Guides
Short reads on dictionaries, racks, Wordle, Boggle, crosswords, and rhyme. Open one, then go back to the tools.
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Using crossing letters when a crossword clue goes nowhere
When the across clue is fog, the downs you already trust are the puzzle. Lock conservative letters, hunt rare crossings, and don’t type five blanks into a helper.
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Why Qu and long words swing a Boggle score
Classic Boggle pays almost nothing for the threes everyone finds. Qu counts as two letters, eights jump to 11 points, and duplicates score for nobody.
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Path-finding habits that fill a 4×4 Boggle grid
Boggle words are paths, not piles of letters. Work by cube, use diagonals on purpose, and stop your finger when a jump feels like a word you only saw on paper.
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American crossword clue habits you can actually use
US daily puzzles talk in a dialect: short definitions, question marks for wordplay, abbreviations in the clue, and fill that isn’t a Scrabble list.
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Perfect rhyme vs slant rhyme when you’re stuck on a line
When you need a perfect rhyme and when a slant rhyme is the better line.
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Crossword pattern notation: ?, ., and blanks
How to write a partial crossword answer so a helper can fill the gaps.
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How Boggle scoring and adjacency really work
Diagonals count, edges do not wrap, Qu is two letters for score, and duplicates score for nobody.
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Playing Q when you don’t have a U
Q without U is playable. The useful words, and when to dump the Q instead.