Stan Newman's Daily Crossword Tips Jan 15 - 21, 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, January 15th, 2023

 

PLAN AHEAD: Preparatory phraseology, by Mark McClain
Difficulty level: Medium
Some of the trickier clues: 42 Across, 96 Across, 16 Down, 69 Down

 

Today's Tip: The athlete at 11 Down won Olympic gold medals as a member of the U.S. basketball team in the last five Games.

Play more Sunday crosswords from editor Stan Newman’s archives.

 

Monday, January 16th, 2023

 

HAVE A SEAT by Sally R. Stein
Difficulty level: Easy

Easy clues suggested for you to begin with: 22 Across, 68 Across, 8 Down, 36 Down

 

Today's Tip: “Sally R. Stein” has long been a pseudonym for your humble crossword editor, which I’ve used for the easiest Monday and Tuesday puzzles of the week. “Sally R. Stein” being an anagram of “it’s really S.N.”

Play more crosswords at this same level from editor Stan Newman’s archives.

 

Tuesday, January 17th, 2023

 

THEN, NOW & THEN by Billie Truitt
Difficulty level: Easy
Easy clues suggested for you to begin with: 9 Across, 24 Across, 2 Down, 56 Down

Today's Tip:  Today’s title rather accurately describes the first word of the three longest answers.

Play more crosswords at this same level from editor Stan Newman’s archives.

 
Wednesday, January 18th, 2023

DEELICIOUS by Mark McClain
Difficulty level: Easy-Medium
Easy clues suggested for you to begin with: 5 Across, 24 Across, 13 Down, 42 Down

 

Today's Tip: The deliberate misspelling in the title is a hint to what the longest answers have in common.

Play more crosswords at this same level from editor Stan Newman’s archives.

 

Thursday, January 19th, 2023

 

CLIMB TIME by S.N.
Difficulty level: Medium-Hard
Easiest clues suggested for you to begin with: 23 Across, 43 Across, 1 Down, 24 Down
Tricky clues to watch out for: 40 Across, 61 Across, 5 Down, 10 Down (especially)

Today's Tip: If this puzzle had been slotted for a Wednesday, I would have given you more of a hint in the clues as to what each “Thing to climb” is. You’ll need some of the crossing answers to figure them out.

Play more crosswords at this same level from editor Stan Newman’s archives.

 

Friday, January 20th, 2023

 

TAG ENDS by Mark McClain
Difficulty level: Hard
Easiest clues suggested for you to begin with: 42 Across, 63 Across, 3 Down, 59 Down
Tricky clues to watch out for: 12 Across, 43 Across, 9 Down (especially), 37 Down (especially)

Today's Tip: The answer at 67 Across reveals what the puzzle is about.

Play more crosswords at this same level from editor Stan Newman’s archives.

 

Saturday, January 21st, 2023

 

SATURDAY STUMPER by Anna Stiga

Difficulty level: Very Hard
Most straightforward clues: 30 Across, 49 Across, 10 Down, 51 Down
Trickiest clues to watch out for: 22 Across, 25 Across, 26 Across, 62 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 on Stan Newman’s Daily Crossword puzzle page. Share your tips and tricks to solving puzzles. To join the discussion, click here and 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.

 

Mark McClain

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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.

 

Anna Stiga

Anna Stiga is one of several pseudonyms used for the crosswords authored by your humble puzzle editor.  “She” is the credited author for Saturday Stumpers that are intended to be not as cranium-crushing as those carrying his own “S.N.” byline, but more difficult than those with his “Lester Ruff” Saturday alias.

The name is an anagram of “Stan again.”