CROSSWORDS: Use Tools: Search, Dictionaries

Quotes | Summary |
References: General | Applications | Web

Quotes

• "Q. Is it 'cheating' to consult a dictionary or other reference sources
  when stumped by a crossword puzzle clue?...
  A. It's your puzzle. Solve it any way you want."
  ~Will Weng (2nd NYT Crossword Ed.; as quoted by Will Shortz)
• "If you have to look something up... you learn about it
  so you know it for next time, that's a good thing." ~Deb Amlen
• "Where We Draw the Line on Cheating (at Least in Crossword Puzzles)?
  I don’t know that there is any true consensus on what is considered cheating,
  and context definitely matters. If you’re competing in a crossword solving tournament,
  everyone would agree that you can’t ask for help from another person,
  use Google or write the answers on your palm. However, most of us are not
  competing in tournaments. It's supposed to be fun, so have fun with it!
  
  My personal feeling is that I’d rather learn something while solving a puzzle
  than not finish it. If I don’t know the answer, it feels better to read
  about it on Wikipedia than to leave the puzzle unfinished. My own standard
  is that using a dictionary, a thesaurus or an encyclopedia is perfectly
  acceptable, but just Googling the clue and “New York Times Crossword”
  would give me a pang of guilt. When I first started solving, I often
  used outside resources to help me get into a corner I was locked out of.
  I rarely do this anymore, but I think that’s partly because I learned
  more from reading Wikipedia articles than I would have if I’d just left
  puzzles incomplete." ~Christina Iverson; NYT Wordplay blog, 11/3/2023
• "'Judge John Hodgman' told the story of his own streak addiction, and how unhealthy it was
  when his happiness depended on hearing the ditty that plays upon finishing a puzzle.
  He went on to advise restraint: 'Do not get addicted to the streak. Do not let it interfere
  with your life. Do the puzzle such that it is fun, and not an addictive torment to you.'"
  
  "The puzzle-checking features in our app do nullify a crossword streak.
  If keeping a [puzzle solving] streak brings you joy, then go ahead and keep it up.
  But if it’s causing you anxiety, then allow yourself the freedom to use whatever
  features [e.g., Check button] make the puzzle more enjoyable for you."
  ~Christina Iverson, Easy Mode newsletter, 3/22/2024
• "Solving some puzzles digitally allows you... to look at [Check/Reveal]
  just one word or letter and keep working on the rest of the clues.
  Frequently, that one letter or word can break open the entire grid.
  So don't throw the puzzle aside when you hit a wall -- just peek
  at a letter or word you really want and see if that doesn't do the trick.
  Next time, maybe you won't need the cheat." ~Matt Gaffney
• "I cheat when... I do the crossword puzzle on Sunday." ~Derek Shepherd
• Just finished a crossword by Googling all the clues...What have you done with your life?
• "It is always easier for... one man to solve another man's problem." ~Chinese Proverb
• "For any three answers, call from a touch-tone phone...$1.49 each minute."
  [and]
  "Answers [free] on Page ... of today's paper." ~Mail Tribune; Sun NYT crossword
• "About 35-40% of the time, a player wants to create a word... ending in a specific letter.
  This, however, is not the way we traditionally think, and, not to mention,
  this is not the way dictionaries are sorted. In other words, in many situations,
  conventional dictionaries are not arranged in an easy to use manner.
  This dictionary solves that problem by sorting on the last letter of the word."
  ~Richard D. Ekstrom, The Backwords Dictionary: A Word Ending Dictionary

Summary

• People: ask a partner / friend for help
• Paper: use dictionaries, or printed solutions, or call 800- ($)
• Digital: use an app's Check (Show Errors) or Reveal (Show Answer) command;
  search online with a clue, match a partial word pattern, or locate complete solution
• Search for clue online, e.g., DuckDuckGo, Google, Bing, Wikipedia
• "___ maior, minor cessat" (3) [Google] = UBI
• "Candid Camera" co-host Jo Ann (5) [Google] = PFLUG
• "1956 film that earned an Oscar nomination for 11-year-old Patty McCormack (10)
  [Google] =THE BAD SEED
• clue/answer web sites, e.g.: Crossword Tracker, Crossword Giant for many syndicated crosswords
• crossword app, e.g., iPad: Crosswords: Hints: Google Search
  
• Check word in dictionary
• Find matching words via patterns: guessed letters & match others
  via wildcard: ? (single) or * (any)
• dictionary web site, e.g.,
• CrosswordTracker (only ?, no *):
  answer: ?a?a?a;
  clue: fruit; answer: b?????
• OneLook; ?a?a?a; ba*a?a
• OneAcross.com, crossword-solver.io
• Wordlisted
• dictionary app, e.g., iPad: WordWeb
• crossword app, e.g., iPad: Crosswords: Hints: OneAcross
• Check or Reveal (part of) the solution via crossword app, e.g., Crosswords, Across Lite
• Show / Check incorrect letter(s) (letter/word/puzzle) via color/symbol,
  e.g., iPad: Crosswords, result; Mac: Across Lite
• Reveal correct letter/word/puzzle, e.g., iPad: Crosswords; Mac: Across Lite
• Paper: find puzzle solution (next day, other page)
• Online: search for solution by clue(s), or browse crossword blogs by date, e.g., NYT, Sat; 9/11/2010
• Selectively peek at a clue or area

References

• sections: Applications, Web
• see also: Constructing Crosswords: Tools: Add-on Dictionaries
• Canadians among top crossword 'cheaters,' study reveals using outside sources; 12/29/2022
• Anne R Bradford -- in memoriam
  We salute the woman who, stumped by a Ximenes clue in 1957, began work on
  what would become the crossword solver's most indispensable book:
  Bradford's Crossword Solver's Dictionary; Guardian; 11/8/2021
• How crossword and Scrabble cheats are exposed by their shameful Google searches 2/22/2021
• 15 crossword solvers for Android, iOS, and the web that actually work 12/1/2020
• A New Way to Trace the History of Sci-Fi's Made-Up Words, Neologisms (and Neosemes!)
  Historical Dictionary of Science Fiction; Wired; 1/27/2021
• Use the 1913 Webster's Dictionary When You Need to Define a Word online 1913 dict.; LH; 10/3/2020
• Google Home: 5 ways your smart speaker is a wiz with words
  For example, say, "OK, Google, what's a four letter word meaning 'cut'" and Google Home
  will generate a list, including 'gash' and 'snip'. Unfortunately, you can't give it the letters
  you've already filled in, for example, if it starts with a 'G'; CNet; 7/26/2020
• 15 crossword solvers for Android, iOS, and the web that actually work!
  mostly lookup tools (not complete apps); 3/5/2020
• 13 Facts About the Oxford English Dictionary MF; 2/22/2019
• 10 Fascinating Facts About the Thesaurus for National Thesaurus Day MF; 1/17/2019
• In defense of cheating at crossword puzzles use the Check button; 12/22/2018
• Hip to be square: the unlikely survival of the crossword
  Technology arrests the decline of a great British pastime; Econ; 11/8/2018
• How many words are there in English? MW
• about.com: 10. Looking Up Answers Is Cheating, Right?
• HSW 10: Use a Reference Book; Wonder 7. Outside Solving Help
• Word Buff: 5. Use Crossword Solving Resources

Applications

• see Summary above for examples
• CrosswordNexus: helper app iOS, Android
• Matt Ginsberg's Cluer Database App: Mac, Win, Lnx; free; no longer updated
• Terminology: Where Word Explorations Begin iOS, macOS; TB; 6/27/2019

Web Sites

• see Summary above for examples
• a2zwordfinder
• crosstips
• Crossword Giant search puzzles, clues, answers for: New York Times; Wall Street Journal;
  Universal; Jonesin'; USA Today; King Feature Syndicate: Thomas Joseph, Eugene Sheffer,
  Premier Sunday; Newsday; Ink Well; LA Times; Canadiana; A.V Club; Thinks.com; Boston Globe;
  Jonesin; Washington Post; Chronicle of Higher Education; Irish Times
• many similar clue/answer-only sites (same/other syndicated puzzles):
  AI Crossword Solver; *crosswordanswers.com; crosswordheaven.com; crosswordguru.com;
  crosswordtracker.com; dailyanswers.net; dailycrosswordsolver.com; globalclue.com; xword.com
• Crossword Nexus: Clue-Entry lookup; Puz To PDF Converter for printing; or you can use Across Lite app
• Crossword Quick Solve; More Words; Word Finder; WordAssault
• dictduck
• older: Ray Hamel: Tool Lists =36; American Crossword Tournament; Crossword Puzzles (UK)
• Will Johnston: 3 Online Dictionaries: Random House, Webster, OneLook
• MakeUseOf: 7 Quick Tools: One Across; AllWords; CrossTips;
  Crossword Clue Solver; Dictionary.com
• National Puzzlers' League Solving Tools; Dictionary Grep/Search
• Reverse Dictionary: enter a word, phrase, sentence, or pattern to search for related words
• Sporcle: Clue and Answer Search
• Time Traveler: when was a word first used in print?
• Unscramblerer
• whatsthisword
• Wikipedia: Aids to solve crosswords: Dictionaries (Anagram, Biographical, Rhyming);
  Almanacs; Encyclopedias; Gazetteers; Thesauri
• Wolfram Alpha anagram, scrabble, rhyming, letter pattern/combo, cryptogram, anagram
• Use Wolfram|Alpha to solve crossword puzzles
• word-buff: Word Finders: Scrabble; Crossword Puzzles; Vocabulary & Spelling
• Wordlisted
• wordover
• XWord Info New York Times Crossword Answers, Stats, Observations; some pages require registration
• Move Over, Wikipedia. Dictionaries Are Hot Again. NYT; 2/11/2017
• From Seussian To Snollygoster, Merriam-Webster Adds Over 1,000 New Words NPR; 2/8/2017
• Describing Words Finds Adjectives For the Noun You're Writing About Describing Words; LH; 11/27/2016
• Scouring the Web to Make New Words 'Lookupable'
  one million 'missing' English words not found in traditional dictionaries: wordnik.com; NYT; 10/3/2015
• Graphing the distribution of English letters towards the beginning, middle or end of words 5/27/2014
• Crossword puzzle square utilization analysis 3/11/2014