#cluing

The eighteenth edition of Lollapuzzoola, as is tradition, arrived on a Saturday in August. (I was not in attendance, but I did purchase the Solve at Home puzzle pack.) I finally had a chance to sit down and try my hands at this year’s tournament puzzles, and I was certainly not disappointed. Lollapuzzoola continues to push the envelope with inventive themes and unique spins on how to bring…

In today's blog post, we wade into divisive waters and discuss... puns!

I like puns. Okay, that’s a massive understatement. I adore puns. I happily share them on Facebook every Wednesday in our Wordplay Wednesday posts. I love Tom Swifties. I love pretty much all wordplay, no matter how shameless. You may have noticed that PuzzleNation Blog posts discussing puns and wordplay often include the searchable tag “Get thee to a punnery” in the list of tags below. Yup,…

In today's blog post, we discuss how vague cluing can help or harm a solving experience!

When is vagueness in crossword cluing a bad thing? That’s kind of a loaded question, because I think it depends on the clue and the solver’s knowledge base. But there are definitely good vague clues and bad vague clues. Someone on Reddit’s r/crossword forum mentioned the clue “Son of Zeus,” which got a laugh from folks who remember their Greek mythology and just how… prolific Zeus was. But to me,…

In today's blog post, we ponder the great crossword debate between obscure and overused grid fill!

Making a great crossword puzzle is not easy. Heck, making a GOOD crossword puzzle is not easy.

You want the theme to be creative, innovative even, but still something that can be intuited from a clever title and crafty clues.

You want the clues to be engaging, challenging, funny, tricky, and loaded with wordplay and personality.

And you want the grid fill to be fresh and interesting, yet…

In today's blog post, we discuss tomorrow's Lollapuzzoola 13 virtual crossword tournament!

Yes, “the best tournament held in New York on a Saturday in August” is bringing a New York Saturday in August to you, as Lollapuzzoola 13 goes virtual.

Whether you’ll be solving on that Saturday or as part of the Next Day Division, you’re sure to encounter some top-notch puzzles worthy of the Lollapuzzoola name.

Just look at the constructors involved in this year’s tournament! Stella Zawistowski…

In today's blog post, we discuss the fun side of crosswordese by looking at some of our favorite common crossword words!

Anyone who solves crosswords is familiar with some aspect of crosswordese, even if they don’t know it by that name. Crosswordese consists of words that appear frequently in puzzles, but not nearly as often in conversation or common use. My favorite variation on that definition is “words that crop up a lot in grids but are otherwise pretty useless.”

Part of becoming a better solver is building a…