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The New York Times crossword

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The New York Times crossword puzzle is a daily puzzle found in The New York Times, and several other newspapers and journals. The puzzle is created by various freelance writers and is edited by Will Shortz. The puzzle becomes increasingly difficult throughout the week, with the easiest puzzle on Monday and the most difficult puzzle on Friday or Saturday.[1] The larger Sunday crossword is an icon in American culture; it is typically intended to be as difficult as a Thursday puzzle. The standard daily crossword is 15 squares x 15 squares, while the Sunday crossword measures 21 squares x 21 squares. All crosswords have symmetry: they can be rotated 180 degrees and still keep the same position of the white and black spaces.

History

While crosswords became popular in the early 1920s, it was not until 1942 that The New York Times began running a crossword in its Sunday edition. In 1950, the crossword became a daily feature. There have been four editors of the puzzle: Margaret Farrar, Will Weng, Eugene T. Maleska, and the current editor, Will Shortz.

In 2007, Majesco released The New York Times Crosswords game, a video game adaptation for the Nintendo DS handheld. The game includes over 1,000 crosswords by The New York Times, and features them from all days of the week, with their correct dates next to the puzzle.

Conventions

  • Any time a clue contains an abbreviation, the answer will also be an abbreviation (e.g. M.D. org. = AMA).
  • Any time a clue is a statement ending in a question mark, the answer is a play on words.
  • Occasionally, midweek puzzles will require certain squares to be filled in with a symbol, multiple letters, or a word, rather than one letter. This symbol/letters/word will be repeated throughout the puzzle, and will be hinted at in at least one other clue.
  • French- and Spanish-language answers appear several times a week, often indicated by a French or Spanish city or personal name in the clue (e.g. 'Friends of Pierre' = Amis).
  • Any time a clue is plural, the answer is also plural.
  • The tense of a clue is the same as the tense of its answer.


Newspapers which carry the puzzle

The puzzle is published in several newspapers and journals besides the New York Times itself, including the following (incomplete) list.

See also

References

Stub icon 1 Stub icon 2

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  1. ^ Will Shortz "How to Solve the New York Times Crossword"
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