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Q: |
What is the brief historical background of Crossword Puzzles? |
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A: |
A crossword puzzle consists of a diagram, usually rectangular, divided into
blank (white) and cancelled (black/shaded) squares. This diagram is
accompanied by two lists of numbered definitions or clues, one for the
horizontal (across) and the other for the vertical (down) words, the numbers
corresponding to identical numbers on the diagram. Into each of the blank
squares of the diagram a certain letter of the alphabet is to be inserted,
forming the words fitting the numbered definitions or clues. The words cross
each other, or interlock, which gives the puzzle its name. In early days of
the the twentieth century, the Crossword used to be known as either "Word
Cross" or in certain regions as "Word Square". The first crosswords were seen in England during the 19th century. They were of an elementary kind apparently derived from the word square, a group of words arranged so the letters read alike vertically and horizontally, and printed in children's puzzle books and various periodicals. In the United States, however, the puzzle developed into a serious adult pastime. The first modern crossword puzzle was published during 1913 in the New York World's Sunday supplement, Fun. It appeared as only one of a varied group of mental exercises, but it struck the fancy of the public. By 1923, crosswords were being published in most of the leading American newspapers, and the craze soon crossed the borders of USA towards Europe, particularly England. Soon almost all daily newspapers in the United States and Great Britain used to have a crossword of some or the other kind. In the year 1913, the first known modern crossword was published in United States and it was a great success and, consequently, it became a weekly feature. The name "Word Cross" eventually evolved into the presently recognized name "Crossword". Gradually, the craze of the people for this medium of edutainment went on increasing. And, as a result of this, the publishers were motivated to publish the Crossword puzzles in the form of books or booklets giving the collection of puzzles hitherto printed in the daily or weekly magazines. Such books met with unexpected successes. Today, it is hard to find a newspaper or a magazine, in any country of the world, that doesn't publish one or more of the different forms of crossword puzzles, whether daily or on a periodical basis. Of course, along with the standard crossword puzzle, you can also find the various other forms of the word games. Britain, on the other hand, gave birth to and popularized cryptic crossword puzzles. To solve a cryptic puzzle, you have to evolve the clue itself as well as the definition, based on indirect hints given. In countries of Asia, somehow, albeit unfortunately, the craze for crossword puzzles as a medium of entertainment-cum-education has picked up only recently. But that has so far been confined to upper middle or higher classes. The common man is still disillusioned by the kind of crossword puzzles, offered to him in the conventional newspapers and magazines, which are based on the higher end and rather based on too classical literature of the west, which he never had the opportunity to read. Thus the black letters in the crossword puzzles appeared to him just as complex as the buffalo. Consequently, in the developing countries, the crossword puzzles had been viewed as something belonging to the western upper classes. A boring game, was the general impression of a common man in any developing country. As a result, there was no room for accepting the crossword puzzle as a means of either entertainment or education in such countries/classes. Hence a need has been felt to provide an avenue for the crossword puzzles based on day to day themes, with a view to providing him with a seat of learning while playing rather than grappling with highly classical and cryptic solutions. References: http://www.crosswordtournament.com/more/wynne.html |