Crosswords Books

From Mensa® comes a series of super-challenging puzzles that go way beyond the average crossword—and also offer an authentic treasure-trove of wordplay demanding some skilled solving. Here’s how they go: each clue has two parts. One is the normal definition of an answer, while the other features a little linguistic playfulness—maybe an anagram, perhaps a pun, and sometimes even a word written backward. And the hitch is…there’s usually no indication of which comes first, or punctuation to mark the division. You’ve got to see through the clue-maker’s deceptions and tease out the correct answer by rethinking the clue’s wording. Some of the irresistible language trickery includes double definitions, hidden answers, homophones, and containers.

Ready for something that really tests your brainpower? These puzzles--taken from the celebrated pages of The New Yorker magazine--offer more challenges per "empty square" than the average crossword! Every cryptic has a twist, a little something extra, a double-dose of difficulty. That's because the clues all have two parts: a definition half and a wordplay half, with anagrams, reversals, containers, and lots of other word games built in.

Compiled by the editor of The Times crossword, this assortment of crossword puzzles promises endless entertainment. Initially published just four times a year on holidays, The Times crossword has appeared on a weekly basis since 1997. The larger grid (27 x 27 squares) creates great challenges for long words and phrases, adding an additional level of diffficulty to the original 15 x 15 layout and a new element of challenge to completing each crossword.

Though known for its fierce polemics and contrarian political voices, one of the most abiding and popular features of The Nation magazine — and something Republicans would consider subscribing to the magazine for — are Frank Lewis' weekly crossword puzzles which have appeared in the magazine since 1947. This new collection of Lewis' work — the first in over a decade — will delight Lewis fans and crossword puzzlers alike with his trademark cryptic, punning and anigram-atic style.