Stan Newman's Daily Crossword Tips February 12 - 18, 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 12, 2023
THINK FAST: But no need to rush, by Billie Truitt
Difficulty level: Medium
Some of the trickier clues: 25 Across, 120 Across, 13 Down, 104 Down
Today's Tip: After the reign of 10 Across, Egypt became a province of the Roman Empire.
Play more Sunday crosswords from editor Stan Newman’s archives.
Monday, February 13, 2023
SEE THE POINTS by Doug Peterson
Difficulty level: Easy
Easy clues suggested for you to begin with: 1 Across, 18 Across, 5 Down, 27 Down
Today's Tip: A “sharp” subject
Play more crosswords at this same level from editor Stan Newman’s archives.
Tuesday, February 14, 2023
WORD FOR TODAY by Billie Truitt
Difficulty level: Easy
Easy clues suggested for you to begin with: 28 Across, 61 Across, 8 Down, 46 Down
Today's Tip: The word for today will be found in four clues’ capital letters.
Play more crosswords at this same level from editor Stan Newman’s archives.
Wednesday, February 15, 2023
TWOSOMES by Fred Piscop
Difficulty level: Easy-Medium
Easy clues suggested for you to begin with: 6 Across, 42 Down, 17 Down, 38 Down
Today's Tip: The four “twos” won’t be hard to spot.
Play more crosswords at this same level from editor Stan Newman’s archives.
Thursday, February 16, 2023
NEED FOR SPEED by Winston Emmons
Difficulty level: Medium-Hard
Easiest clues suggested for you to begin with: 36 Across, 37 Across, 21 Down, 60 Down
Tricky clues to watch out for: 17 Across, 65 Across, 3 Down, 14 Down
Today's Tip: Four different ways to say “really rapidly.”
Play more crosswords at this same level from editor Stan Newman’s archives.
Friday, February 17, 2023
FRONT-AND-BACK SEATS by Mark McClain
Difficulty level: Hard
Easiest clues suggested for you to begin with: 9 Across, 60 Across, 8 Down, 34 Down
Tricky clues to watch out for: 21 Across, 67 Across, 27 Down, 61 Down
Today's Tip: The seats will be found in two pieces.
Play more crosswords at this same level from editor Stan Newman’s archives.
Saturday, February 18, 2023
SATURDAY STUMPER by Steve Mossberg
Difficulty level: Very Hard
Most straightforward clues: 20 Across, 23 Across, 41 Across, 5 Down
Trickiest clues to watch out for: 17 Across, 50 Across, 28 Down, 31 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.
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.
Doug Peterson
Doug Peterson is an avid puzzle solver and constructor who grew up in Montana and now makes his home in Southern California. He learned the ropes at an early age, solving Dell puzzle magazines with his grandmother during long summers spent at her home in Missoula.
He currently works for a labor union in Duarte, California, and spends most evenings working on crossword themes, grids, and clues. In his spare time, he enjoys reading and organizing his ever-growing comic book collection. And he loves to include comic book references in his puzzles.
He’s been making puzzles for Stan since 2003 and loves to challenge solvers with evocative clues and answers.
Fred Piscop
Fred Piscop of Bellmore, New York, has been constructing crosswords since the late 1980s. His first Newsday crossword appeared in 1992, and 2016 saw the publication of Fred's 1000th Newsday crossword.
Fred is the former editor of the Washington Post Sunday crossword and the USA Today crossword. He is also the creator of the popular Split Decisions® puzzle, which appears in the New York Times, GAMES World of Puzzles, and on Fred's website, www.split-decisions.us.
When Fred is not busy creating puzzles, he enjoys solving the Guardian cryptic crossword, playing keyboards at jam sessions, biking, running, playing senior softball, and sampling excellent microbrews.
Winston Emmons
Winston Emmons has taught in middle school and high school, created software documentation and training, and worked as a consultant developing educational curricula for the performing arts as well as process management systems for business organizations. He published his first crossword puzzle in 2015. Winston and his wife live in Florida and have three adult children.
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
Steve Mossberg
Steve Mossberg is a music teacher living with his family in the Boston area. As a dad and cryptic crossword buff, he likes a good pun and a tricky clue. Steve enjoys making all sorts of tough crosswords, but finds it particularly entertaining to construct Saturday Stumpers after many years of solving them with a timer. His first Newsday puzzle was published in 2020.