AnotherlmpossibleContest

PlusAmerica'sMostGreativeCrosswords
By the Nation'sTopGonstructors

CreSS RD

CompetitiveAficionados
MiriamRaphaelandEd Bethea
by HeleneHovanec
rmry he moderneraof crosswordcontests
F beganin 1978whenWill Shortzand
-S. the Stamford(Connecticut)
Marriott
Hotel teamedup to organizea crossword
weekend.Now in its 16th year, the annual
eventis themainattractionon thecrossword
contestcircuit,drawingnew andrepeatsolverswhosquareoff againstoneanotherandvie
for prizes.
Crosswordsolvingin a competitivesinntionis altogettrerdifferent,from thesolo solving thataficionadosdo daily. During a silent
solvingsessiononedrawsupontlte vastdata
bank of information storedin one's brain,
retrieving the words neededo fill in the
Thisritualisoftenperformed
blanksconectly.
ataregulartime in aregularplace,perhapsas
anaccompaniment
to otheractivities--{rinking coffee,riding the commutrer
train, etc.withoutanyexlemallyimposedtime limits.
ln acontestsituation,100to 150peoplesit
at tiablesin a ballroom, separatedfrom one
anotherby cardboarddividers.While partici-

pantschit-chatandjoke with eachotherprior

to theofficial start tensionpermeates
theair
as soonas the contestges underway.The
angst is most pronouncedduring the first
round,with its l5-minutetimelimit. Puzzles
arehandedoutfacedown,a signalis givento
start, papersare turnedover, and massive
dosesof adrenalineare releasedsimultaneously.All eyesarefocusedon thediagram
aspencilsfly acrossttrepapers.Thesilenceis
so thick it evenengulfsnon-participanrsmediapeople,onlooken,judges,andreferees
alike.While solversdo noticethefirst person
who raisesa hand and has the completed
p:uzzlepicked up by a referee,experienced
contestan8don't losetheir solvingrhyttrm.
But thereis anaudiblesighof reliefwhenthe
fnst roundis frnished.
Nmphytecontiestants
areoverwhelmed
by
therapidityof thesolving.Comparedto their
friendsand families,their puzzle skills are
formidable.Theyknowtheycansolvequickly
and accuratelyand are willing to ri* their

egos in a competitivesinradon.However,
seeinga contestveterancompletea 15 x 15
grrd in four minutesis so demoralizingto
somecontestantsthat they skulk away and
neverentera contestagain.Othen takeit asa
challenge,vowing to returnand win. However, most regular-scome back each year
becausethey like to competeagainstthemselvesandimprovetheir standingsyearafter
year.
Since1978therehavebeen
manytopsolvers on the circuit. Someusedtheir puzzle
powersto launchnew careers.A few were
content!o capturethe top prize once and
disappearfrom thecompetitivescene.Other
contestants,
however,keeptheir competitive
skillsin operatingorderbyretumingyearafter
yearto performwell andplacein thetop 107o
of ttreirdivision.
Twoveteran
solvers,EdBetheaandMiriam
Raphael,areregularson ttrecircuit who perform outstandinglytime aftertime.
(Continuedon Page7)

WARMINGUP FORTHE BIG EVENT

Thepreliminarie
s for Games' I 982U.S.Openincludedsolving
asetof fourtiebreakerpuzzles,mailedto contestants
aftertheyhad
completeda warm-up puzzlein the magazine.
Theflrst puzzle,"Two by Two," wasfaidy easy-no tricksand
familiar answersto the thematicclues:
T\vln brothers of Helen
Weaponsof a chlldhoodrhyme
Fabulousrivals
Their lunch was on the house

Csstor and Pollux

Stlcksand slones
Hare and tortolse
Hanseland Gretel

andcleverdefinitions:
It goeswith four r slx, but not three
or flve
Ile's beentaken ln
Sparkswlthout e gtow
Make a rlng decislon
Crustyones

Teen
Adoptee
Ned
Setsthe dat*
Ples

The final tiebreaker,"All in Pun," includedcute main entries:

Why the rmneslrc bought a sweatsult

To Joghls memory
The second puzzle, "A Few Choice Vy'ordsn" gave a
Skl races
Slatom occaslons
slight hint as to the difficulties to follow. According to the
ChePsValentlne
A bug and r quiche
explanatorynotesthat accompaniedthe answers,therewere
"with
severalclues
seeminglycorrectalternativeanswersbut the majority of tie answersrelied on cluing that's often
oneobviousandonenot so obvious."Solvershadto choose foundin punsandanagrams
puzzles:
betweenthe words that were similar in meaningwith just
Sub in a tub
Oleo ("Subttstltute butter, often
oneletter differentiating them:
Excessive
sentlmentality
CobblerIngredlent
lmrgesof delties
Feedsthe cresset

Bathos,not pathos
Costard,not custard
Teraphim, not seraphim
Stokeg not stakes

Norma's audlenceleft
Refusalto ecknowledge
Heart of a Tarzan ydl

In "Unexpected
Definitions,"therewereunusualwords:
Undertool of,the musk ox
Partofe rlyal

Qivlut
Qursh

The red letter, to Hester

Thls many ln the country
Unpopulatedparts of Armenla
About l/J of the encyclopedials yours

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sold ln e tub)
Rae(ear turned left)
Nook (No 0.K)
Zany (the center olTarztnyell)

Her a (Her A)
Ger (Ger.many)
Aria (3{Armeniattminus ttnen,tt ls
Arie)
Atol (A to I, or the French a troi)

Page5

ationsare"listeningto operAplayinggames, thatblacksmayjust acceptsolvingasapopugoingto ttretieater,andbuyingbooksI have lar pastimewith no thoughtsof competing.
Bethea,a 3-year-old socialworkerfrom no time [o read."
Since ptzzle contests are usually
New York City, competedin rhe fint U.S.
Betheahasabachelor's
degreein psychol- underadvertised,
peoplewhoaren't,receiving
Opensponsoredby
Ganrcsmagazine
in 1982. ogy from HerbertLehmanCollege and is publications
thatannounce
theseeventsmay
Thethree-partconteststartedwittr a warm-up cunentlyenrolledattlteHunterCollegeSchool neverevenknow thatthey
takeplace.
pazzlen themagazine.Betheasolvedit cor- of SocialWork, bying with the thoughtof
Bethealikesgoingto ttreMarriottcontests
rectlyandthenreceiveda loughsetof qualifying puzzles(seesidebaron page5) which he
alsocompleted.Severalmonthslaterherode
I missedmost of the first crosswordcontestin 1978.when I arrivedon sunday
thesubwayto the NYU qrmpusto join 250
morning,escortingMargaretFarrarwho would award the prizes, I found two entirely
otherpeoplefor a whole day of competing.
differentevensgoingon---chaosin thejudges'roomanda carnival-likeatnospherein
Hisoutstandingsixth-placefinisheamedhim
thehotellobby.
atrophy,cash,books,andlotsof glancesfrom
Thejudgeswereracingmadly to finish scoringthe first four puzzles.Thecontestants
theotherconlestants
who hadneverseenhim
quickly figuredout thattheplacementof an"E" in everyblank spacewould increase
had
before."I recognizedthatl wasthenewkid on
their
chancesof a higherscore.Thejudgesrapidlydiscoveredthat the"8" ploy geatly
theblock," he recalled."I lookedaroundand
increased
theamountoftimeneeded
o scorethepuzzles.
Aftera sleeplessnight
theywere
saidto myself'Thesepeoplehavedonethis
still markingpapersminutesprior to the final round.
before."'
Outsidein thelobby,thecontestants
hadttreirpencilssharpened,
theirbrainsin gear,
Betheastartedsolving crosswordsas a
andwereimpatientat thedelay.They wererehashingthepuzzlestheyhadsolvedon the
nine-year-old
whenheaskedhis motherif he previous
day---chattinganimatedlywhile comparingnotes-generallyhavinga good
couldhelpherfillin thegridonherpuzzle.
She time while keeping
an eyeout for thepostings.
turnedthepuzzleover!o him andnevergot it
Finally,thejudgesstaggered
outof theirchambers
andpostdthestandings.
Everyone
back.Betheawas hooked.He continued!o
rushedto seehow he or shehadfared.It wasno surpriseto find Nancy Schusterin first
solvepuzzlesn theDaily News andDaily
place.Her rapid solvinghadbeennotedby ttreothercontestrants
andshelookedlike a
Mirror throughhis treenage
years.However,
shoo-infor thetopprize.Shewhizzedthroughthefinal puzzle,capturedfirst prize, and
if hewascaughtreadingtheDaily Newsn
becamean instantmediacelebrity.Themoderneraof crosswordcontestshadbegun.
school
hisleacherwoulddisciplinehim.
Sohe
Sincethat time I've attendedalmostall the contstsrun by Will Shortzand Stan
started!o buy TlrcNew YorkTimes,discovNewman.I evenjoumeyedtoCalifomiawhenMerlReagleran
aWestCoasttournament.
eredits very literate puzzle,and switched
It's a lot of fun to bea crosswordcontestjudge,but it's alsoa lot of work.In retumfor
gean.Althoughhe found the Times pvzle
a"free" weekendofhotelaccommodationsandmeals,
ws'reexpectedto scorethepapers
difficult at first, he "kept at it" and soon
and/orrefereethesolvingrounds(handoutandcollectthepuzzles,watchtheclock,make
mastered
theclues.His nextprogression
was note
of contestanB'solvingtimes,etc.).In ttrejudging room we mark the papersby
trcthecryptics
inNewYork magazine.
Cryptics putting line
a
througheachspacettrathasa wrongletteror no letterin it. (The"E" ploy
remainhisfavoriteform of mentalrecreation.
hasbeeneliminatedbydevisinga systemthatdependson
"I don'tlike seeing
wholewordssolved,ratherthan
a blankgrid," hesays,
numberof blankspacesfilled in.) while there'sa lot of joking andbanteringgoingon,
"soI'll drop
everythingto fill one in." He
we'reconstantlyworking.
It's easy!oscoretlepapersttratareerror-free,but
the-ones
tlat
solveson tle fain andat home,completing
areincompleteor filled with thewrongletterstakea long time.Onejudgereadstheraw
tlneeor four crosswordsat a sitting. During
datato Mike Shenk(if it's a shortz-runcontest)or Fredpiscop(if it's a Newman-run
highschoolhestartedsolvingin pento elimicontest)who thenfeedsit into his customizedscoringprogram.Thecomputerranksthe
natethesmudging
thatoccuredwhenheused
contestants
andspewsout thestandings.
a penciland folded the newqpaperbetween
During the Fridayeveningfestivities,we participatin the groupgamesand greet
(Ihosewerettredayswhenhedidn't
classes.
peopleat the wine andcheeseparty. on Saturday,we handout the informationpackets
solvepuzzles
in onesitting.)Classmates
would
andregislernew contestants.
we're alwaysavailableto answerquestions,guideneolookathim
andmutter,'TVhatconceit!
Solving phytes
throughtle rules,andhelpout in any way possible.
theTimesin ink!"
Friendshipis the mostrangiblebenefitfrom travelingon this circuit. I've met some
Betheadoesn'tpracticefor tournaments,
fanmsdcpeople;althoughwe only seeoneanotheronceor twice a year,we enjoyone
"because
thenit would be work." He prides
another'scompanyandlike to catchupon all that'sranspiredsincewe lastgot together.
himselfonhisability !o completethepuzzles
AlthoughI've nevermet thecontestants'
spouses
andchildrenI feel thatI know them.
andplacein thetop l}Vo with apparenrlyno
There'salsoa greatfeelingof camaraderie
"I
among
thejudgesaswe work ogether.And
effort. can'tseemyselfsittingdownwith a
there'sa lot of laughter.We havefun.
stopwatch,"
hesays-a referencetrotheprac_H.H.
ticeritualperformed
by manycompetitors.
Bethea
is solow-keyedabouthisachieve- gettinga master'sdegree.
because"they're almostlike a vacationfor
mentsthathe hasoptedto skip celsbrations
Betheastandsoutat competitions
because me."Heenjoyschattingwith familiarpeople,
wherehemighthavebeenableto baskin the of his size(he'sa tall, strappinggentleman) playingthegames,
andsolvingquality
puzzles.
glowof hisvictory.ln 1982herushedhome and becausehe's frequentlythe only black He feelsthatthere'ssome"aspect
of compeaftercollecting
hisrophy-missing thepost- personthere.Whenqueriedasto theabsence tition,butit's notcutthroat.
Peoplearegenercontest
bash-so hecould catchthepre-sea- of blacks at toumamentsBetheahad no ally supportive
ofeachother."
sonGiantsfootballgameon TV. (Ihe Giants tloughs aboutit. "I don't.know
whatpercentHispersonal
nemesis
is HenryHook..,If I
areoneof hispassions.)
Otherfavoriterecre- ageof blackssolvescrosswords."
Hebelieves
(Continuedon Page9)

Bethea/Raphael(from Page5)

LIFEONTHECIRCUIT

March/April
1993

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Page 7

BethealRaphael (from Page7)

congratulating
herandbestowingbouquets a mastr'sdegee in early childhoodeducaon her.It wasa cherishedmoment.
tionfromTeacher'sCollegeatColumbiaUnihaddoneaswell on Henry'spuzzlesasI did
The ensuingpublicity catapultedher to versity.Whenshestartedherteachingcareer,
ontle othersI wouldhavefinishedmoreoften her 15 minutesof fame.The article in the
a "matchmakingsupervisor"placedher asa
in tle money."
local paper was picked up by the wire studentteacherin a classtaughtby thepenon
Puzzlecompetitorsare divided into cat- servicesand she receivedcopies
of the whowouldbecome
herhrsban{BurtRaphael.
egoriesbasedon abilitiesand age.Bethea, clippingsfrom friendsandrelativesall
over They marriedin l95l and hadthreedaughranked in the 50+/Expert division, fre- tlte countryandCanadaandMexico.
ters.Raphaelstayedhomeuntil heryoungest
quently comes in lrst or secondin this
Sincethenshe'sattendedpracticallyev- child wasin schoolandttrenretumedto teachcategory.His apartrnentis filled with tro- ery crosswordcontest-Eaveling to Baltiing. Widowedin 1981,Raphrelhas since
phiesand books that he's won sincehe's more,Ohio,NorthJersey,
Long Island,and remarried.
beenon thepuzzlecircuit.
New York to compete-almostalwayscolRaphael'saccomplishments
andinteruts
He expectsto competefor a long time lecting a trophy,cash,or book for her
ef- arefar-ranging.Shehasa pilot's licenseand
and fantasizesabout big name/biggame forts. When she participated in
the flewPiperCubplanes
foryears,evenworking
competitions.
With his love of football,the Ridgewood (New Jersey) Newspapers
at a local airportin exchangefor freeflying
bestof all possibleworlds for Ed Bethea CrosswordPuzzleTournamentin 198I
she time. Sheand her husbandracedcarsat the
would be a large-pursetournamentwith felt thatshehada goodchance winning,
of
Limerocktrackin Connecticutandcollected
sportscasterJohn
Maddencallingtheshots. butshehadn't countedonconstructor
Henry antiquecan (the collectionincludesal9?A
Hook beinga conteshnt. After sheraced FordModelA Roadster,a 1928Hupmobile,a
Miriam Raphael,a 66-year-oldeducator throughthefirst puzzle-finishing in what
1932Aston Martin louring car, and a 1934
from Rye Brook, New York, found out she thought was a very short
time-she Lagonda).She'sFeasurerofttreAstonMartin
aboutthe flust moderncrosswordcontest handedin herpaperonly to find thatHook
Owners'Club andwasrecentlygivena serthedayafterit wasover. Shereada write- had alreadyfinished."What took you
so vicemedalfor hercontributionto theorganiup in the paper, immediately called the Iong?" he demanded."That completely
zation.
SamfordMarriott Hotel, and told themto unnervedme!" sheexclaimed.
At an age when many people think of
putheron themailing list if theyeverheld
Raphael'slife changedasa resultof her retiring,Raphaelhastwo part-timejobs-as a
anothercontest.
prowessin thecontestarena.After herfirst hometutorfor a local schoolandasa coordiThe next year (1979) she enteredrhe triumphand the ensuingpublicity
shegot nator of an after-schoolreadingclinic at a
contestandwon first prize.Sinceherhome lots oflocal attention,frequentlybeingrelocallibrary.Shealsodoesfree-lanceediting
wasjust a 20-minutedrive from the hotel, fened to as the "puzzle champ."
Shewas andprmfteadingfor puzzlepublishe.rs,
keeps
sheoptedto commuteto the contestrather invitedtojoin theFairfieldpuzzle
Cluband in closecontactwith herchildren,grandchilthanstayat thehotel.On Sundaymorning, the National Puzzlers' League
by Will dren,stepchildren,andfosterchild,hostsan
priorto the final round,sheoverslept.Her Shortz,"which introduced
me to a whole annualpuzzleget-bgether,and travelsfrehusbandBurt got her to the hotel in 12 new bunch of peoplewho were
as inter- quently.
minutesflat; as shewas rushingin to the estedin puzzlesasI was."
Raphaelprepares
fora toumamentbysolvauditoriumshehadonly a secondto glance
She
was.
also
commissioned
to
edit
ing
a
puzzles
as
many
aspossiblefromttretime
"I
atthestandings.
couldn'tunderstand
it. I seriesof puzzle books, ChampionCross- shewakesup. Her
morningroutineincludes
wasin secondplace.I had no idea I had words, for Simon& Schuster.
In this ca- drinkinga cupof tea,whosesrengthdepends
donethatwell."
pacityshesolicitedpuzzlesfrom construc- on how long it takesher to finish
the daily
Shehad no time to be nervousas the tors, selectedpuzzlesfor inclusion
in the Timescrossword."So, it's eithera three-or
conteststartedalmost immediately after books,editedand fact-checked
them,and five-minute cup of tea." She keepspuzzle
shesatdown.Shefinishedthe puzzlein a wrote the introductory
blurbs. "My goal, booksandmagazines
all overthehouse,carvery short time, but didn't immediately when editing, was that
someonewho got ries somein her purse,and whips themout
handinherpaper.
Oneof thejudges,Norton the answerto a difficult clue would say
whenevershecan,so "I canget my brain in
Rhoades,was hovering nearby,eager to 'Ah!' ratherthan'Huh?"'
gearandmy pencilmovingfast.',Sheleamed
pickup thepuzzle.Raphaelwasn'tcertain
Raphaelis proudofa lessonshelearned a few tricks from Hook and other top solvof theaccuracyof one letter in the grid so from MargaretFarrar-letting people
down ers-using *re Greek"epsilon"whichcanbe
shementallywent through the alphabet gently. "MargaretFarrarencouraged
rather writtenfasterthana regular,,E"andby writ"placing"
eachletter in the blank. Finally, thandiscouraged
newconstructors
by writ- ing manyof herlettrersin onestroke.
after what seemedto Rhoadesto be an ing themthe gentlestof rejectionletters.
I
Miriam Raphaelexpectsto competas
interminablylong time, shenoddedto her- knew I had followed her example
when long as sheis competitive."I neverwantto
self,raisedher
handto indicatecompletion, someonewrote me a thank-younotefor
a comein lasL"Shegoesto conteststo ..seeold
andhandedover her paper.Sheknew she rejectedpuzzle."
friends and chat about commoninterests."
hadfilled in theblankscorrectly.
Raphael'sinterestin puzzlesstemsfrom Thoughshejokesthat"whenEdBetheatums
Whileshewasmilling aboutin thelobby, childhoodwhen she and her father
solved 60 andwe'rein thesameseniordivisionI'll
waitingfor the official results,one of the crosswordstogether.Always interested
in quitcompeting,"noonewhoseesherin action
judgesindicatedto herhusbandthatshehad
words,shewroteshortstoriesin elementary believesthat. This former champloves
to
won. Burt quickly phoned Raphael's andhighschoolandwon
a shortstorycontest compete.
mother,sister,theirdaughters,
anda florist. in college.AftergraduatingfromMt Holyoke
WhenRaphaelwas indeed declaredthe College,whereshemajoredin political
sci- HELENE HOVANEC isaNewyorkCitvwinnershehada privatecheeringsection enceandminoredin philosophy,
shereceived basedwriter/editor.

tr

March/April1993

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