What is a news crossword?

A news crossword turns people, places and ideas from recent reporting into a puzzle you can solve. NewsWords pairs that wordplay with links to the stories behind it.

A small grid, connected to a bigger world.

A conventional crossword might send you searching your memory for a river, an old film or a synonym. A news crossword also draws from the world happening around you: a place in the headlines, a person at the centre of a story, or a term worth understanding.

NewsWords puts those answers into a compact 9×9 grid alongside ordinary crossword vocabulary. News is the theme; the whole grid is still a crossword, with across and down answers sharing letters.

You don’t need to have read every headline.

You can reason from the clue and its crossing letters. Choose Easy for straightforward definitions, Medium for a less direct route, or Hard for more wordplay. The answer and grid stay the same across all three settings. Hints are available when you need a nudge.

The story doesn’t stop at the answer.

News-linked entries include the outlet, headline and a link to the original reporting. Solving can become a starting point for reading further. Ordinary fill answers are not presented as news stories, and the puzzle is not a substitute for a full news briefing.

Why try it?

• You enjoy crosswords and want a fresh theme drawn from current events.
• You like following the news but want a more active way to engage with a few stories.
• You want to compare the same grid with someone who prefers a different clue difficulty.

Start with the latest edition, explore published puzzles, or read how an edition is reviewed.