Solving a crossword puzzle is like yoga for the brain. But not unlike your first yoga class, cracking open a crossword for the first time can be overwhelming. Where do you start?

At Saturday Quiz Time, our weekly crossword is different to what you might see in an Aussie newspaper. It’s not a “quick” crossword, where clues are given in the form of single-word straight definitions. It’s also not a “cryptic” crossword, where clues may sound like utter gibberish.

Our crosswords follow the American style you see in publications like The New York Times and The New Yorker. In these grids, every letter is “checked” – this means every letter is part of both an across clue and a down clue, so it’s theoretically possible to solve a whole crossword by only doing the Across clues.

Our grids will feature some straightforward definition clues (like those found in a quick crossword), trivia and pop culture clues (we are quiz writers, after all), and clues involving wordplay.

Loaded up one of our crossword puzzles for the first time, and don’t know where to start? Well, let’s get into it.

Tips and Tricks

Scan for answers you know

No rule says you have to start from the first clue and work your way through the grid. You can start from anywhere. First scan through every clue to see if there’s something you 100% know the answer to. Trivia / general knowledge clues are the best to start with because if you know the answer, it’s 99.9% going to be right. Fill-in-the-blank clues (we’ll get into clue types later) are the easiest clues out there.

Use the internet

Looking up answers isn’t cheating, it’s learning! It’s your puzzle, solve it however you want!

Check your crossings

Every cell in the crossword grid is part of both an Across and a Down clue. This means you can check the clues on the alternate axis to confirm your answer is correct.

For example, let’s say we have this clue going Across the grid:

Two animals should immediately come to mind: a BAT or a CAT. But which one is it?

To help, we can look at what Down clue references the first letter of this answer. Which we suspect is either B or C.

The capital city of Egypt is CAIRO, which means the Halloween animal must be a CAT.

Take a Break

Fatigue is a thing. If you’ve been staring at the grid for a while and haven’t filled in an entry yet, then put it away and come back in a few hours or more. Most likely, an answer will immediately jump right out at you from the screen.

Phone a friend

Or even better, solve it with a friend. Your BFF may know more about sports or celebrity gossip. Perhaps you’re a history nerd, but you haven’t quite grasped Aussie geography like your pal Bruce has. Think of it like assembling a mini two-person quiz team! You can also print out crosswords if you want to go full analogue.

Get down with Lingo

Here are some crossword terms that you may see pop up:

Grid

The entire layout of a crossword puzzle, composed of white and black squares.

Fill

The words and phrases that are “filled” into the grid. The term fill is typically used to describe the calibre of words in a crossword puzzle.

Entry

An answer that’s written into a crossword grid.

Crossing

An intersection between an Across and Down entry.

Clue

A hint that the solver must, well, “solve” and then enter the answer into the grid.

Types of Clues

Let’s get into the nitty-gritty. We’ll cover most of the types of clues you’ll see in a crossword. Once you’ve learned how to recognise the many types of clues, you’ll go a long way in your solving.

Fill-in-the-Blank

These are usually some of the easiest clues to solve, as they are likely to contain definite answers. A quick scan through the grid to look at clues containing fill-in-the-blank can get you up and running very quickly!

Thanks to Pumbaa and Timon from The Lion King, we know the answer here is HAKUNA.

Another film reference – this time, we’re going back to the 1980s. The film is Crocodile Dundee, and the answer here is, of course, DUNDEE.

Trivia

We’re a quiz website after all, so you’ll find we’ll sprinkle a lot of trivia-style clues into our crosswords.

There’s no doubt here as to what the answer is. It’s the multilingual ANYA Taylor-Joy.

Unlike our quiz, where we want to pin everything down in the question, our crossword clues may be more vague.

Do not fear; looking at the number of letters in the answer is already a good first clue to help you find the answer.

If you’re not a geography fan, you may skim over this clue. But we already have one clue - the answer contains five letters. Thinking of Pacific Ocean countries with five letters, you might think of NAURU, but that’s only one island (the smallest island nation in the world!). Keep going… what about TONGA? That fits!

Crosswordese

Once you start racking up a few solves, you’ll notice a few words appear often. Due to our grids ensuring every letter is in both an Across and a Down clue, short words containing vowels are integral to filling in the gaps.

You should remember the sandwich cookie OREO, the fencing weapon EPEE, the Great Lake ERIE, the mining export ORE and the boxer Muhammad ALI.

Don’t forget the poetry preposition ERE, which is from a bygone ERA. Don’t get too angry; save your IRE and unwind in a SPA, perhaps with an ALE, or an IPA.

Crossword constructors are enormous fans of DUA Lipa, ISSA RAE, Rita ORA, and ANA de Armas. We love to see these vowel-heavy people become famous, but we also have a soft spot for the veterans Yoko ONO and Brian ENO.

Words like the above are known as Crosswordese: words frequently found in crossword grids but not commonly used in everyday life.

Tense

The tense used in the clue will always match the tense used in the answer.

This clue is in the past tense, so the answer will be in the past tense as well. There’s a high chance the answer will also end in the letters -ed. What’s another word for scale? Well, if you scale a mountain, you also climb a mountain. CLIMBED has seven letters, so it fits!

This clue is written in the present tense. What happens when you lose control on a windy road? Well, you may SKID. If we’re in the past, the answer we’d be looking for is SKIDDED. But we’re in the present, so what we need is SKIDS.

Plurals

If the clue is plural, then the answer has to be plural.

The word ‘units’ here is plural, denoting that the answer will also be plural. What is a tennis match made of? Points, games, sets… we’re looking for a four-letter answer, so SETS fits here.

Tip: if you see a plural clue, the answer will most likely end with an S. So you can fill that in and use it to help the corresponding entry!

Foreign Language

If you see any foreign language words in the clue, then expect to see a foreign language answer.

Don’t worry, you don’t need to become a polyglot. We’ll only use words from other languages that are fairly common. Think words like HOLA (Spanish for hello) or AMOUR (French for love).

Why doesn’t this clue just say number to tango? Because the answer is not TWO. The word número is your hint - the answer needs to be in Spanish. The answer, of course, is DOS.

You might also see clues reference places in the world as a way to hint towards a foreign language answer.

Rio here refers to the city of Rio de Janeiro. So the entry we’re looking for is OLA, Portuguese for hello.

Abbreviations

Crossword constructors love abbreviations. Abbreviated words give them a lot more options to play with when it comes to filling in grids.

Clues will signal that the answer is an abbreviation in a few ways:

Adding “Abbr.” to the end of the clue:

Ah, yes, who could forget the NFT?

Abbreviating a word in the clue itself:

The word “org” here tells us the answer is an abbreviation. John Cena is, of course, a member of World Wrestling Entertainment, better known as WWE.

Adding “for short” to the end of the clue:

At first glance, you may think the answer is BROS, short for BROTHERS. However, take a closer look at the clue, as it states “OR” instead of “AND”; the answer needs to be singular. BRO doesn’t fit, so that leaves us stuck. What else do the Gallagher brothers have in common? Well, they’re from MANCHESTER. A person from Manchester is also known as a MANC!

Adding “initially” to the end of the clue:

What has six letters and is an initialism for a way to pay? Well, we’re an Aussie crossword after all, so the answer here is EFTPOS.

”Quotes” and [Brackets]

Why is this crossword puzzle talking to me? A clue written in quotes might represent something someone may say out loud. A clue written in [brackets] may suggest an answer that might be nonverbal.

What might you say instead of “Wait, what?” that’s only 3 letters? You might say HUH, which is the answer we’re looking for.

Let’s try another one:

We’re looking for another phrase you might say that would have the same meaning as the clue. LET ME tell you what the answer is…

Ok, let’s move on to brackets.

The answer here is AHEM, the word representing the noise made when clearing the throat.

We’re looking for something here that is not said out loud. This one is SIC, used after a quoted word to show it’s exactly what was in the original.

Partners

Words are a monogamous bunch. Some pairs are inseparable, like Rest & Relaxation, Wine & Dine, Trial & Error… the list goes on.

Clues asking for a word’s “partner” want you to come up with the other word that is usually paired with it.

Who doesn’t love some ARTS and Crafts?

Russian novelist Dostoevsky can help us out here: it’s CRIME.

Analogy (A:B::C:D)

If you see a clue with double colons, you might think you’ve accidentally found yourself in a cryptic crossword puzzle. But don’t worry, replace single colons with “is to” and the double colon with “as”.

For example: Footpath : Australia :: Sidewalk : USA

Translates to: Footpath is to Australia as Sidewalk is to USA

Let’s try one out:

What is the equivalent of an Apple Computer’s option key on a PC? It’s ALT.

Spiders crawl, kangaroos HOP!

Slang

Ok, now we’re getting into the fun stuff. You can expect to see some slang in our grids. We aim to fill our grids with a wide range of words from different eras so expect to see SKIBIDI, but also PHAT and GROOVY. We’re also an Aussie crossword – so don’t be surprised to see words like ARVO, MACCAS and SMOKO popping up.

If we’re being nice, we will tell you that the answer is a slang term.

You might shout YES as an extreme way of approval. But that’s not slang; yelling out YAS is though.

The Apple Isle, of course, is the wonderful state of Tasmania. Someone who lives there is properly called a TASMANIAN, but in slang, they may be referred to as a TASWEGIAN.

Question Mark

If you see a clue that ends in a question mark but isn’t in quotes, that is the crossword constructor letting you know not to take the clue at face value. There may be some wordplay, a pun or misdirection involved.

A surface reading of this clue will lead you to think about surfing, specifically the boards used on waves kind of surfing. However, the question mark is telling you to think outside the box. Where else can you surf? You can “surf” the internet, aka the WEB.

Sometimes, these clues don’t quite need the question mark. But it’s there to give you a nudge in the right direction.

Again, at the surface level, you might start thinking of bands that feature young members. A boy-band like ONE DIRECTION or BTS? None of those fit the letter requirement. But why is the question mark there? There must be something going on.

What if the word Young is not an adjective but instead a proper noun? Those knowledgeable in Australian rock lore would know that AC/DC was formed by brothers Angus and Malcolm Young. So ACDC is what we’re looking for.

Before you see the question mark, you may be thinking… a gym? a bathroom? However, the question mark prompts us to think differently. Perhaps something more abstract, such as SOCIALMEDIA or PHONECAMERA? Both would fit into the letter count. But the answer we’re looking for is SUPERMARKET.

Sometimes a clue doesn’t give you the question mark. These clues are harder, and you’ll have to be on your toes to think about alternative ways they can be read (like looking for heteronyms – see below). If the clue isn’t too much of a stretch without the question mark, then it’s fair game.

This clue appeared in The New York Times in a crossword by Garrett Chalfin and Andrew Kingsley. Straight away, your mind will go through Ford models and think, what car did Ford release during the 1970s?

This crossword was published on a Saturday, the day of the week known for having the hardest difficulty. Seasoned solvers would learn not to take any Saturday clue at face value, even if it doesn’t have a question mark.

Is there any other way you could look at this clue? What else could Ford be referring to? You may have already figured it out, but this clue is about US President Gerald Ford, who served in office from 1974 to 1977. The answer here is GERALD. They could have added a question mark at the end to make it easier, but this is an example of a great misdirection clue that remains fair.

Heteronyms

On the subject of misdirection, keep an eye out for heteronyms. These are words that are spelt identically but have different pronunciations and meanings:

• You can LEAD (bring) someone to LEAD (element)
• Imagine a BASS (fish) playing a BASS (instrument)
• I PRESENT (give) you this PRESENT (gift)

You get the gist – let’s see it in clue form.

This will prompt you to consider the weather event. But what if the word shower is instead the noun for someone or something that shows? Then a light show-er could be a PRISM.

Here’s another:

This clue by Larry Snyder in the New York Times sounds as if it refers to a night out on the town. But the heteronym here is evening. We’re not talking about the time of the day, we’re talking about the adjective even. What is something that needs evening? Something that might be CREASED.

Hidden Capitals

The first word of every crossword clue starts with a capital letter, like regular sentences. Clue writers can be cheeky and use this to throw you off.

The answer to this is GEELONG, home of the Geelong Cats AFL team. The word Cats here is a proper noun, so it has a capital letter, but it’s hidden in the clue. However, you can also spot the location of the apostrophe, which is correct, but that gives away that Cats refers to the footy club.

Themes

Some crosswords will contain a theme. That is, a common thread will link a few entries. If you crack the theme, it’ll make it easier for you to solve the puzzle. It’s like a puzzle within a puzzle.

There are many types of themes you will see in crossword puzzles. There are too many to list, but they all typically employ some form of wordplay.

An easy type of theme to spot is when four long entries share a commonality.

Take a look at these three entries:

• PUBLICDOMAIN
• BAROMETER
• INNOVATION

These entries all feature a drinking establishment at the start of the word: PUB, BAR & INN.

Sometimes, a crossword will feature a “revealer” clue. This is a clue that indicates which entries contain the themed entries and provides a hint as to what to look for.

Let’s say that PUBLICDOMAIN, BAROMETER and INNOVATION appear at 1,2, & 3-Across, respectively.

The same crossword may have INEEDADRINK (I need a drink) with the clue:

This clue is telling you to look at the starts of those answers in the grid. If at this stage you only have BAROMETER filled in, that may be enough to clue you in on what the puzzle’s theme is. That means you know the starts of 1- & 3-Across must start with a type of drinking establishment. This is how unlocking the theme can also help with solving the whole crossword!

Get Solving!

Now that you’re equipped with insider knowledge on crosswords, you’re ready to hit the grids. Our crossword archive features over 100 crosswords, so there’s plenty there for you keep you busy.

But be warned, crossword solving is dangerously addictive!