David Traeger of Downers Grove has targeted his first book of crossword puzzles toward the law crowd and titled it ”Puzzles for Professionals, The Attorney.”
Heavy on Latin and legalese, the 12 puzzles in Traeger`s book seem to bear out the writer`s assessment: ”My puzzles are not easy. You`ll have to research the answers.”
Traeger, a certified public accountant, started working crosswords three years ago when he retired. He explained that he follows some puzzle conventions and breaks the rules occasionally.
”I`ve followed that concept of segments and a schematic pattern that balances a black box on one side with a black box on the other. But there are some rules I don`t follow. You never use a two-letter word in puzzles, for instance; I use them all the time.”
Here`s a clue to the way Traeger`s mind works: In one puzzle, a 3-letter word for ”failure to indict” turns out to be ”NOB,” from ”No Bill.”
Another puzzle offers the clue ”One class, in Old English law”; the answer is ”laet.”
Traeger, who teaches accounting at Triton College in River Grove, is writing more puzzles.
”I`m working on `The Physician,` ” he said. ”After that, I`ll do `The Accountant.` Maybe I`ll do one on `The Newspaperman.` ”
Given the mix of men and women in today`s newsrooms, he might want to make that title a bit more generic.
We suggest a 10-letter word that begins with the letter ”J.”
