The following analysis looks into various patterns in New York Times crossword puzzle clues and answers. Completing a crossword requires a little bit of knowledge, logic, luck, and perseverance.įor those who complete many crossword puzzles, it will become noticeable that there are patterns and repetition in both clues and answers. Working on a crossword puzzle can elicit a range of emotions from laughter to frustration. I enjoy working on the daily crossword puzzles each morning with a cup of tea or coffee. The variety of clever clues, trivia and more make crossword puzzles appealing to so many. Crossword themes - set of entries within a crossword that have something in common.

Tricky to figure out and typically reserved for Thursday or Sunday puzzles.

Rebus elements - word or group of letters written inside a single square.

if there’s a foreign language in the clue, the answer will be in the same foreign language). if the clue is plural, answer is plural) and language (i.e. if clue is primarily a noun, answer is a noun), number (i.e. if the clue is past tense, answer is past tense), part of speech (i.e.

Clue and answer must match tense (i.e.

Some mirror symmetry (left-right symmetry) or asymmetrical puzzles have been published - usually with an appropriate theme.

Puzzle grids have rotational symmetry (identical after 180deg rotation).

The New York Times puzzles are particularly popular and are known for just a few of the following characteristics: The Sunday puzzle is of moderate difficulty but the grid size increases from 15x15 to 21x21.

The NYT crosswords famously increase in difficulty from Monday to Saturday. The puzzles have seen a recent surge in popularity during Covid-19 with an increase in NYT crossword answer internet searches (Malhotra, 2021). The first NYT crossword puzzle was published on Sunday, Februwith the beloved puzzles becoming a daily regular in 1950. The New York Times (NYT) is one of the most popular crossword puzzles. Since then, the crossword puzzle has gained in popularity around the world. Arthur Wynne is widely credited with authoring the first modern published crossword puzzle on Sunday December 21, 1913. Each white square is filled with a letter while black squares separate answers. Clues are provided to fill in grid squares from left to right (“across) and top to bottom (“down”). Crosswords are word puzzles that come in a variety of shapes and patterns that utilize a black and white grid pattern.

Nytimes learning network crossword