My quest with crosswords

This is a really good one dear Meets.. I too tried all this.. you need a knack so to speak.. there are so many guide books out there.. once you get the hang of its not all that hard.. so I then moved on to sudoko..keep posting updates on how this is going..

 

Vidya,

Happy new year. crosswords and puzzles, they can keep me buzzing...and thinking.... i like to solve the crosswords that come with a theme, so i know what i am already dealing with. you can start with using a crossward compiler, or softwares....

my kids are now playing the text twisters and simple thematic crosswords...

Once you get the hang of it...it will become a breeze solving them..but anagrams they really make me mad sometimes.bonkbonk..but still love the flow of adrenalin when i try racking:queen

 

I too m hooked to the crosswords and sudokus....

But the "The Hindu" crosswords need so much of racking ur brains bonk...Initially I used to be able to get just 2 or 3 right....then somewhat improved.

Of late I m addicted to sudoku.....in India I used to wait for the paper in the morning ...first solve it and then move to the news section....I think I m good at it now:queen..
Last week , in the "gulf news" daily, I came across a new game "kakuro" ..it was mentioned that its a new addictive game for the japanese...I read the rules and format but :spin..understood nothing....will have to try again...does anyone know abt it....

 

Good one. I have been attempting (!) hindu crosswords whenever I get a chance from my hostel days - highly inspired by some of my friends who used to solve them as a matter-of-factly. Here are my two cents if they help you motivated. cross-c's in each magazine are different from in terms of style. I am used to the "Hindu" way now, I cannot think in "Express" style. Though it helps, it is not all that necessary to know all the words in the dic. Infact most of the words in cross-c (atleast hindu's) are simple ones.. There are basically two type of clues - direct and cryptic. Direct ones are easier to solve if you know the meaning of the word and the Cryptic ones are more fun and assure you that the word you have cracked is right as soon as you get a hang of it. I like the cryptic ones - normally there is one part in the clue that says it means something and the others say the cryptic part of it.. If we take the approach to crack the cryptic part, we can cross-check with the other part and confirm our answer.. For instance,

"Locates variety of sugar found in milk (7)" in 9116 edition, is "Lactose" which is more of a direct clue though it also finds an anagram in locates.

"The one mat ruined by insect infestation(4,5)" - The word "ruined" hints that there is an anagram in some part . "The one mat" when juggled gives "Moth eaten"..

Also, by experience I found that it gets better the more you keep following them and cross-checking with previous-day answers.. Needless to say, solving together in a group also helps Happy solving..

Regards,
Gayu​

 

From an addict to others..,..My whole family is into Crosswords and my daughter-in-law too has been initiated and is quite good at it though she does get thrown by esoteric clues. My brothers and I call each other up and get answers if we are stumped. My son is very good at it but does not do it everyday.

I do four Crosswords daily and in a particular order
1. Economic Times
2. Hindu Metro Plus
3. Deccan Chronicle
4. Indian Express
5. The Hindu (if there is time)

The trick to the Hindu Crossword is that there are two guys who set it. One is good and keeps to familiar clues. The other one is weird and includes vague clues that are incomprehensible.

The Deccan Chronicle one, from the Guardian, often has themed clues--countries, rivers, flowers etc.

BTW you can get a lot of info to solve clues on the Internet.

There are Crossword Dictionaries--The Dell is especially useful for US crosswords that are a seaparate category altogether.
Roget's Thesaurus too is very useful for beginners.

Download Wordweb for free and leave it on your taskbar--a great help for synonyms, antonyms, grammar etc. and when you write.

Another great game that I love is Bookworm. My husband thinks I waste my energy on it, my son thinks it is no great shakes and my daughter now plays it online. I love it. A great stress buster!

I used to love Tetris when it was a handheld game. Online it is too stressful as it is too fast.

Send me an email if you want answers to clues.

What about a weekly crossword on Indusladies. I can set one to start with......

Moderator please oblige.

Padmini Natarajan

 

hello,

Stick to easy crosswords. that way you feel better that u r able to complete the full crossword

prema raghu

 

Hi MeenLoch,
I am a crossword freak too. Back home in Bangalore, my Dad used to get Deccan herald and the Hindu and everyone would scramble for the crossword page. We love the Hindu Crosswords...even the Sunday ones and literary ones. My Mom is very good at it. And my younger brother is a diehard fan of cryptic crosswords. Me ... I love any thing, Easy, Cryptic. Thankfully, after marriage, I found that I was the only one with this addiction, so I can indulge myself...
I keep buying Times, The Sunday Times Cryptic Crosswords ( which are the toughest I have come across so far...) and the New York Times Crosswords. These days, even bookshops esp. those in the airports do not stock crossword puzzle books as Sudoku and Kakuro have become popular. Though I enjoy, Sudoku, I can not do even one measly kakuro... But all said and done, nothing like the joy of completing a crossword.
Here in UAE we get crosswords, both easy and cryptic everyday in all the papers... then Gulf Today gives a humongous one on Fridays in its Weekend tabloid. So it is heaven for me....everyday.

thank you for letting me ride my hobbyhorse...