Puzzle
In this blog, we’ll discuss the top ways you can solve the challenging puzzles by the New York Times. It can be quite frustrating when you can’t seem to get it and trust me, we have all been there. It’s always a good feeling when you manage to solve it! So now, without further ado, let’s jump right in!
1. The easiest day to solve puzzles is Monday; the hardest day is Saturday.
Though most crossword fans believe Saturday’s problems are the hardest, most people believe the famous Sunday NYT puzzle to be the most difficult.
If you’re a beginner, start with a Monday puzzle and work your way up to a later-week piece. The puzzles start off easy on Mondays and get harder as the week goes on. (Books with puzzles from specific days of the week are available for purchase; this one features only Mondays.)
2. Recognize the obnoxious (but occasionally ingenious!) trick.
The “theme” of the majority of Sunday puzzles and some weekday problems can be difficult to decipher at first, but once you do, you’ll be well on your way to becoming Solvesville.
For instance, the puzzle for Sunday was titled “Downright Tricky!” Every “gimmick” response descended and proceeded to the right. The clue “Spanish hero whose 113-Down is represented enigmatically six times in this puzzle” for EL CID provides an explanation of the reasoning. To put it another way, the six “L”s that make up the theme answers are all three-part phrases that start with the letters “C,” “I,” and “D,” respectively.
Indeed, they are a hassle. Nevertheless, filling in the remaining clues in the theme will be simple once you understand what the puzzle is trying to do.
3. Tenses will always match up
An example, if the answer (“bicker”) will also be in the present tense if the hint (in this case, “trade cross words”) is.
4. If you start to lose patience, take a break!
When you’re stuck on a puzzle, sometimes the best course of action is to set it down and go on. When you revisit it later with a new perspective, you’ll be amazed at how much you can figure out!
5. The clue will be difficult to solve if it ends with a question mark.
It implies that there will be wordplay or puns in the response. From a recent Sunday puzzle, here are a few examples:
Eye masks for the unsuspecting? –> SHOT
Round components? —> ADS
The car of the pot peddler —> TEACART
6. Be careful of homonyms!
An example, In addition to signifying the verb form of “medical caregiver,” “nurse” can also be used as a noun. It may also refer to receiving food from a breast or feeding a child from a breast. It’s used here to mean “nursing,” or “sipping,” a beverage. Gosh! Infuriating.
7. Learn “Crosswordese”
The New York Times FAVORITE WORDS are those that are frequently used in crossword puzzles but infrequently used in casual speech. Words like “iota,” mentioned above, which are frequently used in speech yet are repeatedly used in the puzzle, can be among them.
It may also contain more unusual words, such as ones with a large number of vowels or consonants. Items such as OLIO (a “miscellaneous mixture of elements”), EPEE (a fencing blade), AGA (a Turkish honorific title), and APSE (a “semicircular church foyer”).
As well as river names. At least once a month, the ELBE and the ARNO are discussed.
8. Search up the answer when you can’t seem to work it out!
Of course, the majority of people would think this to be dishonest! And in a way it is. However, as I say, sometimes all you need is that one hint to get beyond your mental block when you’re working on the puzzle to enhance your own timing and expertise. You can gradually wean yourself off of Google or establish new guidelines for yourself. (In my opinion, Googling is cheating, but asking a friend for assistance and having her provide the solution doesn’t qualify as cheating.)
Visit the well-known crossword blog of Rex Parker if you’re truly puzzled. Using the iOS app, which publishes early, he solves the puzzle the night before it is published. He then posts the solved puzzle every day along with commentary.
Conclusion:
In this blog, we discussed on several ways to beat and solve the challenging puzzles by the New York Times. These strategies might help you in your next puzzle so keep these in mind and enjoy!
