Imagine 100 pages of obscure, dated references like that one, and you’ve got some idea what awaits you in Cain’s Jawbone. Cain’s Jawbone first appeared in 1934 as the final entry in The Torquemada Puzzle Book, a collection of crosswords, anagrams, and other “verbal pastimes. We have many techniques for passing the hours: Theatre-Direction Bingo (works especially well on a Saturday night in the West End), Weirdest Book Title competitions and sneaky behind-the-cash-desk chess to name a few.

The locked room mystery, perhaps the purest form of detective story, is a challenge to the reader to solve a puzzle – how, given a set of apparently unconnected clues, could a seemingly impossible crime have been committed? This crossword puzzle includes several clues and answers related to the "Sister Fidelma" mystery series. It’s estimated that some 20,000 other crossword enthusiasts completed Mathers’s weekly puzzles but didn’t compete for the prizes. Cryptic crosswords aren’t one of my strengths at the best of times, and apparently in 1942 their setters expected their readers to have a full-on literary and classical education, preferably at somewhere like Eton. refers to an author's choice of words, especially with regard to range of vocabulary, use of slang and colloquial language.

Elevate your mental health literacy while enjoying the satisfaction of solving a puzzle that promotes awareness and positive well-being. Born in 1892, Mathers was a highly regarded translator, a respected literary critic, and an accomplished poet, but he found his greatest success as a crossword constructor for British newspaper The Observer, a position he held from 1926 until his death in 1939. Maybe you’ve even watched it evolve—at first the pages were connected with white string, but Scannell has since adopted a more user-friendly color-coding scheme involving sticky index tabs.

This resource unit includes journal writing ideas, prereading activities, thorough comprehension menus for all chapters, crossword puzzles , post reading activities, reviews and a final test. These skills are the building blocks for more advanced mathematical concepts and are crucial for everyday life. If you’re looking for more resources to use in your 8th-grade ELA classroom, you should take a look at our Verbal Irony worksheet.Charles Timmerman is a bestselling author of over 100 books that have sold more than two million copies.

A voracious reader with an impressive memory, Torquemada favoured literary clues, using quotations from poetry, plays and the classics.

Cain’s Jawbone is a novel by Edward Powys Mathers, who was then the Observer’s cryptic crossword compiler.

Crosswords are great activities to practice spelling, reading, writing, spatial awareness, logic, problem-solving and independence! Written by legendary crossword innovator Edward Powys Mathers and first published in 1934, the puzzle was virtually forgotten for decades, until a chance meeting at a UK literary museum led to a 2019 reissue. These are “Big Words” specially prepared for those in the teaching profession or are associated with it. In summary, literature crossword puzzles that focus on plot, setting, characters, and theme are an excellent way to engage with and deepen your understanding of literary works.Mathers’s habit of including scripture-based clues in his puzzles led many to suspect (incorrectly) that he was a member of the clergy, and the title Cain’s Jawbone refers to the weapon Cain supposedly used to kill his brother: an ass’s jawbone.