How to Solve Difficult Crossword Puzzles
Accomplishment isn't always measured in money and big corner offices. Something as simple as solving a difficult crossword puzzle can be equally as fulfilling. Actually, anyone who has solved a difficult crossword knows it is certainly not that simple. The task can be helped immensely by a few strategic steps geared to helping you solve those challenging crossword clues.
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Instructions
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Go through the entire puzzle once. Familiarize yourself with the clues and immediately fill in all the obvious answers. If you are on a roll in a certain corner, continue with that corner until it is exhausted. Then continue to methodically go through the puzzle until you have many clues memorized.
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Go through the entire puzzle again. Here is where you fill in guesses, good estimations or parts of clues you know are a given, like a long title staring with the word "The."
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Attempt to crack the theme. Many of the more difficult crosswords have an ongoing theme throughout the puzzle. Once you crack one of the long, theme-laden answers, move to the other long answers to see how the theme connects to them. For instance, some crosswords will have animal or flower names as part of the theme or even use symbols instead of letters.
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Go through the entire puzzle again. It's important to periodically review the entire puzzle. You'll be amazed at how answers that stymied you the first, second or third time around will all of a sudden come to you in a flash with regular review.
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Pick up the telephone. Call your friends, family members, neighbors, classmates and anyone else you know who would have specific information on a certain clue that stumps you. You are not calling to ask for help in the entire puzzle, just a clue you know a certain person would have the answer to. Perhaps your dad is a Civil War buff, your mom an art history maven, your brother a doctor and your sister studied French for six years in college. There are four answers solved right there if they happen to be in those categories.
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Turn to outside sources. Some may call this cheating, but it's also another tool to use to solve difficult crosswords. Crossword puzzle dictionaries are a major help. They can be printed versions you get at the book store or you can try some online versions for free. Other sources include clue-specific searches on the Internet, maps, history and other specialty books. See the Resources section below for a popular crossword puzzle dictionary.
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Put the puzzle aside. There will come a point where the mere sight of the unfinished crossword puzzle will make you want to vomit. Go do something else for an hour, day, week or however long it takes to get the sickening feeling out of your system. Return to the puzzle when you are ready, repeating the steps until the thing is solved or you tear your hair out, whichever comes first.
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Tips & Warnings
Use pencil. If you hate how pencil smears on newsprint, go ahead and use a pen but press lightly. Also keep some correction fluid or tape nearby so that you can white out any wrong letters when you realize they are wrong. See the Resources section below for a good crossword correction tape. Leave the crossword on an end table or bring it on the bus to poke at it, little by little, until it is fully solved.
Resources
- Photo Credit Photo and partial puzzle solving by Ryn Gargulinski
