How to Get Better at Crosswords

I'd like to welcome those of you who discovered my site because of the great article today at Lifehacker.com on how to get better at crosswords. The article, by A A Newton, has many excellent tips, like doing puzzles everyday, knowing when to cheat, and reading crossword blogs. The article also linked to this site, encouraging people to brush up on their crosswordese.

The one thing I would add to the article would be to encourage people to make crosswords a social activity. Get together with others and work on crosswords during a coffee break. It's a fun way to get to know your friends better as you interact over a puzzle. And you all learn from each other as you discuss the clues.

Clever Clue of the Month

January 2019
Clue: Times when people look their best...EYETESTS
Constructor/Editor: Brendan Emmett Quigley
Brendan Emmett Quigley Puzzles, Monday, January 21, 2019

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 Monday.

"Wanna play with the laser pointer?"....MEOW

Numbers that might end a series?........NIELSENS

Stilted performance, perhaps?...........CIRCUSACT

Deep space?.............................OCEAN

United way?.............................AISLE

Times when people look their best.......EYETESTS

Clever Clue of the Month

December 2018
Clue: Hoer?...............................................SANTA
Constructor: Jack Murtagh; Editor: Mike Shank
Wall Street Journal, Thursday, December 6, 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

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.

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