American and British crosswords. Is there a difference? The short answer is HELL YES! Now for the long answer ... There are major differences between American-style and British-style crosswords (which are seen in Commonwealth countries too). Crosswords were started by Arthur Wynne in 1913, a British man who lived in America, so both countries claim a close connection with the development of this popular puzzle. They developed in slightly different directions in each country, which has led to the varieties we see today. American-style crosswords are almost exclusively published in America, while British-style crosswords have spread through the Commonwealth — Australia, New Zealand, Canada, South Africa, and other English-speaking nations tend to prefer this variety of the puzzle, as well as the United Kingdom, of course. A quick look at these grids will show you the most obvious difference between the two varieties : British-style Not...
I finally learnt how to spell Minuscule because of the French animated TV series. and I do that thing of pronouncing it as spelt when I'm trying to spell a word, or thinking of another form of the word - minus is spelt with a 'u', so minuscule is. cartilaginous is spelt with an 'a', so cartilage is.
ReplyDeleteand the fyoosha is named after a guy called Fuchs, so should actually be pronounced Fuksya, but understandably isn't :-)
I still struggle with sodding fluorescent jackets. maybe I can break it into Flu? or Escent?...
I learnt to spell Minuscule from that show too Deb! LOL.
DeletePity about the proper pronunciation of fuchsia ... ah well!
Yeah, flu-or-escent would work. I might use that too!
Hi Denise
ReplyDeleteAlso, yacht and rhythm. These are words I still chant in my head, letter by letter, despite having learnt to write them 40+ years ago ;-)
I was very embarrassed to discover a couple of years ago that I'd written 'dessicated' instead of 'desiccated' in a couple of spots on my food blog. Whoops. Lucky I don't have many readers ... or many readers who are editors ...!
Cheers, Karin
Desiccated / dessicated is a mistake I've made frequently too! And yes, yacht and rhythm nearly made it to the list!
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