![]() ![]() Quigley: I send him puzzles and he runs the ones he likes. Reddit: What is your invovlement with Will Shortz? What typical editting occurrs on a crossword? A marquee answer can a never-before used phrase, a name in the news, a consonant-heavy answer, etc. Just sayin': The consonant-heavy answers are much harder to work with. Quigley: Not a specific word per se, but typically each grid will have what I call a marquee answer. Reddit: Is there any specific word that you love putting into crossword puzzles? Either because of its difficulty level or number of vowels in it? Quigley: You start with the longest entries first, then you put in the entries that span the longest entries, then you work simultaneously across and down until you hit a corner. Reddit: How do you go about filling in the words? I would assume you do the longer words first, followed by theme words? Quigley: I come up with the theme to the puzzle first, then the grid. Reddit: Do you start with the clues and make them fit a template or the other way around? Reddit: How many of you crossword creators are there? Stand Alone for PDAs, etc. Will is a nice guy. Quigley: Crosswords are transitioning just fine digitally: Across Lite, Crossword Solver for laptops. Reddit: How do you feel about the outlook for printed media, specifically newspapers such as The New York Times? Do you feel that this will impact your career in the near future? Is Times puzzle editor Will Shortz a nice guy? Since I give away puzzles on my site, I’m afforded the opportunity, if something comes up today, for example, to put it in the Thursday puzzle." His least favorite part? That's a little more complicated, but fascinating: "There’s a little unspoken race among us constructors who can be the first one to get the new buzz word in there. "There are obviously crossword fans there." Quigley told us his favorite part of puzzle writing was debuting a new word before his competitors. I was completely shocked that it skyrocketed to the front of Reddit," he said via telephone. I thought I’d give it a shot and see what happened. "I didn’t have any preconceived notions for it. We had to call Quigley up to get his take on today's online exercise. Of course, we couldn't just leave the questioning to Reddit. But if you pull out just the pithy answers, they make for a neat FAQ that details how such puzzles are made. Today, a Times crossword creator (actually they call themselves constructors) named Brendan Emmett Quigley took to Reddit to answer questions about his craft, and the result was a fascinating bunch of information in the form of a dizzyingly long message board thread. But if you're anything like us, you do occasionally guffaw at a particularly brilliant clue, or sit befuddled at a stumper, wondering idly how they come up with those things. Unless you're the type who finishes The New York Times' Sunday crossword puzzle in ink every week, you may not spend a lot of time thinking about the science behind puzzle-making. glue in a 72-worder, but wordplay like "high-grade potential" for EASY AS and "tool that you (literally) turn (objects) on" for LATHE helped make up for that.This article is from the archive of our partner. I would have liked less AGA ANEG AORB etc. Again, SIPHONing gas has no passing involved, but talk about pushing the boundary of good taste in crosswords! "… mean as the Dickens?" isn't quite accurate, but who cares about accuracy when such punniness is involved. MAN O WAR and I SEE NOW are solid, and SCROOGE is no ghost with that heavenly clue. (JOED is JOE D, a nickname for Joe DiMaggio.)įocusing on 7-letter slots is a tricky business, so it's a good thing that BEQ is a seasoned vet. Along with the J in ELTON JOHN, that's some triple J goodness. JUMBO JETS isn't a debut, but it's an excellent way to showcase some rare letters. However, in these scandal-ridden days where someone could have done something but looked the other way instead, I worry that the imagery in some solvers' heads is unpleasant, to say the least. It evokes all sorts of colorful imagery, so ten years ago, I would have jumped to headline a themeless with this phrase. Sticking your finger in dog's mouths, measuring haunch dimensions, peeking inside pekes … I'm sure it's a great calling, but LOOK THE OTHER WAY is my choice when it comes to lifting up tails for inspection. Is that a specific profession? I was barking up the wrong tree - it even has its own Wikipedia entry. ![]()
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