Crossword Companion

The solving of crossword puzzles is a kind of aerobics for the little grey cells. It puts one’s mental suppleness to the test, it taxes the staying power of one’s vocabulary, it usually produces no immediate reward, but completing the exercise gives a satisfying feeling of achievement. A fascination with words – their multiplicity, variety, oddity, their slippery ambiguity and their often chameleon-like ability to change – lurks within many people even if they have no reason to use words ot...