How to Master the New York Times Crossword Puzzle

Love the New York Times Crossword but find yourself intimated by it? There’s no need to be. Once you understand how they structure their puzzles, you’ll be doing it in ink in no time.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. Know that the New York Times Crossword comes out seven days a week and each day offer a different difficulty level with Monday being the easiest and Saturday being the hardest. Sunday’s puzzle can be a mixed bag but it always involves some sort of play on words related to a particular theme listed at the top.

2. Look over the puzzle and find the clues that offer a word with a space before or after it. For example, Egg ___. These kinds of clues are usually the easiest because you already have one word. In this case, the answer could be shell, nog, white or another word, but at least you have something to work with.

3. When doing the New York Times Crossword, you have to think outside the box. They don’t usually offer clues with obvious answers. For example, the clue “one who delivers” might yield an answer of cab, mom, jokester or UPS guy.

4. Every answer must match its clue in terms of style. For example, if the clue is plural, the answer must be plural. If the clue is stated in the past tense, the answer must be in the past tense. If a clue has an abbreviation, the answer will also have an abbreviation. For example, the clue “a DR.’s second scalpel area” might yield an answer of “ortwo,” meaning “operating room two.”

5. Be aware that if a clue has a question mark after it, that means the answer will be cute in some way. For example, if the clue is “Judicial cover-up?” the answer will be “robe.”

Tips & Warnings

• The more you do the New York Times Crossword puzzle, the better you’ll get at it. You’ll begin to get comfortable with their style and you’ll even recognize words they tend to use often.

Resources

• New York Times Crossword Puzzle Subscription