A themed crossword where every clue is a familiar saying with one word missing
Every clue is a saying you know with one word blanked out — "Calm before the ____" — and the answer is the missing word. The grid is a sparse criss-cross where every answer crosses at least one other, so each letter you place helps twice. The title is the theme: most answers belong to it, a few are simply other sayings, and nothing on the board tells you which is which.
Tap a cell or a clue and type; the selection moves along the entry as you go and jumps to the next unfinished clue at the end. Tap a cell twice (or press Space) to switch between Across and Down. Letters are free: type over them, Delete them, change your mind as often as you like — nothing is judged while you work. The active clue sits above the keyboard so you never scroll to read it; the two clue columns below the grid are for browsing.
Check is the only thing that counts against you: it locks every letter that is right and clears every letter that is wrong with a red flash. Reveal letter fills the selected cell; Reveal word fills the active entry; both lock what they fill. Reveal all shows the whole grid and records the puzzle as a loss — tap it twice, so a slip never costs you the day. The grid completes itself the moment every cell is right.
The daily is the same for everyone and counts once on the leaderboard. On a holiday the puzzle belongs to the day. Crosswordocious lives under More Games, so it never affects your Daily Sweep, Flawless Victory or the sweep celebration — those stay the eight word games.
A finished grid is worth a 1,000-point base plus a flat 200 for finishing. Checks are what separate players: the game treats your finish as (checks + 1) out of a budget of 6, and every unused check is worth 200 points, so a grid finished with no Check banks 1,000 in check bonus, one Check 800, two 600, and so on down to nothing at five. Speed is the tiebreaker: up to 240 points scaled by how far under the 15-minute cap you finish, which can never outweigh a Check — a cleaner grid always outranks a faster one.
Revealing a letter costs 60 points and revealing a word 120; neither counts as a Check. Reveals never lose you the puzzle, but a grid with any reveal is not a Perfect run and does not count toward the Pure Crosswordocious achievements. A revealed puzzle records a loss but still earns credit for the time you put in.
Most answers belong to the theme. If the title is "Down by the Sea", expect ANCHOR, TIDE and SAILS before you expect anything else — and when a clue does not fit the sea, it is one of the few plain sayings.
These are phrases you already know. Read the clue as a sentence and let the blank fill itself; the letter count in the grid confirms it. Trying to reason letter by letter is slower than simply hearing the saying.
An eight- or nine-letter answer crosses more entries than a four-letter one. Two long answers placed early hand you a letter in half the grid.
Placing and replacing letters is free, so try a word and see whether the crossings still read. Save Check for when the grid is nearly done and you want the last doubtful letters confirmed — the bonus falls per Check, not per wrong letter.
When a clue will not come, fill its crossing entries instead; a word with three letters showing usually reads itself. Reveal a letter only when a single crossing is blocking a whole corner.
Every mode ships a fresh daily puzzle at your local midnight — the same words for every player worldwide, with a daily leaderboard per mode. Play today's Crosswordocious puzzle.