How to solve crosswords: a beginner's strategy guide

Updated 30 September 2026 · Applies to Crossword in MindGlyph and to the puzzle type in general.

To solve a crossword, make a first pass through every clue and fill only the answers you are sure of — fill-in-the-blank clues and short common words first. Then use the letters those answers give you (the crossings) to attack the clues you skipped. A clue's grammar tells you the answer's grammar: a plural clue has a plural answer, a past-tense clue a past-tense answer, and an abbreviation in the clue means an abbreviation in the grid.

The first pass

A crossword is not solved clue by clue in order; it is solved in passes. On the first pass read every clue, across and down, and write in only the answers you know without doubt. Fill-in-the-blank clues ('___ and Juliet') are the most reliable starting points, followed by three- and four-letter words, which come from a small pool. Do not agonise over a clue on the first pass — a skipped clue costs nothing, a wrong answer poisons every entry it crosses.

Let the crossings work

Every letter you place is a hint for the entry running the other way. This is the whole mechanism of a crossword: a confident across answer confirms one letter in each down entry it touches. On the second pass, go to the clues that now have two or three letters filled in and read them again; a clue that meant nothing with a blank grid often becomes obvious with an R and a T in place.

When two candidate answers fit a clue, do not pick — leave it and solve the crossings until one candidate is ruled out. Guessing between two options is how solvers end up erasing a whole corner.

Clue conventions

Crossword clues follow rules, and knowing them halves the difficulty. The answer matches the clue's part of speech and tense: 'Ran quickly' is an adjective-free past-tense verb, so the answer is one too (RACED, SPED, DASHED). A plural clue ('Small dogs') gives a plural answer. An abbreviation in the clue ('Dept. head') signals an abbreviation in the answer (MGR). A question mark at the end of a clue means the clue is a pun or wordplay, not a straight definition. Words such as 'perhaps', 'maybe' or 'for one' mean the clue gives an example of the answer rather than a definition of it.

When the grid stalls

Stalled grids are almost always stalled on one wrong letter. Check the entries you were least sure of, and check the vowel positions — a wrong vowel produces plausible-looking crossings. In MindGlyph a coin-priced check confirms the grid rather than guessing blind, and it is a better spend than a random erase. The daily crossword is the same grid for every player and stays in the archive, so a solve that takes two sessions still counts.

Crossword tips, in order

Fill the blanks first. Fill-in-the-blank clues have one answer. They are free letters.
Do a full pass before you dwell. Read every clue once; write only certainties. The letters you place unlock the clues you skipped.
Match the clue's grammar. Plural clue, plural answer. Past tense, past tense. Abbreviation in, abbreviation out.
Treat a question mark as a pun. 'Flower of London?' is the Thames (a river flows). The literal reading is a trap.
Never write a coin-toss. Two candidates? Solve the crossings until one dies.
Suspect the vowels. A stalled corner usually has one wrong vowel producing believable crossings.
Learn the short-word pool. ERA, ORE, ALE, EKE, OLEO, ETUI — three- and four-letter grid regulars repay memorising.

Practise it

Crossword is one of the nine games in MindGlyph, free on Android and iOS. How Crossword works in the app — including a new shared puzzle every day and an archive of every past one.

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Questions about Crossword strategy

What is the easiest way to start a crossword?

Read every clue once and fill only the answers you are certain of, starting with fill-in-the-blank clues and short words. Then use the letters those give you to solve the clues you skipped.