Anagram Crossword
Anagram Crossword
Our free daily · new every day Scramblish Unscramble the letters, find every word Play In an anagram crossword the clue is not a definition. The clue is the answer with its letters shuffled.
That sounds easier than a normal crossword and it is not, because your brain is very good at reading words and very bad at reading letters. Presented with a jumble, you will keep trying to pronounce it rather than take it apart, and the whole skill of this puzzle is learning to stop doing that.
There are thirty puzzles, which is enough to actually improve at it. Anagram spotting is a trainable skill and it transfers directly to every other word game here, from Scrabble style tile games to the daily crosswords, where a setter's anagram clue will now announce itself.
How to play
- The grid is a standard crossword shape with across and down entries.
- Each clue is a set of letters that rearranges into the answer.
- Click a square to select the entry, then type your answer.
- Crossing letters constrain neighbouring entries as usual.
- A help system will unravel a clue you cannot see.
How to play Anagram Crossword
Taking a jumble apart
The reliable method is to stop reading the jumble as a word and start sorting it.
Write the vowels separately from the consonants, at least in your head. A five letter clue with two vowels has a very limited number of possible shapes, and knowing where the vowels can sit is usually enough.
Using the crossings
The advantage of an anagram crossword over a plain anagram is that you rarely have to solve one in isolation. A single crossing letter tells you which position a specific letter occupies, and that collapses the possibilities dramatically.
Solve the entries with the most crossings first, not the ones that look easiest.
Tips and strategy
Seeing rearrangements
- Look for common endings hidden in the letters. If ING, ED, ER or LY can be pulled out, the remaining letters are a much smaller problem.
- Check for a familiar consonant cluster: TH, CH, SH, STR, PL. Real words are built from a small set of these and the jumble contains at most a couple.
- Say the vowels in order. Their sequence often suggests the shape of the word even before the consonants fall into place.
Order of solving
- Start with the shortest entries. Three and four letter anagrams have few arrangements and they hand you crossings.
- Prefer entries that cross something already solved. One fixed letter turns most anagrams into one or two candidates.
- If an entry resists after a minute, leave it and come back once its crossings are filled.
What to unlearn
- Trying to pronounce the jumble. It is the single biggest obstacle and it is a hard habit to break.
- Solving isolated entries in an empty region rather than working outwards from what you have.
- Spending help on a short entry. Save it for a long one where the crossings will pay you back.
For the same skill without a grid, Word Scramble and Spellbound are here, and the clued puzzles are on the crossword page.
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Frequently asked questions
How is an anagram crossword different from a normal one?
The clue is not a definition. It is the answer with its letters rearranged, so you solve by unscrambling rather than by knowing a fact.
How many puzzles are there?
Thirty, which is enough to genuinely improve at anagram spotting rather than just try it once.
What is the fastest way to unscramble a clue?
Separate vowels from consonants and look for a common ending such as ING or ED. Whatever remains is a much smaller problem.
Is there help if I get stuck?
Yes. A help system will unravel a clue, and it is best saved for a long entry whose crossings will pay you back.
Is it free?
Yes. It plays in the browser with nothing to install and no account.