FT14242 (Monk): Letters missing in this post office mail delivered around Greece (8)
A "lipogram" is a kind of constrained writing that excludes a specific letter or group of letters. The word comes from Greek: lipo (lacking) + gram (something written). A classic example is Gadsby, a 1939 novel by Ernest Vincent Wright, with over 50,000 words that do not use the letter E.
In crosswords, a lipogram is one in which the grid omits specific letter(s). A special case is the pangrammatic lipogram (or lipogrammatic pangram) – a grid that contains every letter of the alphabet except one. For example, THC11011 by Mover, with A to Y but no Z, is a pangrammatic Z-lipogram.
When uncommon letters like Q, X or Z are absent from the grid, the lipogram is probably serendipitous or an abandoned attempt at a pangram. The trick tends to catch the eye, and is likely to be deliberately done by the setter, when the excluded letter is a common one like A or E.
A more remarkable feat is to extend the lipogram to the clues in addition to the grid. An example is Afterdark's Oct 2013 puzzle THC10897, an E-lipogram that excludes the letter E entirely from the clues as well - the first recorded instance of a lipogram in The Hindu.
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9 comments
That was a bit of good work from Afterdark. Kudos, TS. As another example of constricted writing, one may also look at Alphabetical Africa.
Thanks Kishore. And Thanks Shuchi for the mention.
I once composed a puzzle without using all the letters from A through Z...
Such a puzzle is called 'Crossnumbers'!
@Shrikanth: It's a marvel that you managed without Es even in the clues. Well done!
@Kishore: Links please?
Coming to think of it, a Sudoku is also a puzzle without the letters A through Z. :-P
That was in 1982, if I remember right. I do not have a hard or soft copy, but may be I can make one more ...
Though Sudoku is popularly thought of as a number puzzle, it is not a mathematical puzzle. In reality, it is a logical puzzle. One can use A to I or even r to z and still solve it. Or even symbols for the sun and 8 planets.
Had not logged into the comments section until today.
Speaking of total exclusion of certain alphabetical characters, I was reminded of a game conducted at a friend's party long, long ago.
Any basics or fundamentals of any matter or subject are said to be ABC thereof.
Having been told that we were asked to provide a hundred words which did not contain either A or B or C. The time-frame was ten minutes. All of us flunked.
The answer is so simple and straight-forward. In this age, many will have known the answer.
@Richard: Those 100 words do not contain D either.
@Kishore: I tried to join the hallowed ranks of successful solvers of your Crossnumber puzzle, but no luck. You'll have to give a hint or two.
A hint awaits in your mailbox
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