--- title: "A crosswording miscellany" url: https://daily.dev/posts/a-crosswording-miscellany-mlb508fht source_url: https://quuxplusone.github.io/blog/2026/07/28/puzzle-miscellany type: article source: "Arthur O'Dwyer" published: 2026-07-28T15:10:42.545Z updated: 2026-07-28T15:13:32.813Z reading_time: 6 upvotes: 0 comments: 0 language: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # A crosswording miscellany **[Arthur O'Dwyer](https://daily.dev/sources/quuxplusone)** · 6 min read · 0 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary A personal review of Natan Last's 2025 book 'Across the Universe: The Past, Present, and Future of the Crossword Puzzle,' finding it stylistically exhausting due to half-told anecdotes and overwrought similes. The post uses this as a springboard for a miscellany of crossword-related curiosities: Nabokov's butterfly-shaped Russian crossword from 1926, Georges Perec's French crosswords, Stephen Sondheim's cryptic crosswords for New York magazine (credited with introducing cryptics to American audiences), and a recommendation for Coral Amende's 'The Crossword Obsession' as a superior alternative. Various entertaining anecdotes about crossword constructors and solvers are shared along the way. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [Möbius-strip crosswords](https://daily.dev/posts/m-bius-strip-crosswords-tckdkfhes) · Arthur O'Dwyer · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [JS Crossword](https://daily.dev/posts/js-crossword-xswjlnobh) · Lobsters · 10 upvotes · 2 comments - [Why are online puzzle games having a moment?](https://daily.dev/posts/why-are-online-puzzle-games-having-a-moment--mj0k81p4p) · The Verge · 1 upvotes · 0 comments - [Try my addictive new word game, Cross Fall\! It’s retro goodness.](https://daily.dev/posts/try-my-addictive-new-word-game-cross-fall-it-s-retro-goodness--xf8wvevbu) · Medium · 2 upvotes · 0 comments --- [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/a-crosswording-miscellany-mlb508fht)