[NeoTar]

Crosswords are one of those interesting things where there is a quite a bit of trans-atlantic difference which is worth taking a brief look at if you aren't familar. To quote Wikipedia:

> Crossword grids such as those appearing in most North American newspapers and magazines consist mainly of solid regions of uninterrupted white squares, separated more sparsely by shaded squares. Every letter is "checked" (i.e. is part of both an "across" word and a "down" word) and usually each answer must contain at least three letters. In such puzzles shaded squares are typically limited to about one-sixth of the total. Crossword grids elsewhere, ... have a lattice-like structure, with a higher percentage of shaded squares (around 25%), leaving about half the letters in an answer unchecked.

[OskarS]

I grew up with Swedish crosswords, where the clues are written into the "non-letter" cells (the ones that are shaded in an American crossword). There's no separate clue section, it's just all part of the grid. They almost always have some illustration as well, they look really delightful compared to American crosswords, though from a "puzzle" angle they're not always as fun.

[NeoTar]

I think that might be called an 'Arrow word' in at least some English dialects, if I am getting your description correct in my head...

E.g. see: https://images.app.goo.gl/mErh6pEEnR9Eexpf8

[OskarS]

Yes, that kind of thing, but with an illustration and usually styled nicer. This is a very typical look (the first crossword i found by googling): https://www.argument.se/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Korsord-2...

[eb0la]

In Spain they're called Autodefinidos: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autodefinido

[arussellsaw]

this is one of my frustrations as a brit, i much prefer the US format, but find that US puzzles contain so many 'Americanisms' that they're much harder than they might otherwise be.

Still do the NYT every day though.

[NeoTar]

I do the NYT mini most days too. I consider solving the Americanisms an additional part of the challenge !