Cross-word puzzles

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Wordplay
O'Malley Creadon Productions presents in association with Grinder Films ; produced by Christine O'Malley ; directed by Patrick Creadon.
Santa Monica, CA : IFC Films : Genius Entertainment, c2006.
  1. DVD, Dolby 5.1. Widescreen.
  2. In English with optional English captions or Spanish subtitles.
  3. Featuring: Will Shortz, Merl Reagle, Tyler Hinman, Trip Payne, Al Sanders, Ellen Ripstein, Jon Delfin, Jon Stewart, Ken Burns, Amy Ray, Emily Saliers, Daniel Okrent, Mike Mussina, Bob Dole, William Jefferson Clinton.
  4. Written by Patrick Creadon, Christine O'Malley ; editor, Doug Blush ; composer, Peter Golub.
  5. Originally released as a documentary special in 2005.
  6. Five New York Times crossword puzzles and solutions included in booklet.
  7. MPAA rating: PG; for some language and mild thematic elements.
  8. Special features: commentary by Patrick Creadon, Will Shortz and Merl Reagle; deleted scenes; interview gallery; 5 puzzles and featurettes; Wordplay goes to Sundance; music video; short film, Waiting for The New York Times, by Patricia Erens; photo gallery.
  9. A journey into the world of Will Shortz, the crossword puzzle editor at The New York Times. Shortz has spent his entire lifetime studying, creating and editing puzzles, and has built a huge following along the way.
     
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Fatal deduction : a novel
Gayle Roper.
Colorado Springs, Colo. : Multnomah Books, 2008.
     
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Crossword puzzle name finder
compiled and edited by Terry G. Falconer.
Richmond Hill, Ont. : Firefly Books, c2007.
Crossword clues relating to names are not well covered in puzzle dictionaries. This book is well-designed to fill that gap: Alphabetical listings by First Name, Last Name and numerous Categories from Actors to War heroes; Biologists to Serial killers.
     

Crossword puzzles are the most popular word game in the world. The first cross-word puzzle appeared in the Sunday magazine section of the New York World on December 21, 1913. For the next ten years it was the only newspaper to publish crossword puzzles and by then the hyphen was dropped.

In 1924 Simon and Schuster printed, under another name, the first book of fifty crossword puzzles and the biggest craze that America had ever seen was underway. The most famous crossword puzzle is printed in the New York Times, but now you can pick up any newspaper or magazine and most certainly find a crossword puzzle.

There are all types of clues to help you fill in the white squares with letters, forming words, reading them across and down.

  • Fill-in-the-blanks are the easiest, and a good place to start.
  • Get to know the two, three, four and more letter words that are commonly used.
  • The clue may suggest the word be in plural form and will end in S.
  • A compass point has one of eight possible abbreviations.
  • Many puzzles contain a theme that shares some relationship in common.

Solving crossword puzzles is "part science of deduction, part mother wit, part erudition."

Margaret Petherbridge Farrar
First Lady of Crosswords

Start with the first clue and go in whatever direction you choose to solve your way to compete the final answer.

Article by: St. Louis Public Library staff.