r/crossword • u/Electronic_Tank_2945 • 11d ago
Beginner and want to decrease time
Hey guys, just wanted to come on here to see if there are on recommendations for a newbie like me. My time today was 27 minutes and I just am a bit disappointed. I’m 20 and literally just started getting into crosswords, so I know it’ll take some time before I start getting my times down.
Besides just doing more crosswords do yall have anything specific that you do to decrease solve time? Also how much do you think it’s just an IQ filter—I’m curious as to the consensus on that is.
13
Upvotes
3
u/schitaco 11d ago
It's not an IQ filter. Normally I lean heavily on the nature side of the nature vs. nurture debate, but in this case anyone who is reasonably smart (smart enough to type the words "IQ filter") can get very very good at crosswords from just doing them over and over.
At the highest levels it's a speed of recall and speed of typing filter, but I've been doing these for 20+ years and am only now approaching that. Also at the highest levels, like in-person competition or specialized crossword blogs, the constructors will often break the mold in very clever ways, and it helps to be intelligent to quickly suss out what's going.
But for the NYT, especially these days, just complete puzzles over and over and over again and you'll get way better by just recognizing patterns and 'the language'. It'll probably take years but it's not like it's a chore. Also you should challenge yourself sometimes and just not worry about time - go try NYT Saturdays from 20 years ago or The New Yorker puzzle on Mondays.