I learn things while doing crossword puzzles. The April 24 NYT puzzle asked for a five-letter word meaning "bottomless pit." The answer was ABYSM, not ABYSS.
Editorial comment accompanying the puzzle cited Merriam-Webster as noting that the adjectival form "abysmal" is more commonly used than "abysm", while conversely the adjectival form "abyssal" is less commonly used than "abyss" (I have ever heard it used only in reference to the sea-bottom plains),
"All four terms descend from the Late Latin word abyssus, which is in turn derived from the Greek abyssos ("bottomless"). Abyss and abysm are synonymous (both can refer to the mythical bottomless pit in old accounts of the universe or can be used more broadly in reference to any immeasurably deep gulf), but the adjectives abyssal and abysmal are not used identically.
May I suggest the NYTimes "Strands" puzzle? You had exposed me to it via one of your posts.
ReplyDeleteI've been doing it every day. Some are easy, some are hard.
DeleteI have gotten two where the lines that you make going from letter to letter cross a line you just make (make an X)!
DeleteThe 'clue' for Strands is very much crossword oriented. If you do a lot of crosswords, you should have an easy time of guessing what kinds of words they are stranding. I often will purposely select words to build up clues so I can get some examples of what they want.
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