Crosswords, Crosswords Everywhere

December 21st, 1913: English immigrant and Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra violinist Arthur Wynne's "Word Cross" puzzle was printed in the New York World's Sunday edition, marking the first time such a word game saw newsprint! His basis for the puzzle was a reversal of an ancient Pompeiian word game in which players tried to fit words into a grid in a way that could be read both across and down. Those games in turn were based on a mathematical format called "Magic Squares" which surfaced around 650 BCE. As the world descended into the first global war, people clung to such puzzles as a momentary distraction: a few minutes a day they could think about something other than the escalating conflict and the horrendous new weapons that eventually claimed 20 million lives.

More papers—at first in the United States and England—picked up the puzzles as the craze grew, but there was one stalwart: The New York Times. The paper went so far as to publish articles railing against such frivolities appearing in newspapers, even as cruciverbalists clamored for theTimes to join the fun. It took the start of WWII for the paper to fold, agreeing that Americans needed a fun distraction from the new horrors that were unfolding. They did not enter the puzzle game lightly though: if they had to start publishing such games they would only publish the best! (you can play the first one they published here) Since then The New York Times Crossword has become something of a gold standard for these puzzles. Think you have what it takes to stand among the crossword giants there? Click here to find out everything you need to submit a puzzle!

In the last century, Crossword Puzzles (as they were later called) have become possibly the most popular word puzzles on the planet. Newspapers around the world now print them every day, and in 1997 Variety Games Inc. patented the first computer crossword game: Crossword Weaver.

These days there are millions of crossword puzzles online, and many websites that allow you to create your own much easier than Arthur Wynne and the others who had to create them by hand before such innovations. Still, the job is not easy and it requires a keen mind, knowledge of trivia, research skills, and the ability to combine everything into a coherent (and fun!) puzzle. According to the Economic Research Institute, the average crossword puzzle maker in the United States earns over $71,000! 

If this blog got you in the mood for some word-puzzle fun, the NYPL has you covered: our collection has everything you need to play and create crosswords, and every month you can join us for Lunchtime Crosswords and work with other patrons to complete a staff-made Criss-Cross Puzzle!

50 Fun-Filled Crosswords & Word Searches Based on Favorite Books by Steve Herrmann

In this great resource, you'll find a time-saving, kid-pleasing crossword and word search puzzle for 25 of your students' favorite books such as Matilda, Harriet the Spy, How to Eat Fried Worms, Dear Mr. Henshaw, and My Side of the Mountain. The puzzles are perfect for focusing on key vocabulary and assessing reading comprehension. Also includes classroom-tested prompts for each book that invite students to think, discuss, and write. For use with Grades 4-8.

Crossword Century: 100 Years of Witty Wordplay, Ingenious Puzzles, and Linguistic Mischief by Alan Connor

A British comic writer at The Guardian  explores the history of the crossword puzzle, which made its debut in 1913 and went from being considered a menace to productivity to being used to recruit codebreakers by the military.

Thinking Inside the Box: Adventures with Crosswords and the Puzzling People who Can't Live Without Them by Adrienne Raphel

A delightful, erudite, and immersive exploration of the crossword puzzle and its fascinating history by a brilliant young writer. The award-winning author of What Was It Forpresents an immersive history of the crossword puzzle that discusses its 1913 invention, roaring commercial success, perilous digital transformations and popularity among millions, including famous celebrities.

A Crossworder's Gift: Five Short Tales by Nero Blanc

Five Yuletide mysteries for readers to solve along with crossword legend Belle Graham and PI Rosco Polycrates. The husband-and-wife sleuth team is back in five tales of holiday mystery and mayhem!

From Square One: A Meditation, With Digressions, On Crosswords by Dean Olsher

Dean Olsher's captivating and in-depth exploration of the cultural history, psychology, and even metaphysics of crosswords—their promise of a world without chaos and uncertainty. It is often repeated that more than 50 million Americans do crossword puzzles on a regular basis. Skeptical of that claim, Dean Olsher does his own research and finds that the number is nearly dead-on. Filled with lively, original reporting, From Square One disputes the widely held belief that solving crosswords helps prevent Alzheimer's; in fact, the drive to fill in empty spaces is more likely a mental illness than a cure. While "puzzle addiction" is usually meant as a lighthearted metaphor, the term contains more than a nugget of truth.

Crossword Puzzle Dictionary by Andrew Swanfeldt 

Encompassing more than 300,000 answer words and hundreds of new and expanded geographical and cultural entries, this authoritative reference provides extensive coverage of up-to-date technological terms, mythological figures, personalities, and much more.

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Summaries provided via NYPL’s catalog, which draws from multiple sources. Click through to each book’s title for more.