# How to get better at crosswords? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 16, 2020, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-get-better-at-crosswords/853925 "2020-05-16T14:48:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2020, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-get-better-at-crosswords/853925/61 "2020-05-21T15:57:09Z")
Well, I got through today’s NYT in just under 20 minutes. Reversing my usual procedure, I figured out the “gimmick” early — 37 Down was obvious, and a huge help — and got stuck on the edges. Could NOT remember how to spell that thing Dryden translated. Came up short with the “sonata closers,” wanting either “codas” or “prestos,” neither of which fit. Took a risk on the African country on only the initial letter…has to be Liberia, right? Another recommendation for the Rex Parker blog. Love reading it right after finishing to see him snark all over it; he really seems to have it in for Shortz. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2020, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-get-better-at-crosswords/853925/62 "2020-05-21T16:30:18Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > Well, I got through today’s NYT in just under 20 minutes. > > Reversing my usual procedure, I figured out the “gimmick” early — 37 Down was obvious, and a huge help — and got stuck on the edges. Could NOT remember how to spell that thing Dryden translated. Came up short with the “sonata closers,” wanting either “codas” or “prestos,” neither of which fit. Took a risk on the African country on only the initial letter…has to be Liberia, right? > > Another recommendation for the Rex Parker blog. Love reading it right after finishing to see him snark all over it; he really seems to have it in for Shortz. 17 1/2 minutes for me. I knew Liberia was on the coast, so I came up with the other L African country that could fit. Rex Parker gets really tiring for me, but I do read his column every time I finish a puzzle. ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2020, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-get-better-at-crosswords/853925/63 "2020-05-21T18:20:15Z")
I was at right under 18 minutes (17:53 to be exact) on today’s puzzle. Got 37 down fairly quickly and understood the gimmick immediately so, like **Ukulele Ike** said, that helped a lot. This was a nice, easy, fun one. The Rex Parker blog is new to me. I’m checking it out right now! ---
**Author:** ![FastDan1](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fastdan1/32/427_2.png) [@FastDan1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FastDan1)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2020, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-get-better-at-crosswords/853925/64 "2020-05-22T00:02:41Z")
Thursday June 21, 2018 is a fun easy one. ---
**Author:** ![Ignatz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/3be4f8/32.png) [@Ignatz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ignatz)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2020, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-get-better-at-crosswords/853925/65 "2020-05-22T00:46:34Z")
If you need a good look up for after you get stuck, try [www.wordplays.com](http://www.wordplays.com) It gives a space in which you type in the clue and then it gives the answer(s). Then, with no need to refresh or enter another search code, you just type in the next clue. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2020, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-get-better-at-crosswords/853925/66 "2020-05-22T02:50:28Z")
You guys beat my time handily on today’s puzzle. Took me just shy of 30 minutes. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2020, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-get-better-at-crosswords/853925/67 "2020-05-24T14:10:56Z")
As long as we’re talking NYT crosswords, this Sunday puzzle (5/24/20) is one of the most fun I’ve ever solved. Really a creation of genius. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2020, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-get-better-at-crosswords/853925/68 "2020-05-24T15:31:37Z")
That was fun, but I had to read the [Wordplay write-up](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/23/crosswords/daily-puzzle-2020-05-24.html) to get some of the intricacies (although I solved it nonetheless). ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2020, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-get-better-at-crosswords/853925/69 "2020-05-24T15:48:06Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > 17 1/2 minutes for me. I knew Liberia was on the coast, so I came up with the other L African country that could fit. Curse my wretched ignorance of African geography! To the atlas, posthaste! My other kryptonites are nearly anything to do with sportsball and contemporary teevee, which I haven’t watched in ages. Rex occasionally mocks Eugene Maleska for his reliance on old movies, opera, and dated slang, but those are three of my _strong_ points. Geez, you guys use chess timers or something? I never thought of timing myself, but got into the habit of glancing at the clock after I began following Rex. I never have an exact minute/second count. Glad to hear today’s puzzle is a good one. I ventured outside for the first time in two weeks to mail letters and buy tobacco, and picked up my first Sunday paper in two months (we get M-F delivery). We’ll have to put that front page away with the 9/11 edition. 9/12, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![Ignatz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/3be4f8/32.png) [@Ignatz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ignatz)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2020, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-get-better-at-crosswords/853925/70 "2020-05-24T16:15:09Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#): > > As long as we’re talking NYT crosswords, this Sunday puzzle (5/24/20) is one of the most fun I’ve ever solved. Really a creation of genius. I agree. Very clever. Too bad about letter box 92 being duplicated so the 93, 94, & 95 DOWN were numbered 92, 93, & 94. First time I recall seeing that type of goof. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2020, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-get-better-at-crosswords/853925/71 "2020-05-24T16:36:34Z")
Now I’m hoping that the Sunday NYT isn’t sold out due to the front page. ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2020, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-get-better-at-crosswords/853925/72 "2020-05-24T23:43:56Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#): > > As long as we’re talking NYT crosswords, this Sunday puzzle (5/24/20) is one of the most fun I’ve ever solved. Really a creation of genius. I felt the exact opposite - for me, it was a giant “what the hell is this mess?” And then, after I solved it and read the blogs, I hated it even more. de gustibus non est disputandum. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2020, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-get-better-at-crosswords/853925/73 "2020-05-25T01:07:02Z")
> [@amarinth](#): > > I felt the exact opposite - for me, it was a giant “what the hell is this mess?” Yeah, I’m with you. Didn’t recognize half the names, for one thing. But the fill was so easy I didn’t need to. ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2020, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-get-better-at-crosswords/853925/74 "2020-05-25T01:19:00Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > Geez, you guys use chess timers or something? I never thought of timing myself, but got into the habit of glancing at the clock after I began following Rex. I never have an exact minute/second count. If you do them online, the timing is automatic. I suspect that’s what most of us who are reporting times are doing; I’d never time it manually. They even track your best/average/max times by day-of-week, which is… stressful. Saturday 5/23 was a wash for me; it was Mr. Athena’s birthday, so I didn’t get any real traction on it, and it seemed difficult even Sunday morning when I picked it up. Sunday, on the other hand, had me laughing. I got a key “name” clue right away (it was a tech thing, one of my strengths!) and that led me into the other answers. A fun one, for sure. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2020, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-get-better-at-crosswords/853925/75 "2020-05-25T01:24:53Z")
> [@amarinth](#): > > I felt the exact opposite - for me, it was a giant “what the hell is this mess?” > And then, after I solved it and read the blogs, I hated it even more. de gustibus non est disputandum. That’s how I often feel on Thursday, so I get it. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2020, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-get-better-at-crosswords/853925/76 "2020-05-25T04:14:13Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > Geez, you guys use chess timers or something? I never thought of timing myself, but got into the habit of glancing at the clock after I began following Rex. I never have an exact minute/second count.. If you solve it online or use the app, which I do both, it keeps track of time and stats. Like, i just don’t understand Rex’s times. Those are just nuts. Like my best Monday is 4:07, but he’s constantly like in the low 3s on those, sometimes, sub 3 minutes. Like I don’t even know if I knew all the answers ahead of time I’d be able to fill them in that quick. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2020, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-get-better-at-crosswords/853925/77 "2020-05-25T13:16:04Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > If you solve it online or use the app, which I do both, it keeps track of time and stats. Like, i just don’t understand Rex’s times. Those are just nuts. Like my best Monday is 4:07, but he’s constantly like in the low 3s on those, sometimes, sub 3 minutes. Like I don’t even know if I knew all the answers ahead of time I’d be able to fill them in that quick. I have to assume he’s doing this with pen and paper, not on an app… Even when all the answers fall into place for me, typing them out on my iPad takes four or five minutes. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2020, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-get-better-at-crosswords/853925/78 "2020-05-25T14:22:17Z")
Rex uses one of your newfangled electronic methods. I know this because one of his best lines over the past year came on a day he had no computer access: “I had to do today’s puzzle with pen and paper, like an animal.” ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2020, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-get-better-at-crosswords/853925/79 "2020-05-25T16:10:29Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#): > > I have to assume he’s doing this with pen and paper, not on an app… Even when all the answers fall into place for me, typing them out on my iPad takes four or five minutes. No, he does them on an app (not sure if computer or iPad – I assume computer.) When he doesn’t, he mentions that it was done on pen & paper. I do it on the computer – it’s faster than iPad. Like I said, my fastest Monday is 4:07, so I can see getting sub 4, but the sub 3s astound me. I think he’s had some around 2:30 even (!?!) Like, today’s he called “medium-challenging” (it wasn’t, but there were a few holes in his knowledge that made it difficult for him), but he still hit a 3:20. My time today was 6:40. (My average time usually ends up being about 3 Rexes, so this one was only 2 Rexes! A success!) I thought I was going to finish somewhere in the 4 or 5s, but I got knotted up somewhere. Can’t remember where. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2020, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-get-better-at-crosswords/853925/80 "2020-05-25T18:21:19Z")
I started today’s at 2PM EDT and finished at 2:06 by the digital kitchen clock, meaning I got through it somewhere between five and six minutes. And that was the time it took to write in the answers (pen and newspaper), because I sure didn’t slow down anywhere. The long across that screwed Rex Parker came to me right away, as it was the last movie I’ve seen by that particular director. I didn’t know the second long across, but it was easy to suss, and the downs filled it in for me. And the third was a ridiculous gimme. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-get-better-at-crosswords/853925.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-get-better-at-crosswords/853925.md?page=5)