Stan Newman's Daily Crossword Tips February 05 - 11, 2023
Solving crosswords every day is a fun and healthy habit that will build and strengthen your problem-solving skills. Whether you're new to crosswords, or a seasoned solver, everyone can use a helpful hint now and then. Come back every week to see the digest of daily tips that will help you achieve the satisfaction of solving a crossword a day.
Sunday, February 05, 2023
ADJECTIVAL ORIGINS: Per the OED, by S.N.
Difficulty level: Medium
Some of the trickier clues: 44 Across, 67 Across, 33 Down, 39 Down, 82 Down
Today's Tip: Note the spelling at 51 Across (not a misprint). 26 Across has erupted nearly 200 times in recorded history, the earliest being in 1500 BC.
Play more Sunday crosswords from editor Stan Newman’s archives.
Monday, February 06, 2023
THE HOLE THINGS by Sally R. Stein
Difficulty level: Easy
Easy clues suggested for you to begin with: 17 Across, 41 Across, 9 Down, 50 Down
Today's Tip: The long Across answers are things with holes.
Play more crosswords at this same level from editor Stan Newman’s archives.
Tuesday, February 07, 2023
PALETTE CHOICES by Billie Truitt
Difficulty level: Easy
Easy clues suggested for you to begin with: 18 Across, 40 Across, 26 Down, 49 Down
Today's Tip: The “palette choices” in the long answers aren’t specific colors.
Play more crosswords at this same level from editor Stan Newman’s archives.
Wednesday, February 08, 2023
REMINDERS by Guilherme Gilioli
Difficulty level: Easy-Medium
Easy clues suggested for you to begin with: 17 Across, 46 Across, 21 Down, 60 Down
Today's Tip: 20 Across might be new to you, but will make complete sense once you’ve filled it in.
Play more crosswords at this same level from editor Stan Newman’s archives.
Thursday, February 09, 2023
HIDDEN COSTS by Mark McClain
Difficulty level: Medium-Hard
Easiest clues suggested for you to begin with: 31 Across, 38 Across, 2 Down, 9 Down
Tricky clues to watch out for: 6 Across, 22 Across, 7 Down, 61 Down
Today's Tip: The cost in 16 Across isn’t “hidden” as sneakily as the others.
Play more crosswords at this same level from editor Stan Newman’s archives.
Friday, February 10, 2023
RARE ADDITIONS by S.N.
Difficulty level: Hard
Easiest clues suggested for you to begin with: 46 Across, 49 Across, 9 Down, 14 Down
Tricky clues to watch out for: 15 Across, 19 Across, 33 Down, 38 Down
Today's Tip: Today’s theme is explained at 54 Down. Very few words fit the description.
Play more crosswords at this same level from editor Stan Newman’s archives.
Saturday, February 11, 2023
SATURDAY STUMPER by Matthew Sewell
Difficulty level: Very Hard
Most straightforward clues: 23 Across, 39 Across, 4 Down, 49 Down
Trickiest clues to watch out for: 6 Across, 31 Across, 49 Across, 16 Down
Today's Tip: The themeless Saturday Stumpers are deliberately designed to be the most challenging daily crosswords available anywhere, and are widely acknowledged by champion-level puzzle fans to be just that. The most important tip to always keep in mind: expect trickery everywhere, and consider the multiple meanings (and/or parts of speech) that any clue word might have. If you have trouble getting started, you’ll find it highly enlightening to use the app’s “Reveal puzzle” feature, then compare each clue with its corresponding answer. This is how many have developed the skills to fully solve Saturdays.
Play more crosswords at this same level from editor Stan Newman’s archives.
How did it go?
Did you find this week’s digest of daily tips helpful? Did you find a clue that really stumped you? Join your fellow crossword fans in the comments. Just scroll down to the bottom of the page to the comments to engage with other puzzle solvers just like you.
About this week’s puzzle authors:
Stan Newman
Since 1988, Stan Newman has been the Crossword Editor for the Long Island, New York newspaper Newsday, where he is widely acknowledged as America’s preeminent expert in customizing crosswords by level of difficulty. During his career, he has also been Founding Editor for the popular “Crosswords with Friends” app, Managing Director of Puzzles and Games for Random House, and has authored or edited over 200 books - including crossword puzzle books, word game books, and crossword reference books.
Stan has written many thousands of his own crosswords over the years, including the first crosswords ever to appear in the Wall Street Journal, People and Newsweek magazines.
As a puzzle solver, he has held since 1996 the world's record for the fastest completion of a New York Times crossword: 2 minutes, 14 seconds.
Sally R. Stein is a pseudonym for your humble crossword editor, which I use for the easiest Monday and Tuesday puzzles of the week. “Sally R. Stein” being an anagram of “it’s really S.N.”
Billie Truitt
Billie Truitt has been constructing puzzles for Stan since 2008, specializing in the easier Tuesday puzzles, expanding into Fridays and Sundays in recent years. She lives with her husband and son in Windsor, Connecticut.
Guilherme Gilioli
Guilherme Gilioli is a Brazilian full-time crossword constructor, creating puzzles for newspapers, magazines, books and apps in 3 languages (Portuguese, English and Spanish). He started creating his own puzzles in 2017 and publishing them online on his own website. In 2021 he dropped his regular job at a hardware store to dedicate himself only to puzzle-making.
His hobbies are collecting and solving Rubik's Cubes, reading, taking strolls and playing with his cat Tigrinho (“Tiger”).
Mark McClain
Mark McClain lives with his longtime partner Diana Christopulos in the small city of Salem, Virginia, near the Appalachian Trail and Blue Ridge Parkway. He was born in Alva, Oklahoma, and spent time in Oklahoma City and the Dallas area during his years working in financial management for several large corporations. He has two adult daughters and one granddaughter.
He holds a bachelor's degree in economics and marketing and an MBA in finance and accounting. He's a veteran of the U.S. Army and in retirement has spent many hours volunteering at a Veterans Affairs Medical Center and several other community volunteer jobs.
He has been making crossword puzzles since 2014 for Stan as well as several other publishers. His crosswords may have a classic feel, as he listens to classical music while working on them. In his spare time he enjoys doing jigsaw puzzles.
Matthew Sewell
Matthew Sewell is a professor of literature and film at Minnesota State University. His first puzzle for Newsday appeared in 2015. He especially enjoys making puzzles with challenging-but-gettable entries and fresh, unexpected clues. For those interested in learning how to make publishable crosswords, he recommends Patrick Berry's Crossword Constructor Handbook (available online at aframegames.com) as well as the kind people at the Facebook group Crossword Puzzle Collaboration Directory.