Ximenes on the Art of the Crossword
Jeremy Goulstone
lucky enough to own a copy - I have generated HTML and PDF versions of
"Ximenes on the Art of the Crossword", D. S. Macnutt's seminal work on
crossword construction.
These can be viewed at
http://www2.dynamite.com.au/jeremyg/ximenes/index.htm.
I have tried (with the help of Peter Biddlecombe, to whom I extend my
thanks) to ascertain the copyright holder, but without success. The book has
been out of print for over 30 years, and the original copyright rested with
the author, who died in 1971. If anyone knows with whom the copyright now
rests, I would be extremely grateful for the information, so that I can seek
(retrospective) permission for making the book available.
If you spot any errors please let me know so that I can corrrect the pages -
though in some cases you may be fooled by the author's sometimes archaic and
idiosyncratic ways of expressing himself.
For those who are interested, the grids, diagrams and solutions were
produced using Antony Lewis' Crossword Compiler (Version 5.02) and Ross
Beresford's Sympathy (Version 1.4), as appropriate.
Enjoy!
Jeremy Goulstone
ande...@my-deja.com
"Jeremy Goulstone" <Jeremy.G...@axon.com.au> wrote:
> For anyone who is interested in reading it - and because I happen to
be
> lucky enough to own a copy - I have generated HTML and PDF versions of
> "Ximenes on the Art of the Crossword", D. S. Macnutt's seminal work on
> crossword construction.
>
> These can be viewed at
> http://www2.dynamite.com.au/jeremyg/ximenes/index.htm.
>
Many thanks to you and Peter for the large amount of work you must have
put into this. It's really excellent.
Phil
Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Before you buy.
Theresa Gies
You are a saint. Thank you!
Theresa
Martin Julian DeMello
> Jeremy,
> You are a saint. Thank you!
What she said.
--
Martin DeMello
Yap Yok Foo
<Jeremy.G...@axon.com.au> wrote:
>These can be viewed at
>http://www2.dynamite.com.au/jeremyg/ximenes/index.htm.
All I got when accessing the page using Netscape was
Not Found
The requested object does not exist on this server. The link you
followed is either outdated, inaccurate, or the
server has been instructed not to let you have it.
--------------------------------------------
Then I tried Microsoft Internet Explorer and got this
The page cannot be found
The page you are looking for might have been removed, had its name
changed, or is temporarily unavailable.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Please try the following:
If you typed the page address in the Address bar, make sure that it is
spelled correctly.
Open the www2.dynamite.com.au home page, and then look for links to
the information you want.
Click the Back button to try another link.
Click Search to look for information on the Internet.
HTTP 404 - File not found
Internet Explorer
I copy and paste the url so there is no chance of a mistake on my part
What's up ? or rather what's down ?
**************From Uncle Yap**************
The Malaysian News & Discussion Group
=====================================
Read or subscribe to this group at http://www.eGroups.com/list/beritamalaysia/
To subscribe by e-mail, send e-mail to
beritamalays...@egroups.com
To unsubscribe by e-mail, send e-mail to
beritamalaysi...@egroups.com
Just The Malaysian News
=======================
To subscribe:just send blank e-mail to bmalaysia...@onelist.com
To unsubscribe: bmalaysia-...@onelist.com
Once registered and subscribed, you will get the daily articles about Malaysia delivered to your e-mail box
charlotte
if you get this much positive feedback, just imagine what it would have
been like if you'd written the thing in the first place!
--charlotte
(cher...@yahoo.co.uk)
ande...@my-deja.com
the full PDF from the site, but I've only just had success after eight
long attempts.
If anyone is also having trouble I would be more than happy to email a
copy to them, which ought to make life a little easier. Just send me an
email at ande...@hotmail.com and I'll send a copy of the file back to
you.
Cheers
Phil
Edwin A. Enstrom
Your browser is probably timing out. The web page is located on a virtual
web server named "ICE" at Dynamite.com.au
"ICE" is very a propos, because the server is practically frozen. When I
pinged the machine at 203.17.154.34, three out of four packets were dropped.
I was eventually able to connect to the web page in IE 5.5, but the download
freezes. I was trying to download the entire 490KB file, which should
normally take about three minutes. IE download told me that it would take
over 17 hours, so I quit.
I don't know the time difference between Malaysia and Australia, but you
might try connecting when it is the middle of the night in Australia.
Good luck,
Ed
"Yap Yok Foo" <yf...@pop.jaring.my> wrote in message
news:hv9avscs1egfo5s0b...@4ax.com...
Surendar Jeyadev
Yap Yok Foo <yf...@pop.jaring.my> wrote:
>On Mon, 23 Oct 2000 20:51:46 +1000, "Jeremy Goulstone"
><Jeremy.G...@axon.com.au> wrote:
>
>>These can be viewed at
>>http://www2.dynamite.com.au/jeremyg/ximenes/index.htm.
^
OMIT this full stop!!
>
>All I got when accessing the page using Netscape was
>
>Not Found
>
>The requested object does not exist on this server. The link you
>followed is either outdated, inaccurate, or the
>server has been instructed not to let you have it.
>
>--------------------------------------------
>Then I tried Microsoft Internet Explorer and got this
>
>The page cannot be found
>The page you are looking for might have been removed, had its name
>changed, or is temporarily unavailable.
>
>--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>Please try the following:
>
>If you typed the page address in the Address bar, make sure that it is
>spelled correctly.
>
>Open the www2.dynamite.com.au home page, and then look for links to
>the information you want.
>Click the Back button to try another link.
>Click Search to look for information on the Internet.
>
>HTTP 404 - File not found
>Internet Explorer
>
>I copy and paste the url so there is no chance of a mistake on my part
>What's up ? or rather what's down ?
Uncle Yap,
Perchance you included the final full stop in the address -- see above.
DO NOT DO THAT! You should have no problems if you avoid it -- I just
tried it.
Good luck,
sj
--
Surendar Jeyadev jey...@wrc.xerox.com
Surendar Jeyadev
Jeremy Goulstone <Jeremy.G...@axon.com.au> wrote:
>For anyone who is interested in reading it - and because I happen to be
>lucky enough to own a copy - I have generated HTML and PDF versions of
>"Ximenes on the Art of the Crossword", D. S. Macnutt's seminal work on
>crossword construction.
>
>thanks) to ascertain the copyright holder, but without success. The book has
>been out of print for over 30 years, and the original copyright rested with
>the author, who died in 1971. If anyone knows with whom the copyright now
>rests, I would be extremely grateful for the information, so that I can seek
>(retrospective) permission for making the book available.
>
>If you spot any errors please let me know so that I can corrrect the pages -
>though in some cases you may be fooled by the author's sometimes archaic and
>idiosyncratic ways of expressing himself.
>
>For those who are interested, the grids, diagrams and solutions were
>produced using Antony Lewis' Crossword Compiler (Version 5.02) and Ross
>Beresford's Sympathy (Version 1.4), as appropriate.
>
>Enjoy!
>
>Jeremy Goulstone
Many thanks for this excellent effort. If I could only get a copy of
St. Barnard's book .......
--
Surendar Jeyadev jey...@wrc.xerox.com
Yap Yok Foo
>I don't know if anyone else has been experiencing trouble downloading
>the full PDF from the site, but I've only just had success after eight
>long attempts.
The url given is faulty as it included an extraneous 'period'
Copy and paste this corrected url
http://www2.dynamite.com.au/jeremyg/ximenes/index.htm
Thanks to Roger King for spotting the error
P & J Biddlecombe
individual chapters rather than the entire document. A set of two or
three chapters will probably keep you busy while you wait for the rest
to come through.
Peter Biddlecombe
PS Despite his generous thanks, the work involved is entirely Jeremy's
apart from finding a tiny number of misprints and trying unsuccessfully
to reach the copyright owner.
In article <svc14d6...@corp.supernews.com>, Edwin A. Enstrom
<eens...@ucs.net> writes
>Uncle Yap,
>
>Your browser is probably timing out. The web page is located on a virtual
>web server named "ICE" at Dynamite.com.au
>"ICE" is very a propos, because the server is practically frozen. When I
>pinged the machine at 203.17.154.34, three out of four packets were dropped.
>I was eventually able to connect to the web page in IE 5.5, but the download
>freezes. I was trying to download the entire 490KB file, which should
>normally take about three minutes. IE download told me that it would take
>over 17 hours, so I quit.
>
>I don't know the time difference between Malaysia and Australia, but you
>might try connecting when it is the middle of the night in Australia.
>
>Good luck,
>Ed
>
>"Yap Yok Foo" <yf...@pop.jaring.my> wrote in message
>news:hv9avscs1egfo5s0b...@4ax.com...
--
Peter & Jacqueline Biddlecombe (pete&j...@biddlecombe.demon.co.uk)
['pet...@biddlecombe.demon.co.uk' also works if the ampersand causes trouble]
Web site: http://www.biddlecombe.demon.co.uk
A. Melon
wrote:
>All I got when accessing the page using Netscape was
>
>Not Found
>
>The requested object does not exist on this server. The link you
>followed is either outdated, inaccurate, or the
>server has been instructed not to let you have it.
>
>--------------------------------------------
>Then I tried Microsoft Internet Explorer and got this
>
>The page cannot be found
>The page you are looking for might have been removed, had its name
>changed, or is temporarily unavailable.
>
Try this
http://www2.dynamite.com.au/jeremyg/ximenes/
Should work.
cgr...@my-deja.com
jey...@wrc.xerox.com wrote:
> Many thanks for this excellent effort. If I could only get a copy of
> St. Barnard's book .......
>
> --
>
> Surendar Jeyadev jey...@wrc.xerox.com
>
SJ,
You mean the book The Anatomy of the Crossword by D. St. P. Barnard?
Barnard's book classifies the clues more elaborately than Macnutt's and
the author gives quaint names for some clue-types. He also has useful
notes on grid construction.
I had D. S. Macnutt's book too, with a local bookseller importing a
single copy for me sometime in the late Sixties. An ill-meaning friend
borrowed this book, never to return it.
By reading Ximenes on the Art of the Crossword, I gained a lot of
appreciation of this craft and it was this that impelled me to turn into
a compiler. Macnutt's book was one of the earliest on the crossword.
Though many other books have come afterwards (Alec Robins' book in the
original Taech Yourself series, for example), I am always endeared to
Macnutt's seminal work.
It is a pity that no reprint of this book is available (espcially when
we see less superior books masquerading under different titles by
different publishers), for I would any day prefer to read a printed
book, holding it in my hands,
Rishi
in Madras, Inida
Peter Kewley
>For anyone who is interested in reading it - and because I happen to be
>lucky enough to own a copy - I have generated HTML and PDF versions of
>"Ximenes on the Art of the Crossword", D. S. Macnutt's seminal work on
>crossword construction.
much alive and that it is held by the author's widow. She is in her 80s
and I have spoken to her recently. She and her family are looking
closely at the possibilities for publishing either in print or on the
Web. I suggest you remove the copy from your site!
Peter Kewley
Theresa Gies
>
> I would like to warn you that the copyright for this book is still very
> much alive and that it is held by the author's widow. She is in her 80s
> and I have spoken to her recently. She and her family are looking
> closely at the possibilities for publishing either in print or on the
> Web. I suggest you remove the copy from your site!
Oh, I sure hope they'll publish in print. I'd really love to have a
bound copy.
Since you know the author's widow and family, it's too bad you couldn't
put them in touch with Jeremy as well. If they decide to put in on the
web, they may wish to speak with him re. the formatting he's done. And
there's an obvious opportunity. I'm sure most people would be willing
to pay for the privilege of having already read the web version. Seems
only right to pay an artist for his work. They may wish to make it
known where to send a cheque. In all seriousness.
Theresa
Yap Yok Foo
<p...@barnlib.demon.co.uk> wrote:
>I would like to warn you that the copyright for this book is still very
>much alive and that it is held by the author's widow. She is in her 80s
>and I have spoken to her recently. She and her family are looking
>closely at the possibilities for publishing either in print or on the
>Web. I suggest you remove the copy from your site!
Mr Peter Kewley is right.
Copyright will only lapse on the 50th anniversary of the death of the
author.
Juha Hyvönen
> Copyright will only lapse on the 50th anniversary of the death of the
> author.
It is 70 years.
I think it is not the anniversary [day] but the year of death.
Copyrights expire January 1st at 00:00, after 70 years have
passed after the year of death of the author. So it is always
more than 70 but less than 71 years.
++juh
Surendar Jeyadev
>In article <8t4p0d$dc2$1...@news.wrc.xerox.com>,
> jey...@wrc.xerox.com wrote:
>
>> Many thanks for this excellent effort. If I could only get a copy of
>> St. Barnard's book .......
>>
>> --
>>
>> Surendar Jeyadev jey...@wrc.xerox.com
>>
>
>SJ,
>
>You mean the book The Anatomy of the Crossword by D. St. P. Barnard?
Yes. And guess what? The only copy that I can think of is the one in
the British Council library in Madras. Now, the next time you happen
to be on Mount Road (I prefer the old names! -- and you are not
doing the Chennai bit, I see), maybe, you can check
whether it is still there! As I read it in 1969, it must be pretty
tattered by now, if they still have the same copy on the shelves :-)
Miss that library.
>Barnard's book classifies the clues more elaborately than Macnutt's and
>the author gives quaint names for some clue-types. He also has useful
>notes on grid construction.
>I had D. S. Macnutt's book too, with a local bookseller importing a
>single copy for me sometime in the late Sixties. An ill-meaning friend
>borrowed this book, never to return it.
>By reading Ximenes on the Art of the Crossword, I gained a lot of
>appreciation of this craft and it was this that impelled me to turn into
>a compiler. Macnutt's book was one of the earliest on the crossword.
>Though many other books have come afterwards (Alec Robins' book in the
>original Taech Yourself series, for example), I am always endeared to
>Macnutt's seminal work.
>It is a pity that no reprint of this book is available (espcially when
>we see less superior books masquerading under different titles by
>different publishers), for I would any day prefer to read a printed
>book, holding it in my hands,
Tragedy, indeed. I due the bookshop routine every time I am in the UK
and am saddened to see the meagre selection of books on crosswords on
the shelves. The biggest downer was the Waterstone's in Oxford -- when
I asked for the section, I was pointed out a shelf that contains what
would be termed 'TV Crosswords' in the US! (Instead, I did find many
copies of Dennis Rodman's biography, proudly displayed!!)
>Rishi
>in Madras, Inida
My comment was made in the spirit of repeating the excellent work
done in bringing Ximenes' book back to life -- I would not mind
doing a similar job with St. Barnard's.
--
Surendar Jeyadev jey...@wrc.xerox.com
charlotte
Where does this leave Walt Disney in his cryogenic slumber?
--charlotte
(cher...@yahoo.co.uk)
ars longa vita brevis
> lucky enough to own a copy - I have generated HTML and PDF versions of
> "Ximenes on the Art of the Crossword", D. S. Macnutt's seminal work on
> crossword construction.
> thanks) to ascertain the copyright holder, but without success. The book has
> been out of print for over 30 years, and the original copyright rested with
> the author, who died in 1971. If anyone knows with whom the copyright now
> rests, I would be extremely grateful for the information, so that I can seek
> (retrospective) permission for making the book available.
> If you spot any errors please let me know so that I can corrrect the pages -
> though in some cases you may be fooled by the author's sometimes archaic and
> idiosyncratic ways of expressing himself.
> For those who are interested, the grids, diagrams and solutions were
> produced using Antony Lewis' Crossword Compiler (Version 5.02) and Ross
> Beresford's Sympathy (Version 1.4), as appropriate.
> Enjoy!
> Jeremy Goulstone
Could you please share the book again?
Thanks.
Rob
> Hello,
> Could you please share the book again?
> Thanks.
David A
> For anyone who is interested in reading it - and because I happen to be
> lucky enough to own a copy - I have generated HTML and PDF versions of
> "Ximenes on the Art of the Crossword", D. S. Macnutt's seminal work on
> crossword construction.
> These can be viewed at
> http://www2.dynamite.com.au/jeremyg/ximenes/index.htm.
> I have tried (with the help of Peter Biddlecombe, to whom I extend my
> thanks) to ascertain the copyright holder, but without success. The book has
> been out of print for over 30 years, and the original copyright rested with
> the author, who died in 1971. If anyone knows with whom the copyright now
> rests, I would be extremely grateful for the information, so that I can seek
> (retrospective) permission for making the book available.
> If you spot any errors please let me know so that I can corrrect the pages -
> though in some cases you may be fooled by the author's sometimes archaic and
> idiosyncratic ways of expressing himself.
> For those who are interested, the grids, diagrams and solutions were
> produced using Antony Lewis' Crossword Compiler (Version 5.02) and Ross
> Beresford's Sympathy (Version 1.4), as appropriate.
> Enjoy!
> Jeremy Goulstone
My father wrote this article for The Times, back in the day, and being a Times man myself, I too tend to subscribe to Hazlitt and Humpty Dumpty when it come to crosswords, as my critics constantly remind me!
"Sounds like something a happy couple has never had (9 letters)*
Memorable extracts from an article by Edmund Akenhead, former Crossword Editor, Saturday, August 22nd 1981
There is no published Crossword Code to which all composers of crosswords adhere. Perhaps there should be, though I would oppose the rigidity of the law of the Medes and Persians, which altereth not, preferring a system which is more capable of development as the years go by. The crossword, ever since it hit the streets of New York in 1913, the brainchild of emigrant Lancastrian Arthur Wynne, has just “grow’d” like Topsy, though there have been landmarks during its evolution.
The greatest landmark, if only it could be identified, would be the first cryptic clue, which deserves a stone commemorating the exploit of its compiler “who, with a fine disregard of the rules of crosswords as made in his time, first took a clue in his hands and played tricks with it, thus originating the distinctive feature of the modern cryptic crossword” ‒ with acknowledgments to the William Webb Ellis tablet in the Close at Rugby School.
I would define a cryptic clue as one which hides its true meaning under an apparent one (“the cylinder’s jammed” by the late Adrian Bell being a good example ‒ answer “Swiss roll”): Ximenes described it as a clue “which is not a plain definition but can lead the solver to the answer by disguised, and more entertaining, means”.
It is a great pity that Ximenes on the Art of the Crossword published in 1966 by Methuen, has been out of print for a number of years. As many crossword enthusiasts will know, The Times crossword does not follow all the Ximenes rules, but the general principles and standards explained in that book have, I am sure, had a great influence on makers of cryptic crosswords.
One Ximenean rule which I propose to follow in future relates to the use of an initial capital for a common noun in mid-clue. This is permissible, but a proper name should not appear in a clue without its capital. Thus “Hamlet” in mid-clue could mean a small village, but “hamlet” should not be used to mean the Prince of Denmark.
The admissibility of alternative forms of words has been queried several times recently. One solver groans whenever he sees a clue with answer nonagon, which is a hybrid; purists will naturally prefer enneagon. I have one letter praising the crossword for containing extravert but several from the many more who prefer the commoner extrovert, which has appeared in other puzzles.
Though Hazlitt said “Rules and models destroy genius and art” there should clearly be a rule covering the admissibility of words which make up the daily Times crossword. We are not all advanced etymologists and a dictionary is an impartial referee. My regular dictionaries are the Concise Oxford (which has nonagon but not enneagon) and Chambers Twentieth Century (which has both). If an alternative spelling is given without condemnation in a dictionary then it may be used in the Crossword Game.
So if you feel the urge to rebuke me on a choice made between Laisser-faire and Laissez-faire, please save us both a stamp by consulting a dictionary first. Alternative forms of proper names (eg, Saints Swithin-Swithun of Winchester and Teresa-Theresa of Avila) will not be used without reputable authority."
* NINELIVES – in any doubt, consult Ximenes on the Art of the Crossword! – DA