Product Description

With more than 1,000,000 answers, this volume contains more than twice as many answers as any other crossword dictionary. More important, it is the first crossword dictionary ever to comprehensively cover the clues and answers that actually appear in today's most popular crosswords, including contemporary slang, phrases, and brand names.

Meticulously compiled by two crossword professionals with a combined thirty years in the field, and based on a massive analysis of current crosswords, there has never been a crossword dictionary with the breadth, depth, and currency of this one. From Jim Carrey to Sister Carrie, Homer Simpson to Homer's Iliad, the wide-ranging entries include 500,000+ synonyms, 3,000+ literary works, 5,000+ films, 20,000+ famous people from all fields, and more than 100,000 fill-in-the-blank clues so popular in today's crosswords.

Featuring an introduction by New York Times crossword editor Will Shortz, The Million Word Crossword Dictionary makes every other crossword dictionary obsolete.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #17557 in Books
• Published on: 2005-02-17
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 1280 pages

Review
"This book is unlike any crossword reference I've ever seen. A must for the crossword aficionado." (Rich Norris, Los Angeles Times crossword editor )

"You'll find 40 entries here under 'comprehensive.' I'd say that pretty well sums it up." (Mike Shenk, Wall Street Journal crossword editor )

"Surely the most comprehensive crossword clue-and-answer resource ever compiled..." (Emily Cox and Henry Rathvon, Boston Globe and Atlantic Monthly crossword creators )

"[An] excellent resource." (Library Journal )

A boon to solvers of crossword puzzles. You can even find names of pain relievers and rental cars! (Word Ways: The Journal of Recreational Linguistics )

"The largest, most up-to-date, and most useful crossword dictionary available." (from the Introduction by Will Shortz, New York Times Crossword Editor )

"...this remarkable book is destined to be not just another crossword dictionary, but the crossword dictionary." (Wayne Robert Williams, Chicago Tribune crossword editor )

"Newman and Stark. . .know what should (and shouldn't) be in a 21st-century crossword dictionary. . . .This is the book you want. " (Fred Piscop, Washington Post Magazine crossword editor )

"Long overdue but well worth the wait, this is the only crossword dictionary you'llever need." (Merl Reagle, San Francisco Chronicle crossword creator )

About the Author

Acclaimed puzzle creator, editor, and publisher Stanley Newman is crossword editor for Newsday, with puzzles syndicated worldwide. He holds the world record for the fastest completion of a New York Times crossword.

Customer Reviews

The best Crossword Puzzle book I've found to date.
An excellent crossword puzzle help book; it is a compilation of Crossword definitions that have been taken from other puzzles over the past 10 years.

What I liked...

1.)It features an extensive list of words, abbreviations, acronyms, phrases, and fill in the blanks in phrases and sayings.

2a.)It also gives detailed information on authors (and their books), actors and actresses (listing their movies), sports and sport persons, musicians, movies with stars, directors and music and Oscars; this is, of course, in addition to a huge volume of 'normal' crossword puzzle definition and answers.

2b.)there are foreign countries listed (with notable points of interest) as well as common words found in many foreign languages

3.)Answers to definitions are listed first by word size, e.i. 3, 4, 5, letters etc. and then all these words are listed alphabetically; for example, If you looked up the word 'MEANING' you'd find: 3...aim, use 4...gist, goal, pith 5...drift, heart, and so on.

Minor concerns:

1.)The book is large (1,268 pages) and heavy, making it a significant weight to be toted around. (not unexpected, I guess, for the quantity [and quality as well] of material it holds)

2.)The printing is somewhat small; most of us 'older' folks will need reading glasses to see the offered answers comfortably.

3.)Some shading at the edges of the pages would have be very useful to indicate where each letter of the alphabet started; possibly using different colors may have helped even more.

Conclusion:
I love challenging crossword puzzles; this book has provided the best help for finding most tough clues that I've come across. 5 Stars

Best crossword puzzle resource I've found
I bought this book for my father. He says it's the greatest book around for working crossword pussles. The only problem he has with it it the print is very small and he has a difficult time reading it. He gets by with a magnifying glass, but said he'd like to have one with bigger print.

New Wave solvers rejoice!
A New Wave crossword puzzle is as likely to ask the name of the dog from "The Fusco Brothers" as the name of the longest river in Spain. Now there's a New Wave dictionary in which solvers can find answers to these and many other clues found in the modern newspaper crossword.

Categories I discovered within this tome include modern items such as computer terms, movies and TV shows, novels, pop tunes. For those of you who still like the old style of puzzles, you'll still find standard categories like nymphs, Indian tribes and cities in Kentucky.

If you can't remember the cast of "June Bride," Stevie Nicks songs, or the name of a specific breakfast cereal, you will find "The Million Word Crossword Dictionary" indispensible.