On an airplane last year I saw a documentary called "Wordplay" featuring Will Shortz, the editor of the New York Times Crossword. He's a big fish in a small pond, but it's a frothy, fascinating body of water. "Wordplay" documented the Annual Puzzle Tournament and all its associated drama. "Boring" you say? Not so! Will himself is the sole holder of a B.Sc. in Enigmology, a self-conceived degree concering enigmas or simply put "puzzles." The film profiled several top finalists from previous years and documented their days leading up to the event and then through the tournament's finale. It also features well known puzzle enthusiasts and we now know that Bill Clinton, Jon Stewart and The Dixie Chicks all reach for the NYT every day.
I've never been a big puzzle fan because they always seemed impossible ("Key of Beethoven's 'Fur Elise'") or too easy ("Meower") but I started doing the International Herald Tribune (not knowing it was the NYT) and USA Today. Intrigued I was, so I bought a one-year NYT online subscription and downloaded Across Lite 2.0 to do puzzles on my PC. Each person has their own way of doing the puzzle: Purists like the NYT newsprint copy, some print out the online version, others like me prefer to download the file to their PC, and many choose to compete publicly and finish the grid online in a "fastest" competition that tracks users over time.
I'm now hooked, and have come to understand the nuances of the NYT puzzle, the style of the various creators and the editing preferences of Will Shortz, who refines each puzzle to just the right level of difficulty, wit and cleverness. Monday is the easiest and I get through the grid completely in under 10 minutes. Occasionally I have a mental block on an answer that results in a Homer Simpson head slap, but that's not common until later in the week. Tuesday is somewhat harder than Monday, and again on Wednesday. Thursday, however, jumps significantly in difficulty and I often need to use the internet for answers that I just need to know, e.g. "Author/journalist Fallaci." Who? "ORIANA" if you are interested. Friday is very hard and I normally only finish about three-quarters even with the internet. And Saturday...well, Saturday is one of those grids that only the craftiest can consistently complete and if I fill in a quarter of the answers then I'm pleased.
Sunday is the real treat--It's "The Big Grid." An extra large puzzle presumably for brainy New Yorkers who laze about Manhattan sipping strong coffee on Sunday morning while effortlessly recalling operas, composers, literature and foreign languages. Or if you're like me you're beating your head on the monitor at home while the dog is harrassing you for a scratch because the kids are all off at Sunday school during my home alone time.
Today's Tuesday grid was unusually bothersome and I actually had to get some answers online. The tough ones follow, but I only had to look up the starred ones because they were connected and I just didn't know the answer. So when JATO and ERITU are joined by a "T" and you don't know that it's a "T", well you just have to use Google.
One-named singer for the 1960s Velvet Underground (NICO)
Categorical imperative philosopher (KANT)
War god on Olympus (ARES)
Skunk River city (AMES)
* Verdi aria (ERITU)
Bird in the "Arabian Nights" (ROC)
* Actor Gulagher (CLU)
Throat dangler (UVULA)
Secular (LAIC)
Soft drink since 1905 (RCCOLA)
* Mil. plane's boosed launch (JATO)
Actress Hagen (UTA)
"Mockingbird" singer Foxx, 1963 (INEZ)
Oklahoma native (OTO)
In addition to completing the grid, the real payoff is seeing some real cleverness that makes me laugh. For instance, Bill Clinton's self-crafted puzzle contains the clue "You're in this before you're out" and answer "UTERO." I also learn a lot of (possibly useless) knowledge that is often frequently reused. "Actor Morales?" Whoever "ESAI Morales" is, your vowels have been ploughed many times over. Chinese may be the most spoken language on Earth, but "LAO" and its useful vowels fit into many words. However, in the last few days we have seen "LOMEI" ("Food used with chopsticks") and "ENLAI" ("Zhou ...") so even our local language makes it in. Luckily my French is good enough for the frequent questions en francais ("These" to Emilie" (CES) or "One of the seasons in Cannes" (ETE)). I can handle the Italian clues (e.g. today's "Italian flowers" (FIORI)) but the Spanish and German clues are my weaknesses.
This kind of mind work keeps your brain excercised and I believe research shows that an active mind protects against diseases such as Alzheimer's. So shell out the $40 and prevent the onset of an addled brain--Too bad you can't claim it on your insurance as preventive medicine.
1 comment:
when Neil and I were 'dating' we used to spend our sundays doing the NYT crossword. by the end of the week we would have a most of it done and even, once or twice, all of it (sans help from interent even) Of course this has nothing to do with our intellectual brilliance but more to with a familiarity with the style and process. Our crossword-hobby unfortunately has been abandoned during the last few years, and sadly, I feel totally stupid when I occasionally have a look at it. they say doing crosswords can be a good defence against memory loss...
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