The Crossword Century
100 Years of Witty Wordplay, Ingenious Puzzles, and Linguistic Mischief
Since its debut in The New York World on December 21, 1913, the crossword puzzle has enjoyed a rich and surprisingly lively existence. Alan Connor, a comic writer known for his exploration of all things crossword in The Guardian, covers every twist and turn: from the 1920s, when crosswords were considered a menace to productive society; to World War II, when they were used to recruit code breakers; to their starring role in a 2008 episode of The Simpsons.
He also profiles the colorful characters who make up the interesting and bizarre subculture of crossword constructors and competitive solvers, including Will Shortz, the iconic New York Times puzzle editor who created a crafty crossword that appeared to predict the outcome of a presidential election, and the legions of competitive puzzle solvers who descend on a Connecticut hotel each year in an attempt to be crowned the American puzzle-solving champion.
At a time when the printed word is in decline, Connor marvels at the crossword’s seamless transition onto Kindles and iPads, keeping the puzzle one of America’s favorite pastimes. He also explores the way the human brain processes crosswords versus computers that are largely stumped by clues that require wordplay or a simple grasp of humor.
A fascinating examination of our most beloved linguistic amusement—and filled with tantalizing crosswords and clues embedded in the text—The Crossword Century is sure to attract the attention of the readers who made Word Freak and Just My Type bestsellers.
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Creators
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Publisher
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Release date
July 10, 2014 -
Formats
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Kindle Book
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OverDrive Read
- ISBN: 9780698157019
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EPUB ebook
- ISBN: 9780698157019
- File size: 3116 KB
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Accessibility
Publisher statement (EPUB)
The publisher provides the following statement about the accessibility of the EPUB file supplied to OverDrive. Experiences may vary across reading systems. After borrowing the book, you may download the EPUB files to read in another reading system.
Summary
This ebook features mark-up that supports accessibility and enables compatibility with assistive technology. It has been designed to allow display properties to be modified by the reader. The file includes a table of contents, a defined reading order, and ARIA roles to identify key sections and improve the reading experience. Headings allow readers to navigate the ebook quickly by level. Colors meet WCAG 2.1 Level AA contrast standards. There are no hazards.
Ways Of Reading
Appearance of the text and page layout can be modified according to the capabilities of the reading system (font family and font size, spaces between paragraphs, sentences, words, and letters, as well as color of background and text).
All content can be read as read aloud speech or dynamic braille.
Has alternative text descriptions for images.
Conformance
No information is available.
Navigation
Table of contents to all chapters of the text via links.
Elements such as headings, tables, etc for structured navigation.
Additional Information
High contrast between text and background
Color is not the sole means of conveying information
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Languages
- English
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Formats
- Kindle Book
- OverDrive Read
- EPUB ebook
subjects
Languages
- English
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