CRUCIVERB.COM

User

Welcome, Guest.
Please login or register.
 
 
 
Forgot your password?

Navigate

Resources

Donations


You can help support this site by making a small donation using either a PayPal account:

or with a major credit card such as:

 

 

Click here for details.

Author Topic: crossword construction  (Read 8984 times)

xmenot58

  • Guest
crossword construction
« on: January 14, 2010, 01:18:24 AM »
I have seen published crosswords having answers with no clue but instead this symbol -: Can somebody tell me what this means? Also, what exactly is a cheat square?

SJS

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 130
Re: crossword construction
« Reply #1 on: January 15, 2010, 04:06:08 PM »
A cheat square is a black square that is added to a puzzle that doesn't increase the word count.  For example, a black square in any corner is a cheater.  It "cheats", I guess, because it shortens the word needed for that space and makes it easier to fill.  Generally, fewer black squares are desirable, but certainly cheaters are occasionally used and published.

As to your other question, I'm not sure what you're asking.  If ":" was provided as a clue, the answer might be "colon" or something.  I've also occasionally seen "smilies" used as clues; these often contain the :.

jorkel

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 134
Re: crossword construction
« Reply #2 on: January 22, 2010, 03:30:36 PM »
I don't think the '-' has any consistent meaning from puzzle to puzzle.  What it may signify is that the crossword involves some trick which defies the normal convention, and the clue for that portion of the puzzle is subsumed within some other entity of the puzzle -- such as a neighboring entry.
-Joe Krozel

 


Powered by EzPortal