Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Taking this one stage further, the clue word can hint at the word or words to be abbreviated rather than giving the word itself. For example: "About" for C or CA (for "circa"), or RE. "Say" for EG, used to mean "for example". More obscure clue words of this variety include: "Model" for T, referring to the Model T.
Cryptic crossword clues consist typically of a definition and some type of word play. Cryptic crossword clues need to be viewed two ways. One is a surface reading and one a hidden meaning. [27] The surface reading is the basic reading of the clue to look for key words and how those words are constructed in the clue. The second way is the hidden ...
Crosswordese is the group of words frequently found in US crossword puzzles but seldom found in everyday conversation. The words are usually short, three to five letters, with letter combinations which crossword constructors find useful in the creation of crossword puzzles, such as words that start or end with vowels (or both), abbreviations consisting entirely of consonants, unusual ...
A 15x15 lattice-style grid is common for cryptic crosswords. A cryptic crossword is a crossword puzzle in which each clue is a word puzzle. Cryptic crosswords are particularly popular in the United Kingdom, where they originated, [1] as well as Ireland, the Netherlands, and in several Commonwealth nations, including Australia, Canada, India, Kenya, Malta, New Zealand, and South Africa.
A clue containing a comparative or superlative always has an answer in the same degree (e.g., [Most difficult] for TOUGHEST). [6] The answer word(s) will not appear in the clue itself. The number of words in the answer is not given in the clue—so a one-word clue can have a multiple-word answer. [28]
At age 16, Shortz began regularly contributing crossword puzzles to Dell Publishing. [6] He eventually graduated from Indiana University in 1974, [7] and is the only person known to hold a college degree in enigmatology, [8] the study of puzzles. Shortz wrote his thesis about the history of American word puzzles. [9]
Araucaria's clues to the alphabetical jigsaws are often in the form of rhyming couplets in iambic pentameter. In a few puzzles, an additional clue is given which describes a phrase or set of words placed around the edge of the grid (alternate squares of the perimeter being black) to give a starting point for placing some of the answers.
A thesaurus or synonym dictionary lists similar or related words; these are often, but not always, synonyms. [15] The word poecilonym is a rare synonym of the word synonym. It is not entered in most major dictionaries and is a curiosity or piece of trivia for being an autological word because of its meta quality as a synonym of synonym.