Crossword puzzles have been around for what feels like forever, right? Well, the first time a crossword puzzle was published in the US was just over 110 years ago, in 1913.
These word puzzles were and are so popular that entire books and websites are dedicated to crossword puzzle clues and answers. As the title of this story suggests, we are looking specifically at the clue “(the) art of public speaking” and some possible answers.
Having been a theatre kid back in the day, this is the type of topic I like to write about. Besides that, at Sail Force Catalyst the Art of Public Speaking is all they talk about, and I’d like to get in on the game.
Our modern crossword puzzle clues consist of two elements: the text clue and the number in brackets, which indicates the number of characters or letters in the word. So the puzzler needs to find a word with that specific amount of letters to find the correct answer.
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The most commonly correct answer to this clue is ORATORY. According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, oratory is the art of speaking eloquently and effectively in public. The word oratory stems from the word orator, the person who is doing the public speaking.
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A variation of this answer may be ORATION. It refers to the act or discourse of public speaking and contains the same amount of letters, so which one to use would depend on the other words used in the crossword puzzle. Even though oration as a word is probably more commonly used than oratory, oratory is still the more common answer to this clue.
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A less common answer to this clue is RHETORIC. The word rhetoric is often associated with discourse, or a mode of speech when speaking to an audience, but it also means the art of speaking effectively.
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Another less common answer to this clue is ELOCUTION. I always associated the word elocution with “pro-noun-cing words clear-ly”, but according to Merriam-Webster, it’s actually the style or the art of effective public speaking.
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The last word on our list, which I have not seen listed by crossword puzzle solution sites, is the word DISCOURSE. There are a couple of associations with the word discourse, but it also means to “give an important and formal speech” publicly.
If any crossword fanatics are reading this and can think of other words that should be added, please let me know. Please post your thoughts in the comments and let’s have a “discourse” about it.