Quick Crossword (The Herald)

About Quick Crossword (The Herald)

The Quick Crossword is the gentler of The Herald's two daily crosswords. Each clue is a plain definition with the answer's length in brackets, such as "Picture from a negative (5)", so there is no wordplay to unpick: you need the word, and the crossing letters help you find it. The grid is a newspaper-size block of roughly 13 by 13 squares.

The puzzles page files each grid under its date, so today's puzzle sits at the top of the list with the previous four weeks or so below it. You type answers straight into the grid, and the app version shows the current clue under the board with arrows to move between clues and a timer running.

The Herald keeps most of its puzzles for subscribers. Only Sudoku (Very Easy) and Kriss Kross are free on the website; the Quick Crossword, the Cryptic Crossword, the General Knowledge Crossword, Codeword and Wordsearch need a digital subscription, which also covers the puzzles in The Herald's iPhone app.

It suits readers who want a short daily crossword with ordinary clues, and Herald subscribers who already read the paper online.

How to play Quick Crossword (The Herald)

1. Open The Herald's puzzles page, or Puzzles in The Herald app, and sign in with your subscription.
2. Pick today's Quick Crossword at the top of its list.
3. Click a square or a clue and type the answer; each clue gives the answer's length in brackets.
4. Use letters from crossing answers to work out the harder clues.
5. Fill the whole grid to finish, or go back to an earlier date from the list.

Tips

• Start with the short answers: three- and four-letter words give crossing letters fast.
• Plurals and past tenses in a clue usually mean the answer ends in S or ED.
• If today's grid stalls, the list of earlier dates lets you try another and come back.

Questions