Crosswords for Seniors for Dummies (ISBN - 0470491574)

387 Pages·2021·18.94 MB·English

Timothy E. Parker
Senior Crossword Puzzle Editor,
USA Today Crosswords

• Solve 150 puzzles from easy to
treacherous

• Stimulate your brain and increase your
mental fitness

• Reduce eyestrain with a large-print
format and oversized answer grids

• Solve clues that are appropriate for
prime-timers

Learn to:

Crosswords
For Seniors

Making Everything Easier!™

Open the book and find:

• The basics of solving crosswords

• Various types of clues you’ll
encounter

• The health benefits of solving
puzzles

• Hints for improving your
memory and brain power

• Fully worked-out solutions to
all puzzles

• Ways to make crosswords a
group activity

• Tips for tackling the
trickiest puzzles

• Web resources to try when
you’re stuck

Timothy E. Parker is the “World’s Most Syndicated Puzzle Compiler”
according to Guinness World Records. He is also the creator and senior
editor of the Universal Crossword, the Internet’s most popular cross-
word puzzle since 1998, and the author of the annual bestselling USA
Today Crossword Calendar.

Games/Puzzles/Crosswords

$14.99 US / $17.99 CN / £9.99 UK

ISBN 978-0-470-49157-7

Go to Dummies.com®
for videos, step-by-step photos,
how-to articles, or to shop!

Do you love crossword puzzles? Can’t find ones that appeal to
you? This puzzle-packed guide is bursting with crosswords that
are not only in large print to ease eyestrain, but also feature
clues that are appropriate for those in their golden years. Plus,
you’ll discover how you can improve your brain’s health through
stimulating mental exercise.

• Spruce up your solving strategies — become familiar with the puzzles,
consider themes, identify types of clues, and use outside resources

• Get the lowdown on brain benefits — see what current research has
to say about the importance of mental exercise and the impact it can
have on your cognitive abilities

• Tackle the puzzles — from easy to tough to treacherous, solve 150
crossword puzzles with a variety of themes

• Check the solutions — push yourself to find solutions to improve
your puzzle-solving skills and, when your brain is drained, check the
answer section to see how well you did

• Pique your interest — find puzzles on topics of interest to prime-
timers, from Ed Sullivan to Watergate to Wolfgang Puck

Your fun and easy guide to solving and
enjoying crosswords

Crosswords For Seniors

Parker

spine=.86”

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spine=.86”

by Timothy E. Parker,
with Joan Friedman

Crosswords
For Seniors

FOR
DUMmIES

‰

Crosswords For Seniors For Dummies®

Published by
Wiley Publishing, Inc.
111 River St.
Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774
www.wiley.com

Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana

Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana

Published simultaneously in Canada

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Library of Congress Control Number: 2009931745

ISBN: 978-0-470-49157-7

Manufactured in the United States of America

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Some of the people who helped bring this book to market include the following:

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(http://puzzles.about.com/)

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Composition Services

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Table of Contents

Introduction ..................................................................1

Part I: Crossword Strategies and Brain Benefits ..............5

Chapter 1: Completing the Grid: How to Solve a Crossword . . . . . . . 7

Chapter 2: Staying Sharp: Giving Your Brain
a Workout. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Part II: Tackling the Puzzles ........................................25

Chapter 3: Tackling the Puzzles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Part III: Checking the Solutions .................................329

Chapter 4: Checking the Solutions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 331

Part IV: The Part of Tens ...........................................371

Chapter 5: Ten Tricks for Successfully Tackling
the Trickiest Puzzles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 373

Chapter 6: Ten Web Resources to Try
When You’re Stuck. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 377

Introduction

F
or my money, the best hobbies are inexpensive, portable, and beneficial to
your health. And one of the best hobbies I can think of is solving crossword
puzzles. (As a professional puzzle editor, I admit that I’m ever-so-slightly biased.)

You may be thinking that “inexpensive” and “portable” make sense, but what good
can crosswords do for your health? Plenty! I’m not asking you to work crosswords
during a yoga class or while you’re on a treadmill (although if you can manage it,
more power to you!). Crosswords have health benefits even if you’re sitting on the
couch. Your glutes and abs may not notice whether you’ve managed to fill in every
blank on a crossword puzzle grid, but your synapses will. (Remember synapses?
They’re the junctions between the neurons in your brain. I talk about them in
Chapter 2.)

The benefits of working puzzles occur within your brain. Essentially, working
crosswords can do for your mental health what water aerobics do for your
cardiovascular health. Whether you realized it or not, you picked up a book
that can help your gray matter become fit and trim.

Oh, and by the way, crosswords are a lot of fun too. After all, what good is an
inexpensive, portable, healthy hobby if you don’t enjoy doing it?

About This Book

The heart of this book is crossword puzzles: page after page of entertaining,
challenging crossword puzzles. If you’re a puzzling pro and can’t wait to dive in,
you have my blessing to pick up your pencil (or pen) and go.

But if you’ve never worked a crossword puzzle before, take heart: I devote
the first chapter of this book to explaining the basics of how crosswords are
constructed and how they can be solved. I list the various types of clues you’ll
encounter, resources you may want to have on hand, and how to make solving
crosswords a group activity if that’s your thing.

If you’re even the least bit curious about the health benefits of doing crosswords
and other puzzles, spend a little quality time with Chapter 2. In its pages, I explore
how you can work on improving your brain’s health by getting lots of fun, stimulat-
ing mental exercise.

2
Crosswords For Seniors For Dummies

Brain health is a hot topic for a couple key reasons:

✓ A growing senior population: It’s no surprise that we have a large — and
expanding — senior population in the United States. As of this writing, more
than 37 million Americans are 65 or older. The U.S. Census Bureau projects
that by the year 2050, that number will grow to more than 86 million!

✓ The prevalence of Alzheimer’s: We also have many cases of Alzheimer’s
disease in our midst. The Alzheimer’s Association estimates that more
than 5 million Americans are living with the disease now and that 10 million
Baby Boomers will develop Alzheimer’s during their lifetime.

If you’re north of 60, chances are you know someone — or several someones —
struggling with the harsh realities of mental deficiency. And chances are you’re
willing to work hard to avoid the same fate. A growing body of research indi-
cates that there are concrete (and often very simple) steps you can take to give
your brain the proper fuel for long-term fitness. Chapter 2 offers lots of ideas
for how to start a mental fitness routine.

Conventions Used in This Book

I include a handful of Web site addresses in this book so you can explore additional
resources if you’d like. The Web addresses appear in monofont, which makes them
easier to locate if you want to go back and find them after you’re done reading.

Keep in mind that when this book was printed, some Web addresses may have
needed to break across two lines of text. If that happened, rest assured that we
haven’t put in any extra characters (such as hyphens) to indicate the break. So,
when using one of these Web addresses, just type in exactly what you see in
this book, pretending as though the line break doesn’t exist.

Foolish Assumptions

I try not to make any assumptions about how much experience you have with
working the types of puzzles that appear in this book. That’s why Chapter 1
helps you get familiar with crosswords and how to solve them. That’s also
why I include puzzles of varying levels of difficulty in this book. I’ve grouped
puzzles together into four categories: Easy, Tricky, Tough, and Treacherous.
So whether you’re a crossword novice or expert, you’ll find puzzles to give
you the challenge you need.

3
Introduction

My only assumption is that you want to have fun and stimulate your brain at
the same time. Oh, and that you bring two critical tools with you: pencils and
patience!

How This Book Is Organized

The bulk of this book is devoted to what you came looking for: crossword
puzzles (and their solutions). But I’ve tucked a few extra goodies around that
exciting center.

Part I: Crossword Strategies
and Brain Benefits

My first task in this part is to get you familiar with crossword puzzles. If you’re
a crossword aficionado, you may just want to skim Chapter 1 to see whether
you can pick up any new ideas for how to approach a puzzle. If you’re new to
crosswords, you’ll likely benefit from a complete reading of Chapter 1 so you
can understand how crossword grids are constructed, what types of clues
you’re likely to encounter, and how you may want to go about solving each one.

In Chapter 2, I explore some fascinating reasons for spending quality time with
this book. I introduce you to what recent research says about the importance
of mental exercise and the impact it can have on your cognitive abilities —
including your memory — as you age.

Part II: Tackling the Puzzles

If you’re looking for the meat of the book, you’ll find it in Part II. This part
contains 150 crosswords: easy puzzles, challenging puzzles, and maddening
puzzles that may have you screaming. I’ve included puzzles with a variety of
themes, so you’re certain to find lots that pique your interest.

Part III: Checking the Solutions

One sure way to improve your puzzling skills is to push yourself to find solu-
tions even when you’re pretty sure your brain is maxed out. So use Part III as
a way to pat yourself on the back after your hard work rather than as a crutch
whenever you feel wobbly solving a puzzle.

4
Crosswords For Seniors For Dummies

Part IV: The Part of Tens

Every For Dummies book includes a Part of Tens, which features chapters that
offer quick bites of information. The morsels I provide include ten of my best
tips for solving even the trickiest puzzles and ten great Web resources that you
may want to add to your “favorites” list.

Icons Used in This Book

In the Part I chapters, you’ll notice two icons in the margins that help you navi-
gate the text:

When you see this icon, know that the text next to it contains a helpful hint for
solving crossword puzzles.

This icon points out information that you want to tuck into your mental filing
cabinet — it’s worth holding on to.

Where to Go from Here

Your entry point into this book depends on your relationship with crosswords.
If you’re a newbie, I recommend that you spend some time with Chapter 1
before putting pencil to paper.

If you’re already a puzzling pro and picked up this book knowing exactly how
to tackle the grid, go ahead and jump into the good stuff: the puzzles in Part II.
But even if you’re fairly experienced, consider starting with a puzzle labeled
“Easy” — it always helps to get to know the puzzle editor’s style before moving
on to the tougher challenges.

My only rule is that you cannot jump directly to Part III! I don’t want you eyeing
the solutions before you’ve wined and dined at least one puzzle. But I assume that
because you’ve taken the time to read this Introduction, you’re a pretty patient
person and you’re not going to spoil your fun by looking at the answers first.

No matter what your crossword background is, I hope you’ll stop by Chapter 2
at some time during your journey through this book. I find the topic of brain
fitness fascinating, and I think you will too.