How do you go about doing your daily crossword? Do you just start at 1 across and work your way through on the first pass? Or do you do like I do, which is look at the clues with blanks in them first and then start building around them, usually starting with words where I know the first letter?
Generally I look at all the clues across, then down, filling out as I know them. Then I go back to the upper left hand corner and start building on what I enter.
I start at the top left corner, doing both across and down. If I hit a sticky patch, I move to a different corner and go from there. Sometimes I’ll just scan for an easy one and start there. But usually it’s corners working my way in.
Ditto
I start with 1 across. If I get that then I will do any downs from that word. Then I will alternate across and down from those words I have entered until I can’t go any further. I then move on to the next “across” word and repeat. Ink only.
Me three.
I pretty much start from nowhere in particular, I just try and go over all the ones I know, and then try to figure out the rest. I usually start with across, and then check the downs, to see if I can piece the words together.
(I also take the NY Sunday Times and the Chicago Tribune puzzles (from the Sunday [http://post-gazette.com/]Post-Gazette) and work them out all week.
(BTW, is using Wiki cheating?)
I look at the first couple of across clues, find a strategically placed answer, fill it in, ink only. The rest of my answers must be worked from the original answer. I won’t start at another corner, or section if stymied, it will just be the end of the puzzle for me.
First word is crucial for success, but you can’t over think it. Pretty much has to be within the first 10 clues.
Similar to Tupug Anachi, but I only get once chance.
I start by covering all the Across clues, and I try to solve the puzzle using only the Down clues. Mostly I end up having to use the Across clues as well, but sometimes I get to feel pleased with myself for a while.
Yet another for doing the clues in the order written, Across, then Down, then checking out the ones I didn’t get. I generally do those in the same order, unless I see something obvious.
Tris
First 1 across, then the downs in that corner, then next across and its downs, etc.
I try not to skip anything, try to do them all in order. I aim to have filled in most of the “across” words by having done the downs. If you follow me.
Ever notice how words seem to come in cycles or something? A word will show up in the easy everyday puzzle, and in the harder weekend ones, and it pops up for a month or so and then you never see it again.
The worst crime ever committed in a crossword puzzle I’ve done: the clue was “the beginning of knitting”. I racked my brains on that one for days. The answer: silentk. The clue did not indicate it was 2 words or anything out of the ordinary. I was peeved to the max and was quite off crosswords for some time.
Depends, newspaper or magazine puzzles from unfamiliar compliers; I’ll go numerically across and then down, then fill gaps in the same pattern. I’ll go through the clues twice that way and then just work on completing sections.
I also get the magazine collections (especially cryptics) of favourite compilers and I tend to work them out backwards, from the last down clue, completing each section until I reach clue 1 across. I don’t know why.
I tend to start anywhere promising–that is, I never go through the Across clues in order, then the Down, and so on. I find something I know, then check it against intersecting words; and if it all works out, I’ll fill them in. I may fill in anywhere fror three to five words at once this way. Then, I’ll build on that. If I get stuck, I’ll look elsewhere in the puzzle for a similar situation, and do the same thing all over again. Eventually, these filled-in areas join up, and the puzzle gets done.
Usually: Randomly look at list of clues, start at the very first one I know the answer to. Then I’ll build from there… I really don’t like doing clues not connected to answered portions after this first one’s done. Doing intersecting clues, rather than all across then all down, seems to be a self-correcting mechanism. I do mine in pencil-- not necessarily for erasing purposes, I just don’t like pens (except when writing checks).
I also tend to have multiple clues in my head at any given time, and if an answer helps me “crack” a give section, I’ll fill everything in at once without looking back to the clue list. This tends to save me a lot of time, especially on easier earlier/mid-week puzzles.
I also dislike the practice of scratching out the clue or clue number; seems to be a waste of time, and the whole thing looks much neater if it’s not covered in scribbles.
(Maybe I should start a thread asking how people do Jumble, etc.)
I glance at the list of clues until I find something I can be almost certain of answering correctly – something really straightforward, such as “Richard Nixon’s middle name” or “Shakespeare’s _____ and Juliet”. After filling in the corresponding squares, I then check the clues for intersecting words until I find another “sure thing”, and continue to build on the framework.
If I get stuck, I’ll pick a long partially-completed word, place a few letters I can deduce from crossing clues, and then hope something clicks in. Only as a last resort do I start a second framework and work to connect it to the first. I guess I’m not as hardcore as fisha, but I hate to abandon a puzzle once I’ve started it.
For the Monday, Tuesday and usually Wednesday NY Times puzzles I just do all the across answers. I’ll look at the downs if I need to figure out a few letters, but I’ll fill in the letters one row at a time, left to right. If I get stuck I’ll leave a few letters out and go back when I get enough lower across answers to get the missing downs. I’ve even done a few Thursday puzzles this way, much to my surprise.
For the harder puzzles, later in the week, I start with 1 across, but if I’m not getting them all I’ll start with a section anywhere and extend it until I run out of steam.
For easy cryptics I do as many acrosses as I can, and then downs. For harder ones I try to do it section by section.
If I get stuck, I will mentally widen the area of connected clues—but----it has to tie into that original word to be written down. Hard to explain.
Nothing is more distracting than putting a wrong answer in. You keep keying in on letters you know are wrong. Thats the hazard of ink. I start in one across. Then go down for corroboration. If it fits I ink it in and feed off letters I trust.
All of the Across clues, then all of the Down clues, in order. After that, I start in a ‘promising’ section (generally the one with the most letters already filled in) and work from there, in no particular order.