Printable Crosswords History

The first official printable crosswords was created by Liverpudlian Arthur Wynne, and was published on December 21st, 1913 in the New York World, then called a "word-cross". It was an instant success, and quickly became a feature done weekly in the newspaper. From 1913 to 1924, the New York World was the only publication printing crosswords. In 1924, a publishing company called Simon & Schuster published a compilation of New Your World's puzzles in book format, and a new craze was born.

Word squares have been dated back all the way to the Romans, and have been found in the ruins of Pompeii. Word squares are a bit different than a printable crosswords, and we'll cover that elsewhere. But in England in the 19th century, word squares re-emerged and had become the basis for primitive crosswords puzzles for children. Usually, pictures would be used as hints to help solve the puzzles.

It is interesting that the New York Times never realized the printable crosswords craze, or bothered to enter the market. It wasn't until one Sunday in 1942 that the New York Times printed a crossword puzzle. In 1950, the New York Times introduced a daily printable crossword puzzle. Today, they have expanded to include word jumbles, word searches, cryptic crossword puzzles, diagramless puzzles, acrostics, and other word games.

Today, printable crosswords can be found just about anywhere. My favorite resources is the check-out isle at the local grocery store. It seems every week there are different books filled with crosswords. They also variate in size, which fits my lifestyle well. I can buy a few small ones to carry in my back pocket, or shirt pocket if I know I'm going to be out running around all day. For the evening time, I like a nice legal-sized book that I can curl up on the couch with and spread out to easily read by the dim light.

So now that we've covered some of the very basic history of crossword puzzles, next we'll learn the various types of grids used to create printable crosswords.

If you are interested in making your own printable crosswords, you should look at selling the crosswords you make. Not only do you, your family, and your friends get to enjoy the themed-based puzzle you put together for them, but you can make a buck or two just for your efforts! Something to check out for the hardcore printable crosswords junkie!