Lux andTideandWendellWillkie

PlusAmerica'sMostCreativeCrosswords
By the Nation'sTopConstructors

Volumell, N
,l

May/June
1992

i-: ,... i :: i

i3.95
:
:
:11n.|.

:,.

...,

''i

::

,::|*A,f
tdtthe:

RENATSSANCE
MAAT
Wll Shortz
byHeleneHovanec
n 1976,when PrincetonUniversityof- New York, is involvedin almosteveryaspect
feredits ivy-covered
facilitiesfor confer- of the puzzle world. He is most visible as
encesandconventions,
theNationalPuz- editarof Gamesmagazine
andtheonlyknown
zlers' I-eague SIPL) was one of the lrst
groupsto hold a get-togetherthere.Founded
in 1883, the NPL had not held an annual
mectingsince 1958. Its membershipwas declining and no one had the energyto organize
a convention.Will Shortzhadbeena member
of the NPL for only two years when he proposedreinstituting conventions.He found a
willing ally in thiswriter, who offeredto be the
conventionorganizerwhile Shofi servedas
progam chairman.
Shortz contacted selected members and
togetherthey devised an array of individual
puzzlesand team competitions for a whirlwind weekendof word games.The program
"Jackpot"
beganwith
word riddles,basedon
aTV show of the samename--"In what way
might an 80-poundman go swimming?"Is
"Skinny
answer,
dipping," setthe tonefor the
punnyword play that prevailed all weekend.
Whena memberappearedwe aing aNewYork
Iimrs crosswordpuzzlet-shirt,anothermember dcadpannedthat he was glad "she was
keepingabreastof the times."
All.hough only 27 persons (including
membcrs'spouses)attended,this lust "modem"conventionimpactedontheentirepuzzle
world in severalways.
First,theNPL benefitedby ar.rmcringnew
andyoungermemberswhile its currentmemberssteppcdup their level of participarion.
Sccond,annual conventions became an
integralpart of ttre league again with each
subsequentmeeting attracting more membcrs,innovative team games,and increased
camaraderie
amongparticipants.
Third, puzzling was discovered by the
mediaas an event.worthy of coverage.The
1976conventiongeneratedarticles in newspapers
inNew York,New Jeney,Pennsylvania
and thenacrossthe country via UPI. Since
thattimenewspapers,
magazines,radioshows,
andtclevisionprogramshavecovercdpuzzle
eventsregularly.
Will Shortz,with his education,expertise,
played a major role in the
and enl.husiasm,
renaissance
and popularization of puzzles.
The 39-year-oldbachelorfrom Forest Hills,
MayiJune1992

person in the world with a degree in

enigmatology,thestudyof wordpuzzles.He
coordinatestwo major annual events-the
NPL convention and the Stamford (Connecticut) Marriott CrosswordCompetition.
In addition, he is puzzlemasterfor National
Public Radio, author of a dozenbooks, and
owner of the world's larsest collection of
puzzle books.

puzzler. In a truth-is-stranger-ftan-fiction
scenariothat's exactly what happened.
Shortzconstructedhislrstcrossword when
his mother was hosting a bridge game and
wanted to keep her nine-year-oldson occupied. "She gaveme unusual-sizedpaper---6"
wide and 13" long-ruled it inro squarcs,
explainedthat words shouldcross,andshowed
me how to number a crossword and write
clues. I spent the afternoon holed up in my
room constructing a ptzzle. I instinctively
knew it would be better to have more white

ANDTHEOTHERWYNNERS
ARE...
In the January 1992 issue we annormcedthe Crossword Puzzle Person of the Year, William
Lutwiniak. Here are the other Wynners:
Best editorof a magazine orbook: Nancy Schuster,editor-in-chief ofDel/ ChampionPuzzles.
Schuster oversees a small staff of editors and free-lancers who consistently produce puzzle
magazineswith Iively clues, clever themes,and creative contests.Schusterworks closely with her
staff to enable them to meet tight editorial deadlineswhile adhering to the high standardsshe has
set for the departrrrent.
Bestcrypticcrossword:EmilyCoxandHenryRathvonfor"Deduction"inTlrz
Atlantic,Ocn&r
199l.In this multi-partpuzzle, solversdecodedb'rilliantcryptic clues, and then addedorsubtracted
letters from clues or rurswersto determine the weapon, the perpetrator, and the crime scene in this
mystery cry?tic.
Best 15x 15 crossword: KevinBoyleforhis "Nifty Fifty-Sixer"in thesrnday NewYorkTimes
of Seprember22,1991.The titlerefers to the low word count. EditorEugeneT. Maleskanominated
Boyle for this remarkable construction feat.
Bestnon<rossword: Willshortz, editorof G anus magazine,forhis overallworkinpresenting
new and clever word puzzles to solvers (See article on this page).
Best Sunday puzzle: Merl Reagle for"Terms of Engagement"in the San FranciscoExarniner.
Some people will do anything to ger invited to a wedding (See article on page 7).
Best puzzle in a magazine: Eric Albert for "Treasure Hunt" contest n Dell champion
Crossword Puzzles, August 1991. Some constructors will do anything to prevent solvers from
winning $50 (See article on page 9).
Best new constructor: JamesDwyer for his crossword "Going Like Sixty" inTough Puzzles,
December 1991. The title refen to the 60-word corurt of the puzzle. Dwyer used a minimum of
obscure words for a maximum of enjoyment.
Besteditorof asyndicatedpuzzle: StarileyNewmanforhis S'tndayNewsdaypuzzles.Newman
has been the most vocal critic of the "dead" language used in many syndicated crosswords, He
commissionspuzzles from top constructorswho adhereto his strict guidelines to avoid unusualor
obscure answer words, combining forms and variant spellings, uncommon forms of words,
referencesto unpleasanhess,etc.

Shortz's activities aren't limited to the

United States;he competesin international
puzzle competitions and correspondswith
puzzlers all over ttre world. His office at
Games tuncions asa clearinghouse
for puzzle
information and he servesas puzzledom's
unofficial ambassadorof good will.
As a child growing up in Crawfordsville,
Indiana,Shortzjokedthathe'd majorin puzzles
in collegeandpursueacareerasaprofessional
CROSSW RD

squaresthan black squa-res."

He srartedselling puzzles to Dell Magazines when he was 16. Bcfore he could be
acceptedas a regular cont-ributor,Shortzhad
to submit two lefi.crsof referenceand agree
not to scll puzzlesto any other massmarket
magazines. His speechteacherand grocer
wrote the letterswithout mentioninghis age.
"I
was afraid Dcll would takeadvantageof
(Continuedon Page 7)
P a g e5

Shortz (from Page5)

timepuzzlejob withPennyPress,apublisher editor and then becameeditor of the entire

of massmarketptu;zlemagazines.
The new magazinefor one yearprior to its demisein
me if they knew how old I was," Shorz owners,PennyandBill Kanlor,hadjust pur- 1990.After Gameswas resurrectedin July
recalled.His puzzle,"Time Test," consisted chasedthe company,moved it from New 1991Shortzwasagainnamededitor.
of a setof five wordteasers,
e.g.,Changeone York City to Stamford,
Connecticut,
andlost
Shortz'sresponsibilities
include"coming
letterin eachwordbelowto form a common mostof theirstaff in the transition.Neither upwith ideasfor features
andtappingthebest
saying:WREN TIE OAT'S SWAY SI{E owner knew anything about crosswords. personto do them."He alsocontributes
his
MINE WILD PLAN. (Whenrhecar'saway Penny,who wouldbe overseeing
themaga- own puzzlesand oversees
the
eight-person
themicewill play.)"The ideawasthatif you zines,wasreluctantto hire Shortz(he was staff,eachof whomis responsible
for his or
workedlongenoughonthepageyou'dbeable very youngandhadno editorialexperience), herareaof expertise.
Togethertheyputouta
to solveall of them.It wasa forerunnerof my but changed
hermindaftermeetinghim and slick magazinefilled with crosswords
and
Brain Gartesbooks."
leamingabouthis background.
varietypuzzles.
"Wacky
At IndianaUniversityShortzwaspursuing
Shortz worked there summen, creating
Wordies,"oneof themostpopular
a majorin economics
whenhelearnedabout and editing puzzles,while he attendedlaw features,reaftmgeslettersand,/orsymbolsof
the individualizedmajorsprogram,which schoolat the Universityof Virginia.Upon familiarwordsor phrases,
e.g.,head ache
qualifiedstudents
enabled
to designtheirown graduationin 1977heoptednotto takethebar (splittingheadache),
momanon(manin the
courses.
Soheswitchedgearsandfor ttrenext examanddecidedttratttreonly Hialshe was moon),andDOft.OR (footin ttredoor).
two yearsimmersedhimselfin puzzlesby interested
in weretherial-testingof puzzles.
In "SplitEnds,"
cluesarecutintotwoparts
"TheDevelopment
studying
of Wordpuzzles He continuedhiscareeratPennyPress,stay- and numbered.Solvershaveto pair up the
in GreatBritainfrom 1700to 1850,""Word- ing ttrereuntil early1978.
parts to find the cluesand then add up the
Forms,""ThePsychology
of PuzzleSolvers,"
During that time Gamesmagazinepre- numbersto find ttrelocationof theanswerin
"Popular Mathematical
and Geometrical miered.Shortzremembers
hisreactionwhen thegrid.For example,#16 and#12 combine
"A
Puzzles,"
Studyof Anagrams,"andother hesawthefirstissue."I felt a combination
of to form the clue "It tumswhen/youentera
"Doorknob"
self-constructed
tutorials.His seniorthesis, joy andjealousy;it wasexactlythe type of room"andtheanswer,
isentered
"The History
of AmericanWord Puzzlesto magazine
I wouldhavestarted."Shortzknew in#28(16+ 12).
"The
1860,"tracedthe developmentof puzzles hewantedtobeinvolvedwith thisventureand
World'sMostOmeryCrossword,"
a
from a literary manifestationof the most lookedfor an appropriateentry. His modus Gamesstaple.
givessolversachoiceof"easy"
leamcdwritersto a popularpastimein mass operandiwasoutofform for a puzzleeditor, or "hard"clues,e.g.,"Zzzzzzzz..." ',Sheet
or
marketmagazines.
but serendipitous
nevertheless.
He misread music?"for "Snore";"SallyandAyn',or,eOneofShorz'sfavoritecourses
consisted thecluesfor a blindHelpWantedad.Believ- T connectors?"
for "Rands";and"Very thin,
"I started ingthatthe"qualitypuzzle
entirelyof constructing
crosswords.
publication"seek- asa fracture"or "Victim of a recession?"
for
historicallywittr ttre earliestcrosswords- ing an editorwith "new ideas"wasGames, "Ilairline."
wordsquaresand otherforms-and spenta Shortzwalkedunannounced
inmeditorMike
Shortzlikestousethought-provokingclues
fewweeksmakingthose.ThenI movedon to Donner'soffice andappliedfor thejob. Al- suchas thosein his "Bull's-Eye
20 euesmodernAmerican style crosswordswith thoughDonnerhadn'tplacedthead,he was tions," whichnecessitate
eliminating20 out
themesand symmetricalgrids.After that I sufhcientlyimpressed
with Shortz's creden- of 24 wordsfroma bull's-eyetargetandthen
constructed
punsand anagmms.
Every few tials to offer him a free-lancepositionon ttre reanangingttreleftoversto form a shortquoweeksI would bring my professorseveral spot.
tation.
newpuzzlesandI wouldsit in hisofficeand
InjustafewmonthsShortzwasa full-time
Examples:
Whichword
gaugehis reactionwhile he solvedthem." employee-associateeditorin chargeof the
...means,
to a punster,the purposeof at_
"A"
Shofi gotan
in thecourseandgraduated Pencilwise
section,editing16pagesof cross- tendinga Bosronfleamarket(toboggan)
withhonorsin 1974.
words,cryptics,doublecrostics,and other
...sounds
liketwoconsecutive
arithmetical
AftergraduationShortzgot his lrst full- wordpuzzles.
Heworkedhiswayupto senior
i
(Continuedon page 9)

Termsof Engagement
:,.When
Neil Nathansonmet Leslie Hamiltonshewassolvinga specialeditionpuzzlefor Nathansonby color-coding
the themadc
rsswordin
aPaloAltocafe.
Notjustanyoldcrossword,
butawitty entries.Theactualproposal-DEAR LESLIE,Wtr"L tOU MARRY
.of wordplayby West Coasi maven Merl Reagle.The two ME, NEII-was positionedsmackin thecenterof tie grid.
thatamongtheirmanymutualinterestswasafascination
As Hamiltonsolvedshestartedto get cluesrhatthe
fuzzle was
ithReagle's
cleverconcoctions.
Theirtwo-yearromance
included sne.cial,
After filling in a blankspacewith her narneshecaughton
of Reagle'scrosswords
LularSundaymorningsolvingsessions
in to thethemeandanswered
Nathansonwith a three-lett",*ord. The
r SanFranciscoExaminer.
couplevowedto inviteReagleto thewedding.
So,whenNathanson
decidedto askHamiltonto marryhim, he
an intonseamountof mediacoverage,
. Thiscrosswordgenerated
nt to the masterwordsmithto seekhis help in presentingthe wittr
itemsaboutthecrossword
proposalappearing
on tcteuisiona"nJ
in a puzzlingmanner.Reagleobligedby construcringa rn ne]vspape$acrosstheU.S.
people magazinedeandoverseas.
sswordwith a weddingtheme---champagne,
ring, tux, honey- voteda wholepageto it (completewith a pictureof Narhanson
and
on,limo,buffet,caterer,
etc.-for thegeneral
public.In addition, Hamiltoncoveredwith crosswords),
and Reaglehasappeared
on
I a personalmessagefor Hamiltonin the grid. Reagle radioralk shows.
M her alma mater(Stanford),favoritedog (dachshund), Reaglehas no cross words about the hype
surroundingthis
(planner),placeof birth (Montana),etc.,andprepareda puzzle,
CROSSWRD

Page 7

You want.themto havefun doingthepuzzles." "First of all, it's importantfor me to be ableto

Through 16 Mariott lournamentsand five put my hands on anything in my library. I
operations?(Sometimcs;sum + times)
U.S. Open competitions(the latter qponsored think stuff isn't worth havingif you can't use
...consistsoftwo consecutivewordsmean- by Garnes),Shortzhasentertainedcontestants it. Secondly,I believe in making the library
"a
ing legal matter"? (Suilcase)
as they have been racing through the cross- andinformationin itavailableto otherpeople,
...would spell the name of a movie if you words. He has used twisted phrases("Nose so if anyonehas a questionor wantsto usea
droppedits middle letter? @rano; Dr. No).
through the pay" for "Gather salary intclli- book, that's fine. And if I can put it in an
As puzzlemaster for National Public gence'),punnymovies(Farewell Two Anns" exhibit that's somethingI'm anxiousto do."
Radio's "Weekend Edition Sunday" since for "Venus's shortcomingsexposed"), re- Shortz's materialon crosswordsmadeup the
1986, Shortz "presentsquick puzzles to the buses ("O 2 B in England" for "Famous bulk of an exhibit in rhe Simon & Schuster
audience."Solvershave to be able to answer Robert Browning line"), dropped letters buildingin 1991.
in rapid-flre sequences."If the category is ("Untie Mame" for"Of HumanBondage coShortz zealouslyobtainsbooks by going trc
words that end in 'go,' I'll give clues like: feahre?"),andaudioclues(ScnatorClaghom's usedandrarebookshows,auliorizing dealcrslc
largestcityin Illinois (Chicago),dance(tango), voice,musicby theGo-Go's,andthesoundof buy material for him, advcrtisingin collecton'
Zaire's former name (Congo), etc., to a lis- a curlew).
publications,andtradingbmks with collcagues.
tsner on the phone." Contestantsare drawn
Shortzenteredtheintemationalpnzzlg2lsls (IIe's alsobeenknown to "steal" ffeasuresfrom
from apool of solverswho haveansweredthe afterleamingaboutacongressof socialistpuzzle friends!)Shortzisproudtoowncopiesofthehrst
previousweek's challenge pltzzle coneAJy.
"a
Shorz thinks that lot ofpeople play along
at home,but just a minusculefraction sendin
If Eric Alberteverwantsto changecareersfrom a full-timecruciverbalistto a cloakanswers."
and-dagger
operativehe could usehis "TreasureHunt" crosswordcontestinsteadof a
Shortz's books include the Brain Games
resume.He'll getthejob!
seriesin which solversplayaroundwith words:
Solverswho scanned
thecontestgrid with its shadedsquares
andcircleskncw they'd
Unscramblerelated words in each sethavetosolvethecrosswordto
unearth
thefirstcluein thehunt.Theyjustdidn'tknowhow
GRIN, REBID, INTERIMS- and identify
convolutedthetrail wouldbecome.
the place you'd be likely to find rhem (ring,
Albert'schallenge
wasa six-partsolvingsession
thatrequiredpaflicipants
to go through
bride,minister; wedding).
anactualhuntto find tle contestphrase.Thisinvolvedsolvinganoriginalptzzle,reading
Insert a letter inside a hve-letter word to
thesecondlettersof tlreacrosscluesin reverseorder,readingthegrid lettersto theright of
form a six-letter word in reverse-THINK thecircles,usingcertainlettersin ttreshadedsquares,solvinganotherAlbert puzzlein the
KMGHT; FILER - RELIEF; SPILT - rumagazine,
andthenreading
themajordiagonal
entryin thefirstpuzzle.
Aftercompleting
all
LIPS.
thesteps,solversdiscovered
thetreasure
phrase:lIAppINESs,PEACE,AND LovE.
Nametwo lettersof thealphabet.that
sound
1,419peoplesentin entries,makingit the secondmost popularcontest.in Dell's
like theanswertoeachclue-Wigwam (Tp),
history,soit appears
thatsolversenjoybeingchallenged
whenit's donesocreatively.A
Surplus(XS), Fourscore(AT).
recordnumberof solverswrotefanletterspraisingAlbert.Typicalof thecommenm
was
Answertheclue with apairof antonymsthis onefrom Luella M. Phillips,"congrarulationsto Mr. Albert-I didn't realizehow
Not asgooda gambler (worse better); Particumuchinformationcouldbe concealed
in a coupleof puzzles!,,
lar officer (certain gencral); Fairly unattracAlbert spenttwo weekson thepuzzleandwaspleasedwith theresults.His goal,,was
tive (pretty homely).
to givesolversthefeelingofbeingon a realtreasure
hunt,in whichtheyareledfrom clue
As coordinatorof the Marriott crossword
to clue,neversurewhentheywill be finished."He's alreadyworkingon a sequel,.,son
toumaments
since1978,Shortzcommissions
of TreasureHunt," whichpromisesto bejust asdevious.
puzzlesfrom top constructors,edits thcm,
oversces
theactualcompetition,creatcsgroup editrcnfrom aYugoslavianNPL membcr.Shortz nl/oSimon& Schustcrcrosswordpuzzle
books,
wordgames,and servcsas masterof ceremo- wasthehrst non-socialisteditorto atrcndEastem completewith dustjacket
andpencil,andcopies
nies at the awards banquct. He recruils his bloc puzzle conventions.When the congresscs of ArthurWynne's
hrstcrosswordfrom theNew
puzzle associates(mosLly editors and con- were replaced in 1989 with an Intemational YorkWorld
on Dcccmbcr 21,lgl3. All rhe
structors)to serve as judges and help with CrosswordMarathon,Shortztook teamsof top shclvesin his eight
7-foot bookcasesare fillcd
everythingfrom registering participants to American solversto the,seevents.Cunently he with przzle book
; somcareevcnpilcd on mpof
awardingprizes.
and this writer arecoordinatingthe First World the bookcaseswhilc othcn spill over onlo fie
Shortz regularly uses puzzles by Maura PuzzleTeam Championshipto be held in New floor. Shortzhas
boxcd himself out of his living
Jacobson,Henry Hook, Mike Shenk, Merl Yoft Ciry in June199.
room andrrcognircs theneedto move to Ltrger
Reagle,andotherconstructorswhosethemes
Shortz, an obsessivecollector of puzzle quarters.'Right now I'm too busyto lmk for a
andcluesareconsistentwith Shortz'soverall material,hasthe world's largestcollection of biggerplace,but I
will when I havetherime."
grosswordphilosophy."I feel strongly about puzzlebooks,magazines,newspaper
articles,
In a field where spccialistspredominate,
crosswordsusing the language that pcople magazine trade cards, and ephcmera.Thc Will Shortzis a Rcnirissance
maninterestedin
use-phrases,names,even brand names,if items are methodicallyarrangedinto the fol- all typesof puzzles
andall facctsof thepuzzle
they're nationally known." He believes in lowing broad categories:crosswords,double world. His goal is
to whack solversout of their
"having
themesthatare fun and fresh.I don't cros[ics,foreign puzzlebooks,puzzle dictio- complaccncyand force
thcm to scewords in
likepuzzlesthatsendpeopletothedictionary. naries,word play, paperbacks
,puzzle history a ncw light.
!
I don't like puzzles that make people feel andtieory, charadesandenigmas,and"really
stupidif theycan't solve[hem.That's exactly old books."
HELENE HOVANEC is editorandpubthe wrong feeling you want to give solvers.
Shortzfeelsvery stronglyabouthislibrary. Iishcr
o[ Kids' Puzzle

Shortz (from Page7)

TREASURE
HUNT

Express.

May/June
1992

CROSSW RD

Page 9