Chapter 1: Completing the Grid: How to Solve a Crossword 9
Considering the Theme
Many crossword puzzles — including those you find in Part II of this book —
are developed around a central theme. What does that mean? It means that the
puzzle constructor gives the crossword a title (other than just a number), and
some, or possibly all, of the clues in the puzzle relate to that title — another
tool to help you establish your puzzle-solving strategy. You just have to figure
out what the title means!
Here are a few examples from this book:✓ One of the Easy puzzles in Part II is titled “New Shoes,” as in “Baby needs a
new pair of shoes.” Some of the clues and answers relate to gambling.
✓ You can find a Tough puzzle titled “Ringing in the Ears” in Part II that con-
tains clues and answers relating to things that make noise.
✓ One of the Treacherous puzzles in Part II is titled “Off to the Shrink” and
features psychiatric terms and phobias.
Identifying Specific Types
of Hints and Clues
In any crossword puzzle, you’re bound to find various types of clues. In the fol-
lowing sections, I explain some of the most common types you’ll encounter and
offer hints for solving them.Filling in blanks
The fill-in-the-blank clue is often the easiest type to solve, which is why I men-
tion it first. The clue usually takes the form of a familiar phrase or a title (of a
book, movie, play, or TV show, for example). The puzzle constructor has left
out one or more words from the phrase or title, and she uses an underline to
indicate where those words are missing.
Here’s an example: “A Tale ___ Cities.” Even if you haven’t read Dickens for
years, you may recall that the novel referenced here is A Tale of Two Cities.
That means the answer to this clue is OFTWO, and that’s what you’d write in
the crossword grid.