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Crosswordese.Com |
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The Cruciverbalist |
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The Cruciverbalist
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March 15, 2006 Crosswordese Hall of Fame When analyzing the language of Crosswordese after a while there are a handful of words that tend to rise to the top. There are two criteria that the list of words below meets: they show up very often in crossword puzzles and they are words that almost no one uses in everyday conversation. All of the words below show up at least once a month for the daily solver. Also, none of them show up in the 50,000 most common words of the English language (see Jonathan Harris’s WordCount site.) In fact, most of these words are so uncommon outside of crossword puzzles that they don’t show up in the WordCount list at all. Have you noticed that all of these words begin with vowels? Apparently, that is helpful when creating a crossword puzzle. If I was a beginning crossword solver, I would memorize this list. You’re going to run into at least one of these words almost every day. Knowing these words may be the difference between finishing puzzles and almost finishing… Alai – Jai Alai (HY-lye) Game played in a court with a ball and a wickerwork racket Common clues: Jai ______; Half a Basque game Crossword puzzle frequency: once a month Frequency in English language: ‘alai’ doesn’t show up on WordCount list. ‘Jai’, however, does show up. It is the 78,351st word on the list. Alee (uh-LEE) In seaman’s language, toward the side opposite the wind Common clues: Toward the sheltered side; On the quiet side; Out of the wind Crossword puzzle frequency: 20 times a year Frequency in English language: doesn’t show up on the WordCount list Asta (AS-tuh) Film dog of the 1930s Common clues: Film canine, "The Thin Man" dog; Film pooch; Hammett hound Crossword puzzle frequency: once a month Frequency in English language: doesn’t show up on the WordCount list Asti (AH-stee) A city of Italy known for its sparkling wines. Common clues: Wine city; Piedmont wine center; Italian wine center Crossword puzzle frequency: 13 times a year Frequency in English language: doesn’t show up on the WordCount list Elia (ee-LYE-uh) Greek-born American film and theater director Common clues: Director Kazan, Lamb's literary moniker; Lamb's pen name Crossword puzzle frequency: 15 times a year Frequency in English language: 69445 / 86800 Enos (EE-naws) 1. First-born son of Seth 2. Enos Slaughter, American baseball player Common clues: Nephew of Abel, Slaughter of St. Louis, Seth's boy; Adam's grandson Crossword puzzle frequency: 14 times a year Frequency in English language: doesn’t show up on the WordCount list Epee (ay-PAY) A modern version of a dueling sword Common clues: Fencing rapier; Fencer's weapon; Olympic weapon; Blunt sword Crossword puzzle frequency: 32 times a year Crossword puzzle frequency: 32 times a year Frequency in English language: doesn’t show up on the WordCount list Erle (erl) An American lawyer and author of detective stories Common clues: Gardner of fiction; Author ____ Stanley Gardner; First name in mystery writing Crossword puzzle frequency: 16 times a year Frequency in English language: 70049 / 86800 Ewer (YOO-uhr) A decorative pitcher Common clues: Graceful pitcher; Pitcher that can't throw; Pretty pitcher; Decorative pitcher Crossword puzzle frequency: 18 times a year Frequency in English language: 55923 / 86800 Olio (OH-lee-oh) 1. A spicy stew of meat and vegetables and usually including chickpeas. 2. A miscellaneous mixture of elements, especially artistic works, musical pieces, writing, or food. Common clues: Mixture; Hodgepodge; Stew; Miscellany; Pastiche Crossword puzzle frequency: 16 times a year Frequency in English language: doesn’t show up on the WordCount list
Paul Stynsberg, Crosswordese.com © 2006 |
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