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?... - "If you have to look something up...
- "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 - "Solving some puzzles digitally allows you...
- "I cheat when...
- Just finished a crossword by Googling all the clues...
- "It is always easier for...
- "For any three answers, call from a touch-tone phone...
- "About 35-40% of the time, a player wants to create a word...
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] =
- "Candid Camera" co-host Jo Ann (5) [Google] =
- "1956 film that earned an Oscar nomination for 11-year-old Patty McCormack (10)
[Google] = - 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