Would Googling a crossword clue be considered cheating?

[Beware the Beast Man]

[kick-ass-bob]

1. It is the same.

Don't let her tell you any differently.

:D

[Orangepeel]

2. it's not cheating. It is losing.

Looking up the crossword clues that you can't solve on your own is a good thing. It is a way to learn. But, once you do so, you've failed to solve the puzzle.

Of course, that's not a big deal. IMO, it's like losing a game of Scrabble. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, and you get better with practice.

[Beware the Beast Man]

3. Thank you. That's a good way of looking at it.

I'm such a loser!!!!! :cry:

[AllegroRondo]

4. I see it as no different than asking my wife for an answer.

She tends to know all the tv/movie or celebrity based clues.

[LSdemocrat]

5. Using a dictionary to look up a word you don't know is fine to me

Looking up the word in a clue is a matter of understanding what the hell the clue is saying, but not necessarily giving you the answer. Crossing the line would be actually searching for the answer, by looking up a word you already know in a thesaurus or doing a google search for "1979 Oscar Best Supporting Actor" would be cheating.

[Orsino]

6. For the truly anal retentive, there is no cheating.

Use any tools you have to fill in those goddamned blanks!

Seriously, no one can solve 'em all unaided, so unless that's your goal, get help wherever. Personally, I'll look at the answers, but just a word at a time.

[The Straight Story]

7. no - it is using your skills and talents to find the solution

The idea is to use your mind and hands to gather the answer and put it onto the paper. using your hands and minds to search google seems fair enough :)

[Oeditpus Rex]

8. Yup

I sort of keep score when I do crosswords. I mark off the clues when I get a word, but if I would not have known a word and got it "accidentally" by getting the opposing words, I don't mark it. Same if I use a reference work to get it — which I do only as a last resort.

I was doing one last night and I really needed one word — China seaport on Korea Bay. (Four letters, second and third are 'u' and 'd', respectively.) I looked at a world map and it wasn't on it.

:grr: