In the midst of life’s hustle and bustle, sometimes it’s good to take a break and do something solitary. For those of you who enjoy doing crossword puzzles, we have you covered!
Quoting a bit of background information from The American Crossword Puzzle Tournament:
“Crossword puzzles are said to be the most popular and widespread word game in the world, yet have a short history. The first crosswords appeared 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 known published crossword puzzle was created by a journalist named Arthur Wynne from Liverpool, and he is usually credited as the inventor of the popular word game. December 21, 1913 was the date and it appeared in a Sunday newspaper, the New York World. Wynne’s puzzle(see below) differed from today’s crosswords in that it was diamond shaped and contained no internal black squares. During the early 1920’s other newspapers picked up the newly discovered pastime and within a decade crossword puzzles were featured in almost all American newspapers. It was in this period crosswords began to assume their familiar form. Ten years after its rebirth in the States it crossed the Atlantic and re-conquered Europe.“
We also carry the CROSSWORDS A TO Z DICTIONARY. Test your brain power, and as always, thank you for making our shelves your destination.
Annie's Book Stop of Worcester 