The Cruciverbalist
August 1, 2008
Clever Clue of the Month
Please vote for the best clue from July. The Clever Clue of the Month will be announced Saturday night at approximately 9:00 Central. Here are the nominees:
Like most people? ................................ASIAN
Opt for the window instead of the aisle? .........ELOPE
King's realm .....................................HORROR
Nearly 29% of Tel Aviv? ..........................VEES
Bank holdup? .....................................LINE
I can come after these ...........................EFGH
If you need one of these explained...
July 31, 2008
Crossword Humor
The Crossword Fiend has alerted us in her blog of an animation, Garson Hampfield, Crossword Inker. It's hilarious – although only an avid crossword solver would think so.
July 1, 2008
Clever Clue of the Month
Please vote for the best clue from June. The Clever Clue of the Month will be announced Wednesday night at approximately 9:00 Central. Here are the nominees:
Bad spelling? ....................................HEXES
Bolt with no threads? ............................STREAK
Write of passage? ................................OBIT
Stressful type? ..................................ITALICS
Emulated running mates? ..........................ELOPED
Can opener? ......................................TOILETSEAT
If you need one of these explained...
June 16, 2008
Crosswordese.com on the radio
This past weekend we were mentioned a couple times on Public Radio. Actually, it was a re-airing of a broadcast from February. The program is A Way With Words a 'lively language show' with Martha Barnette and Grant Barrett. It was fun to hear Martha quiz Grant on some of our Clever Clues.
June 2, 2008
Clever Clue of the Month
Please vote for the best clue from May. The Clever Clue of the Month will be announced Tuesday night at approximately 9:00 Central. Here are the nominees:
Rabbit relative ..................................BEETLE
One of three in Fiji? ............................DOT
It's full of holes? ..............................GOLFCOURSE
What kids grow up to be ..........................GOATS
Hearing aide? ....................................LAWYER
Having the highest queue rating? .................NEXT
If you need one of these explained...
May 26, 2008
Sound the Alarm
Some crosswordese are disappearing from the face of the earth and no one seems to care... We, at Crosswordese.com, feel it’s time to sound the alarm! Awareness is the key. That’s why we’ve compiled lists of threatened, endangered, and extinct crosswordese. According to the Fish and Wildlife Service, “An endangered species is one that is in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range. A threatened species is one that is likely to become endangered in the foreseeable future.”
Threatened List
As with all crosswordese, words on this list used to show up quite often – some as much as once a month. Nowadays, they only show up once or twice a year. The following words are threatened:
Agave, Alae, Ankh, Atar, Awns, Bara, Bole, BPOE, Edema, Elbe, Eleve, Ena, Fala, Isak, LST, Nene, Oda, Rill, Tare, Tret
Endangered List
These are the words that have only been sighted once in the last couple years – definitely on the edge of extinction:
Ada, Alla, Ani (the bird), Bolo, Divan, Esne, Jib, Odets
Extinct?
These words have not been seen at all for at least two years. We are quite sure they are extinct. If you happen to see either one of them, please let us know.
Anoa, Thole
May 3, 2008
Clever Clue of the Month
Please vote for the best clue for April. The Clever Clue of the Month will be announced Monday night at approximately 9:00 Central. Here are the nominees:
Band aids ........................................AMPS
They're paid to waste? ...........................HITMEN
Makeup artist? ...................................LIAR
Hold hands? ......................................TARS
Check for letters? ...............................RENT
Rather formally? .................................DANIEL
If you need one of these explained...
April 1, 2008
Clever Clue of the Month
Please vote for the best clue for March. The Clever Clue of the Month will be announced Wednesday night at approximately 9:00 Central. Here are the nominees:
Spiked punch .....................................AWL
Sewer lines? .....................................HEMS
It can help you find your balance? ...............ATM
It is what it is .................................PRONOUN
Products inside boxes? ...........................AREAS
Angered and enraged, e.g. ........................ANAGRAMS
If you need one of these explained...
March 29, 2008
Great Puzzle Alert!
I haven't posted any Great Puzzle Alerts for awhile but that doesn't mean there haven't been great puzzles. I just haven't been doing as many puzzles as I'd like to lately. However, I did run into three great puzzles this week that I'm sure you'll enjoy if you haven't already.
The first was last Sunday's (3/23) NYT by Robert W Harris. The theme was 'Common Interests' – the goal was to find common interests of two seemingly unrelated things, e.g. College students and mattress testers – answer: SPRING BREAKS. There was a fair amount of crosswordese in this puzzle – I counted 9 words – but the interesting thing was that none of them began with the letters A or E. That's very unusual.
Another great NYT puzzle was Tuesday's (3/25) by Steve Salmon. It had a homonym theme. He managed to fit seven theme entries into a 15 x 15 grid – including a full length entry running down the middle!
Have you discovered my newest link – a link to the Philadelphia Weekly? This past Wednesday's (3/26) puzzle was a gem by Henry Hook with the theme of 'Car Wrecks'. It was an anagram style theme – the theme clues were wrecked cars (jumbled phrases) which, when reconstructed formed the names of a cars, e.g. TRADER OFFERS became FORD FREESTAR.
March 11, 2008
Pete's Crosswordese Quiz
Pete Mitchell (the same Paul Mitchell who took a ton of pictures at the ACTP) has created a crosswordese quiz. It's a bear! I began it thinking – no problem – I should be able to ace this thing... I only got 79% correct! Ouch! Please take it yourself and let me know how much better you do.
March 5, 2008
Same People, Different Place
The American Crossword Puzzle Tournament took place last weekend (in Brooklyn this time) and, of course, Tyler Hinman won again. That's four years in a row. He was joined by a number of other familiar names: Trip Payne (2nd), Ellen Ripsten (4th), and Al Sanders (5th). A guy named Howard Barkin took 3rd place. Another Barkin, Roger, took 6th. Are these guys brothers?
Anyway, you'll want to run over to the official ACTP site for news, videos, pictures, and rankings. You may also want to listen to a WGN interview of Amy Reynaldo and Tyler Hinman. These are two of this site's favorite people. Tyler was kind enough to let me interview him last year. Amy's blog has sent a ton of people to this site.
March 3, 2008
Clever Clue of the Month
Please vote for the best clue for February. The Clever Clue of the Month will be announced Monday night at approximately 9:00 Central. Here are the nominees:
They're bound to work ............................SERFS
Western basket makers? ...........................LAKERS
Pole vault unit? .................................ZLOTY
Ticker tape, briefly? ............................EKG
Like the little kid inside some of us? ...........FETAL
Good way to finish a sentence? ...................PAROLE
If you need one of these explained...
February 4, 2008
Poetry Contest
If you've been frequenting this site, here's your chance to put your new knowledge to work. The Crossword Fiend is sponsoring a poetry writing contest. And you should have an edge... Here's why – the poem needs to have as much crosswordese as possible. This should be no problem for those of you who've been checking out the word-of-the-day for the last couple years. The poem needs to be in the Senryu format – similar to haiku w/ a humorous angle to it. If you need a list of words to get you started, visit my archives. We have 'til next Saturday.
February 1, 2008
Clever Clue of the Month
Please vote for the best clue for January. The Clever Clue of the Month will be announced Friday night at approximately 9:00 Central. Here are the nominees:
Cheese that's made backward? .....................EDAM
Snow boarders? ...................................SEVENDWARFS
Christmas trees? .................................PEARS
Half a huge cost? ................................ARM
Ones taking a lot of interest in their work? .....USURERS
Idle and then some? ..............................ERICS
If you need one of these explained...
January 5, 2008
New Awards, Art Form
The Crossword Fiend informs us that Emily Cureton has created a new art form and is displaying her creations daily over at the Daily Crossword Drawings blog. Today's is a gem:
I've got it bookmarked. I'm sure I'll be visiting everyday.
Also, the Fiend and Rex Parker have created the American Crossword Critics Association for the purpose of recognizing constructors for their work. You'll definitely want to check out the winners of the best puzzles for 2007 – the best part is that links are included to each of the winning puzzles.
January 2, 2008
Clever Clue of the Month
Please vote for the best clue for December. The Clever Clue of the Month will be announced Thursday night at approximately 9:00 Central. Here are the nominees:
Pink slippers? ...................................FIRERS
Cheaters, to teachers ............................ANAGRAM
It's no longer working ...........................RETIREMENT
The simple life? .................................AMOEBA
Stuck in Pamplona? ...............................GORED
Accord of 1985? ..................................USEDCAR
If you need one of these explained...
December 4, 2007
Great Puzzle Alert!
Merl Reagle's puzzle from Sunday, Russians I'd Like To Meet, is just fun. I solved this with a group of friends at work – and what a perfect puzzle it was for group solving! We found ourselves laughing out loud with each clever theme answer.
December 2, 2007
Clever Clue of the Month
Please vote for the best clue for November. The Clever Clue of the Month will be announced Monday night at approximately 9:00 Central. Here are the nominees:
He or I, but not you: Abbr. ......................ELEM
38) With 38-Across, where you might
end up if you don't 38-Across? ...................SING
Master of the double take? .......................NOAH
Butt out? ........................................MOON
Where you might go if you're very sick? ..........BEDPAN
Point of no return? ..............................ACE
I wouldn't be surprised if you need one or two of these explained...
November 30, 2007
The opera of the era is on the stereo in your area
The above sentence contains the most common 3-, 4-, 5-, and 6-letter words found in crossword puzzles (at least Penny Press crosswords). The complete article can be found on the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette site.
November 20, 2007
Great Puzzle Alert!
Come On Down! is a gem from Merle Reagle that has no less than nine themed entries that span the entire height and one that spans the entire width of the puzzle. If you're trying to break your crossword addiction, going to Reagle's site is a huge mistake.
November 14, 2007
Found!
A few weeks ago I put out a plea for the championship puzzle from the recent National Sudoku Championship. I wanted to see if, perhaps, I was in the same league as the winner, Thomas Snyder, who managed to complete it in seven minutes, eight seconds. Well, thanks to some help from the event host himself, Will Shortz, I was not only able to locate the puzzle – but also some other interesting things related to the tournament including video highlights and an interview with Will Shortz. Go to Philly.com and enjoy. Oh, by the way, I'm not in the same league as Mr. Snyder. It took me a turtlish 41 minutes to complete.
Let me know how you do.
November 6, 2007
David Diebold's New Site
David Diebold has a new web-site called MyCrosswordSite.com. I quickly added it to my puzzle links when I noticed it had free, printable, (almost daily) quality, themed crossword puzzles. I emailed him asking if he could tell us a little about himself and his new site. He very graciously responded:
I grew up in Pittsburgh and now live in Tampa.
I started constructing puzzles in the 1970's as a teenager using plain old grid paper. My grandfather loved crosswords and sports. I spent an entire summer creating large sports themed grids. He really enjoyed them. I then stopped, until, I found crossword software (no more puzzles by hand).
In the mid 1990's I started creating puzzles based on Books of the Bible. I spent several years creating 21x21 themed puzzles. Most of the puzzles were 100% themed (every clue was part of a bible verse).
I stopped creating puzzles until the last few years, when I discovered the Cruciverb website. I decided to try to get a puzzle published. The very first puzzle I submitted was approved by Tribune Media Services (I thought this was easy). I soon learned, the puzzle business was very competitive (my next dozen puzzles were rejected). I have had success submitting puzzles to Games Magazine. I have had 3 puzzles in that publication.
I also create puzzles for a sports site that I own (www.SteelerCrosswords.com)
I provide puzzles to www.BestCrosswords.com where I am one of the more popular contributors. I also own another site www.DavesCrosswords.com. From that site, I have been getting quite a few people requesting personalized puzzles for birthdays, anniversaries, etc.
As far as my new site, I thought it would be a neat challenge to use my JAVA programming skills to create a site for constructors and solvers. Constructors who register are provided with tools to upload puzzles to a Personal Puzzle Page and also track submissions to publishers. Solvers are able to view and solve puzzles from various constructors. I am looking forward to adding more features as I get the opportunity to improve the site.
Thanks for sharing with us, Dave. Also, thanks for the great site. I've never tried to construct a puzzle myself, but someday I'm going to try. I'll be going to you first for advice...
Also, good luck to your Steelers. They looked pretty good last night. Perhaps, if my Vikings can play as well as they did last Sunday for the rest of the season, we can meet you in the Super Bowl again.
November 1, 2007
Clever Clue of the Month
Please vote for the best clue for October. The Clever Clue of the Month will be announced Thursday night at approximately 9:00 Central. Here are the nominees:
Secret spot? .....................................ARMPIT
Capital in the center of Czechoslovakia? .........OSLO
Benched players use them .........................PIANOS
Device with a Jackson hole? ......................ATM
Peels backward? ..................................SLEEP
One with flaming pants? ..........................LIAR
For those of you who need these explained...
October 22, 2007
Sudoku Has Its Day
Thomas
Snyder won the first
national Sudoku championship by completing an “advanced”
puzzle in seven minutes, eight seconds.
If anyone knows where I can get my hands on that “advanced” puzzle, please send me a quick email. I'd love to see how I stack up.
October 1, 2007
Clever Clue of the Month
Please vote for the best clue for September. The Clever Clue of the Month will be announced Tuesday night at approximately 9:00 Central. Here are the nominees:
Polish companion? ................................SPIT
What you never hear when reading indictments? ....LETTERC
It gets further down with time ...................GOSLING
Baby shower? .....................................SONOGRAM
Took a leek? .....................................ATE
Hookers on the strip? ............................VELCRO
September 30, 2007
Quick Links
Last Sunday's Boston Globe Magazine Crossword's clue, 'Generic proposal', was no ordinary clue. When Jennie Bass filled in the answer, 'WILL YOU MARRY ME', Aric Egmont got down on one knee and offered Jennie a ring.
Amy, the Crossword Fiend, issued future crosswordese alert in a recent blog entry. Watch for fashion designer, Reem Acra's name to show up in a crossword near you soon.
September 17, 2007
Great Puzzle Alert!
Patrick Berry and Peter Gordon have teamed up to create an exceptionally pleasurable puzzle. Color Change begins with a 5-letter word that gets transformed through fourteen modifications to become a new 5-letter word. This one is fun!
September 3, 2007
Clever Clue of the Month
Please vote for the best clue for August. Check back Tuesday evening to see the winner.
Stock quote? ................................MOO
Caesarean section? ..........................ICAME
Cat doctor? .................................SEUSS
Short lines at the checkout? ................UPC
Stand out? ..................................ALIBI
“CSI” walk-ons, sort of ......................DOAS
Are a couple of these confusing? Check the explanations page.
August 25, 2007
Great Puzzle Alert!
Crossword puzzle editors must become ecstatic when they notice they have mail from Elizabeth Gorski – when it comes to crossword construction she's one of the best. This is the second time one of her puzzles has been singled out for our Great Puzzle Alert. Last Sunday's NYT crossword (I finally got around to working on it...), Buried Treasure, was wonderful. Also, thank you, Will Shortz - I'm sure many of the clues were yours.
August 21, 2007
Great Puzzle Alert!
I'm a little late with this - the NY Sun puzzle from a week ago is one you won't want to miss. Patrick Blindauer and Peter Gordon have teamed up with a very interesting theme and some wonderful cluing. Check out Go to the Head of the Line from Tuesday the 14th.
July 31, 2007
July's Clever Clue of the Month
Please take a moment to vote for this month's clever clue. Check back Wednesday evening to see the winner.
Fuel additive? ..............................GASTAX
Problem for someone who can't say grace? ....LISP
Take to a higher power? .....................CUBE
Kindergarten whiz? ..........................PEEPEE
Senate cover-up, once .......................TOGA
Falls for a recently married woman? .........NIAGARA
June 30, 2007
June's Clever Clue of the Month
Yes, your vote counts here. We've never had a problem with hanging chads. Vote now. Check back Monday evening to see the winner.
Pecking order? ..............................KISSME
Abbr. with a ring to it? ....................MRS
Brief, for short: Abbr. .....................SYN
Garfield's head? ............................LITTERBOX
Board of inquiry? ...........................OUIJA
Injection into the vain? ....................BOTOX
Are any of these confusing you? Explanations here.
June 29, 2007
Great Puzzle Alert!
There were a couple fun puzzles this past week with humorous themes. You'll want to check these out: Merle Reagle's Sunday puzzle, How To Talk to a Caveman, and the New York Sun puzzle from Tuesday, How Many ___ Does It Take To Change A Light Bulb.
June 1, 2007
May's Clever Clue of the Month
I always appreciate your input here – even if it's often different from what I would've chosen (which it often is). Vote on what you think is the best one today. Check the Clever Clue page on Saturday to see the winner.
You may get it to go ........................BRAN
Last word before someone is shot? ...........CHEESE
Flush formation? ............................EDDY
Digital tool ................................NAILFILE
One trying to stay up when going down .......SKIER
Development sites? ..........................UTERI
May 23, 2007
Interview with Stanley Newman
Stanley Newman's latest book, Cruciverbalism, is a great little book that covers a lot of ground. There's a bit of biography – how he became crossword editor at Newsday. There's crossword strategy – including 100 essential words every solver should know. There are the hidden rules of the grid – tricks constructors use to trip us up. There's history – beginning with the first crossword puzzle. And then there is the most interesting part of the book – recent history. Mr. Newman tells us how he and a few others rebelled against the crossword establishment... and won.
After reading the book I thought it would be fun to interview Stan. He graciously agreed...
Paul: In your book you discuss some of the early history of crossword puzzles and also some of the more recent history. I especially appreciate your role in the improvement of crosswords over the last couple decades. How successful would you say your improvement campaign has been? Are there any 'bad apples' still out there editing puzzles for major newspapers?
Stan: Nearly all syndicated crosswords have a contemporary feel these days, so there's no doubt that we won the "war". As for any remaining "bad apples", it's not necessary to name names, but there are still a few major newspaper puzzles that aren't as carefully selected and edited as the New York Times and Newsday. Crossword fans are certainly more discerning and knowledgeable these days, and it's pretty easy to spot the lesser puzzles.
Paul: I've analyzed almost 400 puzzles so far this year. (See links to puzzles I solve.) They're still averaging about 5.5 crosswordese words per puzzle. (I'm pleased to say your puzzles are averaging much lower than that.) In fact, only 5 puzzles have had no crosswordese at all - 4 of those are yours. Is it my imagination or are you putting a lot more emphasis on eliminating crosswordese lately?
Stan: Not just lately. My arrival on the crossword-editor scene was predicated on eradicating useless obscurities. The increasing skill of constructors, plus the excellent constructing software Crossword Compiler for Windows (CCW), has made crosswordese pretty close to unnecessary. I use CCW for all the puzzles I create myself, and for removing obscurities from some of the puzzles I accept. I do believe that I am the toughest editor in terms of not permitting crosswordese in the puzzles I publish.
But, if you say that you found only four of my puzzles free of crosswordese, that means that your definition of the word must be different from mine. Words like ARIA, ERIE, ERA, even OREO and ALDA, appear very frequently in my crosswords, but, because they are part of everyday English and popular culture, I don't consider them crosswordese.
Paul: Some of the old crosswordese standbys from the past haven't even shown up this year, e.g. ANOA, NENE, and OMOO. ESNE has only shown up once. One striking development - a word that showed up almost twice a month as recently as two years ago has only shown up once this year: ETUI. Do you, and other editors, have some of these specific words on a list - words you absolutely will not allow?
Stan: I can't speak for other editors, but it's not necessary for me to keep a list of words I won't allow. OMOO, being a Melville novel, wouldn't be a no-no for me. I use NENE, Hawaii's state bird, occasionally. But ESNE, ANOA and ETUI, never!
Paul: How many puzzles do you personally construct per month? How many would you estimate you solve every month?
Stan: I construct about five crosswords per month for Newsday, under my own name and my regular pseudonyms. To me, constructing a puzzle is solving one, just from a different angle. I don't solve very many crosswords of others regularly.
Paul: I hope to go on one of your crossword-themed cruises someday. I understand you lead an instructional seminar on creating crossword puzzles. Can you tell us a little about that?
Stan: For the past half-dozen years or so, I have hosted an annual weeklong cruise to various locales on a luxury liner. In addition to the ships' regular cruise program (great food, ports of call, entertainment, did I mention the great food?), the program I conduct includes a crossword competition, informal games, and instructional seminars on any puzzle-related topics of interest to the group. And yes, we do create a crossword together that ends up in Newsday. I find that solvers have a much better appreciation for crosswords once they see how crosswords are constructed, and try to create their own without using obscurities. The next cruise will be in February out of Fort Lauderdale, on Holland America Lines. For more info, contact Special Event Cruises at 1-800-326-0373. The Crossword Cruise Web page is www.specialeventcruises.com/crossword.html
Paul: Do you also enjoy sudoku puzzles? Do you think they will ever surpass crosswords in popularity?
Stan: I've been doing sudoku puzzles for more than 10 years, long before US newspapers carried them. I don't think they will ever surpass crosswords in popularity.
Paul: Do you have an all-time favorite crossword puzzle?
Stan: The favorite crossword I've ever published in Newsday was "T Party", by S.E. Booker. Every word of every clue started with the letter T, and there were T-shapes patterns of black squares in the puzzle.
Thank you, Stan, for the great interview.
I think I'll just comment on your response to my second question. Actually, I think our definitions of crosswordese are pretty similar – I agree that ERIE, ERA, OREO, and ALDA are not crosswordese. Our disagreement with the word ARIA may be more geographical than anything. Where I live – northwestern Minnesota – we would have to travel at least 120 miles to see an opera. Like you, almost no one here appreciates opera. Unlike you, almost no one here is familiar with the word ARIA. I made the decision when I began this web-site to put it in the category of 'crosswordese'. It is by far the most used crosswordese showing up in almost 10% of crossword puzzles.
[Stan took the opportunity to make a final comment.]
Stan: You raise, indirectly, a significant point here. It's very important to me that I not inject my own personal likes and dislikes, or any biases from my Brooklyn upbringing, in deciding what is "crosswordese", or "mainstream English". By placing ARIA in your own "crosswordese" category just because operas happen not to be regularly performed near your home, is absolutely not an appropriate way to be making such decisions. It's just common sense that a nationally distributed, general interest crossword not be subjected to any personal or regional biases.
I would love to hear from you, my readers. What do you think – should ARIA be considered 'crosswordese' or is it 'mainstream English'? Please email me and let me know what you think. I may discuss this more in-depth at a later date.
May 1, 2007
April's Clever Clue of the Month
Once again we had a lot of clever clues to choose from this month. It wasn't easy, but we've narrowed your choices down to six. Vote on what you think is the best one today. (Click here if you need any explained.) Check the Clever Clue page on Wednesday to see the winner.
Beetle juice ................................GAS
Write seperate checks? ......................MISSPELL
Takes to a higher power? ....................CUBES
Target for middle management? ...............WAIST
Lush surroundings? ..........................BAR
Hit bottom? .................................SPANK
April 10, 2007
Great Puzzle Alert!
I'm a little late with this one. On March 30th Elizabeth C Gorski and Mike Shenk's Wall Street Journal puzzle was a terrible, wonderful piece of work. I have to admit I wasn't able to finish it myself – I needed help from my crossword puzzle team. Its theme: Miner Miracle.
April 3, 2007
Great Puzzle Alert!
I'm beginning a new feature on this site. I want to give you a heads-up when I run into a good puzzle that I think you'll appreciate. In my interview with Tyler Hinman last week he mentioned Merl Reagle's consistently witty Sunday puzzles. This past Sunday's puzzle was especially good. It was actually a puzzle he created for last year's American Crossword Puzzle Tournament. The theme is great. Click here.
April 1, 2007
March's Clever Clue of the Month
This month I recruited a team of experts to help me pare down a large list of clever clues. Here are the six best for the month of March. Vote on what you think is the best one today. Check the Clever Clue page on Tuesday to see the winner.
Bug's midsection ............................SHORTU
Result of foul match play? ..................ARSON
Promise to the chef? ........................OLEO
Decreasing device ...........................IRON
Dash of seasoning? ..........................MRS
Sock menders oath? ..........................DARN
March 28, 2007
Interview with Tyler Hinman
Last summer the movie Wordplay came out. Much of the movie focused on the 2005 American Crossword Puzzle Tournament in Stamford, Connecticut. The winner of that tournament was a 20-year-old college student named Tyler Hinman. Tyler won a second time in 2006. Last weekend he went on to win for a third time. Amazing!
Tyler now lives in Chicago and is a bond futures trader. Graciously, he has agreed to answer a few questions for us. (I've added a few links.)
Paul: Congratulations on winning your 3rd American Crossword Puzzle Tournament. Can you tell us a little about the tournament - memorable moment(s), interesting people?
Tyler: The tournament's just a fun event where people gather to share their love of puzzles and games. So many memories stick out in my mind. There are those related to the tournament (my victories, the raucous reaction to Ellen's long-awaited victory, etc.), and many more among the extracurricular activities (hanging out in the bar, Friday night games, homemade games of Jeopardy late at night, etc.). Everyone there is interesting in some way; I've made many friends through this hobby.
Paul: You've won three championships. You got a little exposure in the wonderful documentary, "Wordplay". Do you find yourself being recognized by strangers on the street?
Tyler: It happens only rarely. A few times in the gym, once in a Starbucks, once in a Borders...only a handful scattered here and there. My fame, if you want to call it that, extends much further on Facebook. People see the movie or hear about my triumph, and list me as a friend. I try to drop everyone a line to ask them if that's how they found me and to thank them if that's the case. I've even made a few good friends as a result of this correspondence.
Paul: You're way too young to be this good at crossword puzzles... When did you begin doing crosswords? Did your parents get you started? Did they encourage you?
Tyler: I have been doing puzzles approximately forever; I can't remember how or when I started. I began focusing on crosswords in ninth grade, when I tried one during a Friday study hall in which I didn't want to do work. It was Friday, so I was terrible at it, but I tried again on Monday and succeeded. I was exceedingly pleased with my sudden improvement before I was informed of the Times's difficulty curve. I failed again on Tuesday, but I kept trying every day and eventually improved. My parents encouraged my early puzzle habit, but didn't have much to do with the crossword obsession in particular. My dad enjoys taking a stab at the LA Times daily puzzle and Merl Reagle's Sunday puzzle (both printed in the Hartford Courant), but I think it's safe to say I've eclipsed him.
Paul: To what do you attribute your skill w/ crosswords - is it just the way your brain is wired? or is it because you've practiced with hundreds of puzzles? Do you read a lot of books?
Tyler: Part of my ability is innate; I have a pretty good memory, particularly if words are involved. And, as I said, I've always been drawn to puzzles. But it is largely practice; I learned much of what I need to know simply by solving a ton of puzzles. I learned common crosswordese, types of misdirection, etc. As for reading, I don't do it as much as I'd like.
Paul: Speaking of books, I noticed from your blog (rpipuzzleguy) that you're reading Moneyball (at 2:30 am). What do you think of it? Have you ever read a better baseball book?
Tyler: Enjoying Moneyball so far; it's an engaging read. It's pretty much required reading in our office; it carries many parallels to bond trading. I haven't read other baseball books (and I call myself a fan!), so I can't compare it to those.
Paul: Since my site is devoted to crosswordese I feel obligated to ask - do you have any favorite crosswordese words?
Tyler: I'd like to paraphrase Al Sanders's response to what his favorite letter is: I like whatever crosswordese enables me to finish the puzzle I'm working on. I speak from a solver's standpoint there, of course; I hate all crosswordese when constructing! Then again, I don't like it much in terms of solving aesthetics, either, but if it's a slam dunk for me and it gets me one step closer to success, I'll take it.
Paul: Who, in your opinion, is the best crossword constructor out there? ...the best editor? How many puzzles have you had published?
Tyler: There are so many brilliant constructors that have their own fortes. Merl Reagle is consistently witty and clever every Sunday. Frank Longo is the best with wide-open, low-word-count constructions. Patrick Berry has come up with a staggering number of truly amazing ideas that come across in well-crafted puzzles of various types. There are others, of course. As for editing, Will Shortz is king, just because of his experience and the variety of puzzles with which he's had ample experience. I also want to name Peter Gordon, who took hold of the New York Sun puzzle and has raised it to a standard of excellence on a par with the Times. My constructing output has waned of late, but I have had a good number of puzzles published. I couldn't tell you the exact numbers, but I've had work in the New York Times (about a dozen daily, two Sunday), New York Sun, Wall Street Journal (Sunday-size, on Friday), Washington Post (Sunday), LA Times (daily), and a few others. I am one of a small group of constructors making puzzles for the Onion AV Club; that gives me a chance to have a little irreverent fun in the grid sometimes.
Thank you, Tyler, for taking time out of your busy schedule to answer these questions. Best wishes in your new career and we'll be rooting for you to win again next year.
March 1, 2007
February's Clever Clue of the Month
Once again I've narrowed it down to six nominees. Vote today. Check the Clever Clue page tomorrow to see who won.
Indicator of condensation? ..................ETC
Where some losers hang out? .................SPA
What regular people eat .....................BRAN
Earth bound? ................................ATLAS
Lab report? .................................ARF
Shot for the stars? .........................BOTOX
February 1, 2007
January's Clever Clue of the Month
Once again I've narrowed it down to six nominees. Vote today. Check the Clever Clue page tomorrow to see who won.
Loses one's balance? ........................SPENDS
Don't go fast? ..............................EAT
Incapable of littering ......................NEUTERED
Break fluid? ................................TEA
Recovered from a bad stroke, say ............SHOT PAR
Shape shifters? .............................GIRDLES
January 23, 2007
The State of Crosswords
Until recently NewspaperARCHIVE.com offered a free archived crossword puzzle every day. The site offered puzzles from a few years ago all the way back to puzzles from the 50s. Some of the puzzles weren't even a full 15x15 grid – some were just 13x13. I decided to do some research. I chose to only do puzzles that were at least 20 years old. My main objective was to determine if there was more crosswordese back then than there is now. In the process I began to think about what things make a good crossword.
Were crosswords better in the good old days? Definitely not – not even close.
The first thing I've come to realize that good puzzles have is an interesting theme. Much of the time I work on puzzles with groups of people during coffee breaks. Trying to work out the theme in a group setting is a lot of fun. None of the puzzles I worked on from between 20 and 50+ years ago had a theme.
Secondly, good puzzles have clever clues. I enjoy clever clues so much I've decided to recognize the best crossword creators and editors with my Clever Clue of the Month page. Once again, the old puzzles had almost no clever clues.
Lastly, although this site is dedicated to crosswordese, I'll be the first to admit that too much crosswordese in a puzzle is not a good thing. Did the old puzzles have more crosswordese? My research determined that the old puzzles averaged about 7.2 crosswordese words per puzzle. That compares to 5.3 in 2006.
While we're on the subject of crosswordese – in my sample of 365 puzzles in 2006, only 3 had no crosswordese. So, while the amount of crosswordese has diminished, I think this shows that it will always be with us. The puzzle with the most crosswordese? Actually, there were two – two puzzles each had 13 crosswordese words: an AOL puzzle from February 15th of last year and a USA Today puzzle from the very next day!
The most common crosswordese? Aria came in first, as usual, showing up 35 times. Epee came in second showing up 27 times.
So far this year we are averaging 5.5 crosswordese words per puzzle and I expect it to stay right around that level. And, of course Aria leads the way again showing up in about 10% of the puzzles so far. Following close behind at this point are Eire and Emir.
Even though recent puzzles are much better than the old ones, I'd still like to work on one or two old puzzles a month. If you know of a source for puzzles 20-50 years old, please let me know.
January 2, 2007
December's Clever Clue of the Month
Happy New Year, everyone. This month I've narrowed it down to six nominees. Vote today. Check the Clever Clue page tomorrow to see who won.
Conversation piece? .........................PHONE
Word before noon? ...........................AFTER
It was a gas! ...............................ESSO
Like Kansas in August? ......................CORNY
Art, today? .................................ARE
Where to find pre-cooked bacon? .............STY
December 1, 2006 Clever Clue of the Month
November 1, 2006 Clever Clue of the Month
October 2, 2006 Clever Clue of the Month
September 1, 2006 August's Clever Clue of the Month
August 1, 2006 July's Clever Clue of the Month
July 15, 2006 Who Writes Better Puzzles, Humans or Computers
July 1, 2006 June's Clever Clue of the Month
June 10, 2006 6 Days 'til Wordplay
June 1, 2006 May's Clever Clue of the Month
May 1, 2006 April's Clever Clue of the Month
April 15, 2006 The Perfect Crosswordese Meal
April 1, 2006 Clever Clue of the Month for March
March 15, 2006 Crosswordese Hall of Fame
March 1, 2006 Your Opportunity to Vote
February 11, 2006 30 Minutes of Fame
January 1, 2006 Happy New Year
December 3, 2005 Christmas Shopping
August 20, 2005 Crosswordese and the Arts
June 26, 2005 Alzheimer’s and Crossword Puzzles
March 12, 2005 More Great Links
March 1, 2005 Chicken Strata ala King
February 12, 2005 Spelling Bee
February 1, 2005 A 75th Anniversary
January 22, 2005 Unexpected Pleasures
January 1, 2005 Let The Adventure Begin
Paul Stynsberg, Crosswordese.com © 2007
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