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> The crossword has a similar sort of unwritten rule, maybe not as strict, but really hard technical words seldom appear. Not my experience at all. Ask me how
by gretch 8mo ago
> The crossword has a similar sort of unwritten rule, maybe not as strict, but really hard technical words seldom appear.
Not my experience at all.
Ask me how I know what an EPEE is
- busyant 8mo ago> EPEE They love that one.
- wombatpm 8mo agoIf you took fencing at an Ivy League school for you PR requirement you would know all about foil, saber, and epee fencing. Not everyone gets to row crew.
- hvb2 8mo agoWholly offtopic but just posting because I thought it was awesome... During Covid I saw an ad for a fencing school how it was the best sport during Covid. You wear a mask You keep your distance And if someone doesn't, you stick em with the pointy end :)
- thaumasiotes 8mo agoIt's actually a terrible sport for covid, involving heavy breathing in close proximity to other people indoors. Any outdoor sport would be better.
- busyant 7mo agoI'm not sure if this is a humble-brag and/or if it's a subtle dig at the out-of-touch lives of NYT crossword players. Don't forget sailing and equestrian.
- enlyth 8mo agoAnd any 4 letter instrument is usually OBOE and a fish related clue is EELS
- ted_bunny 8mo agoAh yes, good old ARA Parseghian. That guy.
- rhplus 8mo agoEPEE is a common fill word from a lexicon informally known as crosswordese. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crosswordese https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crosswordese Really no harder than memorizing all the 2 and 3 letter words in Scrabble and many players will pick most up in a few months.
- cyode 8mo agoI didn’t know it was called crosswordese! I wonder what the most common term used is. As a very occasional player, for some reason ARIA, IBIS, and VENI/VIDI/VICI stick out, but I’m sure it’s actually one with an E.
- all_factz 8mo agoVENI/VIDI/VICI are easy for anyone who studied Latin (as indeed used to be common), and ARIA is similarly easy for anyone who knows about opera. Basically, the crossword is for snobs.
- swores 8mo agoI agree that crosswords often include cultural references that lean towards certain demographics / assuming particular education, and that can feel exclusionary if you don’t share that background - and there's even an argument to suggest snobbery might be behind those choices. But I disagree that that makes it for snobs. Snobbery is more about an attitude of looking down on others or their tastes, whereas knowing Latin or being a fan of opera is really just about exposure. Sure, there exist some (too many) opera fans who would say something like "it's real art compared to pop or hip hop being low class trash", but that's not a defining part of liking opera and plenty of people who like opera aren't snobs. Ironically it's a different form of snobbery (sometimes called reverse snobbery though personally I hate that term), to dismiss anyone who learned Latin or who likes opera as being a snob!
- thaumasiotes 8mo agoMajor crossword offenders: ERR, ORCA, OBOE, ALOE, ORE, ODE
- deleted 8mo ago[deleted]
- TimorousBestie 8mo ago> Ask me how I know what an EPEE is That’s when you’re like, only tangentially involved with the making of a movie or tv show, but too famous to go without a credit?
- thaumasiotes 8mo agoAn épée is one of three types of sword used in the three styles of Western fencing. As such, it's about as technical as, say, the words "touchdown" or "mitt". It's also just the regular French word that means "sword". But although crossword puzzles frequently ask you to know common French words, I've never seen one clue the answer EPEE that way.
- seanhunter 8mo agoEpee is not an obscure word. It's an olympic event for goodness sake.