In the 1920s, a crossword-puzzle craze swept across the United States. The pastime became wildly popular, and even inspired a Broadway musical, Puzzles of 1925. The fad spread through Canada and England, and the Wimbledon Public Library even removed...
Quiz Guy John Chaneski presents a version of cryptic crosswords: double-definition clues for four-letter words. For example, what might the answer be if a punny crossword clue is “Sad feathers”? This is part of a complete episode...
Crosswordese: A Guide to the Weird and Wonderful Language of Crossword Puzzles (Bookshop|Amazon) by puzzle constructor David Bukszpan is a cruciverbalist’s delight, full of crossword lore and puzzle-solving tips, plus a dozen puzzles that...
The dilemma continues over how to spell dilemma! Grant and Martha try to suss out the backstory of why some people spell that word with an “n.” A lot of them, it seems, went to Catholic school. Maybe that’s a clue? Plus, the saying...
You walk into a used bookstore, or pull down an old volume at the library, and there it is: The smell of old books. If you detect notes of vanilla in that intoxicating scent, there’s a reason. Also, why some people think the word awesome is...
Is typing two spaces after a period “totally, completely, utterly, and inarguably wrong?” Also, is the language of the movie True Grit historically accurate? Also, shut your pie-hole, Southern grammar, oh my Lady Gaga, and a little town...
