Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A puzzle in which an arrangement of numbered squares is to be filled with words running both across and down in answer to correspondingly numbered clues.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun games, puzzles A word puzzle in which interlocking words are entered usually horizontally and vertically into a grid based on clues given for each word.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a puzzle in which words corresponding to numbered clues are to be found and written in to squares in the puzzle

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

cross + word

Support

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Examples

Comments

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  • I have URLs for two great crossword puzzles. Would it be inappropriate for me to post those here on Wordie? It's not our mission or purpose, but it is word related, and there may be a few crossword puzzle fans like me among us.

    January 22, 2009

  • I don't think friends should exchange cross words.

    January 22, 2009

  • If they're cryptic, please do! I'm not interested in the other kind, though.

    January 22, 2009

  • As long as you don't make a habit of posting a ton of links, I think it's appropriate. I myself am a fan of crosswords, although I'm a bit out of practice. I got a crossword a day calendar for Christmas, so I'm hoping to hone my skills.

    January 22, 2009

  • No,not a ton of links. Just these two, because these are remarkable puzzles.

    WIDE OPEN SPACES, both .PDF files

    GRIDLOCK features three adjacent horizontal 21-letter entries spanning the entire width of the grid in the three middle rows of the puzzle (rows 10, 11 and 12) which intersect with three similar adjacent 21-letter vertical entries running up and down the three middle columns of the grid. For good measure, there are two more 21-letter horizontal entries in the puzzle. Each of these is a string of automobile model names (the clues are the corresponding makes). The puzzle was conceived as the intersection of two three-lane highways with traffic in gridlock.

    WIDE OPEN SPACES is remarkable for its paucity of black squares, its many long entries, and its short word list. The limit would be a 21 x 21 grid with no black squares made of 21 across entries and 21 down entries, or only 42 words. WOS contains only 51 black squares (11%) and 112 words, about 75% of which are 8 or more letters long. Reagle does take some liberties with the language, so allow for that.

    Answers are unavailable on the Internet to my knowledge, but I've finished the puzzles - they are not impossibly difficult - and can help if there are any nagging problems.

    January 23, 2009

  • January 23, 2009