Crossonym

About Crossonym

Crossonym is a browser word game that has been running daily since April. Each day it gives you an anchor word written down a column, with a hidden synonym running across each of its letters. In the picture on its own site, the anchor CRISP runs down through COOL, SHARP, BRISK, FRESH and SNAPPY.

You do not type whole words. You type single letters, and each correct letter appears in every synonym that contains it, so one good guess can open up several rows at once. A completed synonym turns orange. A letter that is in none of the words is a mistake, and three mistakes end the game.

There are two boards a day. In Standard, the anchor word's letters start filled in. In Hard every square starts blank, the synonyms are rarer words and the boards lean on less common letters. Stats and streaks are kept on your device, or across devices if you add an email address, and an archive lets you play earlier dates.

How to play Crossonym

1. Read the day's word; every row is a synonym of it.
2. Type a letter: it fills every square where it appears across all the synonyms.
3. Use the letters you have to work out whole words, which turn orange when complete.
4. Solve every synonym before you make three mistakes, then share your result.

Tips

• Think of synonyms first and guess the letters they share, rather than guessing common letters blind.
• The anchor word's letters fix one position in each row, which tells you where a synonym must have that letter.
• Try the Hard board only after Standard: it starts empty and uses rarer words.

Questions