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Crossword puzzles are an extremely popular pastime. In addition, they sharpen the brain and increase vocabulary. Graded from «easy» to «difficult», some seem almost impossible to complete. It is recommended that novices start with the «easy» ones and progress, up the ladder, step by step. Get a sharpened pencil or two and an eraser, but first, read on.
Things You Should Know
- Fill-in-the-blank clues are generally the easiest.
- Look for the theme of the puzzle and use that to help you solve confusing clues.
- Study missing letters carefully to find potential options.
- Review the puzzle when you’re done to make sure you haven’t made any mistakes.
Steps
-
1
Solve the fill-in-the-blank clues first, as they’re usually easier than the others. Then, you’ll have a network of answers from which to work. Solve as many of the squares as you can from the network, and then start at the #1 box, across, then down. Fill in the word if it fits both directions. Then do the same with the next box until you fill in the words you are sure of. If unsure, write your potential letters very lightly inside the boxes. Continue like this, filling in words you are unsure of, but fit into the down and across boxes.[1]
-
2
Return to the start, making a second pass through the clues. Now that you have a few letters pencilled in, a correct answer might just pop up in your memory. Ensure that the letters fit into the other numbered boxes as well. It is not a correct word, remember, unless it fits perfectly with every box number it touches.[2]
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3
Repeat these steps until the puzzle is solved or until completely stumped. Now the fun begins as you start to find the letters for each remaining word.[3]
-
4
Spend a long time thinking about the «theme» clues. Often, this is key to puzzle solving. For example, if the theme clues are based on famous crossword puzzlers and you do not know much about it, look up «crosswords» on Wikipedia.[4]
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5
Study the missing letters. There are only just so many syllables in the English language and only a few letters will work with both of the words that cross. Take guesses and see if they fit.[5]
-
6
Review the puzzle and the clues you missed or clues you derived without any knowledge of the subject. Put these to memory.[6]
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Add New Question
-
Question
If I do a puzzle in parts with breaks in between, will it still help improve my memory?
Yes, it should.
-
Question
How do I find a good strategy to complete a crossword puzzle?
Answer the clues you know first, then work from those.
-
Question
Late 1940s — late 1960s child is called what?
A baby-boomer.
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Newspapers running crosswords will increase the difficulty as the week goes on: Monday’s puzzle will be the easiest and Friday’s will be the hardest. Harder puzzles often have fewer blocked squares than easier ones. Always start with the easy ones, to get the idea of how it works. Follow with the medium level until you feel ready for the more difficult ones.
-
Expand your knowledge of trivial subjects by watching Jeopardy or reading.
-
The words in a crossword are usually composed of all common letters.
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Things You’ll Need
- Crossword Puzzle
- Pencils
- Crossword Dictionary (optional)
References
About This Article
Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 111,524 times.
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Crossword Help, Clues & Answers
Struggling to get that one last answer to a perplexing clue?
We can help you solve those tricky clues in your crossword puzzle.
Search thousands of crossword puzzle answers on Dictionary.com.
Puzzle solving has an inherent appeal to ESL students and is an active way of learning or revising vocabulary. Students associate word puzzles with recreation and can be less daunting as review tools or even as a test. By substituting a visual-spacial relationship between meaning and definition, puzzles engage more students with the materials and deepen their mastery of the English lexis. No wonder people have used word puzzles in the classrooms for many years!
There are many types of word puzzles for all ages including adults! I like the fact that I can have a number of different unique word puzzles created to printout on the same topic. So when we are studying a topic in English, say “Family and Friends”, I can print out six different sets then split the class into six groups and give them each a unique puzzle to solve.
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Recently, I decided to let the students (in their groups) create word puzzles themselves for their classmates to solve. I assign each group their “mission” and explain the kind of puzzle they should make online (you can download the instructions here). They have to send me the digital copy at the end of the lesson so I could produce enough copies for the rest of the class. During revision time, the group that created the puzzles take the center stage and discuss the answers.
Here are some word puzzles I use in my class.
Some of them sound complicated than they really are so don’t faint. If my students were able to do these, so can you! You will find the step-by-step guide how to create these word puzzles on the links provided.
1. Double-Puzzle
A double puzzle is a puzzle where students first need to unscramble clue words, then use letters from those clue words to decode the final word/phrase. The letters for the final phrase can be numbered, making the Double Puzzle slightly easier to solve.
2. Word Search
Word Search is a type of word puzzles that consists of the letters of words placed in a grid, which usually has a rectangular or square shape. The objective of this puzzle is to find and mark all the words hidden inside the box.
3. Crossword
Probably the most popular of all, a crossword is another word puzzles that normally takes the form of a square or a rectangular grid of white and black shaded squares. The goal is to fill the white squares with letters, forming words or phrases, by solving clues which lead to the answers.
4. Caesar Cipher
The Caesar cipher is one of the simplest forms of encryption and is named after Julius Caesar who used it to communicate with his army. Also known as a shift cipher, each letter in the original alphabet (called the plaintext) is replaced by a letter some fixed number of positions up or down the alphabet.
5. Cryptogram
A cryptogram is a type of puzzle that consists of a short piece of encrypted text where each letter is replaced by a different letter or number. You solve the cryptogram with a trial and error process, guessing the letters that have been replaced.
6. Polybius Square
A Polybius Square is a table that allows someone to translate letters into numbers. Each letter is then represented by its coordinates in the grid. In order to fit the 26 letters of the alphabet into the 25 spots created by the table, the letters i and j are usually combined. To encipher a message you replace each letter with the row and column in which it appears. To decipher a message you find the letter that intersects the specified row and column.
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Bonus!
The following links are lesson plans from Education World that provide an easy way to incorporate specific puzzles into your curriculum.
- The Wright Puzzle
- Puzzle Boxes for Any Subject
- Heartbreaking Puzzle
- Word-zles
And if you are looking for ready-to-use printable puzzles, Teacher Vision has got it all for you!
Are you on Pinterest? Pin this post!
What do you think about this activity? Let us know in the comments!
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We have a large collection of English word puzzles online, with new ones being added regularly. They are fun to play, but also educational as they help to reinforce spelling.
The Benefits of Word Puzzles
- First of all, these puzzles are 100% free to play.
- In addition, these puzzles are great for consolidating spelling and making the parts of the brain active.
- Above all, the more words you encounter and understand, the broader your day-to-day vocabulary will become.
To get started playing, just select a level from below. Best of luck.
Basic English Learners
Pre A1 Beginner Level
Here the puzzles are for students at a beginner level of English or Pre-A1 on the CEFR scale.
A1 Elementary Level
For these word puzzles, they are for students at an elementary level of English or A1 on the CEFR scale.
A2 Pre-Intermediate Level
In this section the word puzzles are for students at a pre-intermediate level of English or A2 on the CEFR scale.
Independent English Learners
B1 Intermediate Level
For these word puzzles, they are for students at an intermediate level of English or B1 on the CEFR scale.
B2 Upper Intermediate Level
In this section the word puzzles are for students at an upper-intermediate level of English or B2 on the CEFR scale.
More puzzles, activities and games available:
First of all, why not try our match-up games to help you build up your vocabulary to dizzy heights.
In addition, our word search puzzles provide an excellent way to help to reinforce spellings in your mind.
Finally, our crossword puzzles help you to spell linked words correctly to be able to complete the task.
More activities available:
In addition, learning English requires not just a good vocabulary, but a strong foundation of English grammar to communicate effectively and our grammar exercises provide the practice for this purpose.
When learning vocabulary, especially helpful are our vocabulary exercises that are focussed on a theme or topic as these provide word retention practice, so you can be confident to read, write, speak and listen successfully.
Most importantly, once you are at a good level of English, you should combine your knowledge of vocabulary and grammar to understand and produce well-written pieces of text. We provide model text types for you to read and practice.