Part of the challenge for many crossword solvers is that you can't adjust the difficulty of the cluing on a given day. The clues you get are the clues you get.

New York Times crossword solvers are intimately familiar with this, talking about Tuesday puzzles and Saturday puzzles and understanding what each means in terms of expected puzzle difficulty.

Our own Penny Dell Crosswords App offers free puzzles across three difficulty levels each day, but those are three distinct puzzles, not three different clue sets for one particular puzzle.

Having options for more than one set of clues is fairly rare. Lollapuzzoola has two difficulty-levels for their final tournament puzzle, Local and Express. GAMES Magazine previously offered two sets of clues for their themeless crossword, entitled The World's Most Ornery Crossword.

The tournament final of the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament offers different clue difficulties for three separate divisions. The Boswords Spring and Fall Themeless Leagues work in a similar manner, offering three levels of clue difficulty — Smooth, Choppy, and Stormy — for competitors to choose from.

The concept of Easy and Hard clues is not unheard of… it's just rare.

And it's only natural that someone, eventually, was going to take this concept and dial it up to a Spinal Tap 11.

The pair of someones in question are Megan Amram and Paolo Pasco.

Paolo is fairly well-known around crossword circles, having contributed puzzles to the American Values Club crossword, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal, and other outlets, while also serving as associate crossword editor for The Atlantic.

And Megan is an incredibly talented television and film writer who has written for Parks and Rec, The Simpsons, and The Good Place. Anytime you saw a hilariously shameless punny name for a store in The Good Place, it was undoubtedly one of Megan's.

Together, they unleashed The Impossible Crossword in the print edition of The New Yorker's December 27 issue, its first ever Cartoons & Puzzles issue. (It was made available on the website the week before.)

The instructions are simple: This crossword contains two sets of clues to the same answers. Toggle to the set labelled "Hard" to impress people looking over your shoulder. (And toggle to "Easy" when they look away.)

This 9×9 crossword's Easy clues were fair and accessible, but the Hard clues were the real stars. They ricocheted between immensely clever, wildly obscure, and hilarious parodies of themselves.

For instance, the word JEST was clued on the Easy side as "Infinite ____" but received the brilliantly condescending add-on "Infinite ____" (novel that's very easy to read and understand) in the Hard clues as a reference to the famously dense and impenetrable nature of the novel.

For the word APPS, the Easy clue was "Programs designed to run on mobile devices," while the Hard clue was "Amuse-gueules, colloquially."

(I had to look that one up. An amuse-gueule is "a small savory item of food served as an appetizer before a meal.")

And those are just two examples.

When you finally finish the puzzle, this is your reward:

"You're a genius! You can tell your mom to get off your case about going to law school."

All at once, The Impossible Crossword manages to be a fun puzzle to solve on its own, a riotously fun gimmick that lampoons clue difficulty in general, and the most meta puzzle I've solved all year.

Kudos to Megan and Paolo for pulling it off. What a way to welcome the Cartoons & Puzzles era of The New Yorker while the rest of us close out another year of puzzling.


dailypopwsicon

Treat yourself to some delightful deals on puzzles. You can find them on the Home Screen for Daily POP Crosswords and Daily POP Word Search! Check them out!

Thanks for visiting PuzzleNation Blog today! Be sure to sign up for our newsletter to stay up-to-date on everything PuzzleNation!

Hello puzzlers and PuzzleNationers!

We're excited to announce new puzzle sets for both of our marvelous crossword puzzle apps! Yes, whether you're a fan of our Penny Dell Crosswords App or our Daily POP Crosswords app, we've got something special for you!

That'sEntertainmentFeaturedSetAnncmnt

First off, for Daily POP Crosswords users, we have our latest featured set, That's Entertainment!

Consisting of ten puzzles, all with themes focusing on television, film, and the entertainment industry in general, this puzzle set offers the smart, pop culture-savvy cluing you've come to expect from PuzzleNation, collected for your convenience and enjoyment!

Of course, that's just the tip of the proverbial iceberg when it comes to featured sets! In our puzzle library, you can find all sorts of topics, ranging from the 1960s and superheroes to summer reading and more!

Print

And for the Penny Dell Crosswords App, we have a new deluxe puzzle set available! If you're looking for something lyrical and melodic, we have our new Music Deluxe bundle!

With special themed puzzles and loads of great crosswords at all difficulty levels for you to enjoy, these bundles are a fresh and fun way to relax and keep your puzzly wits sharp!

Both sets are available now for in-app purchase, so don't miss out on these terrific new puzzle bundles!

Happy puzzling, everybody!


Thanks for visiting PuzzleNation Blog today! Be sure to sign up for our newsletter to stay up-to-date on everything PuzzleNation!

You can also share your pictures with us on Instagram, friend us on Facebook, check us out on Twitter, Pinterest, and Tumblr, and explore the always-expanding library of PuzzleNation apps and games on our website!

puzzlelove

We're all doing our best to keep ourselves and our loved ones engaged, entertained, and sane during these stressful times.

And after weeks of doing so, it's possible you're running out of ideas.

But worry not! Your puzzly pals at PuzzleNation are here with some suggestions.

Please feel free to sample from this list of activities, which is a mix of brain teasers to solve, puzzly projects to embark upon, treasure hunts, unsolved mysteries, ridiculous notions, creative endeavors, and a dash of shameless self-promotion.

Enjoy, won't you?


Puzzly Ways To Get Through Self-Quarantine

  • play every edition of the View a Clue game
  • design your own escape room
  • write a series of elaborate riddles with which to taunt Batman while you plot a devious crime
  • download the Daily POP Crosswords app and solve away
  • whip up a game of 1000 Blank White Cards
  • challenge yourself with some chess-based puzzles
  • learn the puzzly art of letterlocking
  • try to decode the Voynich Manuscript
  • design a scavenger hunt
  • solve the Word Mastery game
  • craft a personalized palindrome for yourself or a loved one
  • get really good at solving Rubik's Cubes
  • download the Daily POP Word Search app and solve away
  • identify these 20 Halloween-themed songs in 3 minutes
  • try to find the buried treasures of The Secret
  • solve the Single Letter Puzzle game
  • make some puzzly foods
  • read every Trivial Pursuit card you can find
  • try to solve the Beale Cipher
  • make your own jigsaw puzzle
  • download the Penny Dell Sudoku app and solve away
  • repaint any tiled area to look like a big ol' crossword puzzle
  • solve the Rebel Roundup brain teaser
  • try to find Forrest Fenn's treasure
  • build a puzzle fort
  • make a popsicle stick chain reaction
  • download Wordventures: The Vampire Pirate and solve away
  • memorize the XWordInfo library
  • play quarantine bingo
  • create some crossword art
  • solve all of our Brain Teaser Week mind ticklers
  • build a Rube Goldberg device
  • do some papier mache with your leftover crossword puzzles
  • download the Penny Dell Crossword App and solve away
  • build your own corn maze

In all seriousness, we hope these ideas help you and yours in some small way to make the time pass in a fun and puzzly fashion. Be well, stay safe, and happy puzzling.


Thanks for visiting PuzzleNation Blog today! Be sure to sign up for our newsletter to stay up-to-date on everything PuzzleNation!

You can also share your pictures with us on Instagram, friend us on Facebook, check us out on Twitter, Pinterest, and Tumblr, and explore the always-expanding library of PuzzleNation apps and games on our website!

Hello puzzlers and PuzzleNationers! We've got an exciting announcement for you to get the first full week of 2020 started right!

After the positive response throughout December of last year, we can't resist. We're bringing back Deal of the Day for 2020!

In fact, we're launching it today! Every day we'll be offering a special deal for our puzzle apps!

We're talking sales, discounts, special promotions, the works! And the best part? It's something exciting and different every single day!

And what's today's Deal of the Day? We're glad you asked, because we've got a banger today to kick things off!

200107

It's the Classic Movies Deluxe Bundle, loaded with dynamite film-themed puzzles and clues, and ready to be solved right on your phone or tablet! Keep your puzzly mind sharp with this deluxe bundle!

With 140 puzzles to solve, all designed with the high standard of quality and inventive style PuzzleNation is known for, you can't pass up a Deal of the Day like this!

And don't forget to keep your eyes peeled across all our social media (Facebook and Twitter especially!) for new announcements each and every day!

Happy solving!


Thanks for visiting PuzzleNation Blog today! Be sure to sign up for our newsletter to stay up-to-date on everything PuzzleNation!

You can also share your pictures with us on Instagram, friend us on Facebook, check us out on Twitter, Pinterest, and Tumblr, and explore the always-expanding library of PuzzleNation apps and games on our website!

Hello fellow puzzlers and PuzzleNationers!

Have you been checking out our Deals of the Day? If not, then you are missing out, my friends!

Every single day through the end of 2019, we'll be offering a special deal for our puzzle apps!

We're talking sales, discounts, special promotions, the works! And the best part? It's something exciting and unique every single day!

And today is no different. Check out this awesome deal!

191208

It's the December Deluxe Bundle, loaded with terrific seasonal puzzles and clues guaranteed to keep your puzzly wits engaged!

With 105 puzzles to solve, full of wintry fun and holiday cheer, plus the top-notch construction PuzzleNation is known for, how can you go wrong?

And don't forget to keep your eyes peeled across all our social media (Facebook and Twitter especially!) for new announcements each and every day for the rest of the year!


Oh, and while you're here, be sure to check out our Holiday Puzzly Gift Guide! It's been updated with links to full reviews for some of the latest puzzly products included, as well as a few last-minute additions and surprises!

Happy shopping and happy solving!


Thanks for visiting PuzzleNation Blog today! Be sure to sign up for our newsletter to stay up-to-date on everything PuzzleNation!

You can also share your pictures with us on Instagram, friend us on Facebook, check us out on Twitter, Pinterest, and Tumblr, and explore the always-expanding library of PuzzleNation apps and games on our website!

Halloween looms near, fellow puzzlers, but we've got our tricks and treats for you early! That's right, 'tis the season for spooks, scares, and wordy witchery, and we're celebrating with our newest puzzle set for the Penny Dell Crosswords App!

Our October Deluxe puzzle set just launched for both iOS and Android users, and it offers the quality solving experience you've come to expect from PuzzleNation!

Print

Scare up some puzzles for yourself and indulge in this marvelous puzzle bundle, designed for new solvers and talented puzzlers alike!

Offering 30 easy, medium, and hard puzzles, plus 5 October-themed bonus puzzles to please solvers of all skill levels, the October Deluxe puzzle set is full of frightfully great crosswords for everyone!

You can't go wrong with these awesome deals like this! PuzzleNation is dedicated to bringing you the best puzzle-solving experience available, with world-class puzzles right in your pocket, ready to go at a moment's notice! That's the PuzzleNation guarantee.

Happy solving everyone!


Thanks for visiting PuzzleNation Blog today! Be sure to sign up for our newsletter to stay up-to-date on everything PuzzleNation!

You can also share your pictures with us on Instagram, friend us on Facebook, check us out on Twitter, Pinterest, and Tumblr, and explore the always-expanding library of PuzzleNation apps and games on our website!