THE CURIOUS HISTORY THE CURIOUS HISTORY of the

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TABLE OF CONtENtS
INTRODUCTiON 7 1: Crossword Knowledge, Then and Now ................................................... 9 2: Transcendent Puzzle Themes, Then and Now ....................................... 23 3: The Puzzling Question of Crosswords and Gender ................................ 51 4: Humor, Then and Now ........................................................................ 65 5: The Breakfast Table Rule ..................................................................... 77 6: Indie Puzzles........................................................................................ 85 7: Mentoring: How Puzzles Move Across and Down Generations ............ 103

8:Technology ..........................................................................................111 9: The Great Constructors .......................................................................123

10: Puzzle Economies ............................................................................... 147 S O LU T i O N s

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N O T E s 165

FUNS Word-Cross Puzzle.

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ILL in the small squares with words which agree with the fol- lowing denitions: 2-3 What bargain hunters 10-18 The bre of the gomuti enjoy. palm. 4-5 A written acknowledge 6-22 What we all should be. ment. 4-26 A day dream. 6-7 Such and nothing more. 2-11 A talon. 10-11 A bird. 19-28 A pigeon. 14-15 Opposed to less. F-7 Part of your head. 18-19 What the puzzle is. 23-30 A river in Russia. 22-23 An animal of prey. 1-32 To govern. 26-27 The close of a day. 33-34 An aromatic plant. 28-29 To elude. N-8 A st. 30-31 The plural of is. 21-34 To agree with. 8-9 To cultivate. 3-12 Part of a ship. 12-13 A bar of wood or iron. 20-29 One. 16-17 What artists learn to 5-27 Exchanging. do. 9-25 Sunk in mud. 20-21 Fastened. 13-21 A boy. 24-25 Found on the seashore.

INtRODUctiON
Curiosity is the innate drive to know, and specically, to know more. Its what compels us to explore what a noisy commotion is about, what moves toddlers to persistently ask why? and perhaps what drives our scientic inquiries. Humans arent the only beings who are curious. But we are undoubtedly a species hungry for knowledge. Crossword puzzles are for curious people. They begin with an elegantly simple premise and they beg to be unlocked. Empty white squares are arranged in a larger box, each word interlocking in a graceful, symmetrical pattern. When a crossword is blank, nothing is known. By the time the solver lls in the last letter, however, every question has been answered, all of the mysteries and oddities of this particular universe have been illuminated, and it all ts together to tell a story. Longtime solvers know the feeling well. Each day, their curiosity is satised. Order returns to the world.

The CUrioUS HiStorY oF the croSSword

heres the scarlet thread of murder running through the colorless skein of life, says Sherlock Holmes in the story A Study in Scarlet, and our duty is to unravel it, and isolate it, and expose every inch of it. Crosswords appeal to the detective in all of us, when we feel a need to nd solutions. Life so often hands us problems without easy answers, but theres always a solution to the crossword. And if youre curious enough, you can probably nd it. The Curious History of the Crossword isnt just a history. As the game turns 100 years old in 2013, theres just so much to know. Not only the facts, like when the rst crossword book was published or who is responsible for the rules around its design, but contentious subjects, like who is the greatest constructor of all time, how puzzle makers get paid, and whether using technology counts as cheating. For the truly curious puzzle fan, this book offers the inside scoop on personalities, humor, and the camps of puzzlers who have squared off (no pun intended) to have their style of crosswords accepted in the mainstream. This book is about lively debatesdebates the casual solver may not even be aware ofthat have been ongoing for years or even decades. Each chapter is an essay on a topic that reveals something surprising or unique about the history of the crossword. Each one takes on a subject that has either never been written about at length, or at least hasnt been tackled for so long that its worth revisiting. There are a handful of amazing crossword history books out therethough some are out of dateas well as some interesting and quirky memoirs. What youll nd here is a little history, a little memoir, and more. I began my own puzzle odyssey in 2004, after solving for a few years and deciding I wanted to try my hand at making them. I wondered how grids were made, and inquired of some people

with experience. Before I knew it, I was freelancing for the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and New York Sun, and publishing my own syndicated feature in publications nationwide. Within a couple of years, I was the editor for the puzzle in The Onion newspaper (which later became the American Values Club), and in the mid-2000s joined the ranks of young constructors then dening a new generation. Ive since written thousands of puzzles, and edited hundreds more. But this book isnt really my story. It is the history of puzzles told from the perspective of a relative insider. I know most of the major gures involved in modern construction personally, to varying degrees, and I know about all of them. The community is colorful and very supportive. But theres also gossip and disagreement about what constitutes a quality puzzle. I know about that side, too. For those whom this book leaves out, or whose accomplishments are not recognized sufciently, I apologize in advance. There are simply more worthy puzzle people than can be mentioned within a limited space. The only conscious editorial decision in this vein has been to decenter the role of the New York Times. The papers puzzle is a signicant player in crossword history, and many of the best constructions ever have been published there. However, there are already a number of books and other writings that identify the Times puzzles as the Cadillac of crosswords, while understating the importance of other puzzle outlets. The average solver may not realize how many fantastic, genre-defying puzzles have been printed in other newspapers, in magazines, newsletters, and online, since the very dawn of the crosswords invention. I hope this book presents an alternative history of puzzles that gives space on the marquee to those bit players who really arent bit players at all. The Times plays a big part here, even takes center stage in some chapters. But it doesnt steal the show. Finally, this book attempts to stay narrowly focused on

 IntrodUction 7

the version of the crossword puzzle that you likely know best: the square, interlocking with across and down clues, printed in good old black and white. Constructors have experimented with lots of variants, from asymmetrical blocks to diagramless grids to offbeat shapes. Cryptic crosswordswhich are the British style (explained in Chapter Four)have a history in American outlets, too. None of these can be written out of a history of the crossword, even a narrow one. Credit is given where credit is due, and I acknowledge that experimentation has been an important factor in the continued viability of the crossword over ten decades. But to some extent its the very conservatism of the standard American crossword that facilitates so much creativity. It practically demands to be extended, distorted, rearranged, and reshaped. The fact that its Platonic structure hasnt receded largely accounts for the creative ideas that exist in puzzles today. Every puzzle is essentially made in reference to the conventional crossword as a touchstone, and constructors are attracted to the challenge of guring out new ways to bend the rules. In many ways, crossword puzzles today are at their most exciting point in history. The quality of themes and grids and the standards of editors are at an all-time high. Crosswords now are made mostly with the enjoyment of the solver in mind. This may seem obvious, but it hasnt always been the case. And while it may sometimes feel like the world is on the brink of running out of puzzle themes, contemporary constructors keep nding ways to expand the game, inventing clever new tricks and approaches. Weve undoubtedly

come a long way since the early days of puzzledom, when simply arranging some real words (and even some questionable ones) was considered an accomplishment in itself. But the journey from Arthur Wynnes rst crossword published in the New York World in 1913 in the Fun section of the newspaperto todays puzzles (Hey! Look! Its been one hundred years!), has taken many twists and turns. There was a national puzzle craze in the 1920s, the arrival of universal construction standards in the 1940s, a fallow period in the 1960s, and a triumphant resurgence in the 1980s and 1990s. The years since have witnessed a creative gold rush and a diversication of huge proportions. Puzzles today ourish in niches that new technology has made possible, and many more constructors have many more opportunities to share their work. The fact that puzzle construction is an art has never before been so clear. How did such a simple game come so far? Whats so deeply satisfying about crosswords that keep millions of people addicted to them? Who and what is responsible for the success of the crossword, as well as for its evolution and mass popularity? If youre curious, read on. It should be noted that the puzzles in this book are reproduced as authentically as possible to preserve their integrity. In an effort to maintain their authenticity, the puzzles are not consistent for style or formatting. Solutions may be found on page 165, please disregard solution pages in the puzzles themselves as these refer to the original publications.

CHAPTER ONE

Crossword Knowledge, Then and Now

Crosswords are, at their core, games of knowledge. They are not games of wisdom or cleverness or logicthough each plays a rolebut of being schooled in a certain set of facts and ideas. It naturally follows that crosswords have never been for everyone. In fact, the knowledge they favor tells us a lot about what we, as a society, consider important. Its worth taking a look at how the focus of puzzles has changed over the decades. What kind of things has a crossword solver needed to know, both then and now?

10

THE CURiOUS HiStORY OF tHE cROSSwORD

very era of the crossword puzzle tells us something about the value of knowledge in the world at that time. From the 1940s to the early 1990s (the period at the New York Times that has been termed the pre-Shortzian era) solvers had to be up on their geography, botany, poetry, Latin, and Shakespeare to successfully solve a puzzle, while a solver today might be better off studying IMDb, the Internet Meme Database, and Pitchfork. Its not that older puzzles never made reference to pop culture, or that modern puzzles never have clues about minor poets or biological genera. But more often than not, older puzzles assumed that educated people had a shared awareness of Victorian novels, classical languages, and systems of natural classication, to name a few subjects. Today, this body of knowledge strikes many of us as stuffy and esoteric. But meanwhile, old assumptions have given way to new ones. When and why did this happen? The story begins in the early 1940s. Though crosswords had existed and been popular since 1913, the New York Times made the trend an acceptable pastime for the intellectual in 1942, when it began publishing its own puzzle inhouse (the feature went daily in 1950). Not only that, but the editor the paper hired, Margaret Farrar, turned out to be an excellent choice for the advancement of the crossword puzzle. Farrar was by all accounts a talented, supportive editor, and many of the ground rules she created for crosswords persist to this day. Farrars appointment in early 1942 came closely on the heels of the United States entry into World War II. It has been said that war is geographys best friend, and indeed with global conict came increased awareness about international places. So maybe its no surprise that world capitals and foreign currencies populated so many crossword clues in the middle of the 20th century. Both WWII and the Cold War placed heavy emphasis on foreign affairs in

the newspaper, in a way that for many Americans felt both personal and urgent. Being an in-the-know citizen of the world meant understanding more than a little about the places where U.S. strategic interests were being advanced. The emphasis on geography in crosswords was in part a way to practice and afrm such knowledge. Thus, in just one week in early March of 1984, solvers were treated to clues about geographic obscurities like: Kirghizian range or valley Former name of Kalinin, U.S.S.R. Baltic Sea feeder Rhone feeder Belgian Congo today and so on. A solver today might yawn at these arcane references, but just imagine how often the names of Soviet and European cities were in the newspaper in the decades after World War II. Knowing geography was not just about intelligence, it was a civic duty. Of course, it isnt only geopolitics that explains clues like these. Education played a big role, too. Geography was an informal 19th-century addition to the Quadrivium, an educational system comprised of arithmetic, music, geometry, and astronomy. From the Renaissance onward, the Quadrivium was the key to understanding more or less everything. Long before social studies and economics, a smart student was one who was familiar with Pyxis and Perseus, about the parallel postulate and Thales theorem. But during the eras of exploration and colonialism, geography was gradually added to the mix. The National Geographic Society (the same group that created the magazine) was founded in 1888, with a focus on spreading knowledge about geography and encouraging resource conservation. It is certainly no coincidence that the society sprang up just a few years after the Berlin Conference, at which the territories of Africa were carved up by the European colonial

 cROSSwORD knOwlEDgE, tHEn anD nOw 11

powers. Learned people like Alexander Graham Bell, who served as the second president of the NGS, understood the growing value of geographic awareness, and promoted it. Geography grew as an educational trend as a result of such efforts, and became a eld that every educated person was expected to know. Other popular crossword subjects have similar stories from biological taxonomy to history. Looking at the Sunday puzzle from September 14, 1986written by the famously stodgy editor Eugene Maleska himselfwe can break down some of the key knowledge areas of the pre-Shortzian era. This puzzle, called Book Country Revisited, is an unelaborated list of bestselling books from the previous year that ran at the same time as the now-defunct New York Is Book Country festival in Manhattan. There is almost no wordplay, and nearly every clue asks for either a fact or a synonym. Out of 140 total words, the puzzle includes:
No less than 40 references to literary titles and quotations. Four references to Shakespeare alone. Potentially colorful answers like OPERATES, TROTS, CARVE, and COAL clued with bone-dry, one-word synonyms like Runs, Jogs, Sculpt, and Cannel, (whatever cannel is). Six know-it-or-you-dont geographic facts. No fewer than six foreign words, and uncommon ones at that (Sprees, in Scotland clues GELLS, for example). Individual clues about the national French opera, Greek mythology, and the infraorder of shrimp. Only one punny clue, a play on words about an obscure Civil War legend.

The ideal of the well-rounded member of the intelligentsia appears here in vivid gray. Editor Maleska, in effect,

quizzed solvers on their awareness of the current bestseller list, of the world atlas, and of the general knowledge range of the erudite person. Imagine a solver checking the solution grid for a missed answerhe or she wouldnt groan at the clever puns they failed to catch, but might well feel inferior about their own education and reading habits. In this way, crosswords of the middle 20th century could be pointedly classist, rewarding the best-educated members of the urban bourgeoisie while freezing out those of more ordinary taste. The scent of competition and hierarchy was in the air. Stan Newman may have put it best when he wrote that Maleska took a pedants pleasure in ummoxing other people with obscure facts. Maleska, in fact, represented the apex of elitism at the Times crossword. Farrar, as well as Will Weng (who served as editor from 1969 to 1977), each had a air for wordplay, and both of their puzzles were more fun than Maleskas. But Will Shortz, who took over for Maleska in 1993, changed the avor of crosswords dramatically. A representative of the New Wave of puzzle makers who congealed at GAMES magazine in the 1980s (the New Wave was led in part by Stan Newman), Shortz was hired over old-guard candidates such as John Samson. Shortz introduced a degree of wordplay and popular culture previously unknown to the puzzle. The very rst puzzle of the Shortz era, appropriately, and Ill bet deliberately, had a rainbow rebus theme created by Peter Gordon. It was, in every way, colorful, being both lively and literally full of color. Sure, there was still geography (with answers like YELLOWSEA, ANKARA, CASBAH), but most of the place names were broadly familiar. Moreover, some of the entries crossing in the other direction were made simpler to help ease the way in difcult spots. Multiword answers that people use every day, like GREENBEANS, EKESOUT, and EVENUP , proliferated instead of

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deeply buried dictionary terms. Al Green, Certs breath mints, Ren and Stimpy, and 60 Minutes each made their way into the clues in that rst puzzle, heralding the arrival of popular music, television, and consumer products in the crossword. Peter Gordon himself went on to edit the New York Sun crossword, which eclipsed even Shortzs puzzles for contemporary air. November 21, 1993, the day Shortz began, marked a moment of reform, if not atout revolution, for the crossword. The changes that have occurred since then have mostly been a matter of degree rather than type. The Times puzzle has grown more modern, nowadays nearly dividing its themes between those that the old guard would appreciate and those that atter the tastes of pop culture connoisseurs. (A recent themeless puzzle by David Kwong worked answers including TWITTERFOLLOWERS, ARIANNA Hufngton, and WISHFULDRINKING into the grid.) In the wake of this transformation, and largely as a result of new media, independent outlets have also sprung up to push the envelope even further. Blog crosswords are inherently exible enough to jump on up-to-theminute news stories as theme content. To many a modern solver, a puzzle with laugh-out-loud jokes about current subjects promises more entertainment value than a humorless quiz about last years bestselling books. However, its worth noting that modern crosswords, just like those of last centurys, are still games of knowledge. So what kind of knowledge is favored now? Modern crosswords are often praised for being democratic, in much the same way as the Internet and new

media are. Without question, more puzzle-solving neophytes without an Ivy League education could today pick up the New York Times crossword and make more signicant inroads than ever before. By reading the news semiregularly, encountering a handful of movies and pop songs each year, and having a college education, one is likely

A C urious

Th in g

Left: Eugene Maleska, Stepquote, GAMES, November/ December 1989. Reprinted with permission of Kappa Publishing.

Crosswords, as we all know, usually run in the back of the paper. There are many reasons for this, including the editorial idea that the fun, whimsical stuff is like dessert after a main course of serious news. But it also usually means that the puzzle is the sweet treat that convinces us to consume a few bites of what keeps the paper healthyadvertisements. Its no secret that crosswords hold one of the longest engagement times of any part of the newspaper. An elite solver can nish an easy puzzle in a few minutes, but the average person will take no less than twenty minutes, and probably more like an hour. All the while, their eyes are wandering toward the ads that pay the bills. In alternative newspapers, these ads can get pretty raunchyads for sex shops and escort agencies are just a couple of examples. In classier publications, the surrounding ads may be literary, peddling volumes of classic books. In the New York World, where the crossword was born in the 1910s, the ads near the puzzle were for miscellany, much of it medical and all of it spuriousseeming. Spots promised to develop your bust, to teach you to throw your voice and elsewhere how to be a detective. Cures for asthma, eczema, and tobacco addiction shared one page. The Write Irradiant Co. of Brooklyn even promised, for free, something called the key to success. No further explanation was given.

14

THE CURiOUS HiStORY OF tHE cROSSwORD

to be able to tackle the Times puzzle at least through the middle-difculty days of the week (Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday). For those who want an even heavier dose of clues about sports, music, books, or movies, the independent puzzles provide a range of options to suit each taste. In brief, crosswords are no longer the exclusive province of the stuffy gatekeepers of classical knowledge. There are puzzles out there for just about anyone, which is why they are considered democratic. However, by becoming more and more contemporary, puzzles have also become more disposable. Crosswords have been affected by the inclusion of ephemera, in which stories and products from last month are already embarrassingly obsolete. If crossword puzzles were once meant to be timeless, solvable for many years after their publication, it is difcult to imagine a grid lled with references to neologisms and gimmicky web sites having much currency even in two years time. This state of affairs is, its worth noting, precisely what the pre-New Wave crossword regime was concerned about. An article from 1988 about the struggle between the New Wave and the old guard noted that by far the greatest difference is over the use of brand names. [Old-guard constructor and editor William] Lutwiniak said that while he has no objection to brand names that can be found in dictionaries, like Xerox, in recent months he has received puzzles containing the names Acura and BOAC. Im afraid that once you open the door to this kind of thing, you cant stop it,[said Lutwiniak]. Modern crosswords ask that solvers be aware of a multitude of material goods, something that a number of editors in the past had expressly forbidden. The mattress company SERTA rst appeared in the New York Times crossword in 1994; ALL changed from a totality to a detergent in 1997; the Jaguar XJS pulled up in 2004; AXE was rst clued as a body spray in 2010. If its in the grocery store

or the mall from coast-to-coast today, its arguably fair game for the crossword. Bluntly put, solvers now need to know the landscape of consumer products, much as they once needed to know the political divisions of the earths landscape. And just as a Maleska puzzle patted you on the back for knowing that the PENNINES are a range of English hills, modern puzzles help us practice and afrm our awareness of the stuff we buy. Crosswords have become, in part, a game of knowledge about the contemporary world, and often the more contemporary the better. A crossword written for The Week includes themes about that weeks news, a remarkably quick turnaround. Constructor Brendan Emmett Quigley is famous in part for getting entries like the sleep aid ZZZQUIL or Manti TEO into puzzle grids within weeks or days of their appearance on shelves or newsstands. People love seeing fresh words and names in their puzzle grids immediately, but those same puzzles become dated quickly. The rapidity of digital technology raises the value of knowing whats happening right now, a consumerist idea if ever there was one. That said, crosswords have not entirely become an outpost of The Price is Right. General knowledge of history, geography, literature, and so on are still very necessary for solving. And that isnt even to mention the greater role of wordplay today compared to older puzzles; the fun quotient now is unquestionably higher. But the emphasis has shifted toward being in touch with current affairs, perhaps for both better and worse. For worse, theres the disposability. But for better, consider the following anecdote. On September 1, 2004, around the time I was just getting my feet wet in puzzle construction, I sent an email to cruciverb-l, the listserv where puzzle makers talk shop. I was wondering whether the initialism LGBTwhich stands for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and is a very

 cROSSwORD knOwlEDgE, tHEn anD nOw 15

recognizable phrase in the gay rights movementcould pass muster in a newspaper crossword. Of course, even common initialisms like LCD arent considered great crossword ll because theyre boring, barely evocative, and hard to clue in an original way. But considering that obscure or outdated entries like SBC (an old telecom) and OSS (the CIAs predecessor) still show up pretty often, I wondered if LGBT crossed the threshold of usability. I wrote to the list: I have the common acronym LGBT (half a million google hits, campus staple, 10% of us) in an in-progress grid. Never seen it in a puzzle, nor is it in the cruciverb.com database. Hopefully this isnt an issue of editor discomfort Is it? Nine people responded privately to vote on the acceptability of LGBT, with four recognizing it but expressing serious reservations, and ve giving a at-out no. All nine respondents voted it down. Eight years later, in 2012, a different list member asked essentially the same question about the

entry LGBT. Some of the public responses included Yes. Enthusiastically so, I suspect any editor of a major paper would keep it in, and On what possible basis is LBGT not OK? Im confused/concerned as to why this is a question. The person who posed the question reported that the response was an overwhelming yes. The change that took place between 2004 and 2012 was surely part of a political shift, but it also points to one of the advantages of a more responsive and up-to-date regime of knowledge in crosswords. Editors no longer have a mandate to preserve creaky denitions of what counts as valid information and terminology. The collective pressure to recognize changes in the world as they happen helps keep crosswords relevant and even progressive.

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Far left puzzle: Paul S. Smith, New York Herald Tribune, January 1, 1926. Ruth von Phul (proled in Chapter Three) set the bogey time for each weeks puzzle, meaning that shed solved it the fastest. Left puzzle: Bernard Josephson, New York Herald Tribune, January 2, 1926. These puzzles from 1926 are slightly more regular in design than the puzzles from 1923, before the Tribune bought the Herald and merged their names. But irregularities persist, including the use of two-letter words and gaps in the grids.

Top puzzle: E.A.R., F.L.R., and Charles P. Holtyson, New York Herald Tribune, January 3, 1926. Bottom puzzle: K.C. Faile, New York Herald Tribune, January 3, 1926.

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Dr. Arthur Rosenzweig and W.P. Wooten, New York Herald Tribune, January 10, 1926.

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Charles E. Latto, New York Herald, November 4, 1923. With its many unchecked squares, this grid resembles a modern British cryptic more than an American-style crossword. We also include some of the other variety puzzles for you to see and even solve.

Here Are Puzzles to Sharpen Your W e Are Puzzles toO Sharpen Your Wits Here Are Puzzles to Sharpen Your Wit
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26. 29. 31. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 1. 2. 3. 4. 6. 7. 8. 13. 14. 16. 17. 18. 20. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 30. 32. NE of our contributors wishes to 26. Solutions. know why his cross word construc- 29. A part. tion, which he had sent in ten days 31. Lateral. before, had not been printed in last Sun- 33. Wrath. days New York Herald. For his benefit 34. Local U.S.A. wanigan. Solutions. and for the benefit of those who have been 35. A sheltered place. A part. NE of our contributors wishes to 26. Solutions. wondering, just wondering, as to the fate 36. A size of paper. Lateral. know why his cross word construc- 29. A part. of their brain children, the following is ex- 37. To make monkish. Wrath. tion, which he had sent in ten days 31. Lateral. pounded. VERTICAL. Local U.S.A. before, wanigan. had not been printed in last Sun- 33. Wrath. A sheltered days place. New York Herald. For his benefit 34. Local U.S.A. wanigan. 1. A young girl. All of the puzzles received that are worthy A size of paper. and for the benefit of those who have been 35. A sheltered place. shaped like the letter L. 2. Anything of the name, subject to revision, of course, To make monkish. wondering, just wondering, as to the fate 36. A size of 3.paper. Bot. Axillary. will be printed, but none can possibly be of VERTICAL. their brain children, the following is ex- 37. To make 4. monkish. A colored twilled cotton goods. published in less than three weeks from pounded. 6. VERTICAL. 43,650 square feet. A young girl. the day received. With the cross word 7. An enemy. Anything shapedpuzzles like the letter L. the time limit is apt to be 1. extendA young girl. All of the puzzles received that are worthy 8. Ardor. Bot. Axillary. ed as owing to their popularity with the 2. Anything shaped like the letter L. of the name, subject to revision, of course, 13. Pertinent. A colored twilled cotton goods. New York Herald readers we receive more 3. Bot. Axillary. will be feet. printed, but none can possibly be 14. Originators. 43,650 square of them than the rest of the puzzles com4. A colored twilled cotton goods. published in less than three weeks from 16. Figuratively, sorrow. An enemy. bined. Therefore, when submitting 6. puzzles 43,650 square feet. With the cross word 17. To treat with nitric acid. Ardor. the day received. be patient and remember the admonition 7. An enemy. puzzles the time limit is apt to be extend18. Before. Pertinent. Everything comes to him who waits. 8. Ardor. ed as owing to their popularity with the 20. Hostelry. Originators. 13. Pertinent. New York Herald readers we receive more 24. Cognizant. Figuratively, sorrow. 14. Originators. of with themnitric than the rest of the puzzlesPUZZLE com25. Dry. CROSS WORD To treat acid. 16. Figuratively, sorrow. puzzles 26. The imperial standard of the Before.bined. Therefore, when submitting By Uno 17. To treat with nitric acid. be patient and remember the admonition Turkish Empire. Hostelry. 18. Before. Everything comes to him who waits. 27. A closed pit in which fodder is Cognizant. 20. Hostelry. stored. Dry. 24. Cognizant. 28. Rind. The imperial CROSS standard of the 25. Dry. WORD PUZZLE 30. Metal. Turkish Empire. 26. The imperial standard of the Uno 32. Refresh. A closed pit in which By fodder is Turkish Empire. stored. 27. A closed pit in which fodder is Rind. stored. Metal. 28. Rind. Refresh. 30. Metal. 32. Refresh.

contributors wishes to his cross word construche had sent in ten days been printed in last SunHerald. For his benefit fit of those who have been wondering, as to the fate ldren, the following is ex-

received that are worthy ject to revision, of course, but none can possibly be s than three weeks from d. With the cross word limit is apt to be extendtheir popularity with the d readers we receive more e rest of the puzzles comwhen submitting puzzles emember the admonition es to him who waits.

WORD PUZZLE By Uno

DEFINITIONS. HORIZONTAL. 1. Flesh. 5. Unharmed. 9. Sick. 10. A couch. DEFINITIONS. 11. A pass between two peaks in a HORIZONTAL. mountain range. Flesh. 12. The scoria of a volcano. Unharmed. 14. A region. Sick. 15. A suite. A couch. 19. Abate. A pass between two peaks in a 21. Med. Ailment. mountain range. 22. A strip of leather. The scoria of a volcano. 23. The Bermuda arrowroot. A region. A suite. Abate. Med. Ailment. A strip of leather. The Bermuda arrowroot.

INITIONS. RIZONTAL. 1. 5. 9. 10. 11. 12. 14. 15. 19. 21. 22. 23.

een two peaks in a ange. of a volcano.

nt. ather. da arrowroot.

Uno, New York Herald, November 18, 1923. The editor explains submission volume above this pseudonymous puzzle. One of the most interesting aspects of the Herald puzzles was having a word from the editor each week to demystify crosswords.

contributors wishes to s cross word construce had sent in ten days en printed in last SunHerald. For his benefit of those who have been ndering, as to the fate ren, the following is ex-

Here Are Puzzles to Sharpen Your W Are Puzzles toO Sharpen Your Wits to Sharpe Here Are Puzzles
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26. 29. 31. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 1. 2. 3. 4. 6. 7. 8. 13. 14. 16. 17. 18. 20. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 30. 32. NE of our contributors wishes to know why his cross word construction, which he had sent in ten days before, had not been printed in last Sundays New York Herald. For his benefit Solutions. and for the benefit of those who have been A part. wondering, just wondering, as to the fate Lateral. 30. HIS of Sundays their brain dictionary children, thebooster following is exWrath. comes to us from up the Sound. 32. pounded. Local U.S.A. wanigan. New Rochelle, to be exact. We men- 34. A sheltered place. tion the precise location from which it 35. A size of paper. All of the puzzles received that are worthy 37. came for a the reason. New Rochelle or any of name, subject to revision, of course, To make monkish. 38.be willtown be printed, but none canmap possibly other city, or village on the VERTICAL. published in less than three weeks from should be proud to be the originating A youngplace girl. of the day received. Withconstructhe cross word a perfect cross word 1. Anything shaped like the letter L. the time limit is apt to be extendtion. Do puzzles I hear laughter? If the scoffers Bot. Axillary. ed as owing to their popularity with 2. the think that it is so easy let them try it 3. A colored twilled cotton goods. New York Herald readers we receive once. I have no doubt but that they will more 4. 43,650 square feet. of them than the rest of the puzzles comthink twice before sneering the next 5. An enemy. bined. Therefore, when submitting puzzles time . 6. Ardor. be patient and remember the admonition Pertinent. Everything comes to him who waits. 7. 8. CROSS WORD PUZZLE Originators. 10. Figuratively, sorrow. By Mrs. Rose N. Bildhauser CROSS WORD PUZZLE 12. To treat with nitric acid. Before. 14. By Uno Hostelry. 16. Cognizant. Dry. 18. The imperial standard of the 20. Turkish Empire. 21. A closed pit in which fodder is 23. stored. 25. Rind. 27. Metal. 28. Refresh. 32. 33. 35. 36.

eceived that are worthy t to revision, of course, t none can possibly be han three weeks from With the cross word mit is apt to be extendeir popularity with the eaders we receive more est of the puzzles comhen submitting puzzles member the admonition to him who waits.

ORD PUZZLE Uno

26. Solutions. 29. A part. 31. Lateral. 33. Wrath. 34. Local U.S.A. wanigan. 35. A sheltered place. 36. A size of paper. Similar to. 37. To make monkish. A large body of water. VERTICAL. Not any. A young A 1. fruit tree. girl. Anything shaped like the letter L. A 2. shell. Bot. Axillary. A 3. good fellow. 4. A colored twilled cotton goods. VERTICAL. 6. 43,650 square feet. An enemy. A 7. bendy curve. 8. Ardor. One or any. 13. Pertinent. A bank of string or twine. 14.adult Originators. An male deer. 16. Figuratively, sorrow. Sensitive. 17. To treat with nitric acid. A numeral. 18. Before. Objective case of we. 20. Hostelry. Dishearten. 24. Cognizant. Buildings for storing ice. 25. Dry. Small instruments for sewing. 26. The imperial Extreme strain. standard of the Empire. One Turkish thickness placed over an 27. A closed pit in which fodder is other. stored. Combats between two persons. 28. X in Rind. Roman numerals. 30. Metal. A dull, stupid fellow. 32. Refresh. Cogwheels. A gambling game. Tart. Elapsed. Of or pertaining to us. A negative connection. Egypt relig. The soul. Egypt. Chaos.

NITIONS. ZONTAL.

en two peaks in a ge. a volcano.

1. 5. 9. 11. 13. 14. 15. 17. 18. 19. 21. 22. 23. 24. 26. 27. 29.

her. arrowroot.

DEFINITIONS. HORIZONTAL. HORIZONTAL. Luminous heavenly bodies. 1.noise. Flesh. Mere 5. Unharmed. A people united politically. 9. Sick. Print half the width of an em. 10. A couch. Mother of pearl. 11. A pass between two peaks in a A chinese measure of length. mountain range. A snakelike fish. 12. The scoria of a volcano. A word command to animals. 14. Aof region. The lair a wild beast. 15. A of suite. A minion. 19. Abate. The sister of ones father or 21. Med. Ailment. mother. 22. A strip of leather. Buildings dyeing is done. 23. Thewhere Bermuda arrowroot. A secluded and narrow valley. A long cut. Ever. A venomous snake. To scatter abroad.

DEFINITIONS.

Mrs. Rose N. Bildhauser, New York Herald, November 25, 1923. The editors introduction is a tad defensive.