printer's devilry
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.58 in modern English
24
Scrabble Score
15
Letters
4
Syllables
11
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
Alternative letter-case form of printer's devilry (“crossword puzzle”).
noun
A type of crossword puzzle where solvers have to identify the string of letters, spelling out a word, that has been removed from a sentence.
Countable; Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "In addition, based on a British form called "Printer's Devilry," each answer word has been " stolen" from its clue, wherein it was originally hidden as consecutive letters."
- "Solvers must not only complete the diagram but also send in a "Printer's Devilry" clue to the Keyword in the Playfair Square."
- "He set frequently for the Listener between 1932 and 1948, concocting such exoticisms as Printer's Devilry, Playfair and Word Ladder."
- "Remember: a Printer's Devilry clue need not make real sense in the “deviled” form offered as clue."
- "I hope that devotees of our plain puzzles will forgive my offering prizes for Apex's Mrs Printer's Devilry Theme"
- "Numbered down clues are printer's devilry passages from which the light to be entered has been removed and the gap closed, leaving the remaining letters in their original order."
Etymology
Formed by printer's devil + -ry or blend of printer's devil + devilry. As a crosswording term, coined by British crossword setter Alistair Ferguson Ritchie (Afrit).