Tag Archives: rebus

Variety Crosswords: What’s Black and White and Crossed All Over

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It’s an awesome time to be a crossword fan.

You’ve got LOADS of outlets doing traditional crosswords, both themed and themeless / freestyle. There are minis and midis for quicker solving (but equally creative themes and tricks!), and cryptic / British crosswords for a different flavor of cluing.

But that’s just scraping the surface of different kinds of crosswords out there. So today, let’s explore the world of variety crosswords and see all the challenging ways constructors can add a twist to the familiar crossword formula.

(These examples are from Penny Dell Puzzles, GAMES Magazine, and Puzzlecraft by Mike Selinker and Thomas Snyder.)

Twin Crosswords (also known as Twinlets) is a puzzle that offers two identical grids and the clues for both grids, but all mixed up. 1-Across gets two clues, one for each grid, but you don’t know which. (Unless the first word is set for you, like in the example above.) That continues for every coordinate, both across and down. Can you figure out which clue applies to which grid?

For an extra challenge, constructors sometimes use the same clue for two different words, testing the solver’s flexibility of mind as well as their vocabulary.

There is a variation on Twin Crosswords known as a Dilemma crossword. In this case, the mix-matched clues apply to two different sections in the same grid. A single unifying entry runs across the top of the grid, with two identical columns below.

Black lines divide answer words instead of black squares, making this a challenging puzzle to construct and to solve! (Crosswords without black squares are also called Blackout puzzles.)

Similar to Dilemma, a Stoplines puzzle has black lines instead of black squares, leading to a dense interconnected grid with traditional rotational symmetry, but lacking that single grid-spanning entry across the top.

But at least a Stoplines puzzle gives you black lines to figure out word lengths for your answers. A Wordsworth puzzle has the same dense grid, but without any indicators of word length. An empty 15x grid space awaits a Wordsworth solver. (It’s like a Diagramless without any black squares.)

Oh, and for an extra challenge for an already difficult task, Clapboard has no black squares AND all of the entries overlap by 1 or 2 letters.

For a break from the tight grids and difficulty, let’s check out a Brick by Brick crossword.

This is a traditional crossword, except you have the additional advantage of the grid being split up into 3×2 “bricks” and randomly gathered next to the clues.

So solvers can either traditionally solve this crossword or put their jigsaw skills to the test assembling the grid visually brick by brick.

I really like this puzzle as an introduction to crosswords. That extra element adds a safety net for nervous solvers who find a traditional crossword grid daunting.

If you’re a fan of rebus-style crosswords — grids where a cell can hold more than one letter, often as part of a tricky gimmick or theme — you should check out Double Trouble crosswords (also known as Crushword puzzles).

Every box in this puzzle contains either 1, 2, or 3 letters, making the crossings extra challenging to work out so that every answer fits.

(There’s even a Diagramless Double Trouble for the truly masochistic solver.)

Sometimes, the variation isn’t in the grid design, it’s in the cluing.

For instance, instead of a traditional crossword clue, a Triple Play puzzle offers three words that form phrases with the intended answer word. For example, the clue SNAIL, BOX, ORDER points to the answer word MAIL (snail mail, mailbox, mail order).

The trios replace some (but not all) of the usual clues, offering a more associative clue to unravel.

Other times, not every entry gets clued at all. In a Four-Most, every four-letter word in the grid isn’t clued, it’s listed alphabetically in a separate word list instead. So while the clues handle the 3-letter, 5-letter, and entries of other lengths, you have to fit the four-letter words into grid from their crossings.

Similarly, an At 6’s & 7’s crossword does the same, but with all of the six-letter words and all of the seven-letter words removed from the clue list. They still get clued, but alphabetically, not by grid coordinates.

In a Buried Treasure puzzle, the shaded grid entries are related words that fit a particular theme, and they’re only clued in the grid as “Treasure Word.” So you have to fill them in from their crossings and figure out what the Treasure Words have in common.

I’m going to close out today’s post with two of my favorite crossword variants. One is a cluing variant, the other a grid variant.

For an additional level of deduction in your crossword solve, there’s Battleships.

In this puzzle, you don’t get the across and down grid coordinates. Instead, you get one Battleship-style coordinate that the word will occupy. You don’t know if the answer word is reading across or down, only that word crosses that coordinate somewhere in the grid.

You get set words to get you started, but it’s still fun to puzzle out exactly how to fit the grid together.

For a nice change of pace visually, there’s Three-D Crossword.

This puzzle offers the same grid three times, side by side by side, like looking at one half of a cube corner first.

It’s genuinely eye-catching and leads to some interesting crossings, allowing for longer entries without all the extra grid fill of a traditional 17x puzzle or larger.

They’re a pleasure to solve and surprisingly fun to construct.

Crosswords have endured in the public eye and in the hearts of puzzlers because of the endless creativity they represent. A clever mind can take a crossword places solvers didn’t expect, challenging and delighting them in equal measure.

It’s one of the many reasons crosswords have stood the test of time, and will continue to do so for years to come.

Are you a traditional crossword solver, a mini/midi enthusiast, a cryptic crossword devotee, or a fan of variety crosswords like the ones above? Did we introduce you to any new favorites? Let us know in the comments section below. We’d love to hear from you!

The Great Rebus Debate

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I love Reddit. You can find a subreddit to discuss practically any topic. You can share memes, share thoughts, share opinions, and debate other users for eternity there. I’ve learned a lot, laughed a lot, and been baffled quite a few times during my Reddit journeys.

So you can imagine my surprise when I stumbled across a post about crosswords in the subreddit r/mildlyinfuriating, a subreddit designed for all the little indignities, inconveniences, and choices that leave users slightly miffed.

The title of the post said it all: The crossword I’m working on expects me to know that I need to write multiple letters in one square.

You see, gentle reader, this person had just encountered a rebus puzzle for the first time.

For the uninitiated (welcome!), a rebus puzzle is any crossword that requires you to disregard the one-letter-per-cell rule of crosswords, placing a symbol, a number, or multiple letters into a single cell.

They are one of the more devious tricks in the cruciverbalist arsenal, and there’s no denying that the first time you encounter a rebus, it feels like you’re going mad. You know the answer, but it seems too long, or not quite right, and it won’t fit.

AND CROSSWORDS ARE ALL ABOUT MAKING IT FIT.

Reddit user grubas summed it up nicely: When you don’t know a rebus is coming it’s the worst thing ever.

Yes, there’s usually a clue or a title slyly mentioning the trickery afoot, but for a new solver or one unfamiliar with rebuses, that can often feel like not enough of a hint.

In two days, this post has accumulated TWENTY-SIX THOUSAND up votes and over a thousand comments.

Some users said that rebus puzzles are the reason they stop solving the weekly NYT crossword after Wednesdays. Some claimed they stopped solving the NYT altogether. That’s a bummer.

Many others, even rebus fans, acknowledged that the first time you encounter a rebus puzzle, it’s brutal. Plenty of those commenters now see it as a welcome challenge, and even an expected one when Thursday rolls around.

I do enjoy a rebus, though I’m frequently flummoxed by the ones where the rebus involves one answer reading down and a different one reading across in the same box. But either way, the confusion and occasional frustration I feel with them is usually worth it when I finally crack what’s going on and complete the puzzle. That’s a great feeling.

Several users requested a symbol or sign to warn them of a rebus puzzle. It’s a nice idea, but it also immediately spoils the chance for the a-ha moment when you realize you’re solving a rebus puzzle. I must confess I’m not a huge fan of this idea (unless it can be concealed in a Hint feature or something, and not be immediately evident from the jump).

The OP (original poster) later clarified their position on crosswords, stating that they view crosswords more as a trivia challenge than a “how do I make the right answer fit” challenge. Which is totally understandable.

In a world fraught with so much uncertainty, people like their routine, their comfort diversions, and for one of those comforts to suddenly not make sense, it can be genuinely unpleasant. I absolutely get that!

A day later, someone shared the post on the r/crossword subreddit, with the title Rebuses don’t seem so popular outside of r/crossword based on the comments here!

But, funnily enough, the debate was just as enthusiastic there as it was on the r/mildlyinfuriating subreddit!

Several commenters commiserated with the original post, understanding that for some crossword solvers, a rebus is a step too far. As Shepherd77 put it, “Rebuses are a hat on a hat and my head is already warm enough.”

Other solvers were surprised that the additional challenge wasn’t welcome among fellow puzzlers, citing that rebuses and other crosswords that break from the traditional rules were pleasant surprises and some of their favorites.

Everyone’s welcome to their opinion. I mean, I don’t go a week without hearing some solvers complain that the cluing and entries are too antiquated or unwelcoming to new solvers, while other solvers complain that there’s too much modern slang/pop culture in the puzzles.

Of course, if everyone’s complaining, that’s usually the sign of a good compromise.

I tried to read as many of the comments as I could to get a good sample from all sides. And I think xanoran84 had a terrific response to the vitriol in both subreddits:

Mostly, I’m very baffled by how much anger people express at puzzles being tricky. If I can’t figure out a puzzle, I just assume I’m not good at it yet, I don’t get mad at the puzzle for being a puzzle. But I guess just… People are different.

Ain’t that the truth.

So where do you stand on the great rebus debate, fellow solver? Do you like them? Love them? Loathe them? Think they should be marked as a rebus from the start?

Let us know in the comments section below. We’d love to hear from you!

Voltaire and Frederick the Great: Puzzle Pals?

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frederick and voltaire

One of the most curious – and tumultuous – friendships in history was that of Frederick the Great and Voltaire.

Voltaire, the 18th-century philosopher and writer, never shied from criticizing the monarchy in his outspoken defenses of civil liberties. That makes it all the more curious that he became friends with the Prussian King Frederick II, aka Frederick the Great.

They bonded over a shared interest in the arts — a passion for Frederick all his life, despite his father’s disapproval.

From Joshua Figueroa’s marvelous article on KMFA.org:

Through Frederick’s public admiration, Voltaire was given a status few other philosophers of the era had. Likewise, Voltaire helped spread the word of Frederick’s flattering image as a philosopher-king.

As it turns out, they were mutual wordplay enthusiasts as well.

The story goes that Frederick the Great wanted to invite Voltaire to lunch, but did so with a rebus:

the question

Voltaire replied simply:

the answer

Which left Frederick confused as to why Voltaire would reply in German. Voltaire retorted that he hadn’t.

There’s a lot going on here, all to do with how things sound when said aloud.

Let’s look at Frederick’s message first:

the question

You have the letter P above the number 1 and the word Si above the number 100, with the letter a between them.

Anyone familiar with rebuses knows that a horizontal line between two words means “over/above” or “under.”

But remember that we’re working in French. So that’s un for 1 and sous for under. Un sous p.

Aloud you get un souper, or “a supper.”

Following the same logic, you’ve got 100 (cent) under (sous) si, which sounds like Sanssouci, Frederick’s castle.

Put it all together, and it’s the lunch invite Frederick intended, souper à Sanssouci. Pretty clever.

But what about Voltaire’s reply?

the answer

It sure looks like the German word for yes.

But if you’re very literal about what you’re seeing, you’ve got a large J and a small A.

Large in French is grande (as Starbucks customers know). Small in French is petit.

J grande A petit.

Or, said aloud, J’ai grand appétit. Which means “I have a great appetite.”

You know, I’m starting to see why these two became pals.

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Sometimes, You Can’t Trust the “Rules” of Crosswords

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There are a lot of things you learn as you solve more and more crosswords.

You learn vocabulary, both words that are simply new to you AND words that are common to crosswords. You learn cluing tropes, like question marks indicating wordplay or quotation marks indicating informal speech or exclamations.

You also start to learn some of the constructors’ tricks.

Now, there are all sorts of ways that constructors can play with solvers, but all told, they seem to fit into three overall categories: clue trickery, theme gimmickry, and grid manipulation.

We’ve spoken about clue trickery loads of times in the past, and no doubt will again. And theme gimmickry will be the subject of a future post.

But today, we’d like to focus on grid manipulation.

tumblr_nltrvaQWZN1qafoq6o1_400

So, what do we mean by that? Well, essentially, grid manipulation is our catchall term for the most devious arrow in the constructor’s quiver. It’s when the standard accepted rules of crosswords no longer apply.

No matter what sort of symmetry is involved or how the grid is constructed, there are generally three accepted rules of crosswords:

  • Across words read across.
  • Down words read down.
  • One letter per square.

These are the fundamental rules, Newton’s three laws of crosswords. They’re the rules every solver expects to be in play when they sit down to solve a crosswords.

But that’s not always true.

gopher

Over the years, crafty constructors have found ways to push the boundaries of what you can do with those iconic grids of black and white squares.

Some constructors have literally gone outside the box, creating puzzles where letters of answers are placed beyond the grid itself, as in Sid Sivakumar’s American Values Club crossword “Bursting With Pride” a year or two ago (with the letters LGBTQIA+ appearing in sequence).

Byron Walden’s Fasten Your Seatbelts puzzle from the AVC crossword in 2019 also extended beyond the grid. Extra letters served not only as “bumps” along the otherwise smooth sides of the grid, but spelled out various bumps, like RAZOR, SPEED, and GOOSE.

Other constructors find fresh ways to pack more into a grid than expected.

The most common form is the rebus puzzle, whether multiple letters can be placed in a single grid square. Sometimes, it’s only a single square in a themed entry where multiple letters fit. Other times, you can get whole strings of them. The exact puzzle escapes me, but I can remember a crossword where two down entries all had rebus squares, so instead of one film title in that down entry, two would fit in each.

One impressive example that comes to mind is Andy Kravis’s “Currency Exchange” puzzle from the 2019 Indie 500 puzzle tournament.

The puzzle actually had little ATM graphics in various grid boxes, and they represented different currencies concealed in the theme entries. Plus, the across and down entries that shared an ATM had different currencies in their entries. For instance, one ATM represented WON in SMALL WONDER and DINAR in ORDINARY.

Other puzzles, known as quantum puzzles, feature multiple possible answers in the same space.

1996 election puzzle gif

The most famous example is the 1996 Election Day crossword. The puzzle “predicted” the outcome of the election quite cleverly by allowing for either CLINTON ELECTED or BOB DOLE ELECTED to read out, depending on how the solver answered seven down clues.

Arguably the most impressive one I’ve ever seen was published in 2014. Constructors Kacey Walker and David Quarfoot combined some considerable Scrabble skills and a dynamite crossword grid to create an amazing puzzle.

You see, clues 26-Across, 36-Across, and 44-Across all featured seven letters, like a rack in Scrabble. It was up to the solver to find the anagram of each rack that fit the grid. Walker and Quarfoot designed the puzzle so that each of those clues had three possible correct answers — for 26-Across: ROWDIER, WORDIER, and WORRIED all fit the down clues — meaning there were a staggering 27 possible correct solutions!

Still, those puzzles followed the standard across and down rules. But other puzzles don’t.

In those puzzles, entries don’t go the way you’d think, bending or taking unexpected twists in the grid. One example was Patrick Berry’s brain-melting Puzzle 5 from the 2016 American Crossword Puzzle Tournament, “Changing Lanes,” where answers zigzagged across the grid.

A less complex puzzle with a similar gimmick appeared in the 2019 Boswords tournament. “Spill the Tea” by John Lieb and David Quarfoot featured longer entries than would fit in the given spaces. The trick was to shorten in by removing a brand of tea from the answer, and letting it read down off that across entry, rather than inside it. So, for instance, HOTEL CHAIN read HOTELCN across, because CHAI was reading down from the C instead.

thatsnoneofmy

Lieb and Quarfoot incorporated five such “spills” in the grid, and clued each tea reading down simply with “Oops.” It was an immensely clever way to utilize the across and down entries in a unique, unexpected way.

As you can see, puzzle innovation can come in virtually any form, and often, the very foundational rules of crosswords can be bent or broken to create an ambitious, brain-twisting, and (ultimately) satisfying solve.

So be on the lookout, fellow puzzlers. You truly never know how constructors will challenge you next.

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The Monster Mash-Up: Punny Costume Ideas!

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Long-time readers know that we often host in-house wordplay contests. Not only do we invite our friends at Penny/Dell Puzzles to participate, but our fellow puzzlers and PuzzleNationers as well!

This month, the challenge was to create a punny costume for a wordplay-fueled Halloween party!

Participants could use famous phrases, quotes, celebrities, characters, and anything else they could think of, just so long as there was a punny element to the inevitable costume!

With both text and art submitted, let’s check out what these clever puzzly minds came up with!

dwight

An enigmatic talk/game-show host… Rebus Fill-In

Just carry around pictures of Miss Kapowski, Miss Bundy, Dancer Gene, and Singers Clarkson and Rowland, then tear them up… Kelly Ripa

Someone all dolled up in a fabulous evening gown and hair stacked up high, but also wearing a flannel shirt, toting an axe, and covered in a bushy beard… RuPaul Bunyan

janelle monet

A man in a sharp suit, dyed entirely pink, smoking a pipe and asking about your mother… Pink Freud

Someone in a striped shirt and beret, wielding a sledgehammer in one hand and a plate of thin pancakes in the other… The Crepes of Wrath

Kim Kardashian riding a broomstick… a Flying Buttress

herman

Slutty Sandy (from “Grease”) with Freddy Krueger hands and a Santa cap… Sandy Claws

A peanut butter cup carrying a ladle… Reese Witherspoon

A Great White shark dressed in a cereal box… The Jaws of Life

forest prime evel

An impaled Italian Stallion dressed in his boxing outfit and gloves, accompanied by someone dressed as a Boston Red Sox player… Rocky Horror Pitcher Show

A plaid bowtie and cummerbund with a black pork pie hat, black sunglasses, and a goatee… Breaking Brad Majors

(Here’s one for a family!) Mom, Dad and kids all dressed like Freddy Krueger or Edward Scissorhands… The Blady Bunch

lebron

Picture it: A long time ago in a galaxy far far away…

A man with a Chuck Norris beard, scowl and cowboy hat, wearing a short trench over a black Jedi knight outfit looms in the doorway of a smuggler’s cantina. He slowly pushes back his coat with a robotic hand revealing his holstered sidearm and drops his lightsaber from his sleeve into his other hand…

Luke SkyWALKER, Galactic Ranger

bitin

One of our contributors even created a delightful puzzly rebus for you to unravel! Can you identify this Halloween icon from the clues provided?

guess who

Do you have any punny costume ideas? Let us know in the comments below. We’d love to hear from you!

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How to Get Started in Cryptic Crosswords

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cryptic3

[Image courtesy of Amazon. The Times Cryptic Crossword Book.]

On Twitter yesterday, Oliver Roeder from FiveThirtyEight asked, “If one wanted to learn/practice solving cryptic crosswords, with what puzzles should one begin?”

Most of the replies mentioned different cryptic crossword outlets to try out, like The Nation, Harper’s Magazine, and The UK Times Quick Cryptic Crossword Book. The Nation in particular was recommended as a good starter cryptic.

Monthly offerings from constructors like Andrew Ries and Cox & Rathvon were also mentioned, though I would add Patrick Berry’s Son of the Crypt cryptic collection to the list of suggestions. (I would normally also recommend The Guardian because of their great cryptics, but they’re pretty tough, particularly for beginners.)

This, of course, presumes that Roeder meant which cryptic puzzles one should start with.

cryptic

[Image courtesy of The New European.]

It occurred to me that he might be asking what OTHER puzzles are good for beefing up your cryptic crossword solving game.

Given the different kinds of clues used in cryptic crosswords, I have a few suggestions.

1. Anagram puzzle

Anagrams are a staple of cryptic cluing, and any puzzler looking to get into cryptics should have some facility with them. There are plenty of ways to practice — the Jumble, Anagram Magic Square and other puzzles from our friends at Penny Dell Puzzles, and even Bananagrams, Words with Friends, or Scrabble will help build your anagram skills.

2. Rebus

Rebus puzzles are all about adding and subtracting letters to form words or phrases, and there’s plenty of that in cryptic cluing. This is a good way to get used to breaking down longer words into abbreviations, anagrams, and so on in order to puzzle out the answer to a cryptic clue.

3. Brain teaser/riddle

Many cryptic clues rely on words with multiple meanings, as well as words that serve as both instructions and hints. Brain teasers and riddles employ similar wordplay, and they can help you develop a proclivity for looking at words from a new point of view.

cryptic2

[Image courtesy of Eastern Daily Press.]

Of course, if you want help learning to decipher the many variations on cryptic crossword cluing that you’ll encounter, there are some great resources out there.

Penny Dell Puzzles has a PDF containing examples of the most common cluing tricks, and you can bolster that with similar insights from Wikipedia and The Nation.

If you’re looking for deeper dives into all sorts of cryptic cluing, my one-stop shop for insight is The Guardian’s crossword blog. They offer regular features breaking down various kinds of cryptic clues.

In the last few weeks alone, they’ve covered cycling clues, “stuttering” in clues, and how the points of the compass can be used in cluing, and there are dozens of similarly illuminating posts in their archive.

It’s a terrific resource for newbie cryptic solvers and established puzzlers alike.

And it’s worth getting into cryptic crosswords, if only for the occasional subversive little Easter egg like this one from yesterday’s The Guardian cryptic:

brexit

Did I miss any resources or outlets for great cryptic crosswords? Let me know in the comments section below! I’d love to hear from you!

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