New solvers would like to know how our puzzles work and we would like to tell them

They’re not easy, but the brain-bending puzzles are a celebration of “the hidden magic within language”. Not to mention helping stave off dementia.

Construction has come to be very important for Ms. Baik, who began making crosswords during her first semester in college. Her chemistry lab partner, Arjun, was a strong, supportive force as she learned to make puzzles. “He was very encouraging, even though I wasn’t taking it super seriously at the beginning,” she said in an interview.

When a vogue for crosswords first swept the nation, in the nineteen-twenties, certain pundits saw cause for alarm. Headlines in the Times blamed the new pastime for everything from eyestrain to divorce (“CROSSWORD MANIA BREAKS UP HOMES”); a spread in ...

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Crosswords — which date back to 1913 — have always been political, and it’s impossible for them to exist in a vacuum, Last said. He remarked that, during World War II, the clue “junkyard for Nazi subs” was paired with the answer “ATLANTIC.”

The book, which is subtitled ‘The Past, Present, and Future of the Crossword Puzzle,’ looks at the joy and challenges of this successful game.

Are these the ultimate brain teasers? Norman Miller explores the appeal of cryptic crosswords – containing mind-bending clues that offer unique Eureka moments. Let's begin a playful language journey with a dip into the mind of John Halpern, whose brain ...

The Marlow Murder Club’s Judith Potts isn’t the first literary sleuth to enjoy a good word puzzle—Colin Dexter’s Inspector Morse and Dorothy L. Sayers’ Lord Peter Wimsey had a penchant for crosswords, too. But these puzzles are more than just a ...

A group of eagle-eyed puzzlers, using digital tools, has uncovered a pattern of copying in the professional crossword-puzzle world that has led to accusations of plagiarism and false identity. Since 1999, Timothy Parker, editor of one of the nation’s ...

Share on Pinterest Experts say crossword puzzles tend to require more cognitive effort than other games. Bianca Loðbrók/Stocksy For people with mild cognitive impairment, stimulating mental tasks can slow the symptoms of cognitive decline. In a new study ...