Crosswordese

Crosswordese is a term generally used to describe words frequently found in crossword puzzles but seldom found in everyday conversation. They are usually short words, three to five letters, with letter combinations which crossword constructors find useful in the creation of crossword puzzles. This is frequently because short words that start with a vowel are needed in every puzzle to some extent. Too much crosswordese in a crossword puzzle is considered a negative thing by cruciverbalists, or crossword enthusiasts.

Knowing the language of ‘crosswordese’ is helpful to constructors and solvers alike. According to Marc Romano, “to do well solving crosswords, you absolutely need to keep a running mental list of “crosswordese,” the set of recurring words that constructors reach for whenever they are heading for trouble in a particular section of the grid.”