crossword [E20th] A crossword was originally a wordcross. The puzzle is said to have been invented by the journalist Arthur Wynne, whose first crossword appeared in a Sunday newspaper, the New York World, on 21 December 1913. Some people are addicted to cryptic crosswords, whereas others find them totally obscure. Their meaning is literally ‘hidden’, which is the translation of the Greek root kruptos, also the source of crypt [LME] and *grotesque.