New York Times Crossword Puzzle Editor Will Shortz rejected it but told him not to give up. When he was 12, he constructed his first crossword puzzle (the theme was puns on the game Clue) on graph paper with a pencil and eraser and sent it to theTimes. It didn’t take long, though, beforedoingpuzzles wasn’t enough for David. His best time is three minutes flat for a Monday puzzle. if it’s Sunday or Monday) for theTimespuzzle to post.
TV talk-show funnyman Jon Stewart admits in the documentary that he will do the crossword in USA Today, “but I don’t feel good about myself.”ĭavid is not a puzzle purist, he will solve the occasional Los Angeles Times puzzle, but he does wait at his computer every night at 7 p.m. Loyal fans who make appearances in “Wordplay” include President Bill Clinton, filmmaker Ken Burns and former Major League Baseball pitcher Mike Mussina. This is perhaps a good place to pause and explain that The New York Times crossword is the gold standard of crossword puzzles, an American icon. Sundays are the longest and as hard as a Thursday puzzle. At one point in “Wordplay” (which came out in 2006), former New York Times Public Editor Daniel Okrent compares putting one of Reagle’s puzzles in the Tuesday paper to putting Barry Bonds in Little League.įor the uninitiated, The New York Times crosswords get harder as the week goes on. Reagle is considered one of the most prolific and creative puzzle constructors out there. He is so hungry for this.Īnother former champ, Trip Payne, confides to the camera that he had to leave New York for Florida to get away from “the puzzle scene.”īy the time David finished watching the documentary, he wanted to be just like Merl Reagle.
In another scene, a former tournament champ named Ellen Ripstein talks about the danger of a young up-and-comer named Tyler:Tyler is just like a tiger. He has had a lifelong obsession with puzzles and owns over 20,000 puzzle books.The excitement is palpable, the man on camera says as competitors hunch over their crossword puzzles, furiously scribbling.
Shortz is the 4 th crossword editor in the newspaper’s history. He has had a lifelong obsession with puzzles and owns over 20,000 puzzle books. He became the New York Times crossword puzzle editor in 1993, following Eugene Thomas. He began his career at Penny Press, a crossword magazine company, before moving onto Games magazine, where he served as puzzle editor between 19. Born in 1952, Will was raised in Indiana and obtained a college degree in enigmatology (the study of puzzles) in 1974. Who Is The Editor Of The New York Times Crossword?Īll New York Times Crosswords are edited by Will Shortz, one of the world’s most experienced crossword editors. A specification sheet is available on the New York Times website for anyone interested in submitting a puzzle. The puzzles are written by a variety of different contributors.
The answers reference a variety of topics including television shows, movies, classical music, art, history, and other elements of popular culture. The New York Times Crossword uses a variety of clue types including puns, anagrams, cryptic clues, sound clues, and double clues. New York Times Crossword Puzzle - Style And Conventions