The Catholic times. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1951-current, 1955-09-16
Just Among Ourselves
Passing Comment Considered or Ineonsidsr.i.

long railway journey, and chance copy of
Cross Word Puzzle Book. Here are the elements
of scholarly review. Have forgotten all the odd.
ments of vocabulary amasSed in the hey-day Of
crosswordng back in the late l920's? How do we
stand on the sungod in two letters, and the solar
disc in four? Have we retained ready memory of
Siamese coin? Do we know the weight of India?
There time when crosswo-ds we're recon-
mended things of positive educational value.
Happily, such recommendation never carries much
weight (even that of India) with the plain sane
ordinary of people. Only those bemused spec.
ialists who spend time in institutions of higher
learning snatch at the word educational ex-
for doing what they want to do - such as
attending great conventions in centers of intellect
ual life, like Atlantic City, for instance.
Even TV is recommended sometimes as an in
strument of education and so it is, if you take
education to mean any sort of influence exercised
on emotions mind memory, or morals. Fagin in
Oliver Ttotst, who trained boys to be pickpockets
notable educator Unless you adiec-
tive like good or bad with the noun education, that
noun loses meaning it becomes cIoud-word,
vaguely and decevngly suggestive of value. 1t is
like the unrelated comparativcS used in advertising:
longer mtlder, more satisfying Mder that what?
PrussiC acid?
Well, the crossword puzzles in this book of con-
so long ago. The words that rritated father
presented for the vexation of junior For ex-
ample, the definition bitter vetch" appears with
its whilom regularity, and sometimes the puzzle
maker - tired no doubt, and no wonder, sets
down the single word "vetch" What is vetch any
how? Work it out and you find that it is synonym
for "ers" Thus does education educate.
Here you find the word "Baem". Ii looks like
proper noun, but then all the words and defn-
tons in the list begin with capital. So not know
ing what this ''Balem" may be, you work around
the word and finally key it into place; it turns out
TO be Para" or perhaps para" and, as the old
disputants used to say, red difficltaS that is, the
primal puzztement bounces back at you.
Harking back to erS, that bitter vetch thing
which sounds too foul for further investigation,
isn't is a wonder that the puzzlemen do not vary
their definition of this term? Frs could readily be
defined "favore expressions OF speakers and
panelsts:" three fourthS of formerly" Cha,
there's a bit Of subtlety); or the end Of letters
and answers, but not of correspondence" En- we
find Gin this same mine of erudte expression, the
puzzle.b book is the name Of Teutonie deity. And
leave it.
Ernie the seaeagIe is with us STILL the book
attests and so is old err the silkwo~m This same
eri could leave his sk-weavng, supposes, and
appear beginning and partial development of
city IN northwest pennsylvania or submit 10 TINS
direction: lone letter and you have seafar-
ing Norseman" But only Ted Shane could be thus
inconsderate of the coccoonguarded placidity of
err the spinner.
The pu2zIemaker is not only prosac and un-
imaginative in his definitions. He is often duly
unfair and he is frequently msinformed. II is
hardly cricket TO give the infnitve 10 embdlrn when
the answering word is the mummy Or does
the puzze-man consider that 10 mummy is salts
factory synonym for TO pllnnmug2 II is plainly a
mistake to put 10it in the word list and expect
humor in the keyed blocks And vice versa. Nor
may rightly define art by science, and science
by art Yet those educators, the puzzle makers, do
these things regularly
Is IL fair to work in Scottish expressions and
words, or French summers or Latin coniunctonS?
Is il reasonable 10 expect the puzze-Sover 10 know
that is bird, or that means lava, that II
is kind of shot? Why should a normal person
seeking mild advertisement be expected to know
that tud is Chinese pagoda, and that Turkish
regiment is known as dat9 Is the spirit pleased
or the mind enriched by knowing recognizing
such random and inconsequential words these?
These, hold are mere irritants, unfair unlusti-
fled These things do not make hard puzzle, but
poor puzzle.
II is too much perhaps to expect the puzze-men
10 indicate parts of speech for us. Yet it is dis
treSSlng TO rifle valnly through mental files IN
search of word for record tbook? list? notes?
ledger? disc? history? account?) and then find that
the word record has the proper accent the last
syllable, and is verb Even when word is known
as noun verb, there sufficient difficulties
in finding the required equivalent to fit into the
little squares Take the word Stoitch for instance,
as noun II may mean false hair; 1t may mean
electric Tor must one say electronic?) gadget;
it may mean the fork of railway; il may mean
merely change ii may mean flexible bit of
willow or hickory ardenty applied in the pro
cesSes OF early education.
Or consider the word conductor. 1t may mean
a railway official; it may mean man who leads
orchestra group of tourists; it may mean
substance that can carry electrical current
The solver of puzzles is meant to cope with diff
cultes such these But il seems out of line 10
expect him to Erappe with the troubles that come
Of not knowing what part of speech he is working
with