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How Puzzlers Balance Tricky Clues and Fun Words

From names that aren’t in the spotlight to words from other cultures, tricky clues make puzzles more interesting.

Rebecca Tulis

By Matt GaffneyDec 14, 2020

Some tricky crossings in this week's puzzles! On Tuesday, we had [Directions-finding app] at 10-A for WAZE and [Hyundai model] at 3-D for AZERA, crossing at the Z.

What's so tricky about that? Nothing, if you knew one or both of those answers. If you didn't, that Z might've been tough to guess for three reasons. First, they're both brand names, so you either know 'em or you don't. Second, neither is a standard English word, so they couldn't be puzzled out by going through your mental dictionary. And third, they're both car-related, so if you're not a driver (or just not that into cars), you might've just been guessing.

Another tricky crossing came on Thursday, where NADIA and ADA crossed, clued as [Gymnastics great Comaneci] and [Early computer programming pioneer Lovelace]. Comaneci is one of the all-time gymnastics greats but was at her peak in the 1970s, so it's entirely possible to be unfamiliar with her. Ada Lovelace is a famous historical figure but not quite a household name, so again, a missable letter.

Besides tricky clues, vocabulary that’s worth knowing and tough-but-fair is another way to up the difficulty level in puzzles. This week we had possible-not-to-know ARCANE, MURSE, and HALAL, and in recent weeks we've also had BINDI, BEEMER, EQUINE, DIEU, EUDORA, and SPY-FI. But what fun would crosswords be if you were already familiar with every single word in them?

Learn a new word from crosswords? Tweet it at #beastxword so we'll all know it.