8 Part I: Crossword Strategies and Brain Benefits
Becoming Familiar with Some
Puzzle Components
I want to first explain a few basics about how crossword puzzles are constructed.
Maybe you’ve never thought about it before, but puzzle constructors follow some
pretty strict rules when they sit down to create new puzzles. I’m not just talking
about the fact that some clues are labeled “Across” because their answers are
written horizontally on the crossword grid, and some clues are labeled “Down”
because their answers are entered vertically on the grid. The rules they follow are
a bit more complicated than that, and knowing them provides information you can
use to develop your own crossword-solving strategy. Here are a few key rules:
✓ Each crossword puzzle grid is a perfect square and is perfectly symmet-
rical. In other words, the pattern of black and white squares is the same
if you look at the puzzle right-side-up and upside-down. These facts don’t
affect how you solve the puzzle, but they’re part of what makes a cross-
word puzzle a thing of beauty.
✓ On a crossword puzzle grid, you shouldn’t encounter any unchecked
squares — white squares that are used in an Across entry but not in a
Down entry, or vice versa. If unchecked squares were allowed, that would
make your life harder — you’d have only one opportunity to figure out
what belongs in that square. Instead, you always get two chances to fill a
square: by solving the Across clue or the Down clue.
✓ The phrasing of the clues largely determines the difficulty of the puzzle.
The answers themselves may be words you use every day, but the clues
may or may not lead you directly to the answers. That’s part of the beauty
of making crosswords: The puzzle constructor can be straightforward or
extremely creative and oblique, depending on how easy or difficult a puzzle
needs to be. And that’s part of the beauty of working crosswords: The more
time you spend with a particular puzzle, the more familiar you’ll become
with how the puzzle constructor is phrasing the clues.
✓ Each clue should be the same part of speech as its answer. Puzzle con-
structors aren’t perfect, and sometimes they mess up this rule, but in gen-
eral you can rely on this being true. If the clue calls for a verb, the answer
will be a verb.
✓ No clue should contain a significant word that appears in its answer. For
example, “Chicago Sox” would be a lousy clue for the answer WHITESOX.
If you find yourself attracted to the symmetry of the crossword grid and won-
dering whether you have what it takes to construct puzzles, pick up a copy of
Crossword Puzzle Challenges For Dummies by Patrick Berry (Wiley). In it, you’ll
find all kinds of information about how to craft a terrific crossword.