Stan Newman's Daily Crossword Tips March 12 – 18, 2023
Solving crosswords every day is a fun and healthy habit that will build and strengthen your problem-solving skills. Whether you're new to crosswords, or a seasoned solver, everyone can use a helpful hint now and then. Come back every week to see the digest of daily tips that will help you achieve the satisfaction of solving a crossword a day.
Sunday, March 12, 2023
OF COURSE: But of what course?, by Mark McClain
Difficulty level: Medium
Some of the trickier clues: 33 Across, 104 Across, 66 Down, 90 Down
Today's Tip: 63 Across was the home of horticulturist Luther Burbank and cartoonist Charles Schulz.
Play more Sunday crosswords from editor Stan Newman’s archives.
Monday, March 13, 2023
UNDER THE SEA by Stella Zawistowski
Difficulty level: Easy
Easy clues suggested for you to begin with: 39 Across, 40 Across, 8 Down, 24 Down
Today's Tip: Three things and one person.
Play more crosswords at this same level from editor Stan Newman’s archives.
Tuesday, March 14, 2023
UNDER STATEMENTS by Sally R. Stein
Difficulty level: Easy
Easy clues suggested for you to begin with: 17 Across, 36 Across, 4 Down, 12 Down
Today's Tip: The first two words of 20 Across are part of the theme.
Play more crosswords at this same level from editor Stan Newman’s archives.
Wednesday, March 15, 2023
CHEESE CHOICES by Fred Piscop
Difficulty level: Easy-Medium
Easy clues suggested for you to begin with: 5 Across, 20 Across, 6 Down, 49 Down
Today's Tip: No Swiss or cheddar to be found here.
Play more crosswords at this same level from editor Stan Newman’s archives.
Thursday, March 16, 2023
BODY LANGUAGE by Kevin Christian
Difficulty level: Medium-Hard
Easiest clues suggested for you to begin with: 16 Across, 1 Down, 26 Down, 57 Down
Tricky clues to watch out for: 19 Across, 24 Across, 21 Down, 39 Down
Today's Tip: With a certain two words in common.
Play more crosswords at this same level from editor Stan Newman’s archives.
Friday, March 17, 2023
GREEN SPACE by Billie Truitt
Difficulty level: Hard
Easiest clues suggested for you to begin with: 10 Across, 38 Across, 8 Down, 28 Down
Tricky clues to watch out for: 55 Across, 65 Across, 5 Down, 33 Down
Today's Tip: Keep today’s date in mind.
Play more crosswords at this same level from editor Stan Newman’s archives.
Saturday, March 18, 2023
SATURDAY STUMPER by Stella Zawistowski
Difficulty level: Very Hard
Most straightforward clues: 24 Across, 49 Across, 9 Down, 13 Down
Trickiest clues to watch out for: 17 Across, 58 Across, 1 Down, 54 Down
Today's Tip: The themeless Saturday Stumpers are deliberately designed to be the most challenging daily crosswords available anywhere, and are widely acknowledged by champion-level puzzle fans to be just that. The most important tip to always keep in mind: expect trickery everywhere, and consider the multiple meanings (and/or parts of speech) that any clue word might have. If you have trouble getting started, you’ll find it highly enlightening to use the app’s “Reveal puzzle” feature, then compare each clue with its corresponding answer. This is how many have developed the skills to fully solve Saturdays.
Play more crosswords at this same level from editor Stan Newman’s archives.
How did it go?
Did you find this week’s digest of daily tips helpful? Did you find a clue that really stumped you? Join your fellow crossword fans in the comments. Just scroll down to the bottom of the page to the comments to engage with other puzzle solvers just like you.
About this week’s puzzle authors:
Stan Newman
Since 1988, Stan Newman has been the Crossword Editor for the Long Island, New York newspaper Newsday, where he is widely acknowledged as America’s preeminent expert in customizing crosswords by level of difficulty. During his career, he has also been Founding Editor for the popular “Crosswords with Friends” app, Managing Director of Puzzles and Games for Random House, and has authored or edited over 200 books - including crossword puzzle books, word game books, and crossword reference books.
Stan has written many thousands of his own crosswords over the years, including the first crosswords ever to appear in the Wall Street Journal, People and Newsweek magazines.
As a puzzle solver, he has held since 1996 the world's record for the fastest completion of a New York Times crossword: 2 minutes, 14 seconds.
Mark McClain
Mark McClain lives with his longtime partner Diana Christopulos in the small city of Salem, Virginia, near the Appalachian Trail and Blue Ridge Parkway. He was born in Alva, Oklahoma, and spent time in Oklahoma City and the Dallas area during his years working in financial management for several large corporations. He has two adult daughters and one granddaughter.
He holds a bachelor's degree in economics and marketing and an MBA in finance and accounting. He's a veteran of the U.S. Army and in retirement has spent many hours volunteering at a Veterans Affairs Medical Center and several other community volunteer jobs.
He has been making crossword puzzles since 2014 for Stan as well as several other publishers. His crosswords may have a classic feel, as he listens to classical music while working on them. In his spare time he enjoys doing jigsaw puzzles.
Stella Zawistowski
Stella Zawistowski is a crossword constructor and trivia writer who lives in Brooklyn, New York with her husband, David. She is one of the fastest crossword solvers in America, with several top-ten finishes at the annual American Crossword Puzzle Tournament. She loves both solving and making the very hardest puzzles, so it's no surprise that she specializes in Saturday Stumpers. Her first Stumper appeared in Newsday in 2020.
Sally R. Stein is a pseudonym for your humble crossword editor, which I use for the easiest Monday and Tuesday puzzles of the week. “Sally R. Stein” being an anagram of “it’s really S.N.”
Fred Piscop
Fred Piscop of Bellmore, New York, has been constructing crosswords since the late 1980s. His first Newsday crossword appeared in 1992, and 2016 saw the publication of Fred's 1000th Newsday crossword.
Fred is the former editor of the Washington Post Sunday crossword and the USA Today crossword. He is also the creator of the popular Split Decisions® puzzle, which appears in the New York Times, GAMES World of Puzzles, and on Fred's website, www.split-decisions.us.
When Fred is not busy creating puzzles, he enjoys solving the Guardian cryptic crossword, playing keyboards at jam sessions, biking, running, playing senior softball, and sampling excellent microbrews.
Kevin Christian
Kevin Christian lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with his wife Helen and two dogs, Finn and Otis. Their children Tim and Kate are both away at college.
He has been making crossword puzzles since 2010. His puzzles have appeared in Newsday, the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the Wall Street Journal, AMS Universal, and various other publications.
Kevin works for a tech company in Silicon Valley. In his spare time he likes to ride his bike, walk his dogs, make and solve crossword puzzles, go to concerts, watch horror movies, and listen to heavy metal. One of his favorite horror movies is the Swedish film “Let the Right One In” from 2008. One of his favorite metal bands is King’s X.
His father was in the Air Force so he moved around a lot while he was growing up. He lived in California, Hawaii, South Carolina, the Philippines, Ohio, Texas, New York, and Alabama. He graduated from Armijo High School in Fairfield, California, and from college at the University of California, Davis.
Billie Truitt
Billie Truitt has been constructing puzzles for Stan since 2008, specializing in the easier Tuesday puzzles, expanding into Fridays and Sundays in recent years. She lives with her husband and son in Windsor, Connecticut.