With more than 1,000,000 answers, this volume contains more than twice as many answers as any other crossword dictionary. More important, it is the first crossword dictionary ever to comprehensively cover the clues and answers that actually appear in today's most popular crosswords, including contemporary slang, phrases, and brand names.

Meticulously compiled by two crossword professionals with a combined thirty years in the field, and based on a massive analysis of current crosswords, there has never been a crossword dictionary with the breadth, depth, and currency of this one. From Jim Carrey to Sister Carrie, Homer Simpson to Homer's Iliad, the wide-ranging entries include 500,000+ synonyms, 3,000+ literary works, 5,000+ films, 20,000+ famous people from all fields, and more than 100,000 fill-in-the-blank clues so popular in today's crosswords.

Featuring an introduction by New York Times crossword editor Will Shortz, The Million Word Crossword Dictionary makes every other crossword dictionary obsolete.

Acclaimed puzzle creator, editor, and publisher Stanley Newman is crossword editor for Newsday, with puzzles syndicated worldwide. He holds the world record for the fastest completion of a New York Times crossword.

Daniel Stark creates the daily crosswords for United Feature Syndicate. His puzzles also appear in many national publications.

No matter how carefully crosswords are constructed, some words do show up in them much more frequently than in everyday speech and writing. In fact, many crosswords contain words that even a well-rounded person may never encounter outside a puzzle context.

If you run into a puzzle that has too many answers you don t know, or if the answers to two unknowable clues cross, you may need help to finish.

The Million Word Crossword Dictionary, compiled by my colleagues Stanley Newman and Daniel Stark, has been created to break solving impasses. Two years in the making, and designed from the ground up, it contains more than 250,000 clues and 1,000,000+ answers, specifically chosen to help with crosswords of the kind found in newspapers, books, and magazines today.

All the classic clues are here: "Celebes ox" (ANOA), "Arrow poison" (INEE), "Sea eagle" (ERN or ERNE), "Eskimo knife" (ULU), and other obscurities from the depths of the unabridged dictionary.

The volume also contains tens of thousands of names from modern culture that frequently crop up in puzzles now: "Singer DiFranco" (ANI), "Golfer Ernie" (ELS), "Sarah McLachlan hit" (ADIA), "Peter Fonda title role" (ULEE), and so on.

Of special help are lists of Oscar winners, Nobelists, Wimbledon champions, popes, makes of autos, dogs in TV shows, and dozens of other fact-based categories useful to puzzlers.

The book even contains more than 75,000 fill-in-the-blank clues like "__ minute" (IN A) and "__ point" (TO THE), based on phrases you know but may not be able to complete on the spot.

The result is the largest, most up-to-date, and most useful crossword dictionary available.

Is it cheating to use a book like this?

Well, say you re stuck in the middle of a puzzle. You can give up . . . or you can get an answer or two, allowing you to proceed and finish the puzzle on your own. In a situation like this, it makes sense to get help. Using a reference book is educational besides.

Whatever "rules" you follow, it s ultimately your puzzle. Solve it any way you like!