Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with crossword

Cross Thread

cmoj — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 11:09:52 -0800

Why do crosswords have to be symmetrical? I've been constructing crosswords and reading about constructing crosswords. There are all kinds of conventions, but some of them seem to exist solely to make construction more of a feat.

What does a symmetrically gridded puzzle give the solver?
Ditto for symmetrical theme answers?
Why does the size have to be odd (I've seen it explained that it leaves a central row and column, but so what?)?
Is it all just because the NYT has said so for a hundred years?

What's a seven-letter word for "disseminate"?

John of Michigan — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 09:39:06 -0800

I've taken a huge step into the dark side of dorkdom, and I've begun writing my own crosswords. Mostly for fun, mostly to see if I could actually do it. Turns out I can. Now, how can I go about getting these published somewhere? Online, magazines, newspapers--I really have no idea how to start. Suggestions?

Short battle for sausage (8)

xchmp — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 16:50:08 -0800

A friend and I once tried to complete a cryptic crossword. Neither of us seem to have the right sort of mind for this, so we only managed to work out a handful of answers. To this day we're haunted by one of the clues that mocked our lateral thinking abilities. It's been five years! Help us end the mystery: Short battle for sausage (8 letters).

Where are the pages of statistics for smartletes?

eisenkr — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 09:09:15 -0800

There are lots of pages that display portraits of professional and amateur athletes next to their statistics. Where can I find portraits and statistics/rankings of the people who compete in more intellectual/less physical competitions? I'd love to see what the best (and not so great) chess, scrabble, and crosswords players look like.

Is there a book on the history of the crossword?

Del Chimney — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 06:15:16 -0800

My girlfriend is mildly addicted to cryptic crosswords. She’s also mad about History. Is there a book available that combines the two? I want to buy her a book about crosswords as a Xmas present. I’ve taken a look on Amazon and there are many how-to-solve-cryptic-crossword guidebooks available, but ideally I would like to find one that deals with the history of the puzzle, its most celebrated setters, and so on. A biography of the crossword, for want of a better term.

Would anybody have any recommendations for such a book?

Online Cryptic Crosswords

not sure this is a good idea — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 12:21:53 -0800

Free, printable, daily or weekly, online cryptic crossword? Most previous posts have focussed on those odd American style (all white with hard words and easy clues) puzzles. I am looking for UK style (lots of black squares, easy words with hard clues). The Guardian online (linked to previously) is no longer free.

I started doing these recently and am at about the level of a Rufus (Monday Guardian, Yorkshire Post, I think), but looking for something just a little more challenging. I don't live in the UK and really don't want to order more English-language printed material when I should be reading in Spanish. Hence the online requirement.

Thanks.

4. good crossword puzzle book

horseblind — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 11:31:27 -0800

Looking for good crossword puzzle books. I enjoy the Boston Globe puzzles online (alas, no Sundays unless I subscribe) and usually get a kick out of the themed puzzles in the print edition of The Onion. I tend to find puzzles from both of these fun, witty, clever and pretty fast paced. FWIW, I also enjoy the NYT puzzles but they just don't have that same feel as the previous sources. Dell books and the like are usually too easy and too repetitive within a given book (they drive me crazy.) Spiral bound or a spine that allows it to lie flat is a plus. I am willing to entertain the idea of puzzle to print from the internet provided it consistently comes close to the description I gave. Also, all crosswords, no other puzzles, no filler. I have read other MeFi/Ask MeFi crosswords posts and see nothing that stands out to me.

Free crosswords for small newsletters?

thecjm — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 10:06:18 -0800

I'm putting together a company newsletter and am looking for freely licensed and printable crossword and sudoku puzzles that I could put in the newsletter. I've seen plenty of links here and elsewhere to good web-based crosswords and even crossword generation software, but I'm looking for something freely available to use (my budget on this is $0), printable (or even better, something I can copy&paste so I can drop it right in my publishing software), and premade (I don't want to spend valuable time working these things up, and the thought of a company-themed crossword makes me cringe). Any leads or ideas? Also, the same but for Sudoku?

Best resouce for free printable crosswords?

iamisaid — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 12:18:18 -0800

Where can I find free printable crossword puzzles online for this lazy Sunday and beyond? Preferably a resource that lets me choose from a variety of difficulty levels or is geared more toward beginners than experts. A google search turns up a mixed bag of less than stellar results. Where are your favorites? If the answer involves installing a program like Across Lite (which I've only tinkered with in the past) and then printing from there, that's fine as well. And I'm aware that there are plenty of crossword books around, but I'd prefer to print on-demand. Thanks all.

Crossword creating software

caddis — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 16:19:13 -0800

What is the best software for creating crosswords, preferably ones that can be submitted to the New York Times, although I have no allusions here? Price and convenience, plus a good dictionary are concerns. It would also be great if this program is easily used by a ten year old. He is the driver, but I may want to use it myself a few times.

Landscape Painted with Tea

juv3nal — Thu, 24 May 2007 16:13:30 -0800

Anyone very familiar with Milorad Pavic's Landscape Painted with Tea? (english translation) This is a super longshot, but it irks me that I can't solve the crossword. Anyone have an faq/solution guide for it?
Also at the end of one of the sections there's a passage in German which I can't read. A summary of that would be much appreciated as well.

I vaguely also remember reading somewhere that the words in the ending can be read in different sequences to produce different outcomes? If someone could clear that up that'd be great too.

Good games for a word nerd?

tastybrains — Mon, 23 Apr 2007 17:48:05 -0800

What are some really fun computer-based word and/or trivia games for one player? Online or desktop-based are fine. (I did search for word games in the archives and didn't find anything, so I do apologize if this has been answered already...)

I've played PopCap's Bookworm Adventures through twice and already do an online crossword puzzle everyday. I need some new ways to have some geeky, brain-exercising fun. I am a word nerd, NOT a numbers nerd (e.g. I cannot stand Sudoku).

I love word games and general trivia as well. I like to play a quick round of something while I'm drinking my coffee in the morning and sometimes as a mental break at work or at night. Hit me with your recommendations!

crossword

adrober — Sun, 21 Jan 2007 11:49:03 -0800

How do I solve the Sunday Times crossword puzzle? I feel like I'm a smart person and yet every week I find myself humiliated at the hands of The New York Times. I can usually work a corner or sometimes a whole section. I've never solved a Sunday Times puzzle on my own. What are some strategies for getting good? If you're someone who can solve it, how do you go about it? Thanks.

Advice on breaking into the newspaper puzzle business?

vanoakenfold — Sun, 05 Nov 2006 08:40:21 -0800

I've invented my own type of unique, newspaper-publishable, word game. I would like to either make weekly editions of it to sell to weekly newspapers... individually by sending in months' worths of puzzles (or however they are distributed, such as by email/pdf/whatever) or perhaps license the rights to the format to newspaper/calendars/etc publishers thereby being able to create their own.

I've been inclined to perhaps starting out in smaller papers for negligible fees until/if it catches on, but I'm curious as to how it could be prevented from other papers and/or other word-game writer/editors from just duplicating my format (perhaps altering one aspect to make it unique) and creating their own without any royalty action taking place.

Secondarily, would you personally, with given such a task, prefer going the slow-buildup route of establishing a fanbase with negligible fees like I had intended, or querying the syndicators right off the bat instead?

Any links to recommendations or books about breaking into the newspaper puzzle business? I've considered even making up a whole slough of them and sending them off to a coloringbook publisher to (relatively) inexpensively print mass quantities to sell in book form also.

I'm certain it'll start out being a solo effort of just a hobby-level income, but perhaps if I can build it up great enough..

Deja Vu?

tasty — Sat, 16 Sep 2006 19:52:07 -0800

Does anyone know of the research paper (study) where they had people do a day-old crossword and they claimed that those people were able to solve those easier than new crossword puzzles? I saw it referenced in "Waking Life" and was wondering if it were a real paper.

about turn

tellurian — Fri, 12 May 2006 07:04:56 -0800

I love doing cryptic crosswords. I can spend hours over some clues and not get the answers. I go to sleep and then look at the crossword again the next morning and BAM, I get some of the answers straight away (rinse, repeat). It happens regularly. I talked to my partner about it and she opines that it's because I'm processing the clues in my sleep and so have the answers when I wake up. I'm somewhat skeptical of this, but on the off chance that she's right, what sort of mind exercise could I employ to obviate this sleep time delay to get the solutions quicker. I ask this because the crossword I do has a time restraint on submission of the solution for a prize - from Saturday to Thursday [first one received] (It's only a dictionary, but what the hey).

nytimes crossword reruns?

jetskiaccidents — Tue, 12 Jul 2005 14:10:43 -0800

Does the NY Times ever rerun its crossword puzzles? I started doing the NYT crossword today (no. 0531) in my local paper and it seemed oddly familiar. After filling in some more squares, I KNEW that I had done this crossword before, and within the past two months. I figured it was just a mistake, but the other local paper has the same repeat puzzle. Would they actually repeat crosswords in the Times and not expect obsessive puzzlers to notice? I haven't been a junkie long enough to really know. And if anyone who gets the NY Times could confirm that this is not just a mistake in both local papers, that would be great. The clue for 1 Down is "warhead weapon, briefly."

Do crossword puzzles cost more to make?

Slack-a-gogo — Sat, 05 Mar 2005 07:25:59 -0800

Why is it so hard to find a magazine of 100% crossword puzzles? Do crossword puzzle creators charge more than other puzzle creators? I've noticed that even the magazines that advertise "all crossword puzzles" on their covers actually seem to mean "mostly crossword puzzles". There are tons of word search and logic puzzle magazines that contain nothing else, but they always throw extra puzzle types into the crossword magazines. I'm wondering if this a calculated marketing concept or if it's a cost issue.