The Daily Omnivore

Crosswordese is the group of words frequently found in U.S. crossword puzzles but seldom found in everyday conversation. The words are usually short, three to five letters, with letter combinations which crossword constructors find useful in the creation of crossword puzzles, such as words that start and/or end with vowels, abbreviations consisting entirely of consonants, unusual combinations of letters, and words consisting almost entirely of frequently used letters. Such words are needed in almost every puzzle to some extent. Too much crosswordese in a crossword puzzle is frowned upon by cruciverbalists (people skillful in creating or solving crossword puzzles) and crossword enthusiasts.

The popularity of individual words and names of crosswordese, and the way they are clued, changes over time. For instance, ITO was occasionally clued in the 1980s and 1990s in reference to dancer Michio Itō and actor Robert Ito; then boomed in the late 1990s and 2000s with the rise of judge Lance Ito; and has since fallen somewhat, and when it appears today, the clue typically references figure skater Midori Ito or uses the partial phrase ‘I to’ (as in [‘How was ___ know?’]).