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
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
ASTA – dog of Nick and Nora Charles in The Thin Man movies AHAB – protagonist of Melville's Moby-Dick ELSA – princess from the 2013 film Frozen. Also Elsa the lioness or Elsa von Brabant. ENOLA – Enola Holmes from the mystery series of the same name ENT – treelike species in Middle-earth ESMÉ – title character of J. D. Salinger's short story "For Esmé—with Love and Squalor" EWOK – furry species in the Star Wars universe IAGO – Iago, villain of Shakespeare's Othello; or Iago, parrot in Disney's Aladdin ISOLDE – medieval character depicted in Wagner's Tristan und Isolde ILSA – Ilsa Lund, Ingrid Bergman's character in Casablanca ODIE – dog in the comic strip Garfield OPIE – Ron Howard's character on The Andy Griffith Show ORC – goblinlike species in Middle-earth SMEE – Captain Hook's assistant in Peter Pan TOTO – Dorothy's dog in The Wizard of Oz
Food and drink
AIOLI – condiment similar to mayonnaise, usually with garlic ALOO – Potato, in Hindi GROG – alcoholic beverage made of heated low-alcohol beer, rum and a variety of flavorings such as lemon or lime juice, cinnamon and sugar MAHI – Persian (borrowed into Hindi–Urdu) for fish. More often refers to mahi-mahi NEHI – line of fruit-flavored soft drinks from the Royal Crown Company. Grape Nehi was the favorite drink of Radar O'Reilly on the TV series M*A*S*H MSG – monosodium glutamate, flavor enhancer; also sometimes clued as an abbreviation for "message" or Madison Square Garden OLEO – used as a synonym for margarine ORT – scrap of leftover food PHO – Vietnamese soup POI – mashed taro root dish
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. A B C D E F G H I J K L MSingular aye bee cee dee n/a eff gee aitch n/a jay kay ell n/aPlural ayes bees cees dees n/a efs/effs gees aitches n/a jays kays els/ells ems N O P Q R S T U V W X Y ZSingular n/a n/a pee cue n/a ess tee n/a vee double-u n/a wye zee/zedPlural ens ohs pees cues ars esses tees n/a vees double-us exs/exes/xes wyes zees/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 RADII – plural of radius, straight line from the centre of a circle to its circumference
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
AGEE – James Agee, American novelist and critic ALDA – Alan Alda, American actor who starred in M*A*S*H (1972–1983) ALI – Various people, including Muhammad Ali and Ali Baba ALOU – Alou family of American baseball players (Felipe, Matty, Jesús, and Moisés) ANKA – Paul Anka, Canadian-American singer, songwriter and actor AOKI and ISAO – Isao Aoki, Japanese golfer ARIE – Arie Luyendyk, Dutch race car driver; or India Arie, American singer ARLO – Arlo Guthrie, American folk singer AROD – Alex Rodriguez ("A-Rod"), American baseball player ARP – Jean Arp, German Dadaist sculptor ASCH – Sholem Asch, Polish-American writer in the Yiddish language ASHE – Arthur Ashe, American tennis player ASNER – Ed Asner, American actor who played Lou Grant AUEL – Jean M. Auel, American author of the best-selling Earth's Children series AYN – Ayn Rand, American writer and philosopher BAER – Max Baer, American boxer BARA – Theda Bara, American silent film actress CID – El Cid, Castilian soldier of the 11th century DENG – Deng Xiaoping, leader of China in the 1980s EDA – Eda LeShan, American psychologist and childcare expert EDD – Edd Roush, American baseball player EDIE – Edie Adams; Edie Falco, American actress who starred on The Sopranos (1999–2007) EERO – Eero Saarinen, Finnish-American architect ELBA – Idris Elba, English actor ELI – Various people, including American football quarterback Eli Manning ELIA – pen name for Charles Lamb; Elia Kazan, Greek-born American film and theater director ELIE – Elie Wiesel, Holocaust survivor and author of Night (1960) ELKE – Elke Sommer, German actress ELLA – Ella Fitzgerald, American jazz singer ELS – Ernie Els, South African golfer (sometimes refers to the "El" trains of Chicago) EMIL – Emil Jannings, winner of the first Academy Award for Best Actor ENO – Brian Eno, English musician and record producer ENYA – Enya, Irish singer of New Age music ERIQ – Eriq La Salle, American actor who starred on ER ERLE – Erle Stanley Gardner, American detective author who created Perry Mason ERNO – Ernő Rubik, inventor of the Rubik's Cube ERROL – Errol Flynn, American actor who played swashbucklers ERTE – Erté, Russian-born French graphics and costume designer in the Art Deco style ESAI – Esai Morales, American actor of Puerto Rican descent ETTA – Etta James, American blues and R&B singer; American singer Etta Jones EVERT – Chris Evert, American tennis player EWAN – Ewan McGregor, Scottish actor