Crossword · Complete guide
Crosswords: how they work, where they came from, and how to solve them
A grid, some numbers, and clues that cross. Invented to fill space in a newspaper in 1913 and still the most played word puzzle in the world.
A crossword is a grid of white and black squares with a numbered clue for every answer. Fill the white squares so each answer matches its clue — and because answers cross, every letter you are sure of hands you part of another answer.
That crossing is the whole design. A clue you cannot see at all becomes obvious once two of its letters arrive from somewhere else, which is why a crossword gets faster as you go and why the right way to solve is to work outwards from the letters you have rather than down the clue list in order.
There are two great traditions. American-style puzzles check every letter and put the difficulty in vocabulary, themes and wordplay. British cryptics check about half the letters and put the difficulty inside the clue itself: a definition at one end, wordplay covering exactly the same letters at the other, both pointing at the same answer. Neither is harder — they are different games sharing a grid.
The form has barely changed since Arthur Wynne printed the first one in December 1913 to fill a page of a Sunday supplement. The puzzles here are generated fresh on your device every time, so you will never see the same grid twice.
How to play
Across and Down, the number in brackets, and the crossing letters that make the whole thing work — plus the difference between quick, American-style and cryptic puzzles.
Where it comes from
Invented to fill space in a Sunday newspaper in December 1913, a national craze by 1924, and split into two traditions by British setters who decided clues should fight back.
- The first crossword was Arthur Wynne's "Word-Cross" in the New York World on 21 December 1913.
- A 1924 Simon & Schuster collection turned it into a nationwide craze.
- British setters developed the cryptic clue, with a definition and wordplay pointing at the same answer.
- Ximenes codified fair cryptic cluing in 1966; Margaret Farrar set the American conventions.
How to win
Work the grid rather than the clue list, use the answer length ruthlessly, and learn the eight devices that every cryptic clue is built from.
- Work outwards from the letters you have rather than going through the clue list in order.
- Long answers have the most crossings and are usually easier than they look.
- The bracketed length rules out most candidates before you start thinking.
- Every cryptic clue has a definition at one end and wordplay covering the rest — find the definition first.
Common questions
What does the number in brackets mean?
The answer length. "(7)" is seven letters, "(3,4)" is two words of three and four letters.
What is a cryptic crossword?
One where each clue contains two routes to the answer: a straight definition at one end and wordplay — an anagram, a hidden word, a container and so on — covering the rest.
What is the best way to start?
Read every clue once and fill only what you are certain of, starting with the long answers. Then work outwards from the letters you have.
How do I get unstuck?
Assume one of your confident answers is wrong — a stuck corner almost always contains one. Check the letters that no crossing answer has confirmed.
Do the puzzles ever repeat?
No. Each one is generated on your device when you ask for it, from a book of everyday words with a clue written for each, so there is always a fresh grid.
Guides
Play Crossword free, right now
No sign-up, no download — it runs in your browser against the computer, a friend on the same device, or a friend online.