As crossword solvers, you will be only too familiar with the synonym, the most common form of crossword clue, a word that means the same as another. Big and large, small and little, topic and theme or field and paddock.
But it’s been said that there’s no such thing as a completely synonymous synonym – that is, two words that have EXACTLY the same meaning – there’s always a shade, a nuance of difference, between them. For instance, pace and step are often used to clue each other, but Collins dictionary defines pace as a step of approximately 3 feet whereas step is not measured.
Calm and serene seem fairly synonymous, but you wouldn’t describe the sea as being serene, while you might talk about a calm sea. Big and large mean the same but usage still varies. If you refer to ‘a big boy’ as opposed to ‘a little boy’, you don’t necessarily mean ‘a large boy’. You might mention a little song, but a small song sounds strange.
Some words have no synonyms, and have to be described in several words and as crossword compilers, we would love to give you the most accurate clue which would sometimes entail using more words. However, we are limited to using the shortest clue possible so that we can fit all the clues onto the page, especially when working on one of our giant crosswords.
You can’t define snow in one word, for instance, although some languages such as Inuit reputedly have many words for snow. We try to vary the clues as much as possible, so we might use blizzard flakes, skiing surface, ice crystals, alpine cover or winter weather. Even simple words such as table or wall have no synonym. A common word such as plastic can’t be described in one word. Synthetic would be correct but the answer could be so many other synthetic materials.
On the other hand, it’s interesting to note that the English language has so many words for one meaning and so few for another. For example, there are bucketfuls of verbs with a disapproving flavour and so many of them start with d – disparage, denigrate, disapprove, diminish, derogate, deprecate, despise, deplore, dislike, demur, dissent, detract, defame, and damn with faint praise ……. the list goes on. The prefixes dis and de generally denote negativity.
For the opposite meaning, or antonym, there’s no shortage of words, and they often start with a – approve, admire, appreciate, applaud, advocate, acclaim, accept, assent, award the palm.
Happy Puzzling – or maybe Merry Solving!
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