# Crosswords are freakin' hard! **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [February 11, 2008, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crosswords-are-freakin-hard/437124 "2008-02-11T05:19:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Randy\_Seltzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ee7513/32.png) [@Randy\_Seltzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Randy_Seltzer)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2008, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crosswords-are-freakin-hard/437124/1 "2008-02-11T05:19:36Z")
…to create. I just downloaded some free crossword software and spent two hours sweating over an extremely simple grid. Only 40 words, and it still came out awful. Observations:[ul] [li]Even the free software comes with some pretty neat features. It allows you, for example, to click a word you have partially filled, and it gives you all possible one-word solutions for that row.[/li][li]It is really hard to resist the temptation to overuse acronyms.[/li][li]I think I’ve misused some crossword conventions. I’m never quite clear, for example, on when to end a clue with a question mark.[/li][li]It’s tough to have a consistent difficulty. Some of my clues are too obscure (foreign airport codes anybody?), some are too esoteric (chemistry questions?), some are too cute (19-down, if you’re interested). But at the same time, many others are total chip shots.[/li][li]I set up my grid for tons of 3-letter words. It’s too intimidating even to think of anything more complicated.[/li][li]We’ve got Dopers who do this for a LIVING???[/ul][/li] Here it is as a pdf. Lemme know what you think: [http://www.mediafire.com/?b1mgddddoiy](http://www.mediafire.com/?b1mgddddoiy) (warning: loud popups on hosting site) Any other amateur crossword creators out there? ---
**Author:** ![Mongo\_Ponton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Mongo\_Ponton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mongo_Ponton)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2008, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crosswords-are-freakin-hard/437124/2 "2008-02-11T16:01:21Z")
> [@](#): > > I’m never quite clear, for example, on when to end a clue with a question mark. I thought the ?'s are for the main clues to the puzzle. The theme clues. ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2008, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crosswords-are-freakin-hard/437124/3 "2008-02-11T16:06:18Z")
[QUOTE=Mongo Ponton] I thought the ?'s are for the main clues to the puzzle. The theme clues. [/QUOTE] No. They’re usually for pun-type stuff. Which the theme clues often are, but not always. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2008, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crosswords-are-freakin-hard/437124/4 "2008-02-11T17:13:23Z")
[www.morewords.com](http://www.morewords.com) helped me a lot when I was trying to put together a puzzle. You can give it partial words (like “A–m-r-i-s” and it will tell you which words work fit what you have already. It was invaluable to me. ---
**Author:** ![Randy\_Seltzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ee7513/32.png) [@Randy\_Seltzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Randy_Seltzer)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2008, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crosswords-are-freakin-hard/437124/5 "2008-02-11T17:19:54Z")
[QUOTE=HelloNinja] […]when I was trying to put together a puzzle. […] [/QUOTE] Let’s see what you got! (I don’t really expect anyone do do mine, but I’d love to see what other amateur puzzle-makers can do. [Here’s](http://www.yinyansw.com/) where I got my software. _nudge nudge_)