I finished the first one of my life. Well, I did them as a kid, easy stuff. This is the first one I finished in a major newspaper; my first attempt at doing one after several decades of life.

I finished it but used help (searches on the interwebz, etc). I think I got about 30% of the answers completely on my own (not even checking the webz). Another 50% with help from the webz. And about 20% I need the answer because I couldn't figure it out, even w/ the webz.

Some of the hints were tricky though. And I didn't know the answers could be multiple words. I thought all answers would be single words, not something like "ISee" or a simple phrase. And apparently there is some about hints with question marks that I'm just not getting yet.

In any case, crosswords in my perception was an 'older people' thing - well, I guess I'm there now. It was actually kind of fun. And I learned some things - some interesting and some just trivia.

It's amazing that some people can complete them w/o any help. I wonder if I'll ever get to that point - bucket list, complete a crossword without any help?

Good crosswords don't rely on trivia and facts so much as clever clues. They make you look at things from different angles. Pop culture stuff can be a chore and proper names a pain or educated guess. Seemingly impossible arcane bs must be gettable by crosses, answers in the other direction you can figure out. Names crossing names is just bad construction or simply rude.

Look stuff up! It's how you learn. The more puzzles you do, the more you see the rhythms and patterns of solving. Getting on a roll and seeing stuff revealed and fall together is great fun.

The miserable N.Y. Time's x-words are pretty good, getting harder through the week, Monday being easiest. Your first completed Monday puzzle will be a point of pride.

If I cant sleep, I work a crossword puzzle. Puts me right out!

I used to do them religiously daily, but it's been quite a while now.

I can usually do the USA Today one without help now. It's just like anything, you have to practice and train for it. I started off the same as you, then over time I started to learn the patterns and thought logic. I got better the more I did them, and don't really need to look up stuff anymore. Obviously the NYT is going to be harder, you just have to keep up often. The pop culture is the hardest, if you don't know the answers, you can't really guess, you have to look it up.

There's an app in the macOS AppStore called "Black Ink" that allows one to download crosswords from various sources, some free, some with a "subscription." The daily Wall Street Journal puzzles are free and about the right difficulty to make them interesting but not trivial. Most of them have some sort of theme or puzzle within a puzzle that adds interest (most of the time), but sometimes the authors get a little too cute. I'm sure there is something similar available for other OS's.

And, there are many websites where you can solve crosswords in a browser interface.

The NYT has a mini crossword that I like to do. It's not difficult at all. I try and solve it in under 2 minutes.

Pro tip, most useful for experienced solvers -- peppermint! It's true . Peppermint activates something in your brain that just seems to work. It's happened for me too many times to be coincidence.

The wife taught grade school and was told early on to have peppermints for the kids on test days. I didn't believe her but yep, it works.

Next time you're spinning your wheels on a grid, have a peppermint available.

^^^ As I get older, maybe I should keep it on hand all the time!

Last time I remember doing them was in the Stars and Stripes. Used to do those daily or weekly, back in the days before the internet. I think the solution was the next day or maybe week.

If you stick with a single source, you'll eventually remember the clues. I think it's good for expanding / maintaining your vocabulary.

In my 20s, I had a co-worker who could work a regular crossword in 30 minutes using pen, not pencil.

My father who lived past 90 and was sharp until the last two years always kept a book of crossword puzzles and worked them every day. He did this from his mid 70's up to his last years. He always said it helped keep him sharp. I believe it. Regular brain exercise is as important as regular body exercise IMHO.

I do a lot of crosswords. Love the puzzle of it all. I have the NYT games app and typically do wordle, connections, and crossword every day.

I have a NYT sunday crossword puzzle book of 500 puzzles. They are "supersize" so I can tear out a sheet and put it on a clipboard.