Crosswordese

Crosswordese is the group of words frequently found in US crossword puzzles but seldom found in everyday conversation. The words are usually short, three to five letters, with letter combinations which crossword constructors find useful in the creation of crossword puzzles, such as words that start or end with vowels (or both), abbreviations consisting entirely of consonants, unusual combinations of letters, and words consisting almost entirely of frequently used letters. Such words are needed in almost every puzzle to some extent. Too much crosswordese in a crossword puzzle is frowned upon by crossword-makers and crossword enthusiasts.

Knowing the language of "crosswordese" is helpful to constructors and solvers alike. According to Marc Romano, "to do well solving crosswords, you absolutely need to keep a running mental list of 'crosswordese', the set of recurring words that constructors reach for whenever they are heading for trouble in a particular section of the grid".

The popularity of individual words and names of crosswordese, and the way they are clued, changes over time. For instance, ITO was occasionally clued in the 1980s and 1990s in reference to dancer Michio Itō and actor Robert Ito, then boomed in the late 1990s and 2000s when judge Lance Ito was a household name, and has since fallen somewhat, and when it appears today, the clue typically references figure skater Midori Ito or uses the partial phrase "I to" (as in ["How was ___ know?"]).

List of crosswordese

Portions of phrases are occasionally used as fill in the blank clues. For instance, "Et tu, Brute?" might appear in a puzzle's clue sheet as "_____, Brute?"

Architecture

  • APSE – semicircular church recess
  • ELL – type of extension to a building; a measure for cloth
  • DORIC and IONIC orders – referring to ancient architecture most readily identifiable by the style of support columns
  • NAVE – the middle section of a church
  • OGEE – S-shaped curve often seen in Gothic arches
  • STOA – covered walkway of ancient Greece

Biblical references

  • CAIN and ABEL – sons of Adam and Eve in Genesis 4:1–16
  • ENOS – first-born son of Seth
  • ESAU – older twin son of Isaac
  • EDEN – biblical paradise described in Genesis 2–3 and Ezekiel 28

Brand and trade names

  • AFTA – Gillette aftershave brand
  • ATRA – Gillette safety razor brand
  • OXO – kitchen utensil brand
  • STP – motor oil additive brand
  • OREO – snack item known as "Milk's favorite cookie". In the Maleska era, to avoid brand names in the puzzle, it was invariably clued as [Mountain: Comb. form].

Computers and the Internet

  • LAN – local area network, network of computers in a limited area
  • HTML – the standard language for documents designed to be displayed in a web browser

Currency and business

  • LEK – official currency of Albania
  • LEV – former currency of Bulgaria
  • LIRA (plural LIRE) – official currency of Turkey; former currency of Italy
  • OPEC – Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries
  • PESO – official currency of many countries, including Mexico

Directions

A 16-point compass rose showing the 16 standard compass directions

Many puzzles ask for the direction from one place to another. These directions always fall between the standard octaval compass points—i.e., North (N – 0° or 360°), Northeast (NE – 45°), East (E – 90°), etc.

The directions asked for on clue sheets are usually approximations. Starting at north and going clockwise, the directions are:

  • NNE = North-northeast (22.5°)
  • ENE = East-northeast (67.5°)
  • ESE = East-southeast (112.5°)
  • SSE = South-southeast (157.5°)
  • SSW = South-southwest (202.5°)
  • WSW = West-southwest (247.5°)
  • WNW = West-northwest (292.5°)
  • NNW = North-northwest (337.5°)

Fictional characters

Food and drink

Geography

Proper names

  • AARE (or AAR) – tributary of the Rhine in Switzerland
  • ACCRA – capital of Ghana
  • ADAK – westerly island of the Aleutian Islands chain
  • AGRA – ancient city of India that is the home of the Taj Mahal
  • AMES – city of Iowa that is the home of Iowa State University
  • APIA – capital of Samoa
  • ARAL – lake of Central Asia that has largely dried up by the 2010s
  • ARLES – city of southern France where van Gogh painted
  • ARNO – river of Italy
  • ASTI – city of Italy known for its sparkling wines
  • ATTU – westernmost island of the Aleutian Islands chain
  • CAEN – World War II battle site in Normandy
  • EBRO – river of Spain
  • EDER – river of Germany
  • ELBE – river of Czechia and Germany
  • ELBA – Mediterranean island that was the site of Napoleon's first exile
  • ENID – city of Oklahoma
  • ERIE – one of the Great Lakes or its namesake city in Pennsylvania
  • ESSEN – city of Germany
  • IWO – Iwo Jima, World War II battle site in Japan
  • NEVA – river of Russia
  • ODESSA – city of Ukraine
  • OISE – river of France and Belgium
  • OJAI – city in southern California
  • OMAHA – largest city of Nebraska
  • OREM – city near Provo, Utah
  • OSLO – capital of Norway
  • OUSE – river of Yorkshire, England
  • RENO – city of Nevada
  • RIGA – capital of Latvia
  • SOHO – neighborhood in London (Soho) or neighborhood in New York City (SoHo)
  • ST. LO – Saint-Lô, World War II battle site in Normandy
  • URAL – river and mountain range of Russia
  • YSER – river of France and Belgium

General terms

  • ADIT - mine entrance
  • ARÊTE – thin ridge of rock that formed by glaciers
  • MESA – high-elevation area of rock that stands out from its surroundings
  • TOR – rock outcrop formed by weathering

Interjections

  • AHEM – used to represent the noise made when clearing the throat
  • EGAD – used to express surprise (dated)
  • HAHA – used to represent laughter
  • HMM – used to express uncertainty
  • PHEW – used to express relief
  • PSST – used to attract someone's attention
  • WHOA – used to express surprise
  • WOWEE (or WOWIE) – used to express astonishment
  • YEA – used as an affirmative response

Jargon and slang

  • ALEE – in nautical language, toward the side opposite the wind
  • ARO – clipping of aromantic
  • TEC – old slang for a detective

Language

Because of crossword rules that restrict the usage of two-letter words, only entries of three or more letters have been listed.

ABCDEFGHIJKLM
Singular ayebeeceedeen/aeffgeeaitchn/ajaykayelln/a
Plural ayesbeesceesdeesn/aefs/effsgeesaitchesn/ajayskaysels/ellsems
NOPQRSTUVWXYZ
Singular n/an/apeecuen/aessteen/aveedouble-un/awyezee/zed
Plural ensohspeescuesarsessesteesn/aveesdouble-usexs/exes/xeswyeszees/zeds

Often these letters are clued as puns, e.g. the clue [Puzzle center?] for ZEES, referring to the two Zs in the center of the word "puzzle".

The "zed" spelling of Z is often indicated by a reference to a Commonwealth country, where that is the standard pronunciation (e.g. [British puzzle center?] for ZEDS).

Greek letters often appear as well, such as ETA.

Manmade items

  • AWL – pointed tool used for punching holes in leather
  • ETUI – small purse often used to hold sewing supplies
  • EWER – decorative pitcher
  • OBI – sash worn with a kimono
  • OLIO – miscellaneous mixture of elements, especially artistic works, musical pieces, writing, or food
  • OLLA – ceramic stew pot
  • ULU – knife traditionally used by Yup'ik, Inuit, and Aleut women

Mathematics

Music

  • ADAGIO – tempo marking that means "play slowly"
  • A DUE – musical direction that means "for two"
  • A FLAT (or B FLAT, etc.)
  • A MAJOR (or A MINOR, B MAJOR, etc.)
  • ARCO – musical direction that means "with the bow"
  • ARIA – solo in an opera
  • ASSAI – musical direction that means "very"
  • A TEMPO – musical direction that means "resume (original) speed"
  • LARGO – tempo marking that means "play slowly"
  • LEGATO – musical direction that means "play smooth and connected"
  • LENTO – tempo marking that means "play very slowly"
  • POCO – musical direction modifier that means "somewhat" (literally "a little")
  • RIT – abbreviation for "ritardando"
  • STAC – abbreviation for "staccato"
  • TACET – musical direction to rest

Names

Nature

  • ACAI – Amazonian palm fruit
  • AERIE – high nest of a bird of prey
  • AGAVE – spiky succulent plant of the desert used to make tequila
  • ALOE – succulent plant. Often refers to Aloe vera, a common cosmetic ingredient and sunburn-relieving gel
  • ANIL – plant used to make indigo dye
  • ASH – common tree
  • ASP – Egyptian snake
  • ASTER – flower whose name means "star"
  • AUK – common seabird
  • AWN – bristle on some grasses
  • BOA – type of snake
  • BOSC – type of pear
  • CALLA – kind of lily
  • EFT – juvenile phase of the newt
  • EIDER – kind of duck used for their down feathers
  • ELAND – African antelope
  • ELK – large deer
  • EMU – large flightless bird of Australia
  • ERNE (or ERN) – sea eagle
  • GNU – another name for the wildebeest
  • IBEX – goat living in mountains
  • IBIS – wading bird that was venerated in ancient Egypt
  • IRIS – common flower
  • KUDU – kind of antelope
  • MOA – extinct bird of New Zealand
  • NENE – goose endemic to Hawaii (and its state bird)
  • OCA – tuber of South America
  • OKAPI – relative of the giraffe
  • OKRA – pod vegetable used in gumbo
  • ORCA – another name for the killer whale
  • RHEA – large flightless bird of South America (sometimes refers to Rhea Perlman or the goddess Rhea)
  • SEDGE – family of grassy marsh plants
  • SEGO – kind of lily (state flower of Utah)
  • SEPAL – flower part that supports the petals
  • SLOE – fruit plant used to make a type of gin
  • SMEW – kind of duck
  • TARO – root vegetable used in poi
  • TERN – common seabird
  • TIT – common bird related to the chickadee
  • TSETSE – disease-carrying insect of Africa (TSE is sometimes clued as [half an African fly][citation needed])
  • UDO – Japanese herb
  • UGLI – Jamaican citrus fruit

Non-English words

  • À MOI and À TOI – (French) "mine" and "yours" respectively
  • AMI or AMIE – (French) "friend"
  • ANO (more properly AÑO; the tilde is usually ignored) – (Spanish) "year"
  • AVEC – (French) "with"
  • BESO – (Spanish) "kiss"
  • EAU (plural: EAUX) – (French) "water"
  • ERSE – (Scottish Gaelic)
  • ESA and ESO – (Spanish) feminine and masculine pronouns
  • ESTA and ESTO – (Spanish) feminine and masculine pronouns
  • ET TU – "Et tu, Brute?", (Latin) the alleged last words spoken by Julius Caesar after being stabbed by his friend Brutus
  • ÉTAT – (French) "state", as in "coup d'état"
  • ÉTÉ – (French) "summer"
  • ÊTRE – (French) "to be", as in "raison d'être"
  • FRAU – (German) "woman", "wife" or "Mrs."
  • HERR – (German) "Mister (Mr.)"
  • HOC – ad hoc, (Latin) meaning "pertaining to a specific problem"
  • ICI – (French) "here"
  • IRAE – "Dies irae" (Latin) "Day of Wrath", medieval hymn used in the Roman Catholic Requiem Mass
  • ÎLE – (French) "island", as in "Île-de-France"
  • MÁS – (Spanish) "more"
  • MES – (French) "my"; Spanish for "month"
  • MLLE and MME – French abbreviations for "Mademoiselle" and "Madame" respectively
  • ORO – (Spanish) "gold"
  • REATA – (Spanish) "lasso"
  • ROI – (French) "king"
  • SEL – (French) "salt"
  • SES – (French) possessive plural adjective, "its".
  • SRA and SRTA – (Spanish) abbreviations for "señora" and "señorita" respectively
  • STE – (French) abbreviation for "sainte", as in Sault Ste. Marie
  • TES – (French) possessive plural adjective, "your".
  • TÊTE – (French) "head", as in "tête-à-tête"
  • TÍA and TÍO – (Spanish) "aunt" and "uncle" respectively
  • UNE – (French) Feminine singular indefinite article. Equivalent to "a" or "an" in English.
  • VENI, VIDI, VICI – (Latin) phrase spoken by Julius Caesar meaning "I came, I saw, I conquered"

Poetic phrases and terms

  • E'EN – contraction of "even"
  • E'ER – poetic contraction of "ever"
  • ERE – poetic synonym of "before"
  • ERIN – poetic name for Ireland
  • O'ER – contraction of "over"

Prefixes

  • AERO- – relating to flight and air
  • PYRO- – relating to fire and heat

Suffixes

  • -ASE – a suffix used to form the names of enzymes
  • -ESE – a suffix used to indicate a language or ethnicity
  • -ISM – indicating a belief or principle
  • -IST – indicating an adherent to a belief or principle
  • -ITE – a suffix with several meanings, including a faithful follower of a certain person, a mineral, and a native of a certain place
  • -OSE – a suffix in chemistry indicating sugar or "full of"
  • -ULE – a suffix meaning small

Religion and mythology

Roman numerals

Many puzzles ask for Roman numerals either as answers or as portions of answers. For instance:

  • a puzzle might ask for the solution of 1916 − 1662 as "MCMXVI minus MDCLXII." The answer (254) would be written as CCLIV.
  • IIII, sometimes used on clocks as the number 4.
  • LEOIV is the answer to a clue about Pope Leo IV.
  • a puzzle might ask which Super Bowl was the first to be played in Tampa, Florida. The answer is XVIII.

Standard Roman numerals run from 1 to 3999, or I to MMMCMXCIX. The first ten Roman numerals are:

I,II,III,IV,V,VI,VII,VIII,IX,andX.

The following table shows the numerals used in crossword puzzles.

Symbol Value
I 1 (one)
V 5 (five)
X 10 (ten)
L 50 (fifty)
C 100 (one hundred)
D 500 (five hundred)
M 1,000 (one thousand)

Science

  • OZONE – a pale-blue, inorganic molecule
  • XENON – a colourless noble gas with symbol 'Xe' and atomic-number '54'

Sports and gaming

Team nicknames

Scoreboard abbreviations

Titles of books, plays, movies, etc.

Titles used by royalty and the nobility

  • AGA (or AGHA) – Turkish honorific for a high-level government official
  • BEY – the governor of a district or province in the Ottoman Empire
  • EMIR – a title given to princes and/or sheikhs who rule certain Arab countries; formerly, alternative spellings included AMIR, AMEER, and EMEER
  • PASHA – high Ottoman military rank
  • RAJA (or RAJAH) and RANI (or RANEE) – former Indian monarch and wife (often clued as a princess)
  • SRI – South Asian honorific

Transportation

U.S. states and Canadian provinces

Postal abbreviations: Since the late 1970s, the post offices in the United States and Canada have used computerized letter sorting. This prompted the creation of the two-capital-letter abbreviations used today for all states and most provinces (i.e., "MN" for Minnesota and "QC" for Quebec). Previously, when mail was sorted by hand, many states and provinces had abbreviations of three to five letters. Many of these longer abbreviations are now part of crosswordese. (Notes: (1) Except for Texas, states with four- or five-letter names were generally spelled out. (2) Other states and provinces not shown below had the same two-letter abbreviations that are still used today.)

Weaponry and warfare

Miscellaneous crosswordese

  • ALAMO – mission in San Antonio, Texas, where the Battle of the Alamo took place
  • ARA – constellation of the Southern Hemisphere
  • CREE – indigenous people of northern North America, especially what is now Canada
  • ECRU – pale color similar to beige; from French écru, meaning "raw, unbleached"
  • LAIC – of the laity (non-clergy)
  • NÉE – designates woman's surname before marriage; literally French for "born"
  • ORE – rock mined for metal
  • OTOE – indigenous people of what is now Nebraska, also OTO
  • SCALA – La Scala, opera house in Milan, Italy
  • UTE – indigenous people of what is now Utah

Outdated crosswordese

These once-common terms are especially rare or never found in new puzzles.

References

  1. ↑ Romano, Marc (2006). "Puzzle Neophyte Seeks Puzzle Mentor". Crossworld: One Man's Journey into America's Crossword Obsession (1st pbk. ed.). New York: Broadway Books. p. 69. ISBN 978-0-7679-1758-2.
  2. ↑ Kurzman, Charles; Katz, Josh (February 6, 2016). "What 74 Years of Crossword History Says About the Language We Use". The New York Times. Retrieved February 9, 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Der, Kevin; Pasco, Paolo (13 June 2018). "How to Make a Crossword Puzzle". The New York Times. Retrieved August 9, 2020.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Shortz (2004), p. 807.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 Shortz (2004), p. 808.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Master The Secrets Of Crosswordese". Dictionary.com. October 8, 2018. Retrieved January 3, 2023.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Amlen, Deb (May 20, 2019). "'Start the Music!'". The New York Times. Retrieved February 9, 2023.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Shortz (2004), p. 810.
  9. ↑ Amlen, Deb (January 16, 2018). "Warm Winter Coat Contents". The New York Times. Retrieved February 9, 2023.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 Shortz (2004), p. 811.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "How Well Do You Know Your 'Crosswordese?'". The New York Times. 28 November 2017. Retrieved August 9, 2020.
  12. ↑ Macdonald, Moira (January 7, 2022). "Meet Jeff Chen, the Seattle man who's published more than 125 crosswords in The New York Times". The Seattle Times. Retrieved February 9, 2023.
  13. ↑ Fabi, Rachel (August 14, 2022). "A Typical Crossword Cookie". The New York Times. Retrieved February 9, 2023.
  14. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 Shortz (2004), p. 809.
  15. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Ezersky, Sam (30 May 2018). "15 French Words That Will Raise Your Crossword Game". The New York Times. Retrieved August 9, 2020.
  16. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Amlen, Deb (15 February 2018). "10 Spanish Words That Will Raise Your Crossword Game". The New York Times. Retrieved August 9, 2020.
  17. 1 2 3 "Submit Your Crossword Puzzles to The New York Times". The New York Times. January 3, 2023. Archived from the original on February 1, 2023. Retrieved February 9, 2023.
  18. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Maynes-Aminzade, Liz (February 15, 2023). "Will Shortz's Life in Crosswords". The New Yorker. Retrieved February 15, 2023.
  19. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Ezersky, Sam (12 April 2018). "The Crossword Zoo: 10 Animals You Should Know". The New York Times. Retrieved August 9, 2020.
  20. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Amlen, Deb; Ezersky, Sam (19 July 2017). "8 Opera Terms That Will Raise Your Crossword-Solving Game". The New York Times. Retrieved August 9, 2020.
  21. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Peremes, Donna (November 26, 2013). "On the grid: Those funny words we rarely see outside the crossword puzzles". The Washington Post. Retrieved February 24, 2023.
  22. ↑ Amlen, Deb (April 1, 2021). "Grand Opening for a Casino". The New York Times. Retrieved February 9, 2023.
  23. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Ezersky, Sam (15 August 2018). "The Crossword Garden, Part Two: 8 Fruits and Vegetables You Should Know". The New York Times. Retrieved August 9, 2020.
  24. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Shortz (2004), p. 806.
  25. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Ezersky, Sam (13 November 2019). "The Crossword Travel Guide: 10 Cities You Should Know". The New York Times. Retrieved August 9, 2020.
  26. 1 2 3 Eschner, Kat (December 21, 2016). "Why Crossword Puzzles Are Still Mostly Written By Humans". Smithsonian. Retrieved February 9, 2023.
  27. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Veltman, Noah (February 4, 2013). "Calculating 'crosswordiness' of answers: how to do it and what it shows us". The Guardian. Retrieved February 24, 2023.
  28. ↑ Amlen, Deb; Ezersky, Sam (12 July 2017). "12 European Rivers That Will Help You Raise Your Crossword Game". The New York Times. Retrieved August 9, 2020.
  29. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Shortz (2004), p. 812.
  30. 1 2 3 4 Connor, Alan (February 8, 2013). "Crossword blog: the words that puzzle setters love". The Guardian. Retrieved February 24, 2023.
  31. ↑ Amlen, Deb (22 April 2019). "What the Heck Is That?: Ars". The New York Times. Retrieved August 9, 2020.
  32. ↑ Amlen, Deb (March 14, 2021). "They Get Smashed at Parties". The New York Times. Retrieved February 9, 2023.
  33. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Ezersky, Sam (February 6, 2019). "The Crossword Symphony: 12 Musical Terms And Solving Tips". The New York Times. Retrieved February 9, 2023.
  34. 1 2 3 4 Raphel, Adrienne (September 9, 2021). "What Has One Eye and 1,200 Heads? An Old English Riddle, That's What!". The New York Times. Retrieved February 9, 2023.
  35. 1 2 Fabi, Rachel (August 15, 2022). "Interlocking Puzzle". The New York Times. Retrieved February 9, 2023.
  36. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Ezersky, Sam (7 August 2019). "The Griddy Awards, Part 2: 10 Male Actors You Should Know". The New York Times. Retrieved August 9, 2020.
  37. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 Mather, Victor (May 22, 2015). "Where Ott and Orr Are Most Valuable: 15 Across, or Maybe 7 Down". The New York Times. Retrieved February 9, 2023.
  38. ↑ Amlen, Deb (7 April 2020). "Who the Heck Is That?: Isao". The New York Times. Retrieved August 9, 2020.
  39. 1 2 3 4 Amlen, Deb (19 April 2017). "10 Sports Names That Will Help You Become a Better Crossword Solver". The New York Times. Retrieved August 9, 2020.
  40. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Ezersky, Sam (November 21, 2018). "The Crossword Library: 11 Authors You Should Know". The New York Times. Retrieved February 9, 2023.
  41. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Ezersky, Sam (May 8, 2019). "The Griddy Awards, Part 1: 10 Female Actors You Should Know". The New York Times. Retrieved August 9, 2020.
  42. 1 2 Amlen, Deb (May 12, 2019). "Early Railroad Tycoon". The New York Times. Retrieved February 9, 2023.
  43. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "The Shortz List of Crossword Celebrities". Slate. 27 January 2012. Retrieved October 26, 2018.
  44. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Ezersky, Sam (July 18, 2018). "The Crossword Garden, Part One: 10 Plants You Should Know". The New York Times. Retrieved February 9, 2023.
  45. 1 2 3 4 5 "10 Baseball Terms That Will Help You Become a Better Crossword Solver". The New York Times. 1 April 2017. Retrieved August 9, 2020.
  46. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Ezersky, Sam (2 March 2018). "These Words Are for the Birds: A Crossword Aviary". The New York Times. Retrieved August 9, 2020.
  47. ↑ Amlen, Deb (April 20, 2022). "Plant Watcher". The New York Times. Retrieved February 9, 2023.
  48. ↑ McKean, Erin (2009-02-15). "Farewell, etui". Boston.com. Archived from the original on 2009-03-03.
  49. ↑ Amlen, Deb (September 3, 2019). "'Look at the Size of This Thing'". The New York Times. Retrieved February 9, 2023.
  50. ↑ Amlen, Deb (July 16, 2017). "Miscellany". The New York Times. Retrieved February 9, 2023.
  51. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Ezersky, Sam (26 December 2017). "10 Greek Mythological Characters to Help You Raise Your Crossword Game". The New York Times. Retrieved August 9, 2020.
  52. ↑ Amlen, Deb (7 May 2018). "What the Heck Is That?: OED". The New York Times. Retrieved August 9, 2020.
  53. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Ezersky, Sam (19 September 2018). "The Crossword Garage: 8 Car Makes and Models You Should Know". The New York Times. Retrieved August 9, 2020.
  54. ↑ Liu, Wyna (May 5, 2022). "The Folded Puzzle". The New York Times. Retrieved February 9, 2023.
  55. ↑ Lovinger, Caitlin (July 23, 2022). "Going Somewhere?". The New York Times. Retrieved February 9, 2023.
  56. ↑ Aronow, Isaac (October 6, 2021). "How Word Lists Help — or Hurt — Crossword Puzzles". The New York Times. Retrieved February 14, 2023.
  57. ↑ https://www.wordplays.com/crossword-clues/EMAG

Works cited