come, try the Downs through it.
• Say partial answers aloud. Reading _ H _ M E S aloud is surprisingly effective at triggering the word.
• Take a break. Many solvers find that a stuck corner opens up after a few minutes away.
• Check your work. An answer that fits the letters but not the clue's grammar is usually wrong.

Pattern recognition helps a lot here. Our guide to five-letter word patterns covers common letter shapes, and the 5-letter words tool is handy for reviewing a pattern after you finish.

Cryptic crosswords: the basics

Cryptic crosswords are popular in British newspapers, and they work differently. Every cryptic clue has two parts:

• A definition, which is a normal clue for the answer, placed at the very start or very end.
• Wordplay, which builds the same answer by another route.

The number in brackets is the answer's length. The trick is that the surface reading of the clue is designed to mislead you, so the first job is to find where the definition ends and the wordplay begins.

Common wordplay types

How the examples work:

• SILENT: "Quiet" is the definition. "Out" tells you to rearrange LISTEN.
• ALE: "Beer" is the definition. "Some" tells you the answer is hidden inside "pAL Enjoys".
• STOP: "Stop" is the definition. POTS read backward gives STOP.
• SAIL: "Boat part" is the definition. "We hear" tells you the answer sounds like "sale".
• CARPET: "Floor covering" is the definition. CAR (vehicle) plus PET (dog, perhaps) builds it.
• PAINT: "Colour" is the definition. PINT (measure of beer) holds A inside it.

Anagram clues are the easiest way into cryptics because the fodder letters are right in front of you. Our guide to solving anagrams quickly covers the techniques, and the anagram solver can confirm an answer when you want to check your reasoning.

Common beginner mistakes

• Writing in a guess too firmly. A wrong answer in ink poisons every crossing. Leave doubtful letters blank until a second clue agrees.
• Solving clues in numerical order. The clue list is not a to-do list. Jump to wherever you have letters.
• Ignoring the clue's grammar. "Ran" wants a past-tense verb, not a noun. Checking tense and number catches many near misses.
• Taking question-mark clues literally. If a straightforward answer fits a question-mark clue too neatly, it is probably not the intended one.
• Giving up on a hard day. Friday and Saturday puzzles are built to resist. Finishing a few answers is still progress, and it trains you for the next attempt.

How to get better, fast

• Solve early-week puzzles regularly. Consistency beats difficulty. A daily Monday-level puzzle builds recognition of clue styles.
• Read the answers you missed. Understanding why a clue led to its answer is where most learning happens.
• Keep a short list of new words. Crosswords are full of words you half know. Looking them up turns them into words you can use. The word of the day is an easy way to keep that habit going.
• Mix in other word games. Anagrams sharpen letter rearranging, word searches sharpen scanning, and ladders sharpen spelling. Our vocabulary games page lists more ideas, and the word search strategies guide pairs well with crossword practice.

If you want a small crossword in your pocket, WordFren includes a Crossword game: free players get one each day and Pro members can play unlimited puzzles. Like every game in the app, each answer comes with its definition, an example sentence and pronunciation, so the words you fill in stick.