Novelty Crosswords: Anagram Puzzles
As you may have guessed, in an anagram crossword the clues are replaced with anagrams of the answers. So if the answer to 1 across is 'scale' then the clue might be 'laces' or a random shuffling of the letters in the word, such as 'sleca'.
The aim of the puzzle, then, is to simply solve all the anagrams and thus to fill the crossword grid, just like with a normal puzzle.
Clearly this variant of the puzzle is fun if you enjoy solving anagram puzzles, and most people do. The best way to tackle these puzzles is to adopt the following strategy:
- Start with the smallest clues, as it is usually easiest to spot these answers.
- Be careful whenever you think you've found an answer that there is only one valid anagram, and not several. If you find more than one, you might want to note them down.
- Once you've got an answer, enter it in the grid and use the information to help you solve other anagrams. If you are solving on paper you might want to cross out the letter(s) you have found from the clue it affects to help you solve the puzzle.
And that's pretty much all there is to it - by ensuring that you start with the smaller and therefore easier anagrams first, and always checking for multiple solutions as you go along, you should be able to solve any anagram crossword this way. Just be careful that the puzzle is of a type that doesn't include proper nouns or multiple word answers (the puzzle would usually state if this is the case) as if so you can get stuck for ages looking for dictionary words without realising the answer might be a town or person's name, for instance.
If you have any particular tips on solving anagram crosswords, then feel free to share them below.
Date written: 28 Mar 2015
Comment on this post
You must be logged in to comment - please Register or Login
Novelty Crossword Types
There are many different types of crossword. The most common standard types are the cryptic crossword, the quick crossword and the general knowledge crossword.
However, if you look around, you'll find lots of crossword variant puzzles, some very...
Added: 31 May 2015
Homophone Clues In Cryptic Crosswords
Cryptic crossword clues, as you'll have seen through this series of blog posts, come in various distinct types, and the list we've covered is not even exhaustive!
One of the clue types that people often struggle with is the homophone clue, or...
Added: 13 Apr 2015
Cryptic Definition Clues In Cryptic Crosswords
One of the rarer clue types to be encountered when solving cryptic crosswords is called the "cryptic definition".
How does this vary from the other clue types, and what does it mean?
Well, it varies from them in this very important way: there is...
Added: 12 Apr 2015
How To Solve Anagram Clues
Solving anagram clues is different for quick and cryptic crosswords. With quick crosswords, the anagram is always indicated, either by (anag) or (anagram) written after the clue.
In contrast, with cryptic crosswords, it is never quite clear what the...
Added: 21 Mar 2015
Computers And Cryptic Crosswords
One of the debates that pops up from time to time is around cryptic crosswords and computers - and specifically whether a computer program can be written to create a good cryptic crossword.
Now, in this debate it is generally assumed that what is...
Added: 19 Mar 2015
Back to Puzzle Blog
Puzzle Types:
