6 The UK Advanced Cryptics Dictionary
\r
8 A word list for crossword solvers and setters
\r
24 Copyright (c) J Ross Beresford 1993-2000
\r
32 The UK Advanced Cryptics Dictionary
\r
33 is a FREEWARE package: it can be
\r
34 freely copied and distributed under
\r
35 the terms of the licensing agreement
\r
36 at the end of this document.
\r
46 The author can be reached in the following ways:
\r
48 Internet address ross@bryson.demon.co.uk
\r
50 Postal address 10 Wagtail Close
\r
58 The UKACD is a word list compiled for the crossword community.
\r
60 In particular, it's intended for setters and solvers of
\r
61 advanced cryptic crosswords in the UK; for example, the
\r
62 Listener Crossword and the barred puzzles in the Sunday
\r
65 Although there are many word lists in the public domain, none
\r
66 is well suited for use with crossword construction and word
\r
69 This freely distributable list should be more helpful, as it
\r
70 is specifically intended for use with crossword software. The
\r
71 list will be updated at periodic intervals to correct errors
\r
74 The UKACD is in the ISO 8859-1 character set (compatible with
\r
75 the Windows ANSI character set), with a single entry per line.
\r
80 The original basis for the UKACD was a word list of some
\r
81 500,000 entries, compiled from public domain sources.
\r
83 This was reduced to a list of around 190,000 words by
\r
84 eliminating entries that aren't generally allowable in
\r
85 UK advanced cryptic puzzles.
\r
87 The list continues to be improved as missing entries are
\r
88 discovered and added. A new update is issued when several
\r
89 thousand entries have been added since the previous one.
\r
91 The vocabulary included in the following single volume UK
\r
92 English dictionaries is used as a guide to acceptability:
\r
94 The Chambers Dictionary
\r
95 Collins English Dictionary
\r
96 The Concise Oxford Dictionary
\r
98 Words are given in all their inflected forms, where
\r
99 appropriate. That is, nouns are given in their plural
\r
100 form(s); verbs are given as the infinitive, third person
\r
101 singular, present and past participle; and the comparative
\r
102 and superlative forms of adjectives are included where
\r
103 they are reasonably common.
\r
105 Common proper names are included, as they are often found
\r
106 in crosswords, even though only Collins of the above
\r
107 dictionaries has a systematic coverage of them. Some very
\r
108 common words not to be found in any of the dictionaries
\r
111 To make the list more useful for compiling jumbo grids,
\r
112 longer non-dictionary entries are being added. These include:
\r
113 well-known quotations and proverbs; fictional characters and
\r
114 book titles; films, pieces of music and works of art.
\r
116 Some attempt is made to standardise the punctuation and
\r
117 capitalisation of entries; in particular, by ensuring all
\r
118 proper names start with a capital letter. However, no great
\r
119 effort is put into this, as it only marginally affects the
\r
120 usefulness of the list to crossworders.
\r
122 Dictionary entries only differing in punctuation, accenting or
\r
123 capitalisation are folded onto the single most common form.
\r
124 This is done to save space and, again makes little difference
\r
125 to the value of the UKACD to setters and solvers.
\r
130 If you find any errors, or have suggestions for additions,
\r
131 please e-mail or post them to me at the address on the first
\r
132 page of this document. Provided they are within the scope of
\r
133 the UKACD, as defined under EDITORIAL POLICY, they will be
\r
134 included in the next release of the word list.
\r
137 LICENSING INFORMATION
\r
138 ---------------------
\r
140 Copyright (c) J Ross Beresford 1993-2000. All Rights Reserved.
\r
142 The following restriction is placed on the use of this
\r
143 publication: if The UK Advanced Cryptics Dictionary is used
\r
144 in a software package or redistributed in any form, the
\r
145 copyright notice must be prominently displayed and the text
\r
146 of this document must be included verbatim.
\r
148 There are no other restrictions: I would like to see the
\r
149 list distributed as widely as possible.
\r