Ximenes on the Art of the Crossword by D.S. Macnutt, Colin Dexter (2001)

by D.S. Macnutt, Colin Dexter

€61 · Offered by eBay

2001 Swallowtail Books paperback edition with foreword by Colin Dexter. Light reading wear else very good condition. The specimen crosswords have not been completed. From the cover: The purpose of this book is 'the ambitious one – perhaps too ambitious – of trying to arrive at a system of principles which can make the crossword more enjoyable and rewarding to solvers, whether they be among the millions of desultory solvers, content sometimes to fill in only part of a puzzle to pass an odd half-hour, or among the many thousands of real enthusiasts, determined to reach a full solution, whether of an easy or of a difficult puzzle.' So wrote D S Macnutt in the first chapter of this book, originally published in 1966; crossword setter for the Observer from 1939 until his death in 1971, he is better known by his pseudonym XIMENES (a Cardinal and Grand Inquisitor of Spain). The principles of crossword composition which Ximenes has laid down, with the notion that being fair to the solver is of paramount importance, have become the foundations for crossword setters. Indeed Ximenes is considered to be the father of the modern crossword puzzle. There are chapters on the construction of crossword grids, the different types of clue and the art of cluemanship; specimen crosswords old and new of differing types to attempt are included. Ximenes writes in an authoritative, yet clear and amusing, style. To quote the words of Colin Dexter, who has contributed a new foreword to this edition, 'I

• Year: 2001
• Binding: Paperback
• ISBN: 190340004X
• Condition: Very Good

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