The New York Times Crossword Answer Book (NY Times) [Paperback]

Stanley Newman (Author)

Book Description

Series: NY Times | Publication Date: December 1, 1998

The most comprehensive crossword reference--the only one based on actual crosswords. It's guaranteed to have more of the answers you're looking for.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

It's been done before, but never so well. Like their predecessors, professional crossword editors Stanley Newman and Daniel Starkhave arranged thousands of three to seven letter words so that you can easily find them once you know the position of any two letters. Only they compiled their list from words actually used in crossword puzzles. They even included popular phrases, abbreviations, and proper names. The result may well be the greatest sanity saver ever published for crossword fans. The publishers are so confident in it that they offer a money-back guarantee of their own. I strongly doubt that they'll issue many checks. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"The most comprehensive source of contemporary crossword answers."
--WILL SHORTZ, crossword editor of The New York Times --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 704 pages
• Publisher: Random House Puzzles & Games (December 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812929721
• ISBN-13: 978-0812929720
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.4 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,977,556 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Just What You're Looking For, January 20, 2000

By 

David R. Cox - See all my reviews

This review is from: The New York Times Crossword Answer Book (NY Times) (Paperback)

This is exactly what you'd expect. You've got a couple of letters and need an answer, they're all here. Granted, that's a bit to look through, but desperate times and all that. I found this book particularly good for crossword construction, if you're into that sort of thing.

5.0 out of 5 stars This is an early, but excellent crossword reference book ..., November 24, 2011

By 

D. Fowler "Dragonfly77" (Vermont) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Crossword Answer Book (Other) (Hardcover)

Like most crossword aficionados I started doing crosswords when I was just a little kid. I'd sit at the table working at them and my "dictionary" was an aunt who was also very fond of them. Later on when I was a `tweener I picked up the Dell Crossword Dictionary. At the time that had most of the answers I needed. When crossword puzzles got more sophisticated and Will Shortz came on the scene, particularly as crossword puzzle editor for the New York Times, things were never quite the same. The "answers" couldn't be plucked out of any ordinary dictionary no matter how hard you tried ... until now (sorry Dell).

I occasionally work in a bookstore and when I spotted this book my first impression was that I didn't need it. I don't, but it's one of those books that are such a draw you just have to take a peek. I couldn't resist, but when I opened up the book it was one of those "what the heck is this?" moments. It looked like page after page of the Torah code. Yes, there is almost every answer you could ever find in a crossword reference book, but is referenced in a manner I never would have dreamed up.

According to the authors, the book "is arranged first by word length, then alphabetically by the position of two given letters. So once you have two letters of an answer filled in, you can quickly find a list of words and phrases that have those two letters in those two positions." Of course you will not find lengthy, multiple word sequences, but you will find many contemporary ones (three to seven letters). Just to give you an idea as to how this works I've included a very short section below so you can see the way this reference works.

O***D*

OCTADS
OLINDA
ONEIDA
ONSIDE
OREADS
OREIDA
OROIDE
OVERDO
OVIEDO
OVOIDS

I was pleasantly surprised when I tried a few from actual New York Times puzzles from their Crossword Puzzle Omnibus and quickly found the "answer." It did help to have a good idea of what I was looking for, especially in sections where there were large blocks of words. Included are "phrases, proper names, and abbreviations" used in actual puzzles. The method is easy to figure out and loads of fun to play with. I couldn't resist buying it and certainly don't regret it as this really is a book with all the answers, the ones that just don't seem to come to mind. It is especially handy on the notoriously tricky Sunday puzzles.

1.0 out of 5 stars New York Times crossword answer book, February 9, 2011

By 

Dortha Broughton "music lover" (Indiana) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The New York Times Crossword Answer Book (NY Times) (Paperback)

There wasn't a description about the book, other than it was an answer book. All it has is possible letters to fit your puzzle. I thought it would be like a dictionary, and would give words to answer the puzzle clues. I don't like it at all!!