CROSSWORDS: Practice, Patience, Persistence, Perspective

Summary | Quotes | References

Summary

• With more practice, you'll get better over time.
• When stuck, set a puzzle aside, take a break (or nap), and come back to it later.
• When really stuck, search online using a clue,
  or use an app's "Reveal Word" feature -- to fill-in one answer.
• Can you make progress after time or with a new crossing? Repeat as necessary.

Quotes

• "The nice thing about doing a crossword puzzle is,... you know there is a solution."
  ~Stephen Sondheim
• "The key to solving crosswords is mental flexibility...
  If one answer doesn’t seem to be working out, try something else." ~Will Shortz
• Mary: You know one of my favorite ingredients in crosswords is... perseverance.
  Every once in a while you’ll run into a doozy that you can't ever solve
  in a million years, but if you stick with it, you'll figure it out -- eventually.
  Worst thing you can do is leave it unfinished. It's never the solution is it?""
  Howard: "You know what my favorite part of our crossword is?
  When you realized you know something you didn't think you knew."
  from All About Steve
• "It's not the SAT.... You're allowed to put the puzzle down if you get frustrated.
  The fascinating thing to me is that your brain continues working on it in the background.
  When you come back to it, you might be able to fill in more than you thought you could."
  ~Deb Amlen
• "Try to solve as much as you can in each puzzle, and... don't stress when you can't finish one.
  For the ones you don’t know, if it's something way out of your knowledge comfort zone,
  look it up and read a bit more about it. It's fun, really! There is no shame in missing an answer
  or not finishing the puzzle. The key is learning what you missed. The more puzzles you solve,
  the easier it gets." ~Howard Barkin, 2016 champion of the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament
• An anthropologist told me how relaxing she finds it to... do the crossword puzzle.
  She loops from clue to clue effortlessly, allowing her mind "to wander as it wonders,"
  to use a Langston Hughes expression. And then, the moment she feels stuck,
  she leaves the puzzle aside for a few hours, even a few days.
  "The moment I return to it, it is as if I have been cleaned up, given a bath.
  Answers start being downloaded." ~Ilan Stavans
• "Some people think it's pseudo-science,... but it's called morphic resonance.
  It's when someone thinks of an idea, it makes it easier for someone else to think of the idea.
  That's why you should do crossword puzzles later in the day,
  because other people have thought about the answers." ~Rich Fulcher
• "I love doing the 'New York Times' crossword puzzle, even... on the days I can't finish it."
  ~Lauren Graham
• "I'm patient with crossword puzzles... and the most impatient golfer." ~Brett Hull
• "You know that thing where you're trying to do the crossword puzzle, and... you're trying to fit
  the word that's in your head in the puzzle, and then you go 'Ugh!' and you walk away,
  and then it comes to you. I'm interested in that moment. The release of expectation,
  and the release of pleasing yourself and pleasing anybody. Breaking the mindset." ~Jeffrey Tambor
• "Never leave a crossword... unfinished." ~Charles Krauthammer
• "People who work crossword puzzles know... that if they stop making progress,
  they should put the puzzle down for a while." ~Marilyn vos Savant

References

• How to solve a crossword puzzle? Doodle not Google SMH; 1/6/2022
• You Don't Truly Build a Habit Until After You Break Your Streak LH; 8/13/2020
• How to Solve The New York Times Crossword How To Get Started:
  Practice Makes, If Not Perfect, A Much Better Solver; Find Your 'Gimmes'; Use The Crossings, Luke;
  It's Not Cheating, It's Learning; Take A Break If You Get Stuck; Solve With A Friend;
  Sit Back And Enjoy Your Accomplishment; NYT; 11/2017
• How to strengthen your crossword-solving muscles -- the Diana NYAD way
  "We should never, ever give up"; 9/21/2013
• What I've Learned Through Crossword Puzzles 1/25/2013
• Sleep to Solve Crossword Puzzles Better 7/4/2010
• HSW 7: Take a Break; Word Buff: 4. Work on Your Mental Game
• about.com: 9. I Give Up!; Wonder 5. Take a Break
• Hinman's 5 tips Keep practicing; Keep an open mind; Be prepared to erase wrong answers;
  Keep staring at the damn thing; If you're still stuck, leave, do something non-intellectual, and come back