Stan's Daily Crossword comes from Stan Newman, who has edited the Newsday crossword for decades. That matters more than it sounds. A crossword carries the fingerprints of whoever edited it, and Newman's are clean fill and clues that reward reading twice.
It is the hardest puzzle on this side of the site, but not in the way people expect. The vocabulary is ordinary. What catches you out is the phrasing.
How to play Stan's Daily Crossword
A new grid appears each day. Fill every white square so the across and down answers both read correctly.
- Click any square to select it. The clue for that entry appears above or beside the grid.
- Click the same square again to switch between across and down.
- Type your answer. The cursor moves along on its own.
- Arrow keys move square by square. Tab jumps to the next clue.
- Click a clue in the list to jump straight to its entry in the grid.
You do not have to solve it in order, and nobody does. Most solvers make one pass through the across clues, fill in only what they are sure of, then let the crossing letters do the rest.
If you get stuck, the check and reveal controls will confirm a letter, an answer or the whole grid. Using them costs you nothing except the satisfaction.
Tips and strategy
- Start with the fill in the blank clues. They have one answer and no misdirection, and they hand you crossing letters for free.
- Short answers of three and four letters are the scaffolding. Get those in and the long entries stop looking impossible.
- When a clue could be a noun or a verb, assume Newman meant the other one. That single habit solves more of his clues than any word list.
- A question mark at the end of a clue is a warning. It means the answer is a pun or a stretch, so stop looking for the literal meaning.
- Plurals cross plurals. If a clue is plural and the crossing letter is not an S, one of your two answers is wrong.
- Leave it and come back. Crosswords resolve overnight in a way almost nothing else does.
More games like this
Last updated
Frequently asked questions
Who makes Stan's Daily Crossword?
Stan Newman, the crossword editor at Newsday. The puzzle is distributed by Arkadium and plays free here.
Is Stan's Daily Crossword hard?
It is harder than most syndicated dailies. The words themselves are common, but the clues lean on wordplay more than on obscure vocabulary.
Does a new puzzle appear every day?
Yes. A fresh grid arrives each day, and the previous one is replaced.
Can I check my answers?
Yes. You can check a single letter, a whole answer or the entire grid, and reveal any of them if you would rather move on.