CluesĬlues should reflect the difficulty of the puzzle. However, never let two obscure words or names cross. Difficult words are fine - especially for the harder daily puzzles that run late in the week - if the words are interesting bits of knowledge or useful additions to the vocabulary. Keep crosswordese to a minimum - that is, answers that appear far more in crosswords than in real life (ERNE, ASTA, ARETE, YSER, etc.). Non-English words are allowed, so long as they are familiar or inferable to people who don’t speak the language.Īvoid uncommon abbreviations and partial phrases longer than five letters (“So _” for BE IT would be permissible, while “So _” for IT GOES would not.) Be mindful of words that might impact solvers negatively. Common words that lend themselves to interesting and imaginative cluing angles are encouraged.ĭiversity in cultural references - for age, gender, ethnicity, etc. FillĬonstructors should emphasize lively words, well-known names and fresh phrases. We generally prefer puzzles with playful themes rather than straightforward subjects. Themes and theme entries should be accessible to everyone. For example, if the theme includes a particular kind of pun, then all the puns should be of that kind. Themes should be fresh, interesting, narrowly defined and consistently applied throughout the puzzle. What we could use more of: Thursday and Sunday puzzles that don’t involve a rebus. No more than three puzzles pending at a time. Original, on-target clues, pitched at the puzzle’s intended difficulty level, including a variety of cultural reference points. Lively fill, with words, phrases and names that solvers know or can infer from the crossings. This page of guidelines is a living document and reflects our current best practices on crossword construction. A New York Times crossword will be a collaboration between you and our staff of editors, who will seek to preserve your voice while making the puzzle as enjoyable as possible for solvers.
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