Mini crossword
A mini crossword is a small crossword grid, typically five squares by five, with a short list of across and down clues that can be solved in a few minutes.
Shrinking the grid changes the puzzle. A full newspaper crossword takes half an hour and uses long themed answers. A mini has almost no black squares, so almost every letter is crossed twice, and a handful of short words, mostly common ones, fill the whole grid. That makes it a coffee-break puzzle rather than a project.
Solving tips are the usual crossword tips, compressed. Start with the clues you are sure about, use crossing letters to unlock the rest, and watch for short fill words like ARE, ERA and ONE. Because everything is short, a single wrong letter shows up fast, which makes minis forgiving to learn on.
Bossfeed's Daily Mini Crossword leans toward famous quotes, art and literature in its clues rather than pop-culture traps, so finishing one usually leaves you with a line worth keeping. It is free and plays on a phone.
Daily Mini Crossword - a new small grid every day.
Used in: Daily Crossword
See also on Final Boss Editing: Crossword