Every December I compile some observations on the past year of NYT puzzles. Normally, I include my Puzzle of the Year. This time, it’s a group of puzzles, and a special Person of the Year. Puzzles Let’s start with some of the puzzles that caught my eye. Dan Schmiedeler’s Three... Continue reading

If you’re a crossword person, you probably have a notion of what Maleska puzzles were like compared to Shortz ones. Thanks to The Pre-Shortzian Puzzle Project, I’ve been able to look at nearly 2,000 such crosswords going back to 1989. It’s certainly not true that Maleska grids were devoid of... Continue reading

That’s a personal question, of course, but I have a scientific way of determining which crosswords are memorable to me, and I’ve been thinking about what that means for the art form. I’ve been solving crosswords for years but until recently, I wasn’t a particularly careful observer. Puzzles came and... Continue reading

Nope, it wasn't me. I didn’t write it but I can see why you're confused. Where’d You Go, Bernadette is a way insiderly novel about people who live in the Seattle area, some of whom work at Microsoft just around the corner from my building, and maybe travel to Antarctica.... Continue reading

I recently posed the question, what are the most common clues Will Shortz has used in NYT crosswords? Jeffrey Krasnick and joon pahk quickly came up with “Jai ____” which, sure enough, is #1. ALAI is a convenient combination of letters (75% vowels) and there aren’t a lot of good... Continue reading

Each layer of puzzles unearthed by the archeological “litzers” of The Pre-Shortzian Puzzle Project is a step back in time. Newly discovered artifacts shed light on the world of puzzles but also the world at large. So far, they’re only back to the early 1990s but the differences are striking.... Continue reading

All donations to XWord Info made during the month of August will go to David Steinberg and the Pre-Shortzian Puzzle Project. With help from Barry Haldiman and several others, David Steinberg is on a mission to amass digitized versions of published NYT puzzles from before Will Shortz became editor. XWord... Continue reading

Every December I look back on the year of NYT puzzles, highlight some that caught my eye, and pick my Puzzle of the Year. There’s little suspense for the Outstanding Achievement of 2011 but read on anyway. There is much to celebrate this year. Grids As usual, I start with... Continue reading

Which is harder to create from scratch? At the New York Times, acrostics are those rectangular Second Sunday puzzles that appear on alternate weeks in the magazine. Most crossword solvers summarily ignore them but acrostics have a loyal, even fanatical following. The passion and, yes, smugness of the fans reminds... Continue reading

I used to write about crosswords for The New York Times at a blog called Wordplay. That job ended today so, of course, it’s not too soon for my first tell-all exposé that will blow the lid off that whole operation. Here’s the key question: How early did I get... Continue reading

I rarely grant interviews, but how could I say no to a student researching blogs and blogging, especially when the student is Shay Troy. It turns out that after blogging regularly for three years now, I do have some thoughts on the subject. Here are Shay’s questions and my answers:... Continue reading

A Personal Review of Das Rheingold – I’m Not Completely Impressed In the world of opera, no event is more anticipated than a new Ring production. The Met has been planning their new cycle for years and Part One, Das Rheingold, has already opened. The rest will unfold over the... Continue reading