Editing Crossword (section)

=== Clues: conventions and types ===

American-style crossword clues, called ''straight'' or ''quick clues'' by those more familiar with cryptic puzzles, are often simple definitions of the answers. Often, a straight clue is not in itself sufficient to distinguish between several possible answers, either because multiple synonymous answers may fit or because the clue itself is a homonym (e.g., "Lead" as in to be ahead in a contest or "Lead" as in the element), so the solver must make use of ''checks'' to establish the correct answer with certainty. For example, the answer to the clue "PC key" for a three-letter answer could be ''ESC'', ''ALT'', ''TAB'', ''DEL'', or ''INS'', so until a ''check'' is filled in, giving at least one of the letters, the correct answer cannot be determined.

In most American-style crosswords,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/series/american-style/|title= American-style crosswords|publisher=Theguardian}}</ref> the majority of the clues in the puzzle are straight clues,<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://aframegames.com/store/?download=21|title=Crossword Constructor's Handbook|last=Berry|first=Patrick|year=2015|pages=62–80}}</ref> with the remainder being one of the other types described below.

Crossword clues are generally consistent with the solutions. For instance, clues and their solutions should always agree in tense, number, and degree.<ref>D. S. MacNutt with A. Robins, ''Ximenes on the art of the crossword'', Methuen & Co Ltd, London (1966) p. 49.</ref> If a clue is in the past tense, so is the answer: thus "Traveled on horseback" would be a valid clue for the solution ''RODE'', but not for ''RIDE''. Similarly, "Family members" would be a valid clue for ''AUNTS'' but not ''UNCLE'', while "More joyful" could clue ''HAPPIER'' but not ''HAPPIEST''.

==== Capitalization ====
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Capitalization of answer letters is conventionally ignored; crossword puzzles are typically filled in, and their answer sheets published, in [[all caps]]. This ensures a [[proper name]] can have its initial [[capitalization|capital]] letter checked with a non-capitalizable letter in the intersecting clue.

Some clue examples:
* Fill-in-the-blank clues are often the easiest in a puzzle and a good place to start solving, e.g., "_____ [[Anne Boleyn|Boleyn]]" = ''ANNE''.
* A question mark at the end of clue usually signals that the clue/answer combination involves some sort of pun or wordplay, e.g., "Grateful?" = ''ASHES'', since a grate might be full of them.
* Most widely distributed American crosswords today (e.g., ''[[The New York Times]]'', ''[[The Washington Post]]'', ''[[The Boston Globe]]'', ''[[USA Today]]'', etc.) also contain colloquial answers, i.e., entries in the puzzle grid that try to replicate everyday colloquial language. In such a puzzle one might see phrases such as ''WHATS UP'', ''AS IF'', or ''WHADDYA WANT''.

====Abbreviations====
{{Main|Crossword abbreviations}}
The constraints of the American-style grid (in which every letter is checked) often require a fair number of answers not to be dictionary words. As a result, the following ways to clue abbreviations and other non-words, although they can be found in "straight" British crosswords, are much more common in American ones:
* Abbreviations, the use of a foreign language, variant spellings, or other unusual word tricks are indicated in the clue. A crossword creator might choose to clue the answer ''SEN'' (as in the abbreviation for "senator") as "Washington bigwig: Abbr." or "Member of Cong.", with the abbreviation in the clue indicating that the answer is to be similarly abbreviated.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://crosswordhobbyist.com/how-to-make-a-crossword-puzzle|title=How to Make a Crossword Puzzle|website=crosswordhobbyist.com}}</ref> The use of "Var." indicates the answer is a variant spelling (e.g., ''EMEER'' instead of ''EMIR''), while the use of foreign language or a foreign place name within the clue indicates that the answer is also in a foreign language. For example, ''ETE'' (''[[wikt:été|été]]'', French for "summer") might be clued as "Summer, in the [[University of Paris|Sorbonne]]". ''[[Rome|ROMA]]'' could be clued as "Italia's capital", whereas the clue "[[Italy]]'s capital" would indicate the English spelling ''[[Rome]]''.
* The eight possible abbreviations for a [[points of the compass|position on a compass]], e.g., ''NNW'' (north-northwest) or ''ESE'' (east-southeast), occur with some frequency. They can be clued as simply "Compass point", where the desired answer is determined by a combination of [[logic]]—since the third letter can be only E or W, and the second letter can be only N or S—and a process of elimination using checks. Alternatively, compass point answers are more frequently clued as "XXX to YYY direction", where XXX and YYY are two place names. For example, ''SSW'' might be clued as "New York to Washington DC dir.". Similarly, a clue such as "Right on the map" means ''EAST''. A clue could also consist of objects that point a direction, e.g., "[[weather vane|vane]] dir." or "[[windsock]] dir.".
* [[Roman numerals]], and arithmetic involving them, frequently appear as well; the clue "IV times III" (4×3) would yield ''XII'' (12).
* In addition, partial answers are allowed in American-style crosswords, where the answer represents part of a longer phrase. For example, the clue "Mind your _____ Qs" gives the answer ''PSAND'' (Ps and).
* Non-dictionary phrases are also allowed in answers. Thus, the clue "Mocked" could result in the grid entry ''LAUGHED AT''.

==== Themes ====
Many American crossword puzzles feature a "theme" consisting of a number of long entries (generally three to five in a standard 15×15-square "weekday-size" puzzle) that share some relationship, type of pun, or other element in common. As an example, the ''New York Times'' crossword of April 26, 2005 by Sarah Keller, edited by [[Will Shortz]], featured five themed entries ending in the different parts of a tree: ''SQUARE ROOT'', ''TABLE LEAF'', ''WARDROBE TRUNK'', ''BRAIN STEM'', and ''BANK BRANCH''.

The above is an example of a category theme, where the theme elements are all members of the same set. Other types of themes include:
* Quote themes, featuring a famous quote broken up into parts to fit in the grid (and usually clued as "Quote, part 1", "Quote, part 2", etc.)
* Rebus themes, where multiple letters or even symbols occupy a single square in the puzzle (e.g., ''BERMUDA''Δ)
* Addition themes, where theme entries are created by adding a letter, letters, or word(s) to an existing word or phrase. For example, "Crucial pool shot?" = ''CRITICAL MASSE'' (formed by taking the phrase "[[critical mass]]" and adding an "e" on the end. All the theme entries in a given puzzle must be formed by the same process (so another entry might be "Greco-Roman buddy?" = ''WRESTLING MATE''—"wrestling mat" with an "e" added on). An example of a multiple-letter addition (and one that does not occur at the end of the entry) might be "Crazy about kitchen storage?" = ''CABINET FEVER'' (derived from "[[cabin fever]]").<ref name=Themes>{{cite web|title=Identified theme. types|url=http://www.cruciverb.com/index.php?action=ezportal;sa=page;p=70|publisher=Cruciverb.com|access-date=5 March 2013}}</ref>
* Subtraction themes, the reverse of the above, where letters are removed to make a new word or phrase.<ref name=Themes />
* Compound themes, where the starts or ends of the theme entries can all precede or follow another word, which is given elsewhere in the puzzle. For example, a puzzle with theme entries that begin with ''PAPER'', ''BALL'', and ''WATER'' and elsewhere in the puzzle, the word ''BOY'' clued as "Word that can follow the start of [theme entries]".<ref name=Themes />
* Anniversary or tribute themes, commemorating a specific person, place, or event. For example, on October 7, 2011 ''The New York Times'' crossword commemorated the life of Apple CEO [[Steve Jobs]] who had died on October 5. Theme entries related to Jobs' life included ''[[Macintosh|MACINTOSH]]'', ''[[Pixar|PIXAR]]'', ''[[Think Different|THINK DIFFERENT]]'', ''CREATIVE GENIUS'', ''STEVE JOBS'', and ''[[Apple Inc.|APPLE]]''.<ref name=Themes /><ref>{{cite web|last=Der|first=Kevin G|title=New York Times crossword of October 7, 2011|url=http://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=10/7/2011|publisher=XWordInfo.com|access-date=5 March 2013}}</ref>
* Synonym themes, where the theme entries all contain synonyms, e.g., a ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' puzzle featuring a set of theme entries that contain the words ''RAVEN'', ''[[wikt:jet|JET]]'', ''[[wikt:ebony|EBONY]]'', and ''[[wikt:sable|SABLE]]'', all synonyms for "black".<ref name=Themes />
* Numerous other types have been identified, including [[spoonerism]]s, poems, shifted letters, rhyming phrases, puns, homophones, and combinations of two or more of other types of themes.<ref name=Themes />

The themed crossword puzzle was invented in 1958 by [[Harold T. Bers]], an advertising executive and frequent contributor to ''The New York Times'' crossword.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Worley |first1=Sam |title=The Puzzler and the Puzzled |url=https://chicagoreader.com/news-politics/the-puzzler-and-the-puzzled/ |access-date=16 August 2024 |work=Chicago Reader |date=28 March 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Flexner |first1=Stuart Berg |title=FUN (2 WORDS) |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/07/08/books/fun-2-words.html |access-date=16 August 2024 |work=The New York Times |date=8 July 1984}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=HAROLD BERS, 47, AD WRITER, DEAD; AIDE OF BATTEN, BARTON WAS CROSSWORD PUZZLE EXPERT |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1961/10/15/archives/harold-bers-47-ad-writer-dead-aide-of-batten-barton-was-crossword.html |access-date=16 August 2024 |work=The New York Times |date=15 October 1961}}</ref><ref name=gnu>{{cite book |last1=Arnot |first1=Michelle |title=What's Gnu? A History of the Crossword Puzzle |date=1981 |publisher=Vintage Books |location=New York |isbn=978-0-394-74408-7 |page=114 |url=https://archive.org/details/whatsgnuhistoryo0000arno/page/114/mode/1up?q=%22harold+t.+bers%22 |access-date=16 August 2024}}</ref>

The [[Simon & Schuster]] Crossword Puzzle Series has published many unusually themed crosswords. "Rosetta Stone", by Sam Bellotto Jr., incorporates a [[Caesar cipher]] cryptogram as the theme; the key to breaking the cipher is the answer to 1Across. Another unusual theme requires the solver to use the answer to a clue as another clue. The answer to ''that'' clue is the real solution.

==== Indirect clues ====
{{original research section|date=March 2021}}
Many puzzles feature clues involving wordplay which are to be taken metaphorically or in some sense other than their literal meaning, requiring some form of [[lateral thinking]]. Depending on the puzzle creator or the editor, this might be represented either with a question mark at the end of the clue or with a modifier such as "maybe" or "perhaps". In more difficult puzzles, the indicator may be omitted, increasing ambiguity between a literal meaning and a wordplay meaning. Examples:
* "Half a dance" could clue ''CAN'' (half of ''CANCAN'') or ''CHA'' (half of ''CHACHA'').
* If taken literally, "Start of spring" could clue ''MAR'' (for March), but it could also clue ''ESS'', the spelled-out form of the starting letter ''S''.
* "Nice summer?" clues ''ETE'', summer in [[Nice, France]] (''[[wikt:été|été]]'' being French for "summer"), rather than a nice (pleasant) summer. This clue also takes advantage of the fact that in American-style crosswords, the initial letter of a clue is always capitalized, whether or not it is a proper noun. In this clue, the initial capitalization further obscures whether the clue is referring to "nice" as in "pleasant" or "Nice" as in the French city.
* "Pay addition", taken literally, clues ''BONUS''. When taken as an indirect clue, however, it could also clue ''OLA'' (the ''addition'' of ''-ola'' to ''pay-'' results in ''PAYOLA'').

==== Other clue variations ====
Any type of puzzle may contain ''cross-references'', where the answer to one clue forms part of another clue, in which it is referred to by number and direction. E.g., a puzzle might have 1-across clued as "Central character in The Lord of the Rings" = ''FRODO'', with 17-down clued as "Precious object for 1-Across" = ''RING''.

When an answer is composed of multiple or hyphenated words, some crosswords (especially in Britain) indicate the structure of the answer. For example, "(3,5)" after a clue indicates that the answer is composed of a three-letter word followed by a five-letter word. Most American-style crosswords do not provide this information.