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Surely this Crossword article should cross-reference a primary source describing the massively available crossword dictionaries such as the Apple Mac OS X Unix Terminal's:
$ cat /usr/share/dict/words | egrep -i "^cr.s.w..d$" | cat -n 1 cressweed 2 crossweed 3 crossword $ $ cat /usr/share/dict/words | egrep "^C........$" | cat -n | tail -2 380 Cytophaga 381 Cytospora $
Words_(Unix) is a stub of a Wikipedia article that by now almost explains that that crossword dictionary/ Scrabble dictionary exists.
Contrast the "could not find any results for crswd" of such places as http://www.google.com/search?q=scrabble+dictionary
-- Pelavarre ( talk) 06:03, 7 January 2008 (UTC)
As to the popularity of 'cryptics': in the Netherlands these puzzles are called cryptograms. They are hugely popular among the puzzle solvers for whom normal cross-words have become too easy. Especially the cryptograms of the Volkskrant are very popular, but the Volkskrant is (or rather claims it is) a high-brow news paper—I am not sure if the 'working class' news papers carry a daily cryptogram. --branko —Preceding unsigned comment added by 213.84.199.98 ( talk) 00:52, August 9, 2002
I removed the HTML comment?does that help?--branko —Preceding unsigned comment added by 213.84.199.98 ( talk) 01:24, August 9, 2002
Some crossword grids don't have black squares -- instead some gridlines are bold. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Tarquin ( talk • contribs) 00:54, August 9, 2002
BTW, naming policy is for singular, not plurals -- so other articles can say "solving a [ [crossword] ] puzzle" (for example). I'll do an admin move -- Tarquin 08:56 Aug 9, 2002 (PDT)
There are other aspects of crosswords that ought to be discussed, probably. In particular, American style crosswords have some conventions, among them: 180-degree rotational symmetry (which is mentioned), no two-letter words, no "unches" (an "unch" is an unchecked letter, i.e. a letter appearing in only one word). Almost all crosswords that appear in serious fora (e.g. the New York Times and other major newspapers) are square, and are in fact an odd number of squares--15x15 is fairly standard for a daily newspaper crossword. This is for standard American-style crosswords. Variants exist, of course, such as the spiral (mentioned above), marching bands, labyrinth, and so forth. --Tahnan, passing through —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.61.43.104 ( talk) 20:42, October 17, 2002
I removed the following outline from the main page -- it's not generally considered appropriate to put unfinished outlines on article pages. Once it's fleshed out, feel free to add the relevant information to the article. (I left the paragraphs themselves in the article -- I only removed the outline itself.) (to be added, when I've checked my facts) Outline:
—Preceding unsigned comment added by Adam Conover ( talk • contribs) 16:18, April 10, 2004
There was a film made about this incident in which a schoolboy was forced to create the crosswords as punishment. The schoolboy was friends with an officer who was connected enough to have the secrets in his office... the schoolboy sneaked a look at the office and used the words he saw there. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 205.239.225.78 ( talk) 11:23, August 9, 2005
Does the following sentence meet the NPOV criteria? "In 1968 and 1969, composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim published an astonishingly inventive series of crossword-like puzzles in New York magazine." Has it been previously claimed that they were "astonishingly inventive" and if so who claimed this? Alternatively is it the POV of the contributor? TigerShark 01:03, 13 Feb 2005 (UTC)
Should this article mention the wikinews n:crosswords ( n:Crosswords/Current) since its a sister project of wikipedia? Bawolff 00:33, 4 May 2005 (UTC)
How much does a crossword puzzle writer make a year? Helmsb 21:08, 20 September 2005 (UTC)
This varies wildly. Only a select few can make a living doing it, but Merl Reagle apparently makes six-figures. However, he keeps the rights to all the crosswords he constructs, and resells them in books. Since the most someone can make for a single 15x15 crossword is $200, --and only the New York Times pays that much, and there's certainly a standard of quality to be expected there-- and a 21x21 can fetch up to $1,000 --again, only the Times pays that well. Games magazine, for example, only pays $200 for a 21x21, and just $50 for a 15x15--, so if someone can consistently make --and sell-- crosswords, there's still a pretty limited maximum income. 24.22.53.24 09:36, 22 October 2007 (UTC)
From the introduction: "The creating of crosswords is called cruciverbalism, and a creator is called a cruciverbalist." I've always thought that these were slightly facetious coinings, and I'm sure they're not universally used. "Compiler" and "setter" are much more common names for a creator of crosswords. I'll (boldly) change the sentence. AndrewWTaylor 16:02, 14 November 2005 (UTC)
1875 saint nicolas crossword (?) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 85.249.160.137 ( talk) 10:55, 7 April 2010 (UTC)
Is it just me, or does anyone else think that linking to a "history of crosswords" website is a lousy substitute for actually entering the information on WP? I mean, is WP outsourcing its material now? I suggest that these links be moved to the end (along with the translation crossword link, escpecially since it's a paid site), and that information actually be provided in the article. - RealGrouchy 06:22, 21 December 2005 (UTC)
I figured it'd be a good idea to discuss these so we can discern each other's criticisms and develop ideal examples:
I'm curious to know what criticisms others have for my own examples, especially for those believed to be worse than the ones I replaced. Let's get this section sparkling clear! Zotmeister 19:41, 28 December 2005 (UTC)
Japanese crossword grids have two rules guiding their construction: black cells may not share a side. This statement is not generally true; I have confirmed it with people living in Japan who were able to check out Japanese crosswords. It should be removed unless somebody can cite evidence for it. Unfortunately, somebody has reverted my attempt to remove this statement without any confirmation of the facts. Mysteronald 21 January 2006
"The crossword is the most common variety of word puzzle in the world" Can anybody verify this as a fact, or is it just assumed? If somebody can't, then shouldn't we change it to something like "The crossword is one of the most common varieties of word puzzles in the world? It communicates the same message. That is, unless there actually is proof that the crossword is most common, in which case it would be worded perfectly. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 205.188.116.14 ( talk) 15:57, February 24, 2006
The last paragraph in the "Types of grid" section says: Answers are printed in upper case letters. This ensures a proper name can have its initial capital letter checked with a non-capitalizable letter in the intersecting clue. I don't understand what's this all about. Could anyone provide an example of this situation, or at least of some letters that are 'non-capitalizable' (and yet ought to be 'printed in upper case')? TY. Jokes Free4Me 12:24, 25 May 2006 (UTC)
The "common clues" sub-section, which lists words "generally accepted" as common in crossword puzzles, smacks very strongly of original research to me. Can this be backed up by sources? If not, I don't think it (or its recently-created spinoff article, List of words frequently used in crossword puzzles) can be kept on Wikipedia. ~ Matticus T C 22:12, 21 July 2006 (UTC)
WP:NOT - Wikipedia is not a collecton of links to external sites. Please categorize this giant list, or prune them (or do both).-- Piotr Konieczny aka Prokonsul Piotrus | talk 19:44, 21 September 2006 (UTC)
I got rid of all the nonencyclopedic links (sites trying to sell software, sites with just free puzzles trying to earn money off ad views and affiliate links, ten skrillion sites offering apps to try to solve clues), which didn't leave many. The .edu was questionable to me, but at least it had a long list of news stories linked in, which is something anyway.
And, as a general rule, if the links are long enough that you think you have to categorize them into subsections, there are way too many. Subcategories are just an excuse for more people to drop more worthless links. 172.144.210.91 20:10, 3 November 2006 (UTC)
I removed this link to the NYTimes crosswords.
My logic is that anyone who wants to get to the NYTimes puzzle will have no problem finding them. If we include a link to the NYTimes, then we should also link to the puzzles from the LATimes, the Tribune, the USA Today, The Onion, etc. The list is large. While many of us (including me) think of the NY Times as the best daily puzzle, that is POV. I vote for none. RoyLeban ( talk) 01:57, 11 March 2009 (UTC)
I am tempted to remove the following link:
This is not an indictment of this particular essay, but there are many, many essays on crosswords on the net, including those by many notable constructors (even including myself). A number can be found on cruciverb. I see no reason to link to this particular essay over others. Does anyone have a solid reason? RoyLeban ( talk) 01:57, 11 March 2009 (UTC)
Could we create a list of famous constructors?
The graphic of the British-style crossword grid (and I assume the others?) should be square, not rectangular. The image has got squashed somehow, and really needs fixing. Does anyone know how to do this? Matt 20:58, 8 February 2007 (UTC).
"In a vast majority of Polish crosswords, nouns are the only allowed words." This sounds extremely improbable. If there's no evidence for this, I'd suggest removing this claim. -- PeterBiddlecombe 23:36, 9 March 2007 (UTC)
This can be proven by reading any Polsih magazine with crosswords in it. I'm an avid crossword solver here in Poland, and I have never seen a crossword here which use any other word than a noun. Korodzik ( talk) 09:23, 2 July 2008 (UTC)
Just wondering whether it would be appropriate to post an image of Arthur Wynne's first crossword puzzle in the History section, near where it is mentioned? I have an image of it. Does anyone know the copyright status of such a thing? It was published in 1913 by a newspaper that is no longer in existence. I won't add it until someone advises on this because I am uncertain. But I think that readers would be interested in seeing the original, and how it differs from modern crosswords. (Not that I mind the stamp image — it does show recognition of the cultural influence of crosswords.) — Michael J 20:02, 14 May 2007 (UTC)
An editor keeps removing the fad category for some unknown reason. When he asked for sources, I added them, but he still removed the category. He now claims "Nothing in article justifying "fad".", but ignores that the article says "The book was an instant hit and crossword puzzles became the craze of 1924." -- Now, granted, we could have more on the history and how crazed it was (with Crossword songs, plays, jewelry, etc.), but I am getting tired of someone removing a perfectly good category when the category listings do not insist that the article itself has to devote much time to the topic. I'm going to give the editor who removed the category time to rethink this pointless edit warring, and then I will restore it again later if he doesn't do it himself. -- DreamGuy ( talk) 18:49, 16 November 2007 (UTC)
I really hate this. The unreasonable, insulting editor, who calls people who disagree with him stalkers and accuses everybody he can of COI, is actually right in this case, while the reasonable, sensible editor hasn't thought it through.
On the argument: Crosswords were a fad in the 1920s. They're certainly not a fad now, though they are still very, very popular. But, in the 1920s, you saw all sorts of crazy things, like crossword contests in almost every newspaper every day, and there were hundreds of thousands of people solving as many crosswords a day as Tyler Hinman does today. Many people, not just Jim Jenista, wore crossword clothing. Certainly, many fads die (like bell bottoms and pet rocks) while some fads level off and stick around (like Slinkies, Lincoln Logs, Mahjong, and crosswords). Similarly, today, Sudoku can be considered a fad, but only time will tell if they vanish or they just level off in popularity.
Crosswords should stay in the Category:1920s fads. RoyLeban ( talk) 23:39, 3 March 2009 (UTC)
Just wondering how Online Interactive Crossword Tutorial qualifies as a game (As there isn't any other crosswords to play)? What I was trying to show the reader was how a crossword looked "visually". This is a crossword site, it is not like I'm promoting inappropriate material. Would it make you more happy if I locked the crossword down, so they could not type in the cells (so doesn't feel like they are playing it)? They can reveal the answers to the clues by clicking on the show button on each of the clues. If you want, I can place the crossword grid on the wiki page, however I don't believe I can do that. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 203.97.51.149 ( talk) 20:54, 4 August 2008 (UTC)
As I mentioned previously, if you would like I can place the visual crossword on this wiki page (or any other website you desire, so that it doesn't promote any advertising on my part, as I will not put anything linking back to my site, however I'm not sure how). I'm not here to promote my site just to give users a better idea of how a crossword works, however you seem to get think that is not the purpose of why I placed that external link.
You and me in bed oh ya —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.220.216.191 ( talk) 00:56, 26 November 2008 (UTC)
I don't think that the "Common Crossword Clues & Answers" section is needed, as it seems more of a "guidebook", and doesn't help with any further understanding of crosswords (there have been already examples earlier in the article, anyways). I'm a bit hesitant to remove it though, as I may be wrong.
68.238.252.115 ( talk) 06:52, 9 February 2009 (UTC)
I like the addition of the difficulty section. I have a proposed addition which I don't want to make to avoid COI. Here it is:
Why COI? Puzzazz is my site, but it's the only non-crossword site that I know of that does the increasing difficulty (and, FYI, I do publish mini-crosswords on Sunday and occasional full-size crosswords). RoyLeban ( talk) 01:52, 11 March 2009 (UTC)
The type previously named German-style has been changed to Swedish-style. It is true that this type of cross-word is called Schwedenrätsel in German, but I would like to have more evidence for it being used in Sweden. If it is the type common in Sweden, I am fine with this usage. But it might be the case that the German name is a misnomer, which would not be surprising. All kinds of words with country attributions are misnomers in German. Jasy jatere ( talk) 15:05, 17 April 2009 (UTC)
I can't offer any information about whether it's used in Sweden, but I'm sure I've seen the description "Swedish-Style" elsewhere - a Google search for [swedish-style grids] locates it in the description of a crossword software package: "It builds clues-in-squares (Swedish style) crossword puzzles."
I don't think it actually matters whether this style has significant use in Sweden. What matters is whether it's an accepted name. We don't worry about how many Frenchmen eat French toast, how many Dutch people "go Dutch", or ... [other examples ad infinitum]. PeterBiddlecombe ( talk) 12:20, 8 May 2009 (UTC)
I removed the link to the Nat Geographic story and replaced it by a link to a similar but more detailed article by a Crossword Editor of the Daily Telegraph. Also removed the "no independent evidence" comment and report of scepticism by Marc Romano. It wasn't clear from this exactly what he was sceptical about, or what his arguments were. ALso, the new link includes some evidence of confirmation. PeterBiddlecombe ( talk) 09:54, 8 May 2009 (UTC)
I wonder whether this should be a separate (linked) page. Crosswords are written in dozens if not hundreds of languages and as people pass by and record their own local subtleties, it will just get longer and longer.
A separate page would allow grouping into closely-related languages, for which the differences may be similar.
(The stuff about the Kannada crossword compiler seems at leastpartly irrelevant, though if he's the only person making puzzles in this language I guess some personal stuff is inevitable. But the regular updating of the numbers is futile (just say 20,000 puzzle up to May 2008 or whatever) and giving the count of clues is even more unnecessary. Tell us the typical number of clues as a feature of these puzzles and leave the sums to the reader! [And I'll bet a lakh of some coinage that a lakh is 600,000 - NOT 6,000,000 as implied.] ) PeterBiddlecombe ( talk) 10:00, 8 May 2009 (UTC)
It's a fair cop guv but I think you knew what I meant - 100,000 not 1,000,000.
I don't agree that the European variations are not noteworthy. Some of the differences in non-Roman script puzzles are down to the differences in scripts, and therefore not a matter of choice. I'm sure puzzles in Fr/It/Pol/etc could be produced following precisely the same rules as in Eng-speaking countries. The fact that they don't means that somewhere in their history, a conscious decision was made to use different rules. PeterBiddlecombe ( talk) 12:28, 8 May 2009 (UTC)
Someone asked for expansion about the NP-complete bit. I don't mind expansion IF it tells us something useful about crosswords. All I understand the statement to mean is that there are many ways of filling most crossword grids. This seems too obvious to bother saying! It also says nothing about the question of which of the mathematically possible sets of words are appropriate for use. Choosing the right bunch of words is very important.
But the "construction of crossword puzzles" also involves writing clues, so if I've understood correctly, we're really just saying "finding a bunch of words that fit the grid" is an NP-complete problem.
So unless I've misunderstood the statement, I think this section says so little about crossword puzzles that it would be better to simply delete it. If it is retained, the "problem" being described should be defined more accurately. PeterBiddlecombe ( talk) 09:16, 15 May 2009 (UTC)
One thing that I am curious about but could not find is how a crusiverbalist (or what ever they're called) actually goes about making a crossword. Do they start interlocking words and then finalize the grid? Do they ever get stuck, etc. Being a fairly sharp scrabble player myself ( looking at my screen name I suppose this is obvious), I know how hard it is to make words intersect. I imagine most crossword makers to be quite intelligent. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Imascrabblefreak ( talk • contribs) 22:46, 21 July 2009 (UTC)
-
I note that throughout the text of this article, to date, the squares not to have letters in them are described only as "black". At the risk of seeming pedantic, I think this is an erroneous oversimplification. A crossword is not disqualified from being a crossword if its blanked squares are not black. In many printing processes, pure solid black squares can be a technical nuisance; so, for puzzles that I compile, we have long used a grey shade because, on almost any printing system (including a normal personal use DTP printer), these are implemented as a fine grid pattern of black ink or toner and white (unmarked) gaps. Also, note that the Britannica online article on crossword puzzles refers to these squares as "cancelled" and describes them as black, shaded or crosshatched (I think the latter is a little excessive as a detail of one kind of shading). I propose to mention black once and then to refer to the blanks as shaded. Iph ( talk) 14:18, 10 November 2009 (UTC)
Is Cruciverb website for American-style crossword constructors (subscription needed to access some features) needed as an external link? Seems like self promotion to me. Please remove if others feel the same. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Ashesnz ( talk • contribs) 00:23, 28 January 2010 (UTC)
What happened to a former article on arrowords? Did it get deleted? ACEOREVIVED ( talk) 22:28, 14 March 2011 (UTC)
I see that, rather unusually, the article on arrowords was merged with this article, without any discussion what so ever. I know that the article did not say very it much, but I do wish that there had been some discussion of this.
ACEOREVIVED (
talk)
20:49, 15 March 2011 (UTC)
But the link you give in hypertext there was only a very early version of the article - I did agree that it needed expansion, and expanded it to:
An arroword is a word puzzle. It is similar to a crossword but the clues are on the grid. The puzzle will feature a square divided into smaller squares, similar to a crossword grid but, unlike a crossword puzzle, there will be no black, shaded squares in an arroword grid. The puzzle also differs from a crossword puzzle in that whereas clues for a crossword will be one side of the grid, the clues in an arroword are in the grid itself, accompanied by arrows indicating to the solver where words are to go (hence their name). These puzzles have proven to be quite popular in the United Kingdom, where it is possible to buy magazines devoted to these puzzles. There is also a pocket version of the arrowords magazine, and arrowords puzzles can be found in woman's magazines. Strategy for working out answers to an arroword may involve considerable general knowledge.
I had also put in, at one stage, that it was known as "the Scandinavian crossword", because it is believed to have originated in that part of the world. The arroword is not actually the same as the crossword, and there may be enough to justify a separate article on this form of word puzzle.
ACEOREVIVED (
talk)
20:47, 16 March 2011 (UTC)
Well, as it seems as if typing arroword gets one redirected here, I have put in some information about this type of puzzle in the article.
ACEOREVIVED (
talk)
23:52, 12 May 2011 (UTC)
Well, thank you for being gracious enough to explain why you deleted it. I have now added it and put in a reference:
http://www.puzzler.com/Puzzles-encyclopedia/Arroword.htm
I very much hope that this can salvage it. ACEOREVIVED ( talk) 20:56, 17 May 2011 (UTC)
The section with sub-heading "Straight or Quick" is rather a mess - a lot of it talks about are, actually, cryptic clues! This article needs to distinguish cryptic and straight clues more clearly. ACEOREVIVED ( talk) 23:45, 19 May 2011 (UTC)
Why does the section "orthography" say that characters are ignored in French,when accents do have to be over French capitals? ACEOREVIVED ( talk) 20:23, 19 July 2011 (UTC)
The article didn't mention about the first crossword book which created by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster in 1924 from the New York World.It was a great leap of the development of crosswords.Well actually,it was just a compilation of crosswords in the archives.But it was kind of the first crossword book at that time.
PortalandPortal2Rocks ( talk) 10:39, 10 January 2012 (UTC)
[4] [5] [6] These are actually the only source I've found today. PortalandPortal2Rocks ( talk) 14:05, 11 January 2012 (UTC)
I realize "common knowledge" is not a viable source, but deletion versus help with sourcing is a bit mean-spirited when what I wrote was exactly accurate. I could have just ref'd The Grauniad and a couple of crossword blogs, but that would have been a waste, wouldn't it? I'm just trying to improve the article. Huw Powell ( talk) 01:13, 22 March 2014 (UTC)
I think this article should be titled "Crossword Puzzle" because the term is a more accurate description of the subject. The word "Crossword" can refer to any words that cross per se, for example as the words cross within a game of Scrabble. Whereas "Crossword Puzzle" refers more specifically to the puzzle game which is the subject of this article. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 165.228.99.117 ( talk) 02:51, 22 April 2014 (UTC)
Article has been tagged for needing sources long-term. Feel free to reinsert the below material with appropriate references. DonIago ( talk) 14:01, 19 November 2014 (UTC)
Terminology
|
---|
== Terminology ==
The horizontal and vertical lines of white cells into which answers are written are commonly called entries or answers. The clues are usually called just that, or sometimes definitions. White cells are sometimes called lights, while the shaded cells are sometimes called darks, blanks, blocks, or just simply black squares or shaded squares. A white cell that is part of two entries (both Across and Down) is called checked, keyed, or crossed. A white cell that is part of only one entry is called unchecked, unkeyed, or uncrossed. The creating of crosswords is called cruciverbalism among its practitioners, who are referred to as cruciverbalists, from the Latin for cross and word. Although the terms have existed since the mid-1970s, non-cruciverbalists rarely use them, calling crossword creators constructors or (especially outside the United States) setters or compilers. |
/info/en/?search=Paser_Crossword_Stela
This was a huge inscription which split words into squares and could be read in multiple directions. It may or may not be ancestral to the crossword puzzle, but it's worth a mention. I have also encountered other crossword-like inscriptions in Latin.
Dwarfkingdom ( talk) 02:52, 3 January 2015 (UTC)
What do you call the number counts: like (3,7)? Is there a term for these? Also, for a word like CD-ROM (where the first part is pronounced as letters, "see dee", but the second part as a single syllable) should I clue as 2-3, or 1,1-3, or 1,1-1,1,1? Thanks. 86.164.23.31 ( talk) 14:23, 22 March 2015 (UTC)
Lights anyone? 92.24.64.78 ( talk) 13:55, 19 November 2016 (UTC)
Added subheading and paragraph under History. The decline of women constructors over the past 50 years, particularly in the New York Times and other major papers, has been remarked upon by many in the field, including Will Shortz. All statements are sourced. Laurabrarian ( talk) 23:58, 17 January 2017 (UTC)Laurabrarian
The section on the cryptic crossword says that these are also known as "cryptics" and that in the United Kingdom, these are often called simply crosswords. I live in the United Kingdom and I have never heard them referred to as anything but "cryptic crossword puzzles." Vorbee ( talk) 10:09, 26 May 2017 (UTC)
Here's the Sunday London Times Crossword (no "Cryptic"): https://i.prcdn.co/img?regionKey=T%2BR7%2F16ZdezsTEt58veWuw%3D%3D — is that a good enough example? — Preceding unsigned comment added by RoyLeban ( talk • contribs) 04:59, 28 December 2022 (UTC)
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In the article, under "American style crosswords," it says, " in the sample "parts of a tree" theme shown above, ". However, the sample is nowhere near "above"- it's several sections away. Any ideas on to make this clearer to the reader? I'm repeating the paragraph which is a messy kludge but perhaps someone has a more elegant solution. 18:14, 5 November 2017 (UTC) — Preceding unsigned comment added by Ehgarrick ( talk • contribs)
I don't have the knowledge of the means of building out the History section, but I just want to note that any encyclopedic history of crosswords is obviously incomplete if it only focuses on the history of American crosswords, especially given the rich history of crosswords in Britain and the Commonwealth nations, not to mention of course non-English-speaking parts of the world. Mpaniello ( talk) 16:57, 3 August 2022 (UTC)
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Despite "British style" being used in comparison when describing conventions in other languages, (for Bengali, "The grid system is similar to the British style" and "In Poland, crosswords typically use British-style grids) there doesn't seem to be any clear statement in the article of what the British style even is. The closest I can find is at the start of the American-style section: "Crossword grids elsewhere, such as in Britain, South Africa, India and Australia, have a lattice-like structure, with a higher percentage of shaded squares (around 25%)"
So, what I'm seeing as a newcomer to this article is a huge section on American-style, a substantial exploration of variants and non-English formats, yet nothing really on the in-between, despite comparative references to another set of English conventions. A glance over the current table of contents further illustrates my point.
I am not an avid crossword puzzler. I came here because I saw "American style" in a puzzle description somewhere and wanted to find alternatives. I have little idea what "British style" would mean, nor what other English styles may have prominent forms. So, I am merely posting here to suggest that someone with the knowledge and references could add that content. Or, if that content is already buried in the article, organize it more visibly. --jandew ( talk) 13:06, 29 August 2023 (UTC)
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Surely this Crossword article should cross-reference a primary source describing the massively available crossword dictionaries such as the Apple Mac OS X Unix Terminal's:
$ cat /usr/share/dict/words | egrep -i "^cr.s.w..d$" | cat -n 1 cressweed 2 crossweed 3 crossword $ $ cat /usr/share/dict/words | egrep "^C........$" | cat -n | tail -2 380 Cytophaga 381 Cytospora $
Words_(Unix) is a stub of a Wikipedia article that by now almost explains that that crossword dictionary/ Scrabble dictionary exists.
Contrast the "could not find any results for crswd" of such places as http://www.google.com/search?q=scrabble+dictionary
-- Pelavarre ( talk) 06:03, 7 January 2008 (UTC)
As to the popularity of 'cryptics': in the Netherlands these puzzles are called cryptograms. They are hugely popular among the puzzle solvers for whom normal cross-words have become too easy. Especially the cryptograms of the Volkskrant are very popular, but the Volkskrant is (or rather claims it is) a high-brow news paper—I am not sure if the 'working class' news papers carry a daily cryptogram. --branko —Preceding unsigned comment added by 213.84.199.98 ( talk) 00:52, August 9, 2002
I removed the HTML comment?does that help?--branko —Preceding unsigned comment added by 213.84.199.98 ( talk) 01:24, August 9, 2002
Some crossword grids don't have black squares -- instead some gridlines are bold. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Tarquin ( talk • contribs) 00:54, August 9, 2002
BTW, naming policy is for singular, not plurals -- so other articles can say "solving a [ [crossword] ] puzzle" (for example). I'll do an admin move -- Tarquin 08:56 Aug 9, 2002 (PDT)
There are other aspects of crosswords that ought to be discussed, probably. In particular, American style crosswords have some conventions, among them: 180-degree rotational symmetry (which is mentioned), no two-letter words, no "unches" (an "unch" is an unchecked letter, i.e. a letter appearing in only one word). Almost all crosswords that appear in serious fora (e.g. the New York Times and other major newspapers) are square, and are in fact an odd number of squares--15x15 is fairly standard for a daily newspaper crossword. This is for standard American-style crosswords. Variants exist, of course, such as the spiral (mentioned above), marching bands, labyrinth, and so forth. --Tahnan, passing through —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.61.43.104 ( talk) 20:42, October 17, 2002
I removed the following outline from the main page -- it's not generally considered appropriate to put unfinished outlines on article pages. Once it's fleshed out, feel free to add the relevant information to the article. (I left the paragraphs themselves in the article -- I only removed the outline itself.) (to be added, when I've checked my facts) Outline:
—Preceding unsigned comment added by Adam Conover ( talk • contribs) 16:18, April 10, 2004
There was a film made about this incident in which a schoolboy was forced to create the crosswords as punishment. The schoolboy was friends with an officer who was connected enough to have the secrets in his office... the schoolboy sneaked a look at the office and used the words he saw there. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 205.239.225.78 ( talk) 11:23, August 9, 2005
Does the following sentence meet the NPOV criteria? "In 1968 and 1969, composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim published an astonishingly inventive series of crossword-like puzzles in New York magazine." Has it been previously claimed that they were "astonishingly inventive" and if so who claimed this? Alternatively is it the POV of the contributor? TigerShark 01:03, 13 Feb 2005 (UTC)
Should this article mention the wikinews n:crosswords ( n:Crosswords/Current) since its a sister project of wikipedia? Bawolff 00:33, 4 May 2005 (UTC)
How much does a crossword puzzle writer make a year? Helmsb 21:08, 20 September 2005 (UTC)
This varies wildly. Only a select few can make a living doing it, but Merl Reagle apparently makes six-figures. However, he keeps the rights to all the crosswords he constructs, and resells them in books. Since the most someone can make for a single 15x15 crossword is $200, --and only the New York Times pays that much, and there's certainly a standard of quality to be expected there-- and a 21x21 can fetch up to $1,000 --again, only the Times pays that well. Games magazine, for example, only pays $200 for a 21x21, and just $50 for a 15x15--, so if someone can consistently make --and sell-- crosswords, there's still a pretty limited maximum income. 24.22.53.24 09:36, 22 October 2007 (UTC)
From the introduction: "The creating of crosswords is called cruciverbalism, and a creator is called a cruciverbalist." I've always thought that these were slightly facetious coinings, and I'm sure they're not universally used. "Compiler" and "setter" are much more common names for a creator of crosswords. I'll (boldly) change the sentence. AndrewWTaylor 16:02, 14 November 2005 (UTC)
1875 saint nicolas crossword (?) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 85.249.160.137 ( talk) 10:55, 7 April 2010 (UTC)
Is it just me, or does anyone else think that linking to a "history of crosswords" website is a lousy substitute for actually entering the information on WP? I mean, is WP outsourcing its material now? I suggest that these links be moved to the end (along with the translation crossword link, escpecially since it's a paid site), and that information actually be provided in the article. - RealGrouchy 06:22, 21 December 2005 (UTC)
I figured it'd be a good idea to discuss these so we can discern each other's criticisms and develop ideal examples:
I'm curious to know what criticisms others have for my own examples, especially for those believed to be worse than the ones I replaced. Let's get this section sparkling clear! Zotmeister 19:41, 28 December 2005 (UTC)
Japanese crossword grids have two rules guiding their construction: black cells may not share a side. This statement is not generally true; I have confirmed it with people living in Japan who were able to check out Japanese crosswords. It should be removed unless somebody can cite evidence for it. Unfortunately, somebody has reverted my attempt to remove this statement without any confirmation of the facts. Mysteronald 21 January 2006
"The crossword is the most common variety of word puzzle in the world" Can anybody verify this as a fact, or is it just assumed? If somebody can't, then shouldn't we change it to something like "The crossword is one of the most common varieties of word puzzles in the world? It communicates the same message. That is, unless there actually is proof that the crossword is most common, in which case it would be worded perfectly. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 205.188.116.14 ( talk) 15:57, February 24, 2006
The last paragraph in the "Types of grid" section says: Answers are printed in upper case letters. This ensures a proper name can have its initial capital letter checked with a non-capitalizable letter in the intersecting clue. I don't understand what's this all about. Could anyone provide an example of this situation, or at least of some letters that are 'non-capitalizable' (and yet ought to be 'printed in upper case')? TY. Jokes Free4Me 12:24, 25 May 2006 (UTC)
The "common clues" sub-section, which lists words "generally accepted" as common in crossword puzzles, smacks very strongly of original research to me. Can this be backed up by sources? If not, I don't think it (or its recently-created spinoff article, List of words frequently used in crossword puzzles) can be kept on Wikipedia. ~ Matticus T C 22:12, 21 July 2006 (UTC)
WP:NOT - Wikipedia is not a collecton of links to external sites. Please categorize this giant list, or prune them (or do both).-- Piotr Konieczny aka Prokonsul Piotrus | talk 19:44, 21 September 2006 (UTC)
I got rid of all the nonencyclopedic links (sites trying to sell software, sites with just free puzzles trying to earn money off ad views and affiliate links, ten skrillion sites offering apps to try to solve clues), which didn't leave many. The .edu was questionable to me, but at least it had a long list of news stories linked in, which is something anyway.
And, as a general rule, if the links are long enough that you think you have to categorize them into subsections, there are way too many. Subcategories are just an excuse for more people to drop more worthless links. 172.144.210.91 20:10, 3 November 2006 (UTC)
I removed this link to the NYTimes crosswords.
My logic is that anyone who wants to get to the NYTimes puzzle will have no problem finding them. If we include a link to the NYTimes, then we should also link to the puzzles from the LATimes, the Tribune, the USA Today, The Onion, etc. The list is large. While many of us (including me) think of the NY Times as the best daily puzzle, that is POV. I vote for none. RoyLeban ( talk) 01:57, 11 March 2009 (UTC)
I am tempted to remove the following link:
This is not an indictment of this particular essay, but there are many, many essays on crosswords on the net, including those by many notable constructors (even including myself). A number can be found on cruciverb. I see no reason to link to this particular essay over others. Does anyone have a solid reason? RoyLeban ( talk) 01:57, 11 March 2009 (UTC)
Could we create a list of famous constructors?
The graphic of the British-style crossword grid (and I assume the others?) should be square, not rectangular. The image has got squashed somehow, and really needs fixing. Does anyone know how to do this? Matt 20:58, 8 February 2007 (UTC).
"In a vast majority of Polish crosswords, nouns are the only allowed words." This sounds extremely improbable. If there's no evidence for this, I'd suggest removing this claim. -- PeterBiddlecombe 23:36, 9 March 2007 (UTC)
This can be proven by reading any Polsih magazine with crosswords in it. I'm an avid crossword solver here in Poland, and I have never seen a crossword here which use any other word than a noun. Korodzik ( talk) 09:23, 2 July 2008 (UTC)
Just wondering whether it would be appropriate to post an image of Arthur Wynne's first crossword puzzle in the History section, near where it is mentioned? I have an image of it. Does anyone know the copyright status of such a thing? It was published in 1913 by a newspaper that is no longer in existence. I won't add it until someone advises on this because I am uncertain. But I think that readers would be interested in seeing the original, and how it differs from modern crosswords. (Not that I mind the stamp image — it does show recognition of the cultural influence of crosswords.) — Michael J 20:02, 14 May 2007 (UTC)
An editor keeps removing the fad category for some unknown reason. When he asked for sources, I added them, but he still removed the category. He now claims "Nothing in article justifying "fad".", but ignores that the article says "The book was an instant hit and crossword puzzles became the craze of 1924." -- Now, granted, we could have more on the history and how crazed it was (with Crossword songs, plays, jewelry, etc.), but I am getting tired of someone removing a perfectly good category when the category listings do not insist that the article itself has to devote much time to the topic. I'm going to give the editor who removed the category time to rethink this pointless edit warring, and then I will restore it again later if he doesn't do it himself. -- DreamGuy ( talk) 18:49, 16 November 2007 (UTC)
I really hate this. The unreasonable, insulting editor, who calls people who disagree with him stalkers and accuses everybody he can of COI, is actually right in this case, while the reasonable, sensible editor hasn't thought it through.
On the argument: Crosswords were a fad in the 1920s. They're certainly not a fad now, though they are still very, very popular. But, in the 1920s, you saw all sorts of crazy things, like crossword contests in almost every newspaper every day, and there were hundreds of thousands of people solving as many crosswords a day as Tyler Hinman does today. Many people, not just Jim Jenista, wore crossword clothing. Certainly, many fads die (like bell bottoms and pet rocks) while some fads level off and stick around (like Slinkies, Lincoln Logs, Mahjong, and crosswords). Similarly, today, Sudoku can be considered a fad, but only time will tell if they vanish or they just level off in popularity.
Crosswords should stay in the Category:1920s fads. RoyLeban ( talk) 23:39, 3 March 2009 (UTC)
Just wondering how Online Interactive Crossword Tutorial qualifies as a game (As there isn't any other crosswords to play)? What I was trying to show the reader was how a crossword looked "visually". This is a crossword site, it is not like I'm promoting inappropriate material. Would it make you more happy if I locked the crossword down, so they could not type in the cells (so doesn't feel like they are playing it)? They can reveal the answers to the clues by clicking on the show button on each of the clues. If you want, I can place the crossword grid on the wiki page, however I don't believe I can do that. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 203.97.51.149 ( talk) 20:54, 4 August 2008 (UTC)
As I mentioned previously, if you would like I can place the visual crossword on this wiki page (or any other website you desire, so that it doesn't promote any advertising on my part, as I will not put anything linking back to my site, however I'm not sure how). I'm not here to promote my site just to give users a better idea of how a crossword works, however you seem to get think that is not the purpose of why I placed that external link.
You and me in bed oh ya —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.220.216.191 ( talk) 00:56, 26 November 2008 (UTC)
I don't think that the "Common Crossword Clues & Answers" section is needed, as it seems more of a "guidebook", and doesn't help with any further understanding of crosswords (there have been already examples earlier in the article, anyways). I'm a bit hesitant to remove it though, as I may be wrong.
68.238.252.115 ( talk) 06:52, 9 February 2009 (UTC)
I like the addition of the difficulty section. I have a proposed addition which I don't want to make to avoid COI. Here it is:
Why COI? Puzzazz is my site, but it's the only non-crossword site that I know of that does the increasing difficulty (and, FYI, I do publish mini-crosswords on Sunday and occasional full-size crosswords). RoyLeban ( talk) 01:52, 11 March 2009 (UTC)
The type previously named German-style has been changed to Swedish-style. It is true that this type of cross-word is called Schwedenrätsel in German, but I would like to have more evidence for it being used in Sweden. If it is the type common in Sweden, I am fine with this usage. But it might be the case that the German name is a misnomer, which would not be surprising. All kinds of words with country attributions are misnomers in German. Jasy jatere ( talk) 15:05, 17 April 2009 (UTC)
I can't offer any information about whether it's used in Sweden, but I'm sure I've seen the description "Swedish-Style" elsewhere - a Google search for [swedish-style grids] locates it in the description of a crossword software package: "It builds clues-in-squares (Swedish style) crossword puzzles."
I don't think it actually matters whether this style has significant use in Sweden. What matters is whether it's an accepted name. We don't worry about how many Frenchmen eat French toast, how many Dutch people "go Dutch", or ... [other examples ad infinitum]. PeterBiddlecombe ( talk) 12:20, 8 May 2009 (UTC)
I removed the link to the Nat Geographic story and replaced it by a link to a similar but more detailed article by a Crossword Editor of the Daily Telegraph. Also removed the "no independent evidence" comment and report of scepticism by Marc Romano. It wasn't clear from this exactly what he was sceptical about, or what his arguments were. ALso, the new link includes some evidence of confirmation. PeterBiddlecombe ( talk) 09:54, 8 May 2009 (UTC)
I wonder whether this should be a separate (linked) page. Crosswords are written in dozens if not hundreds of languages and as people pass by and record their own local subtleties, it will just get longer and longer.
A separate page would allow grouping into closely-related languages, for which the differences may be similar.
(The stuff about the Kannada crossword compiler seems at leastpartly irrelevant, though if he's the only person making puzzles in this language I guess some personal stuff is inevitable. But the regular updating of the numbers is futile (just say 20,000 puzzle up to May 2008 or whatever) and giving the count of clues is even more unnecessary. Tell us the typical number of clues as a feature of these puzzles and leave the sums to the reader! [And I'll bet a lakh of some coinage that a lakh is 600,000 - NOT 6,000,000 as implied.] ) PeterBiddlecombe ( talk) 10:00, 8 May 2009 (UTC)
It's a fair cop guv but I think you knew what I meant - 100,000 not 1,000,000.
I don't agree that the European variations are not noteworthy. Some of the differences in non-Roman script puzzles are down to the differences in scripts, and therefore not a matter of choice. I'm sure puzzles in Fr/It/Pol/etc could be produced following precisely the same rules as in Eng-speaking countries. The fact that they don't means that somewhere in their history, a conscious decision was made to use different rules. PeterBiddlecombe ( talk) 12:28, 8 May 2009 (UTC)
Someone asked for expansion about the NP-complete bit. I don't mind expansion IF it tells us something useful about crosswords. All I understand the statement to mean is that there are many ways of filling most crossword grids. This seems too obvious to bother saying! It also says nothing about the question of which of the mathematically possible sets of words are appropriate for use. Choosing the right bunch of words is very important.
But the "construction of crossword puzzles" also involves writing clues, so if I've understood correctly, we're really just saying "finding a bunch of words that fit the grid" is an NP-complete problem.
So unless I've misunderstood the statement, I think this section says so little about crossword puzzles that it would be better to simply delete it. If it is retained, the "problem" being described should be defined more accurately. PeterBiddlecombe ( talk) 09:16, 15 May 2009 (UTC)
One thing that I am curious about but could not find is how a crusiverbalist (or what ever they're called) actually goes about making a crossword. Do they start interlocking words and then finalize the grid? Do they ever get stuck, etc. Being a fairly sharp scrabble player myself ( looking at my screen name I suppose this is obvious), I know how hard it is to make words intersect. I imagine most crossword makers to be quite intelligent. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Imascrabblefreak ( talk • contribs) 22:46, 21 July 2009 (UTC)
-
I note that throughout the text of this article, to date, the squares not to have letters in them are described only as "black". At the risk of seeming pedantic, I think this is an erroneous oversimplification. A crossword is not disqualified from being a crossword if its blanked squares are not black. In many printing processes, pure solid black squares can be a technical nuisance; so, for puzzles that I compile, we have long used a grey shade because, on almost any printing system (including a normal personal use DTP printer), these are implemented as a fine grid pattern of black ink or toner and white (unmarked) gaps. Also, note that the Britannica online article on crossword puzzles refers to these squares as "cancelled" and describes them as black, shaded or crosshatched (I think the latter is a little excessive as a detail of one kind of shading). I propose to mention black once and then to refer to the blanks as shaded. Iph ( talk) 14:18, 10 November 2009 (UTC)
Is Cruciverb website for American-style crossword constructors (subscription needed to access some features) needed as an external link? Seems like self promotion to me. Please remove if others feel the same. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Ashesnz ( talk • contribs) 00:23, 28 January 2010 (UTC)
What happened to a former article on arrowords? Did it get deleted? ACEOREVIVED ( talk) 22:28, 14 March 2011 (UTC)
I see that, rather unusually, the article on arrowords was merged with this article, without any discussion what so ever. I know that the article did not say very it much, but I do wish that there had been some discussion of this.
ACEOREVIVED (
talk)
20:49, 15 March 2011 (UTC)
But the link you give in hypertext there was only a very early version of the article - I did agree that it needed expansion, and expanded it to:
An arroword is a word puzzle. It is similar to a crossword but the clues are on the grid. The puzzle will feature a square divided into smaller squares, similar to a crossword grid but, unlike a crossword puzzle, there will be no black, shaded squares in an arroword grid. The puzzle also differs from a crossword puzzle in that whereas clues for a crossword will be one side of the grid, the clues in an arroword are in the grid itself, accompanied by arrows indicating to the solver where words are to go (hence their name). These puzzles have proven to be quite popular in the United Kingdom, where it is possible to buy magazines devoted to these puzzles. There is also a pocket version of the arrowords magazine, and arrowords puzzles can be found in woman's magazines. Strategy for working out answers to an arroword may involve considerable general knowledge.
I had also put in, at one stage, that it was known as "the Scandinavian crossword", because it is believed to have originated in that part of the world. The arroword is not actually the same as the crossword, and there may be enough to justify a separate article on this form of word puzzle.
ACEOREVIVED (
talk)
20:47, 16 March 2011 (UTC)
Well, as it seems as if typing arroword gets one redirected here, I have put in some information about this type of puzzle in the article.
ACEOREVIVED (
talk)
23:52, 12 May 2011 (UTC)
Well, thank you for being gracious enough to explain why you deleted it. I have now added it and put in a reference:
http://www.puzzler.com/Puzzles-encyclopedia/Arroword.htm
I very much hope that this can salvage it. ACEOREVIVED ( talk) 20:56, 17 May 2011 (UTC)
The section with sub-heading "Straight or Quick" is rather a mess - a lot of it talks about are, actually, cryptic clues! This article needs to distinguish cryptic and straight clues more clearly. ACEOREVIVED ( talk) 23:45, 19 May 2011 (UTC)
Why does the section "orthography" say that characters are ignored in French,when accents do have to be over French capitals? ACEOREVIVED ( talk) 20:23, 19 July 2011 (UTC)
The article didn't mention about the first crossword book which created by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster in 1924 from the New York World.It was a great leap of the development of crosswords.Well actually,it was just a compilation of crosswords in the archives.But it was kind of the first crossword book at that time.
PortalandPortal2Rocks ( talk) 10:39, 10 January 2012 (UTC)
[4] [5] [6] These are actually the only source I've found today. PortalandPortal2Rocks ( talk) 14:05, 11 January 2012 (UTC)
I realize "common knowledge" is not a viable source, but deletion versus help with sourcing is a bit mean-spirited when what I wrote was exactly accurate. I could have just ref'd The Grauniad and a couple of crossword blogs, but that would have been a waste, wouldn't it? I'm just trying to improve the article. Huw Powell ( talk) 01:13, 22 March 2014 (UTC)
I think this article should be titled "Crossword Puzzle" because the term is a more accurate description of the subject. The word "Crossword" can refer to any words that cross per se, for example as the words cross within a game of Scrabble. Whereas "Crossword Puzzle" refers more specifically to the puzzle game which is the subject of this article. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 165.228.99.117 ( talk) 02:51, 22 April 2014 (UTC)
Article has been tagged for needing sources long-term. Feel free to reinsert the below material with appropriate references. DonIago ( talk) 14:01, 19 November 2014 (UTC)
Terminology
|
---|
== Terminology ==
The horizontal and vertical lines of white cells into which answers are written are commonly called entries or answers. The clues are usually called just that, or sometimes definitions. White cells are sometimes called lights, while the shaded cells are sometimes called darks, blanks, blocks, or just simply black squares or shaded squares. A white cell that is part of two entries (both Across and Down) is called checked, keyed, or crossed. A white cell that is part of only one entry is called unchecked, unkeyed, or uncrossed. The creating of crosswords is called cruciverbalism among its practitioners, who are referred to as cruciverbalists, from the Latin for cross and word. Although the terms have existed since the mid-1970s, non-cruciverbalists rarely use them, calling crossword creators constructors or (especially outside the United States) setters or compilers. |
/info/en/?search=Paser_Crossword_Stela
This was a huge inscription which split words into squares and could be read in multiple directions. It may or may not be ancestral to the crossword puzzle, but it's worth a mention. I have also encountered other crossword-like inscriptions in Latin.
Dwarfkingdom ( talk) 02:52, 3 January 2015 (UTC)
What do you call the number counts: like (3,7)? Is there a term for these? Also, for a word like CD-ROM (where the first part is pronounced as letters, "see dee", but the second part as a single syllable) should I clue as 2-3, or 1,1-3, or 1,1-1,1,1? Thanks. 86.164.23.31 ( talk) 14:23, 22 March 2015 (UTC)
Lights anyone? 92.24.64.78 ( talk) 13:55, 19 November 2016 (UTC)
Added subheading and paragraph under History. The decline of women constructors over the past 50 years, particularly in the New York Times and other major papers, has been remarked upon by many in the field, including Will Shortz. All statements are sourced. Laurabrarian ( talk) 23:58, 17 January 2017 (UTC)Laurabrarian
The section on the cryptic crossword says that these are also known as "cryptics" and that in the United Kingdom, these are often called simply crosswords. I live in the United Kingdom and I have never heard them referred to as anything but "cryptic crossword puzzles." Vorbee ( talk) 10:09, 26 May 2017 (UTC)
Here's the Sunday London Times Crossword (no "Cryptic"): https://i.prcdn.co/img?regionKey=T%2BR7%2F16ZdezsTEt58veWuw%3D%3D — is that a good enough example? — Preceding unsigned comment added by RoyLeban ( talk • contribs) 04:59, 28 December 2022 (UTC)
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In the article, under "American style crosswords," it says, " in the sample "parts of a tree" theme shown above, ". However, the sample is nowhere near "above"- it's several sections away. Any ideas on to make this clearer to the reader? I'm repeating the paragraph which is a messy kludge but perhaps someone has a more elegant solution. 18:14, 5 November 2017 (UTC) — Preceding unsigned comment added by Ehgarrick ( talk • contribs)
I don't have the knowledge of the means of building out the History section, but I just want to note that any encyclopedic history of crosswords is obviously incomplete if it only focuses on the history of American crosswords, especially given the rich history of crosswords in Britain and the Commonwealth nations, not to mention of course non-English-speaking parts of the world. Mpaniello ( talk) 16:57, 3 August 2022 (UTC)
This article was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment, between 31 January 2023 and 11 May 2023. Further details are available
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Despite "British style" being used in comparison when describing conventions in other languages, (for Bengali, "The grid system is similar to the British style" and "In Poland, crosswords typically use British-style grids) there doesn't seem to be any clear statement in the article of what the British style even is. The closest I can find is at the start of the American-style section: "Crossword grids elsewhere, such as in Britain, South Africa, India and Australia, have a lattice-like structure, with a higher percentage of shaded squares (around 25%)"
So, what I'm seeing as a newcomer to this article is a huge section on American-style, a substantial exploration of variants and non-English formats, yet nothing really on the in-between, despite comparative references to another set of English conventions. A glance over the current table of contents further illustrates my point.
I am not an avid crossword puzzler. I came here because I saw "American style" in a puzzle description somewhere and wanted to find alternatives. I have little idea what "British style" would mean, nor what other English styles may have prominent forms. So, I am merely posting here to suggest that someone with the knowledge and references could add that content. Or, if that content is already buried in the article, organize it more visibly. --jandew ( talk) 13:06, 29 August 2023 (UTC)