Crossword fill tips

Clean crossword fill means every entry outside the theme is a real, lively word or phrase that a solver would be glad to meet, with no obscure junk, no unfair crossings, and few awkward partials or abbreviations. The practical method is to fill the hardest area of the grid first, judge each candidate by its quality score and its crossings, and change the grid pattern rather than accept bad entries. This guide walks through how.

What is "fill" in a crossword?

Fill is every answer that is not a theme entry. Solvers rarely notice good fill and always notice bad fill. A strong theme with ugly fill reads as sloppy; a modest theme with smooth fill reads as polished. See the glossary entry for fill for related terms.

Where should you start filling a crossword grid?

Start with the most constrained area, not the top-left corner. Hard areas are the ones with the fewest good options:

1. Around the theme entries. Their letters are fixed, so the crossing words are forced.
2. Corners with long entries. A corner with 6-to-8-letter words in both directions has far fewer fits than an open middle.
3. Triple stacks and other stacked long entries. If your grid has them, fill them first.
4. Areas with several 3-letter or 4-letter words packed together.

Fill those first because if they cannot be solved, nothing else matters, and you want to find out early, before you have invested in easy parts. Then work toward the easy regions, which almost always fill themselves.

A useful loop:

1. Place your theme entries.
2. Pick the hardest region.
3. Try its candidates; look two crossings ahead, not just one.
4. If a placement leaves a crossing with no valid word, back up.
5. Move to the next hardest region.

How do you pick the best word for a slot?

Compare candidates on these points:

• Word quality. A scored word list ranks entries by how good they are. Prefer high-scoring words and phrases. See crossword word lists.
• Crossings. A word is only as good as the crossings it forces. A great word that forces an ugly one is a bad trade.
• Letter variety. Over-reliance on common letters makes the grid dull; a Q, Z, J, or X can add sparkle if the crossings stay fair.
• Variety of word types. Mix nouns, verbs, phrases, and names.
• Freshness. Entries that have not appeared in a hundred puzzles feel new.

In Gridsmith, fill-assist gives ranked suggestions for the active slot that are consistent with the crossing letters. If you import a scored word list, the suggestions rank by your scores. You can also autofill a single word or the whole puzzle; large blank grids can be slow, so it is usually better to place the theme and the hard areas yourself and then use autofill (how crossword autofill works).

What is crosswordese and how do you avoid it?

Crosswordese is vocabulary that appears in crosswords far more often than in real life, because the letter patterns are convenient: words like ESNE, ALEE, ERNE, or ETUI. A few are fine and a few are even charming; a grid full of them is a slog. See crosswordese.

How to handle it:

• Treat each crosswordese entry as a debt. Two or three in a grid may be acceptable; more means rework.
• Do not let them cross each other. An obscure word crossing another obscure word is the fastest route to an unfair square.
• Look for a better alternative. Often changing one letter in a crossing removes it.
• Prefer words that are fresh and familiar.

What is a Natick and how do you prevent it?

A Natick is a square where two obscure entries cross, so a solver who does not know either has no way to infer the letter. The term traces back to a 2008 puzzle and the blogger Rex Parker's discussion of it. To prevent one:

1. List every proper noun, foreign word, and obscure term in the grid.
2. Look at each crossing between two of them.
3. At each such crossing, ask whether a solver could guess the letter, for example because only one letter makes a pattern.
4. If not, change one of the two entries or its clue to something gettable.

Fair clues help too: a well-chosen clue can turn an unknown name into an inferable one (crossword clue writing).

How many partials, plurals, and abbreviations are too many?

There is no official quota, but constructors and editors watch for these:

See partial for the definition. One partial is rarely a problem; a pile of them is.

When should you change the grid instead of the fill?

If a region keeps producing poor options, the pattern is the problem. Signs it is time to move blocks:

• You have tried a dozen options and every one forces an ugly crossing.
• A region has several 3-letter words that all want to be junk.
• A corner has a very long entry that only fits obscure words.
• Your word count is high, so the whole grid is crowded.

Fixes:

1. Move or remove a block to open or split the problem area.
2. Shift a long entry one row up or down. (Theme entries cannot move freely, but non-theme long entries can.)
3. Add a cheater square: a block that does not change the word count but breaks up a trouble spot.
4. Add blocks to raise the word count. A grid with fewer, longer entries is harder to fill; more blocks and shorter words can relax it. Check your target venue's limits in crossword grid rules.

In Gridsmith, symmetry is automatic, so moving a block moves its mirror too, and the live stats update the word count and block percentage as you go.

How do you score and compare fills?

If you want a more objective measure than gut feeling:

1. Use a scored list. Give each word a score and prefer fills with a higher average or fewer low-scoring entries.
2. Count the weak entries. Make a list of every entry you would be embarrassed by. If it is longer than a handful, redo the area.
3. Check unchecked squares. A square that belongs to only one word is unchecked. American-style grids have none, because every letter should be crossed by a second word. Gridsmith's live stats show unchecked and empty squares.
4. Read the fill aloud. Weak entries stand out when you scan the finished list.
5. Get a test solver. A fresh pair of eyes finds the squares you stopped seeing.

Quality is a judgment, but a scored word list gives you a consistent starting point.

A fill checklist

• Theme entries placed and verified for symmetry
• Hardest region filled first
• No obscure-on-obscure crossings
• Crosswordese limited
• Few partials, abbreviations, and plural-S entries
• Every entry a real word or phrase
• No duplicate entries
• Unchecked squares at zero (or understood)

Open the editor to start filling.

Frequently asked questions

What is the hardest part of a crossword grid to fill?

Usually the corners and any region with stacked long entries, because they have the fewest valid options. Fill those before the open middle.

How many obscure words are acceptable in a crossword?

There is no fixed number, but each one costs solver goodwill. Keep them few, never cross two obscure entries, and give any unavoidable one a fair clue.

Should I use autofill to fill my crossword?

It is a useful assistant, especially for finishing easy regions and testing whether a pattern can be filled. Large blank grids are the hardest case and can be slow, so place your theme and tackle the tough areas first.

How do I know when to change my grid?

If you keep rejecting every option for a region, the pattern is the problem. Move a block, shift a long non-theme entry, or add a cheater square, rather than settling for bad entries.