American vs British Crosswords

Understanding the Basics

Crosswords, whether the American or the British style tend to share basic similarities as both styles have a grid of white squares where players can place letters and black squares to separate words. They both also task solvers to fill in words that are based on clues, and they can range from straightforward to various forms of wordplay to misdirect players. However, both the British and the American crosswords tend to maintain a basic form of symmetry in their grid designs.

That is despite the fact that the American crossword was created decades after the British first designed their version of the crossword. However, American puzzles often include brand names, slang, word fragments, abbreviations, and more. The British ones, on the flip side, do not include those and instead tend to stick to normal words and avoid unpleasant terms.

Both styles have their own unique challenges but they are both equally engaging which is what has kept them in business even nearly a hundred years later.

Grid Structure

Crossword puzzles have evolved since they were first invented in 1913, but despite their evolution, they’ve remained a staple as a popular pastime. That especially includes the American and British crosswords, which have thrived over the years. Both versions have become popular across the world, and even in their opposite countries, thanks to their unique structures and the different challenges they offer.

American Crosswords

• This features a more denser grid with fewer black squares, covering barely 20% of the grid.

• Every letter in the crossword is part of both the across and the down answer

• In the American crossword, the grid sizes are usually 15x15 or 21x21, on the Sunday crossword.

• While these do include themes, the themes are placed symmetrically

British Crosswords

• It has a far more open grid with a higher percentage of black squares, typically covering around 35% of the grid.

• Half of the letters in each word will be a part of both the across and down answer

• The grid sizes vary but the British crossword is usually smaller than the American version

• Don’t usually have themes.

Clue Types

Clues are an important part of crosswords as they form half of the puzzle and between American and British crosswords, the way the clues are created are the key differentiations. So much so, that the variations between the clues tend to reflect the puzzle-solving traditions and cultural preferences. Not only that, it also tends to reflect the language of that particular side of the Atlantic, with both crossword versions tending to focus on different preferences.

American Crosswords

• Clues in the American crosswords range from straightforward clues to various forms of trivia and wordplay.

• The clues frequently tend to also use abbreviations and various common crossword answers

• Some clues in American Crosswords tend to include fill-in-the-blank versions

• Clues also include puns which are indicated by a question mark

• American crosswords’ clues often feature fragments of suffixes, prefixes, foreign words, phrases, and even general knowledge

British Crosswords

• There are two types of British crosswords: Quick and cryptic

• Quick crossword clues are straightforward definition clues with no form of wordplay

• Cryptic crossword clues feature various forms of complex wordplay to help misdirect the solver

• Cryptic clues have two parts: definition and wordplay

• Wordplay in cryptic clues include but aren’t limited to, homophones, anagrams, and hidden words

Examples of Clues

While the British Crossword is more focused on cryptic clue types in order to misdirect and bamboozle the solver, the American crossword is more focused on straightforward clues. Moreover, the latter crossword also tends to focus on themed puzzles which leads to clues related to said themes or clues that eventually spell or tell the user what kind of theme they are. That isn’t the case in British crosswords as they rarely have themed puzzles and tend to keep things straightforward.

Here are a few examples of clues from American and British crosswords:

American crosswords

• From ____ Z (Answer: ATO) - A fill-in-the-blank clue

• It can be open or safe? (Answer: HOUSE) - A pun-based clue indicated by a question mark

• Some sts (Answer: AVES) - An example of a clue using abbreviations

• Tour end (Answer: IST) – An example of a fragment of a word clue (tourist)

• So long in Rome (Answer: CIAO) - Foreign language clue

British Crosswords

• Bird colour (4) (Answer: TEAL) – Example of a double definition clue

• Hat could be dry (5) (Answer: DERBY) – An example of an anagram clue

• Confused, I enter mad house (9) (Answer: MADHOUSE) – Another example of an anagram of I enter mad

Which Style Is Harder to Solve?

American and British crosswords styles are different and thus present solvers with different challenges although British crosswords are still considered to be harder to solve. That is because, unlike the American version, the British crossword features cryptic clues. These are designed and created to misdirect and confuse solvers, while also tasking them to solve two parts of the clue.

Once they do that, the player will reach the right answer to the clue, making the whole process challenging but just as engaging for many. It’s why the British cryptic crossword has thrived over the years, but that isn’t to say the American crossword is easy. While it features far more straightforward clues, it tends to rely heavily on general knowledge and pop culture, which makes things comparatively easier for solvers.