Monday, December 31, 2018

Clever Clue Nominees

Please vote for the best clue from December (either by email or comments below). The Clever Clue of the Month will be announced on Thursday.

Derby head..............................LOO
Its Facebook page has a lot of cheesecake 
photos..................................SARALEE
Hoer?...................................SANTA
Was depressed, maybe....................SAIDAH             
National defense concern?...............ERROR
What leads many people to say "Let's face 
it"?....................................MECCA

Tuesday, December 18, 2018

Cognitive Dissonance


The UPI headline said: "Puzzles, games may keep brain sharp in aging." The BBC headline said: "Puzzle solving 'won't stop mental decline'." Must be two different studies- right? Wrong. Both stories are based on a Scottish study which looked at 498 people born in 1936 who had taken part in a group intelligence test at the age of 11. The current study started when they were about 64 years old and they were recalled for memory and mental-processing-speed testing up to five times over a 15-year period.

The results: even though the headlines sound contradictory, the articles both say that crossword puzzles won't prevent the aging brain from slowing down, however, they may give older adults a higher "starting point" from which to decline.

The takeaway? Don't do crosswords because they prevent dementia. Do them because you enjoy them. And, of course, diet and exercise may help prevent Alzheimer's and a host of other ills. And one healthy tip: do crosswords with others - make it a social activity.

Tuesday, December 4, 2018

Clever Clue of the Month


















November 2018
Clue: Monitor of net income?.....................GOALIE 
Constructor: David Alfred Bywaters; Editor: Mike Shank
Wall Street Journal, Saturday, November 17, 2018

Friday, November 30, 2018

Clever Clue Nominees

Please vote for the best clue from November (either by email or comments below). The Clever Clue of the Month will be announced on Monday.

Hunk in a shower?.......................METEOR
Celebrity profile revisions?............NOSEJOBS
Cuts from the cloth.....................DEFROCKS
Line between pants......................AMITOOLATE
Type face?..............................EMOTICON
Monitor of net income?..................GOALIE

Monday, November 5, 2018

Clever Clue of the Month




















October 2018
Clue: Items you might travel with...............ESCAPE 
Constructor/Editor: Patrick Berry
New Yorker, Monday, October 1, 2018

Wednesday, October 3, 2018

Clever Clue of the Month
























September 2018
Clue: Slip of the pen..................................ESCAPE 
Constructor: Kyle Dolan; Editor: Mike Shank
Wall Street Journal, Saturday, September 9, 2018

Sunday, September 30, 2018

Clever Clue Nominees

Please vote for the best clue from September (either by email or comments below). The Clever Clue of the Month will be announced on Wednesday.

Slip of the pen?........................ESCAPE
Thunder shower, at times?...............ESPN
One calling strikes, in short...........UNIONREP
Site of class struggle..................ACADEMIA
The answer is blowin' in the wind.......VANE
Provider of green juice?................SOLARPANEL

Monday, September 3, 2018

Clever Clue of the Month



















August 2018
Clue: It's no six-pack, ironically..................BEERBELLY 
Constructor: Damon Gulczynski; Editor: Will Shortz
NYT, Friday, August 10, 2018

Friday, August 31, 2018

Clever Clue Nominees

Please vote for the best clue from August (either by email or comments below). The Clever Clue of the Month will be announced on Monday.

Wet bar locale?.........................BATH
Where sub assembly happens..............DELI
See what I mean?........................LIPREAD
It's no six-pack, ironically............BEERBELLY
Apple application that's now banned.....ALAR
Work for chicken feed?..................PECK

Sunday, August 19, 2018

Real Sports with Will Shortz

Will Shortz and the puzzling world of crosswords - Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel

Friday, August 3, 2018

Clever Clue of the Month













July 2018
Clue: What you might charge for a ride......TESLA 
Constructors: Natan Last, Andy Kravis, & the JASA Crossword Class 
Editor: Will Shortz
NYT, Saturday, July 28, 2018

Tuesday, July 31, 2018

Clever Clue Nominees

Please vote for the best clue from July (either by email or comments below). The Clever Clue of the Month will be announced on Friday.

Overly sedimental?......................SILTY
Get a Bug off a shoulder, say...........TOW
No longer working in the private 
sector?.................................EXARMY
One who's happy about acquiring a few 
extra pounds, informally................BRIT
Person at Waterloo......................IOWAN
What you might charge for a ride........TESLA

Tuesday, July 3, 2018

Clever Clue of the Month


June 2018
Clue: Story that's often scary................ATTIC
Constructor: Samuel A Donaldson; Editor: Mike Shank
Wall Street Journal, Saturday, June 2, 2018

Saturday, June 30, 2018

Clever Clue Nominees

Please vote for the best clue from June (either by email or comments below). The Clever Clue of the Month will be announced on Tuesday.

Story that's often scary................ATTIC
"Canvas" for digital art................NAILTIP
Setting for many mass movements.........MINORKEY
Old office cover-up.....................CORRECTIONFLUID
Person with convictions, perhaps........FELON
Ones going down the tubes?..............OVA

Monday, June 4, 2018

Clever Clue of the Month




















May 2018
Clue: Joint proposal?............ESCAPEPLAN
Constructor/Editor: Patrick Berry
The New Yorker, Monday, May 14, 2018

Thursday, May 31, 2018

Clever Clue Nominees

Please vote for the best clue from May (either by email or comments below). The Clever Clue of the Month will be announced on Monday.

Job for a newscaster?...................PAPERROUTE
Form of despair?........................TAXRETURN
Line holdup?............................CUECARD
Play with a ghost.......................HAMLET
Joint proposal?.........................ESCAPEPLAN
They're stuck in pubs...................DARTBOARDS

Wednesday, May 9, 2018

Don't Do This!


















What's worse than driving and texting? Doing crosswords while driving through heavy traffic. Read more here.

Thursday, May 3, 2018

Clever Clue of the Month





















April 2018
Clue: Good name for a pet iguana..............LIZ 
Constructor/Editor: Peter Gordon and Kevin Lumpkin
Fireball Newsflash Crosswords, Friday, April 20, 2018

Monday, April 30, 2018

Clever Clue Nominees

Please vote for the best clue from April (either by email or comments below). The Clever Clue of the Month will be announced on Thursday.

It's California's fault.................SANANDREAS
Branding expert.........................RANCHER
Worship of John, Paul, etc.?............BEATLEMANIA
Child-raising technique?................BOOSTERSEAT
Escape from a lot, e.g. ................FORD
Good name for a pet iguana..............LIZ

Wednesday, April 4, 2018

Clever Clue of the Month

















March 2018
Clue: Place to get delivery instructions?.....LAMAZECLASS 
Constructor: Jeffrey Wechsler; Editor: Rich Norris
LAT, Wednesday, March 28, 2018

Saturday, March 31, 2018

Clever Clue Nominees

Please vote for the best clue from March (either by email or comments below). The Clever Clue of the Month will be announced on Tuesday.

Culinary heroes?........................SANDWICHES
Occasion for throwing and folding.......WASHDAY
"Grim" reminder of one's mortality......REAPER
One with a big mouth in Africa?.........NILE
Cuban byproduct.........................ASH
Place to get delivery instructions?.....LAMAZECLASS

Saturday, March 3, 2018

Clever Clue of the Month























February 2018
Clue: Ordered take-out?...............MOBHIT 
Constructor/Editor: Will Nediger
bewilderingly.blogspot.com, February 5, 2018

Wednesday, February 28, 2018

Clever Clue Nominees

Please vote for the best clue from February (either by email or comments below). The Clever Clue of the Month will be announced on Saturday.

Emulate Mercury or Mars.................SING
Feature in "People"?....................SILENTO
Ordered take-out?.......................MOBHIT               
Partygoer who was never formally 
invited?................................HOST
Producer of the Jacksons?...............ATM
Trouble spot?...........................GAMETABLE

Thursday, February 15, 2018

Essential Spanish

Knowing a handful of Spanish words - words like casa, beso, and ano - is essential for solving crossword puzzles. Here's a helpful article: 10 Spanish Words That Will Raise Your Crossword Game

Saturday, February 3, 2018

Clever Clue of the Month

















January 2018
Clue: Declaration from a poker-playing
origami artist?..................IFOLD
Constructor/Editor: Elizabeth C Gorski
Crossword Nation, Tuesday, January 30, 2018

Wednesday, January 31, 2018

Clever Clue Nominees

Please vote for the best clue from January (either by email or comments below). The Clever Clue of the Month will be announced on Saturday.

Flare-ups in the hood?..................CARFIRES
Succeeded as a counterfeiter?...........MADEMONEY
One might make counter revolutions......STOOL
Christian worshiped by men of the
cloth?..................................DIOR
Went a-courting?........................SUED
Declaration from a poker-playing 
origami artist?.........................IFOLD 

Wednesday, January 3, 2018

Clever Clue of the Month


December 2017
Clue: Mass consumption?...................WAFERS
Constructor: Damien Peterson; Editor: Mike Shank
Wall Street Journal, Thursday, December 7, 2017