Develop an Eternal Passion
I’m a “Socratic Method” teacher. I’m not going to simply feed you answers. You’ll learn nothing meaningful that way. Doling out answers may make you feel good today, but it won’t make you a better puzzler tomorrow.
Instead, I will insist that YOU answer clues. We’ll take a look at a puzzle and begin to attack it as I do. We’ll start at “1 Across.” If you don’t know the answer, and I do, I’ll feed you some hints. These hints will not only help you arrive at the answer but, more importantly, will begin training your brain to think like a NY Times crossword solver.
By attacking the crossword in this manner, puzzle after puzzle, you will
eventually learn everything you need to know about solving NY Times
crosswords. I can’t help you with vocabulary (though yours will increase
solely through doing the puzzle), but you’ll learn every trick and subtlety
one must learn to become an expert solver. You’ll learn all the words that come up time and again, how to spot and exploit themes, and how to think like the current puzzle editor, Will Shortz.
I have been teaching people how to solve the NY Times crossword for many years. I can’t remember a single tutee that did not make significant progress. Simply put, I will not allow it. If you dedicate your attention, I will make you proud of yourself.
All sessions will be held on the telephone. We will use the NY Times website to work on puzzles appropriate to your skill level. For instance, beginners will start on Monday puzzles. As you improve, we’ll tackle puzzles that appear later in the week. Note that Friday and Saturday are, as a rule, the hardest puzzles of the week. Thursday and Sunday puzzles, in my experience, are of equivalent difficulty.