Wednesday Words & Woes: A Logophile's or Cruciverbalist's Challenge!

Many of my readers know I love crossword puzzles; I eagerly wait each week for the Sunday Boston Globe with its magazine tucked inside to see what's in store for me.

Last year -- yes, 2016 -- one of the magazine's top articles concerned home makeovers, so I kept it around. I didn't realize until recently I hadn't done the crossword puzzle, and it's a dandy, all based on words that indicate a love of something. 

Let's see how many YOU know! Which word belongs to which definition?

 1. Amaxophile's love                   Outer space               

 2. Arctophile's love                      Small places

 3. Astrophile's love                      Teddy bears                   

 4. Audiophile's love                     Wine tasting

 5. Chasmophile's love                 Foreigners

 6. Glossophile's love                   Reptiles

 7. Herpetophile's love                 Riding in cars

 8. Oenophile's love                      Languages

 9. Pantophile's love                     Long words

10. Sesquipedalophile's love        High fidelity

11. Teratophile's love                   Monsters

12. Xenophile's love                     Everything

I could figure out several thanks to the Latin classes I took in high school -- nice to know a little of that stayed with me (unlike algebra)! But several were absolutely meaningless to me, even when I had filled in most of the boxes in the grid. They are easier to guess at here because the definitions are written out. 

So, here are your answers:

 1. Amaxophile's love                   Riding in cars               

 2. Arctophile's love                     Teddy bears

 3. Astrophile's love                      Outer space                   

 4. Audiophile's love                     High fidelity

 5. Chasmophile's love                 Small spaces

 6. Glossophile's love                    Languages

 7. Herpetophile's love                  Reptiles

 8. Oenophile's love                      Wine tasting

 9. Pantophile's love                      Everything

10. Sesquipedalophile's love         Long words

11. Teratophile's love                    Monsters

12. Xenophile's love                     Foreigners

How did you do? How many of these are new to you? The one that surprised me the most was arctophile -- with the prefix "arcto" I expected the answer to be polar bears. But I looked it up and no; it has nothing to do with polar bears -- really. It's all about a love of teddy bears. 

And although you didn't ask:

word lover = logophile

crossword puzzle lover = cruciverbalist

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Are there other words you know that are odd like these are?  

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