Crossword Puzzles for Adults

The clues expect what grown-ups know: a year, a name or a place rather than a picture. “Virginia town where the British army surrendered in 1781” (YORKTOWN), “Percy Spencer invented this oven after radar melted a candy bar in his pocket” (MICROWAVE) or “Boy who gets his friends to whitewash a fence” (TOMSAWYER). Each puzzle has 14 to 16 answers around one theme, so it takes about 15 to 30 minutes with a pencil. The number after every clue tells you how many letters the answer has.

• Start with what you know for sure and write it in. Every answer you fill gives you letters for the words that cross it.
• Read the theme first. All the answers belong to it, so a history puzzle’s seven-letter president is a short list.
• Answers with two words are written as one, with no space: DEATHVALLEY, TOMSAWYER.
• Use a pencil, and check the answer key only at the end, or peek at a single word if you are stuck.

Print a copy for everyone and solve the same puzzle at the same time, then go through the answer key together: the history and literature clues usually start a good conversation. For bigger squares and easier clues, try our crossword puzzles for seniors in large print, and for something quicker, the printable cryptograms or word searches for adults.