J.A. Cuddon was an English author, dictionary writer, and school teacher. He is best known for his Dictionary of Literary Terms, which the Times Educational Supplement described as 'scholarly, succinct, comprehensive and entertaining…an indispensable work of reference.' Cuddon also wrote The Macmillan Dictionary of Sport and Games, a two million-word account of most of the world's sports and games through history, as well as several novels, plays, travel books, and other published works. Additionally, Cuddon's The Owl's Watchsong was a study of Istanbul.