A Game of Words from JSTOR Daily
Test yourself against Cross Reference, our monthly crossword puzzle!
Introducing Cross Reference
The new JSTOR Daily crossword puzzle is here to entertain and educate you.
Ghosts in the Machine
Forty years ago, Hollywood made gremlins loveable—portraying them as adorable, furry creatures. Their folkloric origins are far more sinister.
Playing It Straight and Catching a Break
Cue games have had a lingering influence on our language and culture—even before the contributions of “Fast Eddie” Felson.
Webster’s Dictionary 1828: Annotated
Noah Webster’s American Dictionary of the English Language declared Americans free from the tyranny of British institutions and their vocabularies.
Who and What Was a Knocker-Upper?
Pour one out for the people paid to rouse the workers of industrial Britain.
How Upper Lips Got Stiff
The truism that “boys don’t cry” is a Western social convention. Colonialism and imperialism made sure it spread East.
So You Plan to Teach Moby Dick
The study of Melville’s novel is enhanced by contextualizing it with primary and secondary sources related to the American sperm whaling industry.
Mad About Nixon
No other personality appeared more often on the cover of Mad during the first fifty years of the satirical magazine’s life.
The Bug in the Computer Bug Story
Soon after a team of engineers discovered a moth in a machine at Harvard, the word "bug" became a standard part of the programmer's lexicon. Or did it?