The Ultimate Crossword Word-Phrase Finder: A
Unique Source for Cruciverbalists
Philip J. Sayles
Paperback, 8.25x11 in, 228 pages
Wheatmark, December 2008
ISBN: 9781604941722
Description
Crossword puzzles challenge and stimulate even the most advanced
cruciverbalist. But as the level of difficulty increases, the
challenge and stimulation can quickly turn into frustration. Though
you don't want to cheat and look up the answer (where you risk
seeing other answers too), the idea of not finishing a puzzle is
maddening.
Enter The Ultimate Crossword Word-Phrase Finder: a
compendium of more than two hundred pages of obscure,
puzzle-cracking clues to help you push through the barriers to a
successful, fully realized puzzle. With an easy-to-use format, this
book is an invaluable reference guide to the crossword hobbyist.
Running the gamut from AAA offering to Zwieback, the
clues within will help you turn the corner on your next puzzle.
About the Author
Phil Sayles is a lifelong crossword puzzle fan. He compiled this
list of challenging puzzle clues over a period of several years. He
is a retired medical administrator, master cabinetmaker, and
gardener who lives in South Carolina with his shi tzu, Sandy.
Excerpt
This first edition of what may be a one of a kind crossword puzzle
dictionary contains approximately one hundred forty-four thousand
words that make up approximately forty-three thousand crossword
phrases and some more commonly used single words. These entries
have been compiled over a period of ten to twelve years dating back
to the late nineties. This all started as a reference for the
author's personal use and not with any intent to creating a new and
different crossword dictionary, at least not at the onset.
Initially, I kept a small notebook and, as it grew, I transferred
it to the computer; ultimately, it has grown into a two hundred and
twenty plus page dictionary of crossword phrases. This is something
that is new and different to the crossword world. The usual
crossword dictionary deals as a reference for single word clues,
but to my knowledge, none concentrate on crossword phrases in the
manner that this book does.This book is for the astute
cruciverbalist (someone who enjoys or creates crossword puzzles)
who is determined to complete each and every crossword puzzle.
This reference will be useful to the novice and the expert
alike. Novices will use the resource frequently as they cut their
teeth on increasingly more challenging puzzles. More experienced
cruciverbalists will use the book to find a single answer that
provides the breakthrough to fill in that last unsolved corner
where "Kampuchea coin" intersects with "River in southwest
Zimbabwe." Hopefully, this reference will allow all users to move
up the ladder of crossword difficulty that makes our shared
addiction so enjoyable.
Many of the phrase clues have been entered once as it was
originally written in the crossword puzzle and a second time with
the noun or verb being listed first in alphabetical order.
Example:
Within a stone's throw: near
Stone's throw, within a: near
Public hall: lyceum
Hall, public: lyceum
The purpose was to make it possible to find a particular clue
regardless of how the phrase would be worded in a given crossword
puzzle. To make searching easier, concentrate on looking up the
phrase as it is written; then if that fails, search using the
second option.
There will be instances wherein you may not find the exact
answer you are looking for, but your search may give you a hint as
to what the correct answer may be.
My initial intent was to confine this dictionary to crossword
phrases (clues), but as time went on, I started adding the more
commonly used single-word clues, which minimizes the need to
reference a second dictionary.
Anyone who is familiar with crossword puzzles has experienced
the use of words that have had the spelling skewed to fit the
puzzle. I included some misspelled entries, along with the correct
spelling, especially if the misspelled word occurred on more than
one occasion.
Throughout the dictionary, you will find a two-or-more-word
phrase with one word underlined and no apparent answer. The
underlined word within the phrase is the answer you are looking
for. Example:
Clue: holly ________
Answer: holly wreath
Clue: seventh ______ stretch
Answer: seventh inning stretch
You will also find multiple-word phrases with no underlined word
(s) or accompanying answers and in these instances the answer lies
with any one or more of the words within the phrase depending upon
a given crossword puzzle.The same applies with the names of persons
throughout the dictionary in that either the first or last name may
be the answer you are looking for.
References to foreign issues are common in today's crossword
puzzles. The more common languages and locations referenced are
Africa, British, English, French, France, German, Greek, Italian,
India, Indian, Spain, and Russia. In these instances, you will find
that many clues making reference to these foreign places will be
listed under their respective headings, and for the most part,
there will not be a second listing elsewhere, regardless of how the
phrase is worded.
Other common headings are dance, fabric, goddess, music/musical,
mythical Norse, Polynesian, rivers, Shakespearean, Spanish, wines,
and many more. Again, entries under these headings (and others)
will most likely not be found elsewhere in the dictionary.
Tips for solving crossword puzzles
- Above all else, be open-minded in interpreting the clue. For
example, the clue "shot" could be an adjective, a verb, or a noun.
To a large degree, the difficulty of a puzzle is determined by the
phrasing of a clue. To prompt the answer "divine," an easier puzzle
might give "heavenly" as a clue, a medium puzzle could prompt
"locate water," while a tough puzzle might supply a clue like "see
the future." A good crossword editor takes puzzles submitted by
contributors and changes the clues to adjust the difficulty and,
therefore, the entertainment value of a puzzle.
- Larger puzzles have themes, sometimes indicated with a title,
pertaining to the longer horizontal and vertical answers. The theme
is sometimes sequential pieces of a quote but can also be answers
centered on a common focus like presidents, sports, or literature.
The answers are often puns and occasionally share an unusual
syntactic substitution such as using the number "4" to replace the
letters "for" in an answer ("comfortable" becomes "com4table") or
"2" to replace the letters "to."
- Tense matters. If the clue is written in the past tense, the
answer is in the past tense. If the clue ends in "ing," the answer
must agree. Editors are never sloppy about the agreement between
clues and answers.
- Take advantage of plurals. If the clue is plural, so is the
answer. You can almost always fill in the last letter of the answer
as "s," the exception being Latin roots such as atrium/atria.
- Use answers containing common letters. There aren't many "j"
words in crossword puzzles ("raja" comes to mind). I've often seen
the clue "jai______," but I've never seen the clue "___alai." At
the other end of the spectrum, there are lots of "e" words -- "ete"
(French for "summer") and "eero" (first name of architect
"Saarinen") are obscure but commonly used crossword answers because
of the combination of common letters. If a "q" does happen to
surface, it is almost always followed by "u" in both vertical and
horizontal answers ("Qatar" is the only exception that readily
comes to mind).
- If the clue ends with a question mark, then it is some sort of
play on words. These add to the enjoyment of the puzzle by adding
humor and difficulty and by forcing the solver to be open-minded
and clever.
- Foreign language answers can be prompted in several ways. "Tia"
(Spanish for "aunt") could be tipped off as "Aunt: Sp" or "Juan's
aunt" or "Toledo aunt."
- If the clue contains an abbreviation, then the answer probably
does, too. For example, "IRS employee" could be "CPA," and "ABA
member" could be "atty," and "NCO" could be "sgt."
