From Crosswords to High-Level Language Competency
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DOCID: 3860656 f. pp1·oved for Reiease by MSA on 12-12-~0 ase # 47627 UNCLASSIFIED Cryptologic Quarterly Spring/Summer 2005 From Crosswords to High-Level Language Competency Jeffrey Knisbacher The Historical Context that the first daily crossword appeared, not in the World but in the New York Herald Tribune. It On December 21, 1913, the modern crossword was also in 1924 that the first book of crossword puzzle was invented in New York City by an immi puzzles appeared, from the fledgling firm of grant from Liverpool, a journalist named Arthur Simon and Schuster, which grew to become one of Wynne. the world's publishing giants on the heels of that initial success. The first New York Times puzzle That first puzzle was introduced in the "Fun" appeared only in 1930, and a regular Sunday puz section of the New York World, a paper founded zle was instituted in 1942. By 1950 the Times in 1860, which lasted over 100 years until its Sunday puzzle had become so popular that a daily demise as the New York World Journal Tribune version was instituted, which, in the 1960s, was in 1967. Joseph Pulitzer (memorialized by the syndicated to other papers across the country. To Pulitzer Prize) had purchased the paper in 1883 this day it remains the epitome of challenge for and ran it until his death in 1911. serious puzzle fans. The crossword puzzle came into being in the It was only in 1922, after the end of the "Great heyday of sensationalism and wild publicity, War," that the first such puzzle appeared in when, for lack of competition from other media Britain, and in 1924 the Sunday Express was per almost every large city had multiple newspapers suaded to run some crosswords, the first of which vying for readership. America in 1913 was a very was co-authored by its inventor Arthur Wynne. different place than it is today. In a sense, the The puzzle's popularity soared there, too, but with crossword puzzle was the last gasp of a contradic a twist. The Brits found the original form too tory era of poverty and opulence, corruption and "American." They began modifying the entries to reform that was coming to a sudden and unfore fit British usage, sometimes dispensed with what seen close \vith the imminent outbreak of World by then, in the U.S., had become the standard War I. But it was also, perhaps, the most success square grid with symmetrical black fills (using ful product of that era, having spread around the heavy bars instead to indicate word boundaries world to become a staple of daily life almost the so-called "barred crosswords"), and, most sig everywhere. (See the reproduction of that puzzle nificantly, changed the nature of the clues. To in the next section of this paper.) make them more difficult, they created the "cryp tic crossword" (the style that appears today in the Crossword Development London Times). The clues in this type of puzzle have two parts, a normal one, and a second that Whatever the reasons, that first crossword (or makes use of anagrams, puns, cryptograms, and Word Cross as it was initially termed) was wildly other kinds of wordplay to severely challenge the successful, with immediate calls from readers for solver. By 1926 this form, the rules for which had more of the same. For the next ten years, the New been laid down by A. F. Ritchie and D. S. Macnutt, York World was the sole publisher, but, for rea had become a staple in Britain, and the Observer sons unknown, the crossword puzzle was never had hired a full-time "setter" (puzzle constructor), copyrighted or trademarked. It was only in 1924 who gleefully adopted the pseudonym UNCLASSIFIED Page 19 DOCID: 3860656 UNCLASSIFIED Cryptologic Quarterly Spring/Summer 2005 ' "Torquemada" (real name Edward Powys That first crossword puzzle invented by Mathers). Arthur Wynne back in 1913 differed from most of today's American offerings in several ways. That real brainpower was needed to solve Instead of being square, it was diamond-shaped; these puzzles led to a unique contest. Early in the definitions were not given under separate 1942 the Daily Telegraph ran a misleading ad, horizontal and vertical headings, but rather via offering to donate one hundred British pounds to beginning and end numbers, both of which were the Minesweeping Fund if, under controlled con included \vithin the grid; and, hence, there was no ditions, anyone could solve their crossword puz need for blacked-out squares to indicate word zle in less than twelve minutes. In fact, the ad was divisions. (It should be noted that some of these a ploy to recruit intelligence agents to work on features are still used in specialty puzzles and in enemy ciphers at Bletchley Park. The half dozen many foreign puzzles.) One feature of this early or so successful entrants went on to become part puzzle later became standard: No two-letter of the team that ultimately broke the German words were allowed. On the other hand, Wynne Enigma, a very significant contribution to the war did use the same word twice ("dove," 10-11 across, effort. where it is defined as a bird, and 19-28 down, where it is defined as a pigeon. Finally, there was another feature in this early puzzle that is still - I F u N 2 J 4 32 5 6 7 s 9 10 l1 12 I 13 I 17 !14 15 11> I lS ., 20 21 22 23 24 2S 21> 33 27 29 29 lo 31 34 ~ The world's first crossword puzzle By Arthur Wynne, December 21, 1913 from The New York World (Solution here <http://crosswordtournament.com/more/wynne2. html>) What bargain hunters enjoy. 6-22. What we all should be. A written acknowledgment. 4-26. A daydream. Such and nothing more. 2-11. A talon. Page 20 UNCLASSIFIED DOCID: 3860656 UNCLASSIFIED Cryptologic Quarterly Spring/Summer 2005 :; 10-11. A bird. 19-28. A pigeon. 14-15. Opposed to less. F-7. Part of your head. 18-19. What this puzzle is. 23-30. A river in Russia. 22-23. An animal of prey. 1-32. To govern. 26-27. The close of a day. 33-34. An aromatic plant. 28-29. To elude. N-8. A fist. 30-31. The plural of is. 24-31. To agree with. 8-9. To cultivate. 3-12. Part of a ship. 12-13. A bar of wood or iron. 20-29. One. 16-17. What artists learn to do. 5-27. Exchanging. 20-21. Fastened. 9-25. To sink in mud. 24-25. Found on the seashore. 13-21. Ahoy. 10-18. The fibre of the gomuti palm. seen but is usually decried by serious puzzle mak During her tenure at the Times, she also set other ers and puzzle solvers: the use of "crosswordese," conventions that have become standard, e.g., that is, words that are so obscure that even the puzzles would become more difficult as the week most literate members of society are unlikely to progressed, reaching a peak with the Sunday have ever seen them. offering. The idea was that people going back to work on a Monday (and in those early days every In the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s, certain other body, it seemed, did the puzzles on the bus or trends became established practice for many train to work) neede<l to get back up to speed after daily newspapers in the U.S. Even before that, a relaxing weekend. Moreover, there wasn't as Margaret Petherbridge Oater Farrar) had done much time to devote in the middle of the week. away with Wynne's dual numbering system, From early on it was realized that single word marking word boundaries by blacked out solutions were not challenging enough, so squares, which had to be symmetrically arranged. Margaret Farrar was the first to allow multiple (The puzzle must have the same grid structure if word phrases that later progressed to made-up turned upside down, which prevents even-num phrases within specific parameters, and even ber sized grids.) Later she set a related formatting whole quotations stretching over several grid standard that is still generally followed: No more lines. (The best puzzle designers try to avoid, as than 16 percent of the total squares in the grid much as possible, very common, short "fill" could be blacked out. (Note that the British style words, for which there are published lists avail of cryptic crossword, with "barred grids" -thick able.) Gradually slang and jargon made their way lines "\Nithin the grid to indicate word boundaries, into the puzzles, along with trade names, person with no black squares to waste space-does not al names, abbreviations and acronyms, ono require symmetry and, hence, may be of any size, matopoeia, common foreign words and phrases, even or odd.) roman numerals, historical figures, and just about everything from popular culture and cur Margaret had been hired on as Wynne's assis rent events. Quite typically, also, daily puzzles are tant at the World when the demand for puzzles 1sx1s grids while the Sunday offering expands to became unmanageable, and later became the first a 21x21 format (or, occasionally, a 23x23 format). crossword editor at the Times, where she reigned for nearly thirty years before being forced into During the war years, New York Times pub mandatory retirement at the age of 72 in i969. lisher Arthur Hays Sulzberger became addicted to UNCLASSIFIED Page 21 DOCID: 3860656 UNCLASSIFIED Cryptologic Quarterly Spring/Summer 2005 ~ the Herald Tribune's crossword and came to the 1.