# New York Times crosswords **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [February 27, 2010, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-york-times-crosswords/530608 "2010-02-27T03:23:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2010, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-york-times-crosswords/530608/41 "2010-03-08T06:14:36Z")
> [@Omniscient](#): > > I believe that all puzzles should be done in pen… I only do crosswords in pen. I don’t bother with sudokus. Should I finish the regular crossword, I’ll do any available diagramless, again in pen. But always, when I solve a puzzle, it’s in pen. ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2010, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-york-times-crosswords/530608/42 "2010-03-08T06:16:23Z")
> [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](#): > > Dude. I gotta challenge you on this. Feel free. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2010, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-york-times-crosswords/530608/43 "2010-03-08T17:22:25Z")
[QUOTE=Ximenean;12197165 I sometime criticise non-cryptics for having clues that yield more than one plausible answer.[/QUOTE] But that’s part of the fun in a crossword. If it were simple one-to-one mapping with every clue having only one plausible answer, that would kind ruin the fun of crosswords. That’s why you have such tightly interwoven downs and crosses, so you can sort out ambiguity that way. Except for this election day puzzle, I can’t think of ever coming across a crossword where ambiguity caused multiple valid answers in both the down and across clues. ---
**Author:** ![Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a9a28c/32.png) [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2010, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-york-times-crosswords/530608/44 "2010-03-09T05:31:26Z")
> [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](#): > > Dude. I gotta challenge you on this. > [@Omniscient](#): > > Feel free. I’ll look for one that I can’t solve by inspection and post it; if you can, maybe you could share your tricks. ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2010, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-york-times-crosswords/530608/45 "2010-03-09T05:37:59Z")
> [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](#): > > I’ll look for one that I can’t solve by inspection and post it; if you can, maybe you could share your tricks. Um, I have no idea what you are talking about. You might want to reread what I said. ---
**Author:** ![Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a9a28c/32.png) [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2010, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-york-times-crosswords/530608/46 "2010-03-09T06:08:57Z")
> [@Omniscient](#): > > Um, I have no idea what you are talking about. You might want to reread what I said. You are right - I misread what you posted. Blame it on age, alcohol, or having been in college in the '70’s (although I suspect that the current college experience is not terribly different than mine). ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2010, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-york-times-crosswords/530608/47 "2010-03-09T07:03:49Z")
> [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](#): > > You are right - I misread what you posted. Blame it on age, alcohol, or having been in college in the '70’s (although I suspect that the current college experience is not terribly different than mine). There’s probably a joke in there to be made regarding your ability to parse simple English and the implications it has on crosswords and sudoku but I wouldn’t think of making it. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2010, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-york-times-crosswords/530608/48 "2010-03-11T21:58:36Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > But that’s part of the fun in a crossword. If it were simple one-to-one mapping with every clue having only one plausible answer, that would kind ruin the fun of crosswords. That’s why you have such tightly interwoven downs and crosses, so you can sort out ambiguity that way. Except for this election day puzzle, I can’t think of ever coming across a crossword where ambiguity caused multiple valid answers in both the down and across clues. Yes, my opinion is probably coloured by experience with British non-cryptics, which are quite different from NYT puzzles. Instead, their grids are in the British style, with relatively few crossing letters. And the clues tend to be straighter and not as inventive as those in NYT puzzles. Without the double meaning of cryptic clues or the wit of pithy American clues, they boil down to tedious games of “think of a synonym”. A typical non-cryptic clue might be “Deciduous tree (5)”. Not very stimulating, and yet annoying difficult, because there are quite a few candidates. OTOH, there is still a large “think of a synonym” element in the tighter multi-crossing design of American non-cryptic puzzles. But they add a “grid fitting” element, like those puzzles where you are simply given all the answers, and are challenged to fit them into a grid. I do enjoy that kind of puzzle, but they still don’t seem to me to be as satisfying as cryptic puzzles, in which every clue is a minor puzzle in its own right. And some cryptic puzzles do actually incorporate grid fitting and all the other inventive ideas that you see in NYT-style puzzles, and then some. ---
**Author:** ![Rack-a-Bones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rack-a-Bones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rack-a-Bones)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2010, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-york-times-crosswords/530608/49 "2010-03-12T00:56:22Z")
Here in Seattle we get the NYT crossword Monday - Sunday. M-Sa we also get The Daily Crossword by Wayne Robert Williams. That one can be kind of quirky. On Sunday we get the Merle Riggleman puzzle with the NYT puzzle. I can usually do the Daily every time and the NYT M-W. I don’t even bother with Thursday and some times I can get Friday. I don’t think I’ve ever finished a Saturday or Sunday NYT. The crosswords with symbols or multiple letters in a square are an abomination. That isn’t a crossword any more IMO. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2010, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-york-times-crosswords/530608/50 "2010-03-12T02:42:51Z")
> [@Rack-a-Bones](#): > > On Sunday we get the Merle Riggleman puzzle with the NYT puzzle. Merle Reagle? ---
**Author:** ![Rack-a-Bones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rack-a-Bones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rack-a-Bones)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2010, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-york-times-crosswords/530608/51 "2010-03-12T06:19:41Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > Merle Reagle? Yep. That’s the guy. I was going by memory. At least I got the Merle part right ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2010, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-york-times-crosswords/530608/52 "2010-03-12T12:00:49Z")
It’s actually “Merl,” no “e,” which I always forget, even though I know him. (Calling him a friend would be a stretch, but I do have his personal email address.) Funny, funny guy IRL. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2010, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-york-times-crosswords/530608/53 "2010-03-12T15:15:30Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > It’s actually “Merl,” no “e,” which I always forget, even though I know him. (Calling him a friend would be a stretch, but I do have his personal email address.) Funny, funny guy IRL. Hilarious. I haven’t seen him in ten years, but one of my favorite memories of the old Stamford tournament was when I beat Merl and Maura Jacobson in a couple of trivia games that Trip Payne and Stan Newman wrote. I figured, “If I can’t solve your puzzles, at LEAST I can beat you at trivia!” My petty “revenge” would have felt even better if Merl and Maura hadn’t been so nice! ---
**Author:** ![Rack-a-Bones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rack-a-Bones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rack-a-Bones)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2010, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-york-times-crosswords/530608/54 "2010-03-12T17:31:34Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > It’s actually “Merl,” no “e,” which I always forget, even though I know him. (Calling him a friend would be a stretch, but I do have his personal email address.) Funny, funny guy IRL. > [@astorian](#): > > Hilarious. I haven’t seen him in ten years, but one of my favorite memories of the old Stamford tournament was when I beat Merl and Maura Jacobson in a couple of trivia games that Trip Payne and Stan Newman wrote. > > I figured, “If I can’t solve your puzzles, at LEAST I can beat you at trivia!” > > My petty “revenge” would have felt even better if Merl and Maura hadn’t been so nice! [One Upper] Yeah, well, Will Shortz is my father. No, check that,\*\*\* I\*\*\* am Will Shortz. I just spelled “Merl” wrong to throw you off. [/OU] ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2010, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-york-times-crosswords/530608/55 "2010-03-12T21:04:42Z")
No need for one-upsmanship. I’m NOT part of the Inner Circle of Crossword Royalty. I’ve MET most of the big shots, but haven’t seen any of them in a decade, and doubt strongly if I made much of an impression on any of them. If you knew my real name and mentioned it to Will Shortz, he’d probably think a long time and say, “Uh… yeah. I think I remember him. Tall guy. I published a few of his puzzles ages ago.” ---
**Author:** ![Rack-a-Bones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rack-a-Bones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rack-a-Bones)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2010, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-york-times-crosswords/530608/56 "2010-03-12T22:08:46Z")
Sorry. I wasn’t trying to offend. I had just read about the “one upper coworker” over in the mini-rant thread and I just couldn’t resist a little jab when I read yours and **twickster** ’s post. I am not at all surprised there are Dopers who have had puzzles published or know Will Shortz. From what I’ve read/heard he seems pretty funny and laid back. I mean he went on _The Simpsons!_ ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2010, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-york-times-crosswords/530608/57 "2010-03-12T22:24:27Z")
> [@Rack-a-Bones](#): > > Sorry. I wasn’t trying to offend. I had just read about the “one upper coworker” over in the mini-rant thread and I just couldn’t resist a little jab when I read yours and **twickster** ’s post. > > I am not at all surprised there are Dopers who have had puzzles published or know Will Shortz. From what I’ve read/heard he seems pretty funny and laid back. I mean he went on _The Simpsons!_ The reason I like Will so much is, I sent him a bunch of puzzles I’d created when I was just starting to dabble in construction. Now, NO editor at ANY publication is ever thrilled to get unsolicited work from rank amateurs. He’d have been within his rights to send my work back unopened, or just to throw it away. Instead, he read my puzzles carefully. And, while he rejected them all, he gave lengthy, speciifc details about what he liked and didn’t like in each puzzle. That gives you an idea of why the people who know him (and I just BARELY know him) think the world of him. But I’ve been out of touch with the bigwigs of the puzzle world a long time. Once I started dating the woman I’m now married to, I stopped going to the annual tournaments. Each year, I think maybe I’ll go back… and each year, it just doesn’t seem like the best use of my time and money. Maybe some day, I’ll be one of the chain smoking senior citizens in the back of the tournement hall again! ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2010, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-york-times-crosswords/530608/58 "2010-03-13T00:22:44Z")
> [@Rack-a-Bones](#): > > Sorry. I wasn’t trying to offend. I had just read about the “one upper coworker” over in the mini-rant thread and I just couldn’t resist a little jab when I read yours and **twickster** ’s post. > > I am not at all surprised there are Dopers who have had puzzles published or know Will Shortz. From what I’ve read/heard he seems pretty funny and laid back. I mean he went on _The Simpsons!_ I worked as a puzzle editor from 1992 to 2006, and still have personal and professional ties with a bunch of people from that world. Sorry if I came across as bragging. ---
**Author:** ![Rack-a-Bones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rack-a-Bones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rack-a-Bones)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2010, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-york-times-crosswords/530608/59 "2010-03-13T00:53:00Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > I worked as a puzzle editor from 1992 to 2006, and still have personal and professional ties with a bunch of people from that world. Sorry if I came across as bragging. Do you still go to the tournaments? I don’t think I’ve ever heard of a crossword puzzle tournament out here on the left coast but they must have them. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2010, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-york-times-crosswords/530608/60 "2010-03-13T12:25:40Z")
Nope, no longer go – last year I went was '06. That was a working weekend for me (I was a judge), so it was fun but very, very tiring. It’s the big annual thing, with a national – actually international, lots of Canadians – group of attendees, though it’s obviously East Coast heavy. It outgrew the Stamford Marriott two years ago, I think, maybe three, and is now held in Brooklyn. So though there may be small regional things out West, there’s nothing of similar size or prestige. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-york-times-crosswords/530608.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-york-times-crosswords/530608.md?page=4)