Since puzzles vary in difficulty, clues can range from straightforward to tricky to downright confusing. Even though the solver thinks they have a better answer, the only right answer is the one that will work with the other answers.
Tricky Puzzle Examples
On more difficult puzzles, the designer will often use phraseology that will lead the solver in the wrong direction. For instance, a clue often given is “Nice time of the year” and the answer is only three letters.
The answer for this is always “ete”. Why? Because Nice in the clue doesn’t mean pleasant, it refers to the city in France, and ete is summer in French.
Note that Nice is capitalized. In the puzzle all first words of the clues are capitalized. If Nice were anything but the first word and was capitalized, it would be obvious, so, on more difficult puzzles, inspect first words closely. .
So, as a general rule, in harder puzzles consider multiple meanings of the words in the clue. Pen can be a writing instrument or a cage. Many words, like book or roast, can be both nouns and verbs.
Often used Puzzle Clues
Certain clues and answers show up often in puzzles, mostly because the answers consist of vowels. “Architect Saarinen” is popular because first name is Eero: unusual, and easy to fit with other words. Chaplin’s wife Oona is also used frequently, thanks to the double "o".
Abbreviations for fast airplanes (ssts) and first rate (aaa) can also help designers complete a puzzle. Using the answer “ess” for the letter S is bit like cheating, but allows plurals on multiple words.
Other Puzzle Hints
A well designed clue will match up tenses properly. A clue in the past should lead to an answer in the past. Likewise, if the clue is Fred’s partner, the correct answer should be Ginger, not Rogers, so that both refer to the first name.
If a clue has a word in parentheses, that word is added to the answer. For instance for the clue “trash (out)”, the correct answer is “throw”. Trash = throw out.
Experienced solvers will learn that rivers, mountain ranges and cities are often found in puzzles, along with figures from mythology and Greek letters. Pro ___ can be either bono or rata, or even possibly bowl.
Crosswords are only limited by the imagination of the designer. The trick of solving a puzzle is to think like the designer when working out the clues.
