It's a fiendish hybrid. Consider it "crossed" with crosswords and hangman.

He even created an acrostic poem about his most famous character, Alice. Mr. Carroll loved word puzzles.

"No comment." Okay, usually the quotes that these puzzles reveal are more interesting than that.

It's sort of Cryptography 101, with the letters at the beginning of each line spelling out a subtle message.

Would you like some dressing with that letter salad? This a Greek word that points to the end, or extremity, of a line.

Acrostics make for killer puzzles, but they also help as mnemonic devices that students can use to memorize facts.

A Christian acrostic for Jesus Christ results in the word ICHTHYS, which means fish in Greek.

What's that word again? Ah, yes, fluency. There's no proof, but some believe word puzzles help with word recall.

It's doubly tricky! Both the first and last letters of each line spell a hidden phrase, making these more complex than regular acrostic poems.

As if the puzzles themselves weren't tricky enough! Acrostics are also called crostic or anacrostic puzzles.

Maybe acrostics are actually the evil twin of crosswords? They look very similar with their diagrams and clue lists.

Line breaks are just messing with you. It's actually the black squares that indicate a word's end.

Time to call on your inner Spock. A thesauruslike mind helps, but logical thinking may be even more important.

Actually, in some online puzzles, the computer really does give you the answers. But it's the fact that your answers automatically populate the diagram that makes digital versions simpler to complete.

Well, a Google search is actually the easiest way, but some people consider it cheating. Starting with the answers you're sure of is a good way to begin.

It takes acrostics into a new dimension, with highlighted letters creating crosses. "Behold, O God" was written by William Browne.

It's like "Wheel of Fortune" in reverse! Take letters from the diagram back to your clues, and you may be able to solve the puzzle faster.

In some cases, guessing the name of the person who said the quote also helps you solve other parts of the puzzle.

The crying part might be tempting, but reviewing your answers is the only way to move forward in this situation.

They are the purveyors of fine puzzles. As with crosswords, The New York Times is also known for its difficult acrostic puzzles.