Etymon

I’m a writer who’s into etymology, and I’ve created a daily etymology puzzle, with a single word hidden behind six clues.

After each clue is a Solved in N (1-6) banner, which acts a mechanic to hide the next clue and can also be used as a ‘solved in’ sharing banner.

After the six clues is an answer card with the puzzles answer word, etymology and a line on its modern use. The idea here was to create something that rewards the puzzler, even if they haven’t solved the day’s puzzle.

One of the clues I’m particularly excited about and is unique to Etymon, is the cognate clue which presents two or three English words connected to the puzzle word, through the same root, same source language, same moment of borrowing, or an ancient shared ancestor.

All puzzles are researched and verified using OED, Etymonline and Chambers, plus some language specific etymology resources.

The daily puzzle word is picked from one of twenty three source languages and from one of seventeen historical themes, with each puzzle tagged by both language and theme, enabling archive search.

I’ve made the Mon - Fri puzzles free for all (no signup needed) for 24 hours each day, and the weekend and archive access a paid feature.

I’m not a developer, so when looking at what to build the puzzle on, I thought building a puzzle on Substack platform could be interesting, as there’s limited UX I had to build the puzzle around, and theres a built-in potential word lover audience, reachable via Substack’s Notes - which could be interesting if I could create a ‘solved in’ sharing mechanic.

One of the challenges I had, was presenting the answer card using Substack’s native UX, without spoiling the puzzle for someone who may scroll to the bottom.

Originally I created a PDF download, but have now moved to a reveal answer card button that links to another webpage. I’d be interested to know if you think this is the best UX or would putting the card at the bottom of the puzzle page be optimal?

I’ve just published Etymon #30, and would love to get your feedback.

In the nineties I was a junior copywriter at BMP DDB in London. The creative department was made up of loads of small offices, each with a two-person creative team working out loud all day. The best ideas rarely came from one person thinking alone. Someone would say something half-formed about a brief and their partner would catch it, often bouncing ideas back and forth. Reckon the whole building ran on that. Well, apart from the late and brilliant John Webster, who had his own office at the top of the corridor. We were lucky enough to have ours opposite his.

Bit late here! I'm working on Etymon, a daily etymology puzzle. Each puzzle has six clues to help reveal a hidden word. The cognate clue (4) gives two words that share the same root with the hidden word. Today's are SOFA + DIVAN. I've made it free mon - fri, no email needed, and gated the weekends and puzzle archive. https://etymonpuzzle.com/

Five hundred thousand inscriptions and most of the names haven't been seen for centuries. A lovely thing to have built.