Logo Crossword Clues

  • Crossword Clues
  • Unorthodox thinking

Unorthodox thinking (Crossword clue)

We found one answer for “unorthodox thinking” ..

If you haven't solved the crossword clue Unorthodox thinking yet try to search our Crossword Dictionary by entering the letters you already know! (Enter a dot for each missing letters, e.g. “P.ZZ..” will find “PUZZLE”.)

  • Resembling a trapezoid (1)
  • Unfriendly one (1)
  • Average booster (1)
  • Rough to the touch (6)
  • Leak slowly (3)
  • NY Met, for one (1)
  • Trend scout (1)
  • Pop singer Ant (1)
  • Endorsed (11)
  • Top Gun target (1)
  • Greenskeeper`s job (1)
  • Glitzy display (1)
  • Pop in a picnic cooler (1)

Crossword Nexus

Potential answers for "unorthodox thinking", need help with another clue try your search in the crossword dictionary, from the blog, puzzle #116: come together (acrostic).

Read More “Puzzle #116: Come Together (acrostic!)” »

  • Crossword Tips

Clue: Unorthodox thinking

Referring crossword puzzle answers, likely related crossword puzzle clues.

  • Spanish surrealist
  • Spanish painter
  • Surrealist Salvador
  • Mustachioed surrealist
  • Painter of limp watches
  • Joan of Arc's crime
  • Artist Salvador
  • Picasso contemporary
  • Painter Salvador

Recent usage in crossword puzzles:

  • Pat Sajak Code Letter - Aug. 12, 2015
  • USA Today - Feb. 11, 2014
  • Washington Post - Dec. 27, 2010
  • Wall Street Journal Friday - Sept. 14, 2007
  • Washington Post - Feb. 13, 2007
  • Washington Post - June 14, 2006

UNORTHODOX Crossword Clue & Answer

All solutions for unorthodox, top answers for: unorthodox, top answer for unorthodox crossword clue from newspapers, definition of unorthodox.

  • breaking with convention or tradition; "an unorthodox lifestyle"

UNORTHODOX Crossword puzzle solutions

78 Solutions - 1 Top suggestions & 77 further suggestions. We have 78 solutions for the frequently searched for crossword lexicon term UNORTHODOX. Furthermore and additionally we have 77 Further solutions for this paraphrase.

For the puzzel question UNORTHODOX we have solutions for the following word lenghts 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 & 14.

Your user suggestion for UNORTHODOX

Find for us the 79nth solution for UNORTHODOX and send it to our e-mail (crossword-at-the-crossword-solver com) with the subject "New solution suggestion for UNORTHODOX". Do you have an improvement for our crossword puzzle solutions for UNORTHODOX, please send us an e-mail with the subject: "Suggestion for improvement on solution to UNORTHODOX".

Frequently asked questions for unorthodox:

What is the best solution to the riddle unorthodox.

Solution HERETICAL is our most searched for solution by our visitors. Solution HERETICAL is 9 letters long. We have 15 further solutions of the same word length.

How many solutions do we have for the crossword puzzle UNORTHODOX?

We have 78 solutions to the crossword puzzle UNORTHODOX. The longest solution is UNBUSINESSLIKE with 14 letters and the shortest solution is ODD with 3 letters.

How can I find the solution for the term UNORTHODOX?

With help from our search you can look for words of a certain length. Our intelligent search sorts between the most frequent solutions and the most searched for questions. You can completely free of charge search through several million solutions to hundreds of thousands of crossword puzzle questions.

How many letters long are the solutions for UNORTHODOX?

The lenght of the solutions is between 3 and 14 letters. In total we have solutions for 11 word lengths.

More clues you might be interested in

  • is concerned
  • easily scared
  • outdoor garment
  • roof support wall
  • church recess
  • plant ovule
  • noah's son
  • pulled apart
  • private teacher
  • soup or dessert
  • was babbling
  • Legal Notice
  • Missing Link
  • Made with love from Mark & Crosswordsolver.com

Crossword Clue: Unorthodox thinking

If you're looking for all of the crossword answers for the clue " Unorthodox thinking " then you're in the right place. We found 2 answers for this crossword clue.

Matching Crossword Puzzle Answers for "Unorthodox thinking"

Below is the complete list of answers we found in our database for Unorthodox thinking :

Possibly related crossword clues for " Unorthodox thinking "

Based on the answers listed above, we also found some clues that are possibly similar or related to Unorthodox thinking :

  • 32-year-old artist pictured on the cover of Time magazine in 1936
  • "___ Atomicus" (Philippe Halsman photo featuring flying cats)
  • "Basket of Bread" painter
  • "Anthropomorphic Bread" painter, 1932
  • Arp contemporary
  • Artist ennobled by Juan Carlos
  • Artist from Catalonia
  • Artist from Spain
  • Artist influenced by Freud
  • Artist inspired by runny Camembert
  • Artist of abstract irrationalism.
  • Artist Salvador __
  • Artist Salvador ____
  • Artist, Salvador ____
  • Artist Salvador best known for his surrealist painting of droopy watches
  • Artist Salvador
  • Artist who built a Dream House in N.Y.
  • Artist who had a pet ocelot named Babou
  • Artist who helped Hitchcock design a dream sequence for "Spellbound"
  • Artist who said "I don't do drugs. I am drugs"
  • Artist who said, "Take me, I am hallucinogenic"
  • Artist who was an admirer of Freud
  • Artist who worked on Hitchcock's "Spellbound"
  • Artist who worked with Hitchcock
  • Artist who wrote "Diary of a Genius"
  • Artist who wrote "Hidden Faces"
  • Artist with a museum in Spain
  • Artist with a museum in St. Petersburg, Florida
  • Artist with a signature mustache
  • Big name in surrealism
  • "Atomic Leda" painter
  • Author of "Babaoua"
  • "Babaoua" author
  • Famed surrealist painter
  • Famed Surrealist
  • His watches may be for all time
  • His work is surreal
  • "Inventions of the Monsters" artist
  • "Fried Eggs on the Plate Without the Plate" painter
  • Eccentric surrealist painter
  • Eccentric surrealist
  • Deliberately strange painter
  • Homophone for Dolly
  • Honoree of a Madrid square
  • "Eggs on a Plate Without a Plate" artist
  • "Eggs on a Plate Without a Plate" painter
  • “Eggs on the Plate Without the Plate” artist
  • El Salvador?
  • Designer of the Chupa Chups lollipop logo
  • Designer of the Mae West Lips Sofa
  • Gala's husband and portraitist
  • "Galatea of the Spheres" artist
  • Contemporary of Magritte
  • Contemporary painter
  • Figueras, Spain, museum subject
  • "Diary of a Genius" author
  • "Hallucinogenic Toreador" artist
  • “Hallucinogenous Bullfighter” painter
  • Bunuel collaborator
  • "Burning Giraffe" painter
  • "Burning Giraffes in Yellow" painter
  • "Christ of St. John of the Cross" artist
  • ''Christ of St. John of the Cross'' artist
  • "Christ of St. John of the Cross" producer
  • "I don't do drugs, I am drugs" speaker
  • Flamboyant artist
  • Flamboyant Spanish artist
  • Flamboyant Spanish surrealist
  • Flamboyant surrealist
  • Giant of surrealism
  • "Illumined Pleasures" artist
  • He called his art "hand-painted dream photographs"
  • He painted a dream world
  • He painted "Down the Rabbit Hole"
  • He painted Helena Rubinstein
  • He painted the Last Supper surrealistically
  • He painted "The Last Supper"
  • He painted "The Queen's Party"
  • Focus of a Catalonia museum
  • "Crucifixion" artist
  • "Crucifixion" painter
  • "Don Quixote" illustrator (1946)
  • Co-writer of the Surrealist silent film "Un Chien Andalou," 1929
  • Collaborator with Disney on the film "Destino"
  • He's buried in his namesake museum in Catalonia
  • He's found in the Prado
  • Juan Carlos made him a Marquis
  • He's the focus of three Spanish museums
  • "Dream Caused by the Flight of a Bee Around a Pomegranate a Second Before Awakening" artist
  • "Dream Caused by the Flight of a Bee Around a Pomegranate a Second Before Awakening" painter
  • Dream pictures artist
  • Dreamscape artist
  • Dreamscape depicter Salvador
  • Dreamscape painter Salvador
  • Colorful Surrealist
  • Catalan surrealist
  • Catalonian surrealist
  • Drooping watch painter Salvador
  • Drooping-watch painter
  • Droopy watch artist
  • "Still Life - Fast Moving" artist
  • "Still Life Moving Fast" artist
  • ''Still Life Moving Fast'' artist
  • Soft-watch artist
  • "Soft Watches" painter
  • Notable Surrealist
  • Noted Spanish surrealist
  • Noted Surrealist
  • "The Burning Giraffe" artist
  • "The Burning Giraffe," e.g.
  • "The Burning Giraffe" painter
  • Who said "I don't do drugs, I am drugs"
  • "The Dream" artist, 1931
  • "The Hallucinogenic Toreador" artist
  • "The Hallucinogenic Toreador" painter
  • Painter famed for wilted watches
  • Painter for Parton?
  • Painter involved with Coco Chanel
  • Painter kicked out of the Surrealist movement in 1934
  • Painter of dreamscapes
  • Painter of limp watches
  • Painter of melted watches
  • Painter of melting clocks
  • Painter of melting pocket watches
  • Painter of melting telephones
  • Painter of melting watches
  • Painter of "Soft Self-Portrait with Grilled Bacon"
  • Painter of stunted pines
  • Painter of "The Hallucinogenic Toreador"
  • Painter of "The Mock Turtle's Story"
  • Painter of ''The Persistence of Memory''
  • Painter of trippy clocks
  • Painter of "wet watches"
  • Painter portrayed by Adrien Brody in "Midnight in Paris"
  • Painter Salvador ____
  • Painter Salvador
  • Painter with a museum in St. Petersburg
  • The "limp watch" painter
  • Subject of a museum in Figueres, Spain
  • Subject of a museum in St. Petersburg, Fla.
  • "The Lugubrious Game" painter
  • Subject of a St. Petersburg, Fla., museum
  • Subject of an art museum in St. Petersburg, Florida
  • Limp-clock painter
  • Limp-watch artist
  • Limp-watch painter
  • Limp watch painter
  • Limp watches painter
  • "The Persistence of Memory" artist
  • ''The Persistence of Memory'' artist
  • "The Persistence of Memory" painter
  • ''The Persistence of Memory'' painter
  • "The Persistence of Memory" surrealist
  • Mustached artist
  • Mustachioed artist (1904-1989)
  • Mustachioed artist
  • Mustachioed master artist
  • Mustachioed master
  • Mustachioed painter
  • Mustachioed Spanish painter
  • Mustachioed Spanish surrealist
  • Mustachioed surrealist
  • "The Secret Life of Salvador ___"
  • Melting watch artist
  • Melting-watch painter
  • "Lobster Telephone" artist Salvador
  • "Lobster Telephone" artist
  • "Lobster Telephone," e.g.
  • "Lobster Telephone" painter
  • Memorable Surrealist
  • "Portrait of Gala" artist
  • "Portrait of Gala" painter
  • "Metamorphosis of Narcissus" painter
  • "Le Surrealisme, c'est moi" speaker
  • ''Le surréalisme, c'est moi'' speaker
  • "Leda Atomica" painter
  • Miro contemporary
  • 'Persistence of Memory' artist
  • Persistence of Memory painter
  • "Persistence of Memory" painter
  • "Persistence of Memory"
  • "Mae West Lips Sofa" sculptor
  • Modern painter
  • MOMA artist
  • MOMA favorite
  • Picasso colleague
  • Picasso contemporary
  • "Morphological Echo" painter
  • "Tuna-Fishing" artist
  • "Tuna Fishing" artist
  • "Tuna Fishing" painter
  • Tuna-Fishing painter
  • "Tuna-Fishing" painter
  • Spanish artist
  • Spanish artist Salvador
  • Spanish master Salvador
  • Spanish painter, born 1904
  • Spanish painter of melted watches
  • Spanish painter Salvador
  • Spanish painter with a notable mustache
  • Spanish painter
  • Spanish surrealist.
  • Spanish surrealist painter, d. 1989
  • Spanish surrealist painter, Salvador
  • Spanish surrealist Salvador
  • Spanish surrealist who collaborated with Hitchcock
  • Spanish surrealist
  • Surreal Spaniard
  • Surrealism's Salvador ____
  • Surrealist artist
  • Surrealist artist Salvador best known for his painting of melting watches
  • Surrealist artist Salvador
  • Surrealist born in Catalonia
  • Surrealist exiled from the movement
  • Surrealist leader
  • Surrealist of movies, advertising, ballet.
  • Surrealist painter
  • Surrealist painter Salvador
  • Surrealist painter Salvador ____
  • Surrealist-painter Salvador
  • Surrealist painter whose best-known painting shows up often in college dorm rooms
  • Surrealist painter with a notable mustache
  • Surrealist painter.
  • Surrealist played by Adrien Brody in "Midnight in Paris"
  • Surrealist Salvador
  • Surrealist Spanish painter, d. 1989
  • Surrealist who painted Helena Rubinstein
  • Surrealist who painted melting clocks
  • Surrealist who painted "The Persistence of Memory"
  • Surrealist with a distinctive mustache
  • Surrealist with a museum in Figueres, Spain
  • Surrealist with a museum in Florida
  • Surrealist with a surreal mustache
  • Surrealistic painter Salvador
  • Salvador ___
  • Salvador at MoMA
  • Salvador from Catalonia
  • Salvador from Spain
  • Salvador of art
  • Salvador of surrealism
  • Salvador, (Spanish artist)
  • Salvador the artist
  • Salvador the surrealist
  • Salvador, who painted all those melty clocks because time is a social construct, duh
  • Salvador who painted melting watches
  • Salvador who painted "The Persistence of Memory"
  • "Swans Reflecting Elephants" artist
  • "Swans Reflecting Elephants," e.g.
  • "Swans Reflecting Elephants" painter
  • Ultra-modern painter.
  • Ultramodern artist.
  • Wet-watch painter
  • St. Petersburg museum
  • "Slave Market With the Disappearing Bust of Voltaire" artist
  • Unorthodox thinking

Recent Usage of Unorthodox thinking in Crossword Puzzles

We track a lot of different crossword puzzle providers to see where clues like " Unorthodox thinking " have been used in the past.

Here are all of the places we know of that have used Unorthodox thinking in their crossword puzzles recently:

  • Pat Sajak Code Letter - Aug. 12, 2015
  • USA Today - Feb. 11, 2014
  • Washington Post - Dec. 27, 2010
  • Wall Street Journal Friday - Sept. 14, 2007
  • Washington Post - Feb. 13, 2007
  • Washington Post - June 14, 2006

Search Crossword Solver Database

Tip: If you don't have all of the letters for the answer, enter a question mark or press space for an unknown letter (e.g. ANSW?R).

Hey Friend! Before you go...

If you found our VisualFractions.com site helpful can you do me a favor?

Madagascar Giant Day Gecko

We just launched a YouTube Channel and need your help to share helpful educational videos. Please HIT the RED YOUTUBE BUTTON bellow to SUBSCRIBE. Thank you!🙏

Crossword Solver

Wordle Solver

Scrabble Solver

Anagram Solver

Crossword Solver > Clues > Crossword-Clue: unorthodox

UNORTHODOX Crossword Clue

Synonyms for unorthodox.

We found 3 Synonyms

  • An unorthodox person (84.14%)
  • orthodox (75%)
  • ___ Orthodox (75%)
  • Person of unorthodox beliefs (72.63%)
  • Header for "orthodox" (63.11%)
  • Orthodox beginning? (63.11%)
  • Orthodox confab (63.11%)
  • Orthodox image (63.11%)
  • Prefix with orthodox (63.11%)
  • Orthodox leader? (63.11%)
  • Unorthodox one
  • Unorthodox sect
  • Unorthodox belief
  • Unorthodox person
  • Unorthodox opinion
  • Unorthodox believer
  • Unorthodox thinking
  • An unorthodox person
  • Unorthodox religious group

Know another solution for crossword clues containing unorthodox ? Add your answer to the crossword database now.

Filter Results

Synonyms [3]

Thinking and Problem Solving Crossword

Thinking and Problem Solving Crossword

Description.

the mental grouping of similar objects, events, ideas, or people a mental image or best example of a category a methodical, logical rule or procedure that guarantees solving a particular problem simple thinking strategy that often allows us to make judgements and solve problems efficiently; usually speedier but also more error-prone that algorithms a sudden and often novel realization of the solutions to a problem a tendency to approach a problem in a particular way, often a way that has been successful in the past the tendency to think of things in terms of their usual functions; an impediment to problem solving the way an issue is posed; how an issue is framed can significantly affect decisions and judgements the tendency for one's preexisting beliefs to distort logical reasoning, sometimes by making invalid conclusions seem valid, or valid conclusions seem valid the tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that one had foreseen it the tendency to be more confident than correct-to overestimate the accuracy of one's beliefs and judgements

Thinking and Problem Solving Crossword Puzzle!

Thinking and Problem Solving Crossword Puzzle!

Thinking and Problem Solving  Crossword

Thinking and Problem Solving

Cyber Awareness Month Crossword

Cyber Awareness Month

Chapter 8 Intelligent Crossword

Chapter 8 Intelligent

Real or Fake? Crossword

Real or Fake?

Wearable Crossword

Introduction to Psychology

Transferable Skills from CDCR Time Word Search

Transferable Skills from CDCR Time

Word Search

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a crossword.

Crossword puzzles have been published in newspapers and other publications since 1873. They consist of a grid of squares where the player aims to write words both horizontally and vertically.

Next to the crossword will be a series of questions or clues, which relate to the various rows or lines of boxes in the crossword. The player reads the question or clue, and tries to find a word that answers the question in the same amount of letters as there are boxes in the related crossword row or line.

Some of the words will share letters, so will need to match up with each other. The words can vary in length and complexity, as can the clues.

Who is a crossword suitable for?

The fantastic thing about crosswords is, they are completely flexible for whatever age or reading level you need. You can use many words to create a complex crossword for adults, or just a couple of words for younger children.

Crosswords can use any word you like, big or small, so there are literally countless combinations that you can create for templates. It is easy to customise the template to the age or learning level of your students.

How do I create a crossword template?

For the easiest crossword templates, WordMint is the way to go!

Pre-made templates

For a quick and easy pre-made template, simply search through WordMint’s existing 500,000+ templates . With so many to choose from, you’re bound to find the right one for you!

Create your own from scratch

  • Log in to your account (it’s free to join!)
  • Head to ‘My Puzzles’
  • Click ‘Create New Puzzle’ and select ‘Crossword’
  • Select your layout, enter your title and your chosen clues and answers
  • That’s it! The template builder will create your crossword template for you and you can save it to your account, export as a word document or pdf and print!

How do I choose the clues for my crossword?

Once you’ve picked a theme, choose clues that match your students current difficulty level. For younger children, this may be as simple as a question of “What color is the sky?” with an answer of “blue”.

Are crosswords good for students?

Crosswords are a great exercise for students' problem solving and cognitive abilities. Not only do they need to solve a clue and think of the correct answer, but they also have to consider all of the other words in the crossword to make sure the words fit together.

Crosswords are great for building and using vocabulary.

If this is your first time using a crossword with your students, you could create a crossword FAQ template for them to give them the basic instructions.

Can I print my crossword template?

All of our templates can be exported into Microsoft Word to easily print, or you can save your work as a PDF to print for the entire class. Your puzzles get saved into your account for easy access and printing in the future, so you don’t need to worry about saving them at work or at home!

Can I create crosswords in other languages?

Crosswords are a fantastic resource for students learning a foreign language as they test their reading, comprehension and writing all at the same time. When learning a new language, this type of test using multiple different skills is great to solidify students' learning.

We have full support for crossword templates in languages such as Spanish, French and Japanese with diacritics including over 100,000 images, so you can create an entire crossword in your target language including all of the titles, and clues.

Get the latest news and stories from Tufts delivered right to your inbox.

Most popular.

  • Activism & Social Justice
  • Animal Health & Medicine
  • Arts & Humanities
  • Business & Economics
  • Campus Life
  • Climate & Sustainability
  • Food & Nutrition
  • Global Affairs
  • Points of View
  • Politics & Voting
  • Science & Technology
  • Alzheimer’s Disease
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Biomedical Science
  • Cellular Agriculture
  • Cognitive Science
  • Computer Science
  • Cybersecurity
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Farming & Agriculture
  • Film & Media
  • Health Care
  • Heart Disease
  • Humanitarian Aid
  • Immigration
  • Infectious Disease
  • Life Science
  • Lyme Disease
  • Mental Health
  • Neuroscience
  • Oral Health
  • Performing Arts
  • Public Health
  • University News
  • Urban Planning
  • Visual Arts
  • Youth Voting
  • Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine
  • Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy
  • The Fletcher School
  • Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
  • Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences
  • Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging
  • Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life
  • School of Arts and Sciences
  • School of Dental Medicine
  • School of Engineering
  • School of Medicine
  • School of the Museum of Fine Arts
  • University College
  • Australia & Oceania
  • Canada, Mexico, & Caribbean
  • Central & South America
  • Middle East

illustration of a man doing a crossword puzzle, withhis brain visible

“In problem solving, we tend to assume that we have found the solution, and once we do, that it’s the only solution to be found,” says Raymond Nickerson. “Typically, we don’t think further about the problem and discover that there may be other solutions.” Illustration: Larry Jost

Thinking Outside the Grid

What crossword puzzles tell us about how reasoning and memory work

When Dr. Fill, a crossword-solving program, took on the 600 contestants in this year’s American Crossword Puzzle Tournament, its creator predicted it would probably finish among the top 50. Seven expert-level puzzles later, it placed 141st.

The programmer has vowed to bring Dr. Fill back for the 2013 tournament, so it may be premature to say that humans rule the grid. After all, computers have been able to beat world-class chess players and Jeopardy! champions. But Dr. Fill’s less-than-stellar performance—particularly on the quirkier puzzles in the competition—highlights the psychologically complex process behind the enduring pastime of crosswords. Getting from 1 across to 59 down involves a variety of cognitive processes, and for scientists, those processes can reveal intriguing details about memory, recall, language and reasoning and how they work together.

“What’s fascinating is when you think about solving crossword puzzles, you get lots of hints as to how the mind works,” says Raymond Nickerson, G65, a research professor of psychology in the School of Arts and Sciences. Nickerson, an avid crossword puzzle solver, examined the subject in an essay published last year in the journal Psychonomic Bulletin and Review .

“The point of the paper was to illustrate that crosswords do rely on quite a number of cognitive processes,” he says. “I don’t do research on crosswords per se, but it occurred to me that crosswords intersect with a great number of things that I’m interested in, particularly reasoning and memory.”

For example, Nickerson is investigating the concept of conditional reasoning—drawing a conclusion based on an “if…then” proposition (“If it’s Tuesday, this must be Belgium”).

“I believe that in problem solving, we tend to assume that we have found the solution, and once we do, that it’s the only solution to be found,” he says. “Typically, we don’t think further about the problem and discover that there may be other solutions.”

That’s similar to what happens with crossword puzzles: if we’re looking for a noun, we don’t think to look for a verb. And if we find a noun that fits, we don’t explore other possibilities. “That’s somewhat characteristic of the way we solve problems in general,” Nickerson says.

A Four-letter Word Ending in “BT”

As much as science has uncovered about the mind, “there are still a lot of mysteries there,” says Nickerson. “For instance, how does one search memory? That’s not very well known.”

In a crossword puzzle, there are a variety of clues for each word: definitions (some more subtle or tricky than others) or length of the word. Perhaps some of the letters derived from an intersecting clue—known as “orthogonal words,” from a mathematical term meaning to form a right angle. Seasoned solvers also know to look for hints contained within the clues, such as use of question marks or abbreviations. They’re also aware of the unwritten rules most crosswords follow: for example, a clue and its answer are usually expressed in the same part of speech.

And yet, we have no idea how each individual brain goes about the process of combing its database of knowledge to find an answer, Nickerson says. “Say you’re looking for a five-letter word of a particular meaning. You know one or two of the letters. You’re able to search your memory and find the target you’re looking for. How did you do that search?”

The answer, Nickerson says, illustrates the many ways we can search our memories. We can look for words by meaning, by partial length, by observing letters in certain positions, by visual cues, by auditory cues or by some combination of those. For instance: think of a four-letter word ending in “BT.” It isn’t hard for most people to think instantly of the word “DEBT.”

“How is it that __BT gets so quickly to presumably the only four-letter word ending in BT that is in my lexicon?” he asks. “It seems unlikely that a search of my entire lexicon, or anything close to that, is required.” And, he continues, “I am aware of only one common five-letter word ending in BT. I suspect most readers will bring it to mind easily.* It is not at all clear, however, how one goes about retrieving this word.”

And, for that matter, do we even search for words at all? It might be easier to search our memory on the basis of letters, syllables, phonemes (units of sound that distinguish one word from another) or morphemes (meaningful linguistic units of a word).

Sleep on It

Crosswords also raise the tantalizing question, How do we keep track of our mental inventory? With some clues, an answer quickly and unexpectedly bubbles to the surface, surprising even the puzzle solver, Nickerson says. Possibly more intriguing—and certainly frustrating—is the “tip-of-the-tongue” phenomenon that puzzles can evoke. “It is often the case that I am not immediately able to call the target to mind, but I have a strong sense that I will be able to do so with the help of additional clues or, perhaps, just with the passage of time. Author of 'The Ugly Ducking ’ would evoke that feeling for me,” Nickerson writes.

Crossword guru Will Shortz, who edits the puzzles for the New York Times , agrees that sometimes the best strategy for when you’re stumped is to leave the puzzle and come back later. “Perhaps the brain works subconsciously on problems in the interim,” he writes in a piece titled How to Solve the New York Times Crossword Puzzle . “A fresh look at a tough puzzle almost always brings new answers.”

Sometimes the brain will inexplicably continue working on a puzzle even if the solver’s conscious mind does not. Nickerson writes about encountering a puzzle with a six-letter clue, “ Former Dolphins quarterback .” Based on intersecting clues, he believed the fourth and sixth letters were both E, but did not immediately know the answer. He left the puzzle unfinished. “Several days later, the name GRIESE came, uninvited, to mind,” he recounts. “I was not thinking about the puzzle at the time and have no recollection of ever consciously trying to think of the name.”

This phenomenon is, of course, not limited to crossword puzzles. “There are a lot of anecdotes in the scientific literature of people working very hard on a problem and not getting very far, and then deciding to just leave it alone, and then coming back to discover they can solve it instantly,” Nickerson says. One example is Dmitri Mendeleyev, who supposedly had the insight for his periodic table of elements in a dream. In psychological terms, this stage of creative problem-solving, in which the mind continues to work on a problem below the level of awareness, is known as “incubation.”

Compulsive Cruciverbalists

Nickerson is quick to point out that while he has been doing crosswords as long as he can remember, he is not compulsive about it—surely not in the league of the characters featured in Wordplay , the 2006 documentary film about devoted puzzlers and cruciverbalists—otherwise known as constructors—or of the hundreds who have been turning out since 1978 for the annual American Crossword Puzzle Tournament.

In fact, Nickerson’s 2011 crossword “think-piece,” as he prefers to call it, was out of academic character. “It was a pretty unorthodox paper. Frankly, I was a little surprised the journal took it. It’s not something I expect to follow up on with my research,” he says.

Both the scientific literature and popular media have looked at the idea that mental gymnastics such as doing crossword puzzles keep the brain agile and can help ward off dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. An observational study by medical researchers of 101 elderly New Yorkers published last year, for example, found that “late life crossword puzzle participation, independent of education, was associated with delayed onset of memory decline in persons who developed dementia.”

“I tend to believe it, because I want to believe that doing crosswords is a way to postpone the ravages of time,” Nickerson says. “In the meantime, whether it works or not, it’s still pleasurable.”

*For those still looking for the five-letter word, it’s DOUBT.

a young woman and man look out over a crossword puzzle

Acrostic Achievement

screen capture of video of magician with card trick

Tricks of the Mind

TuftsNow Abstract Artwork #26

The Best Job for a Trivia-Loving English Major

IMAGES

  1. thinking and problem solving Crossword

    thinking unorthodox problem solving crossword

  2. Thinking and Problem Solving Crossword

    thinking unorthodox problem solving crossword

  3. Thinking and Problem Solving Crossword

    thinking unorthodox problem solving crossword

  4. Thinking / Problem Solving Crossword Puzzle

    thinking unorthodox problem solving crossword

  5. Thinking and Problem Solving Crossword

    thinking unorthodox problem solving crossword

  6. Thinking and Problem Solving Crossword

    thinking unorthodox problem solving crossword

VIDEO

  1. The Importance of "Because" & "Ability"in Retirement

  2. Solving crossword (ID: 2086)

  3. UNORTHODOX PROBLEM SOLVING

  4. One Crossword Clue, Two Answers?

  5. How Two Clues for the Same Word Differ in Difficulty

  6. The Unorthodox Principal- PD Snacks!!!!

COMMENTS

  1. thinking, unorthodox problem solving (7) Crossword Clue

    The Crossword Solver found 30 answers to "thinking, unorthodox problem solving (7)", 7 letters crossword clue. The Crossword Solver finds answers to classic crosswords and cryptic crossword puzzles. Enter the length or pattern for better results. Click the answer to find similar crossword clues . A clue is required.

  2. Unorthodox thinking

    Here is the solution for the Unorthodox thinking clue featured on January 1, 2014. We have found 40 possible answers for this clue in our database. Among them, one solution stands out with a 95% match which has a length of 6 letters. You can unveil this answer gradually, one letter at a time, or reveal it all at once.

  3. UNORTHODOX THINKING crossword clue

    For the puzzel question UNORTHODOX THINKING we have solutions for the following word lenghts 6. Your user suggestion for UNORTHODOX THINKING. Find for us the 2nd solution for UNORTHODOX THINKING and send it to our e-mail (crossword-at-the-crossword-solver com) with the subject "New solution suggestion for UNORTHODOX THINKING".

  4. Unorthodox thinking

    The answer for the clue Unorthodox thinking on Crossword Clues, the ultimate guide to solving crosswords. Crossword Clues; Solver; Unorthodox thinking; ... Use our tool to solve regular crosswords, find words with missing letters, solve codeword puzzles or to look up anagrams. Compete with others in a little game of `Crossword Boss`.

  5. ᐅ UNORTHODOX THINKING

    All answers for „Unorthodox thinking" 2 answers to your crossword clue Set and sort by length & letters Helpful instructions on how to use the tool Solve every Crossword Puzzle! ... Here you are sure to find the right clues to solve the crossword. » Crossword Solver « We offer free help for word riddles and quiz questions. Our Crossword ...

  6. Unorthodox Thinker

    Find the latest crossword clues from New York Times Crosswords, LA Times Crosswords and many more. ... Crossword Solver / unorthodox-thinker. Unorthodox Thinker Crossword Clue. We found 20 possible solutions for this clue. We think the likely answer to this clue is HERETIC. You can easily improve your search by specifying the number of letters ...

  7. Unorthodox thinking -- Crossword clue

    Unorthodox thinking -- Find potential answers to this crossword clue at crosswordnexus.com

  8. Unorthodox

    Crossword Clue. Here is the solution for the Unorthodox clue featured in Guardian Speedy puzzle on March 17, 2019. We have found 40 possible answers for this clue in our database. Among them, one solution stands out with a 94% match which has a length of 9 letters. You can unveil this answer gradually, one letter at a time, or reveal it all at ...

  9. Thinking and Problem Solving Crossword

    Thinking and Problem Solving Crossword. A mental grouping of similar objects, events, ideas or people. Best example of a category. Taking the wrongs of one way and doing something new. Awareness and understanding of ones thought process. Step by step procedure for trying all possible alternatives in searching for a solution.

  10. Unorthodox thinking

    Recent usage in crossword puzzles: Pat Sajak Code Letter - Aug. 12, 2015; USA Today - Feb. 11, 2014; Washington Post - Dec. 27, 2010; Wall Street Journal Friday ...

  11. UNORTHODOX crossword clue

    tsar. legally prohibit. impudent kid. commit. plan. oddball. All solutions for "unorthodox" 10 letters crossword answer - We have 1 clue, 79 answers & 170 synonyms from 3 to 17 letters. Solve your "unorthodox" crossword puzzle fast & easy with the-crossword-solver.com.

  12. Unorthodox thinking

    If you're looking for all of the crossword answers for the clue "Unorthodox thinking" then you're in the right place.We found 2 answers for this crossword clue. If you are stuck trying to answer the crossword clue "Unorthodox thinking", and really can't figure it out, then take a look at the answers below to see if they fit the puzzle you're working on.

  13. UNORTHODOX Crossword Clue & Synonyms

    All synonyms & crossword answers with 3-14 Letters for UNORTHODOX found in daily crossword puzzles: NY Times, Daily Celebrity, Telegraph, LA Times and more. Search for crossword clues on crosswordsolver.com

  14. Thinking and Problem Solving Crossword

    Thinking and Problem Solving Crossword. the mental grouping of similar objects, events, ideas, or people. a mental image or best example of a category. a methodical, logical rule or procedure that guarantees solving a particular problem. simple thinking strategy that often allows us to make judgements and solve problems efficiently; usually ...

  15. Unorthodox, free-thinking, irreverent

    Today's crossword puzzle clue is a general knowledge one: Unorthodox, free-thinking, irreverent. We will try to find the right answer to this particular crossword clue. Here are the possible solutions for "Unorthodox, free-thinking, irreverent" clue. It was last seen in British general knowledge crossword. We have 1 possible answer in our database.

  16. Unorthodox

    Today's crossword puzzle clue is a quick one: Unorthodox. We will try to find the right answer to this particular crossword clue. Here are the possible solutions for "Unorthodox" clue. It was last seen in The Guardian quick crossword. We have 5 possible answers in our database.

  17. How to Think Out of the Box and Solve Unorthodox Problems

    It's pretty daunting to start thinking out of the box, but there are a few tricks that can help. First, try to relax and take a few deep breaths. This will help clear your mind and open you up to ...

  18. Thinking Outside the Grid

    When Dr. Fill, a crossword-solving program, took on the 600 contestants in this year's American Crossword Puzzle Tournament, its creator predicted it would probably finish among the top 50. ... "I believe that in problem solving, we tend to assume that we have found the solution, and once we do, that it's the only solution to be found ...

  19. Thinking

    Thinking. Today's crossword puzzle clue is a general knowledge one: Thinking. We will try to find the right answer to this particular crossword clue. Here are the possible solutions for "Thinking" clue. It was last seen in British general knowledge crossword. We have 3 possible answers in our database. Sponsored Links.