Printable Crosswords Drama in World War II

In 1944, The Daily Telegraph used a printable crosswords in several of their editions that Allied security officers didn't like. Some of the answers to the puzzle were in fact secret code names for an upcoming military campaign which was known as Operation Overlord! The word "Utah" first appeared in the May 2nd edition. "Utah" was the code name for a particular landing site. The next few puzzles also contained "Mulberry" and "Omaha", which were harbors.

Four days before the invasion on June 2nd, the puzzle answers consisted of two critical worlds: "Neptune" and "Overlord". The creator of the printable crosswords was Leonard Dawe, a school teacher. He was immediately arrested and spent hours being questioned. It was ultimately decided that it was purely a coincidence, and Mr. Dawe was released and no charges were filed. It is interesting to note that this exact story has been used time and time again to show that pure coincidence and assumptions can often lead to tragic end results!

In 1984, one of Dawe's former students claimed that he had been eavesdropping on the soldiers' conversations, and had suggested to Mr. Dawe that he use them in his puzzles. This of course has never been verified, and the book Crossworld: One Man's Journey into America's Crossword Obsession (which is a very good book, I might add) sites several reason as to why this story is false.

It's amazing that a printable crosswords would stir up such a controversy!

Printable Crosswords Grid Types

Many people don't realize that there are different types of grids used to create printable crosswords. What I find really interesting is that the types of grids are more common among different regions and cultures in the world. While there are subtle differences between the crosswords in North America and Britain, The Japanese have added additional rules to those that are typically followed elsewhere.

The typical North American crossword puzzle is made up of solid chunks of white squares, with black squares strategically placed throughout the grid. As a general rule, an answer requires at least three characters. Another general rule is that the black squares will make up about 1/6th of the grid's design. In other places such as Australia, their grids are more of a lattice-like structure with a higher number of black squares, leaving almost half of the letters in an answer unchecked. In other words, if the top row has a single answer running entirely across the top row, there will be no answers running in parallel with it below.

Another variation popular in Britain is that the grid is symmetrical at 180 degrees. No matter if you hold the paper right-side-up or up-side-down, you'll visually see the same grid pattern! Usually these designs require that all white cells are connected in one mass through shared sides, forming a polyomino.

The Japanese, always adding complexity to everything, have two additional rules they follow. First, black squares may not share a side. Secondly, the black square must corner to a white square.

No matter what the type of printable crosswords your dealing with, they usually follow standard sizes. Most "weekday" puzzles that you'll find in a newspaper will be a grid made up of 15 x 15 squares. But on the weekends, when you have more time, the grid increases to 21 x 21. Puzzle books that you might purchase may be even bigger, including 23 x 23, 25 x 25, or even 30 x 30! Luckily when we're dealing with printable crosswords, we can get as rudimentary as we want or as elaborate as possible! Helen Marie has a lot more information about the various grid types used in printable crosswords on her site as well.

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!