Crack the Crossing Grid

A word can fit the empty boxes perfectly... and still be completely wrong. The crossing letters are the detectives. Let's see how one tiny match can unlock a whole grid.

First, scan every slot and count its boxes. Write each length beside the grid. A four-letter word can only enter a four-box slot, so length removes impossible choices before you test any letters. Next, look where two slots cross. That shared square must hold the same letter in both words. Place the most certain word first, then carry its crossing letters into the other slots as clues. Do not stop because a word has the right length. Test every crossing before you commit. If even one shared letter disagrees, erase that placement and try the remaining word.

Let's work through an example. The grid has three slots. Across one has five boxes. Down two has four boxes and crosses the third box of Across one at its second box. Across three has five boxes and crosses the last box of Down two at its second box. Fit these supplied words: LACES, MOUSE, and ECHO. Start with length. Only ECHO has four letters, so ECHO goes in Down two. Read down: E, C, H, O. The C lands in the crossing with the third box of Across one. That slot now shows blank, blank, C, blank, blank. Compare the five-letter words. LACES has C third, so LACES fits Across one. MOUSE has U third, so it cannot go there. Now use the final O in ECHO. It crosses the second box of Across three, giving blank, O, blank, blank, blank. MOUSE matches that pattern, so place MOUSE across. Check every shared square: C matches C, and O matches O. All lengths fit. All crossings agree. The completed grid is Across one LACES, Down two ECHO, and Across three MOUSE.

Count the boxes, place the certain word, then make EVERY crossing agree. You are not guessing words now - you are solving a chain of letter clues. Grid cracked!