Cato's Dozen Crossword (2024)

FAQs

What do the numbers mean in crossword hints? ›

The simplest kind of wordplay hint is a second definition. For example, HOOD can mean "gangster" or "a cover for the head." So a clue for HOOD might read: "Cover for the head gangster (4)." (The number in parentheses indicates how many letters are in the answer.)

The crosswords are designed to increase in difficulty throughout the week, with the easiest on Monday and the most difficult on Saturday. The larger Sunday crossword, which appears in The New York Times Magazine, is an icon in American culture; it is typically intended to be a "Thursday-plus" in difficulty.

However, many times the blank space can be filled in with two or more words. In easier crosswords, multiple words will be indicated with (2 words) or (2 wds.), but more often than not it will be up to the solver to determine how many words fill in the space.

There is a number or numbers after the clue. This indicates the shape of the answer. A simple (7) will just indicate a seven‐letter word; (3,4) will indicate a two‐word phrase ‐ e.g. Put Down; (3‐4) indicates a hyphenated word or phrase ‐ e.g. Oil‐rigs.

Most cryptic crosswords provide the number of letters in the answer, or in the case of phrases, a series of numbers to denote the letters in each word: "cryptic crossword" would be clued with "(7,9)" following the clue.

Fill in the blanks first

Every puzzle usually has a small handful of fill-in-the-blanks, so if you're looking to get an early confidence boost, scan the list of clues for fill-in-the-blanks and knock them out early.

How hard could it be? The Saturday crossword is actually the hardest puzzle of the week. Mondays have the most straightforward clues and Saturday clues are the hardest, or involve the most wordplay. Contrary to popular belief, the Sunday puzzles are midweek difficulty, not the hardest.

Let ClickUp AI be your ultimate crossword puzzle assistant! With this prompt, you can quickly get a list of synonyms for any clue, helping you find the perfect answer and conquer that crossword puzzle in no time.

What is the average time to finish the NYT crossword? ›

At an average finish time of nine minutes and twenty-four seconds over those 2,192 puzzles, that's roughly 20,589 minutes or 343 hours or 14.3 full days spent doing crossword puzzles, time enough to walk between a capital city founded in 1050 (OSLO) and a WWI battle locale (YSER).

1. The New York Times Crossword. Renowned for its sophistication and wordplay, The New York Times Crossword is arguably the gold standard in the world of puzzles.

In cryptic crosswords, the clues are puzzles in themselves. A typical clue contains both a definition at the beginning or end of the clue and wordplay, which provides a way to manufacture the word indicated by the definition, and which may not parse logically.

Fill in the blanks first

Every puzzle usually has a small handful of fill-in-the-blanks, so if you're looking to get an early confidence boost, scan the list of clues for fill-in-the-blanks and knock them out early.