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Acrostics Tutorial

We'll use the puzzle called Crostic Instructions, shown below, to illustrate how to solve an acrostic. A hint: The quote contains instructions for acrostics!

First, we read the clues, and answer the ones we think we know. Below is how the screen might look after filling in four of the answers.

As we type in the answers, each letter appears somewhere in the grid to the right, which will ultimately contain the quotation we are trying to solve. In the example, you can see how the letters from the four answers show up in the grid.

Though it might look similar, the grid is not a crossword puzzle. Reading vertically down the columns would give you gibberish. Instead, read the quote as you would a book, one line at a time, horizontally.

The end of each word is marked with a dark square. Words can wrap onto the next line. Only a dark square will show you where a word ends. In the example, the first three words of the quote have seven letters, while the next word has only two, and the next only one.

Looking again at the answers on the left, you see that the first column of the answers is shaded. This column will contain the name of the author and the work from which the quote is taken. In the example, it looks like the name of the author of the quote starts with an M.

Answering clues isn't the only way we can fill in letters. In looking at the grid, there are already letter combinations which suggest words. Have any ideas?

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