Cruciverbalism : a crossword fanatic's guide to life in the grid

if You Love Crosswords, cruciverbalism Is Bound To Enhance Your Puzzling Pleasure. Acclaimed Crossword Expert Stanley Newman Takes You Behind The Grid To Show What Really Makes Crossword Puzzles (and Their Creators) Tick—and Offers Proven Strategies That Will Make You A Better Solver. Stan Reveals… The Untold Story Of The Victory Of The Young Crossword Turks Over Puzzledom's Old Guard, Paving The Way For The Lively, Contemporary Crosswords You Enjoy Today…why It's Become A Tradition For Daily Newspaper Puzzles To Increase In Difficulty During The Week…common Solving Mistakes, And Why It's Better To Focus On One Area Of A Puzzle At A Time…why You Shouldn't Feel Guilty About Consulting Performance-enhancing Reference Works…100 Essential Words Crossworders Need To Know…the Woman Who Made Crosswords What They Are Today…the Hidden Rules Of The Grid That Will Make You A Better Clue Sleuth, Including Evocatives, Partials, Hedgers, And The Rare But Devious Basic Confusables…the Five Championship-clinching Traits Of The Gridmasters…and More. You'll Even Discover A Philosophy For Approaching Crosswords That, Come To Think Of It, Works Pretty Well For Life, Too—and Makes It A Lot Of Fun! publishers Weekly crossword Puzzle Fans Will Eat Up This Entertaining Stew Of History, Arcana And Personalities In This Memoir-cum-instruction Manual By Longtime Newsday Crossword Editor Newman And Wall Street Journal Deputy Books Editor Lasswell. And Woven Into The Mix Is A Great Lesson In How To Engineer A Midlife Career Switch. Newman, An Advocate Of New Wave Crosswords, Gleefully Describes His War With Pedantic Eugene Maleska, The New York Times Crossword Editor From 1977 To 1993, A David-vs.-goliath Tale. But Newman Doesn't Neglect The Nuts And Bolts About Difficulty Levels (contrary To Popular Belief, Sunday Isn't The Hardest Puzzle Of The Week: It's About Midweek-level, But Bigger), The Types Of Clues Used By Constructors And The Most Effective Ways To Approach Puzzle Solving (start With An Easy Clue And Try To Fill In That Entire Section Before Moving On). Newman Touts The Health Benefits Of Puzzling, Citing Studies That Show It Can Help Ward Off Alzheimer's And Senile Dementia. He Also Provides Some Interesting Trivia Bits, Among Them, That The Late Seagram's Chairman Edgar Bronfman's Passion For Puzzles Helped Newman Finance A Lincoln Town Car, And Many Of The Puzzles Appearing In Daily Newspapers Are Constructed By Prison Inmates. (nov.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information. For the millions of people who do crosswords, the person behind the puzzle is always something of a mystery. What puzzler wouldn't want to know how a constructor thinks when putting together a puzzle? Or the secret rules that guide the selections of clues and answers? Or how to outsmart the constructor by understanding his mindset? A few tips about how to improve solving skills wouldn't hurt, either. Putting it all together in an accessible and witty "guide to life in the grid" is just what everybody wants and needs. CRUCIVERBALISM will help people become better solvers and have more fun doing crosswords. It will also pull back the curtain on puzzle–making itself, outlining the history of crosswords, showing how they have evolved over the past century, and how rules and the mindsets of puzzle editors have changed over time. It will pass along the guidelines the author provides to his stable of puzzle constructors, and tidbits such as the "100 essential words" for the pursuit of crossword happiness. Finally, it will recount the decade–long battle between Old Guard and New Wave constructors, bringing in a cast of colorful characters living in a world of words. The book will be a combination of crossword self–help, wisdom, trivia and stories that will fascinate today's millions of avid puzzlers.