Lesson 1 Getting Started as a Beginning Solver

Lesson 1 : Getting Started as a Beginning Solver

If you’re new to the New York Times crossword, start out with the easier Monday and Tuesday puzzles. The crosswords get harder as the week progresses, maxing out on Saturday— it’s easy to grow discouraged if you try tackling a hard crossword before you’ve gotten your feet wet with early-week puzzles.

“Cheat” by looking up answers when you first start in order to familiarize yourself with crossword conventions in cluing and fill. As you become more adept at solving without outside aids, you can wean yourself off them.

Take a look at the lists of words in this collection. You’ll soon become familiar with these words, which are used again and again in the Times crosswords, and with the sorts of clues used for them. Eventually it’ll be second nature to fill in the easier words.

Remember that even short entries can contain more than one word. A TO Z is essentially a three-word phrase. In the Times crossword, the clues will never tip you off to the number of words in a given entry.

Play around with your solving technique. Some people prefer to start with 1 -Across or 1-Down and move through the clues in order. Others like to focus on one quadrant at a time. Still others tend to jump around the grid, going wherever a clue they know leaps out at them.

Pay no attention to how long it takes you to solve a puzzle when you’re starting out. You’ll get faster over time.