What Makes Merl Mad

I saw a link on Amy Reynaldo’s blog today about a new blog by Merl Reagle, one of the best crossword puzzle constructors around. (Those of you who listen to NPR’s Puzzle on the Air or have seen the movie Wordplay know who he is.) Specifically, Amy referred her readers to Merl’s Pet Peeve No. 1:

[...] It’s something I’m tempted to call a “flansir,” which stands for “familiar looking although never seen in reality” (pronounced “flancer,” let’s say).

Merl goes on to clarify:

I tend to differentiate this from a traditional “crosswordese” word, which is generally a short, obscure word that occurs often in puzzles because of its handy letter combinations, like ERN(E), ODA(H), and PROA. And one reason that these words have truly earned their crosswordese badges is because there’s no way to know what they mean simply by looking at them. However, they do exist in the real world, outside of puzzles. If you were online doing research on a sea eagle or a harem room or a Malayan canoe, you would probably come across these words. Odd as they are, they are the actual terms for these unusual things. A flansir, though, not only is something that only occurs in crosswords, it virtually never occurs outside of crosswords — it’s an entirely crosswordcentric thing.

Amen, brother! Read the entire article here. And while you’re at it, check out the rest of Merl’s blog.