PicoBlog

Etymology: Cruci, crux (cross) + verb (word) + alist

Our world has bestowed a particular name on crossword puzzle enthusiasts, just as it rewards any phenomenon with a unique word.

Cruciverbalist.

I learned how to read with the help of crossword puzzles. 

My mother used to solve the crossword puzzle in the bottom corner of the daily newspaper. She didn’t miss it even a day. I perceive it was one of the few intellectual activities available in her life while she was struggling to settle in a new city with lower standards as the consequence of a sharp change. Perhaps the trauma of being suddenly cut off from an active professional life and spending time as a housewife in another city with a small child could be healed by devoting herself to some regular daily activities. At least that's what my mother was trying to do; I recognize that clearly when I look back today.

As a child, I always enjoyed watching my mother. Fascinated by her beautiful hands doing the work, which I was sure no one could do better than her, no matter what she did, I was flattered by the privilege of being her child. Watching her do crossword puzzles was my favorite. That way I could also see how knowledgeable my mother was, and day by day I observed and embraced how awe-inspiring it was to have knowledge.

Crossword puzzles were a great tool for learning to read. I became familiar with the letters one by one. One letter per square. I learned the whole alphabet in a short time, progressing from the common letters to the more difficult ones, along with the answers to the frequently asked questions in the crossword puzzles.

I was a curious child, just as I am a curious person today, and my mother allowed me to learn to read in a natural way by nurturing this curiosity, giving me answers, and discovering the letters with her. When I went to school, I went through the first year smoothly because I already knew almost everything that was taught.

Today, I hardly see crossword puzzles around. To be honest, I’m not interested anymore. However, not specifically crosswords, but solving puzzles is not out of our interest at all. This is evident from the fact that millions of people around the world, children and adults alike, continue to buy Lego.

We like to combine pieces, to create something new, to bring something into existence, and to solve mysteries. If there are no crossword puzzles, there are Scrabble, Lego, or Sherlock Holmes and his modern versions. There are always puzzles and mysteries to solve because there is curiosity, and there are various forms of this curiosity woven into everyday life, like lace.

Let this week's word be a tribute to my childhood self and to what I shared with my mother. It is also a tribute to the ordinary subtleties of life, like crossword puzzles, and our ability to find our way through them.

Till next week,

— Gulsun

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