Beginner and want to decrease time

[u/Electronic_Tank_2945]

Hey guys, just wanted to come on here to see if there are on recommendations for a newbie like me. My time today was 27 minutes and I just am a bit disappointed. I’m 20 and literally just started getting into crosswords, so I know it’ll take some time before I start getting my times down.

Besides just doing more crosswords do yall have anything specific that you do to decrease solve time? Also how much do you think it’s just an IQ filter—I’m curious as to the consensus on that is.

[u/Killbot-Official]

Do more puzzles to decrease time… not really too much of an IQ thing IMO, pretty much just has to do with useless trivia knowledge and memory of recurring answers. Does take a little bit of alternative thinking to parse some clues in a way that you might not expect, but that’s a skill that comes with doing a lot of puzzles