Crosswords are easier on Monday and become gradually more difficult through to Saturday, but what makes a crossword difficult? Some answer words might be more appropriate for a later-week puzzle. When you enter a word, as opposed to a pattern, in the Finder Page, you see a graph showing usage over time, and a new… Continue reading Crossword Difficulty
Category: XWord Info features
Tips and tricks for getting the most out of XWord Info.
Crossword Flow
Does a crossword grid have good flow? The latest XWord Info stat provides a way to measure that.
Out, Damned Bot!
Bots are overwhelming XWord Info, so now more pages require an account to access.
Diagramless Hints
Hints are now available for diagramless crosswords.
Cryptic Benefits with Friends
Cryptic Crosswords are easier and way more fun if you solve with a friend.
What’s new?
Recent XWord Info changes
30 Million Finds
The XWI Finder hits an awesome milestone.
Debut counts
Constructor baseball cards now count number of answer words debuted.
Graphics on Grids
NYT crosswords sometimes include graphical overlays. XWord Info now does a better job of rendering these. Probably.
Odd Characters
TL:DR: Click the “More…” button on the XWord Info Finder page to see new “Words with digits” and “Words with symbols” buttons. In a recent Crossword Fiend post, blogger (and constructor) Zachary David Levy (not necessarily an odd character himself) mistakenly insisted that, while ampersands were used in several pre-Shortz puzzles, they had never appeared… Continue reading Odd Characters