crosswords

Noun

crossword (plural crosswords)

1. (puzzles) A word puzzle in which interlocking words are entered usually horizontally and vertically into a grid based on clues given for each word.
2. (broadly, informal) The grid of such a puzzle.
   • HOW TO ENTER::Fill in the crossword and send it to CROSSWORD No.54, DRUM, 176 Main Street, Johannesburg1957, Drum: A magazine of Africa for Africa, page 72
3. (obsolete) The words in an acrostic puzzle from which the letters are to be taken.
   • DOUBLE ACROSTIC. My primals and finals are the same as the first crossword. Crosswords--(1) A castle in Spain. (2) The quantity contained in a ladle. (3) A convulsive sound which comes from the throat.[…]1895, The Woman at Home, page 399
4. (obsolete) A crossword enigma poem.
   • A CROSSWORD. My first is in army but not in fort. My second is in prisoner but not in court.[…]1874, Alfred Emanuel Smith, Francis Walton, Outlook, page 237