I have my favorite crossword puzzle constructors. Merl Reagle led the charge for me, introducing me to puzzles with his book series. Others followed. Emily Cox and Henry Rathvon, Joe DiPietro, Frank Longo, Randolph Ross, Michael S. Maurer, Trip Payne, Mike Shenk, Peter Gordon, and Wayne Robert Williams all come to mind. Henry Hook would be there too, but many of his puzzles have been too tough for me, so maybe I'm holding a grudge. For insight into the craft of crossword puzzle making specifically and crossword puzzles in general, buy or rent the documentary Wordplay.I routinely hate puzzles that feature quotes from celebrities, but I am coming around on themeless puzzles, which feature a mix of vocabulary but no discernible theme. Primarily, I enjoy puzzles that carry a consistent theme through each of the longer answers in the puzzle. Usually, these puzzles focus on some aspect of wordplay--puns, multiple letters in a single square, words inside of words. Just when I think that I've seen every variation on a theme, someone comes along and introduces a new gimmick that keeps things interesting.
Wednesday puzzles generally give me the most satisfaction. For those not in the know, crossword puzzles in several newspapers follow the course of getting more difficult as the work-week progresses. Monday puzzles are easier than Friday puzzles in both the New York Times and the New York Sun. Will Shortz, editor of the New York Times puzzle, and Peter Gordon, editor of the New York Sun puzzle, do a masterful job of matching the difficulty of their puzzles to the day of the week. The difficulty of the famed Sunday New York Times puzzle, which is larger than the 15 square by 15 square daily puzzle, is commonly thought to be comparable to a Thursday puzzle.
Although I do not do Reagle's puzzles on a daily basis, the ones collected in his books seem to carry a Wednesday level of difficulty. Sometimes they are a little harder; sometimes a little easier. He advertises them as "twisted but fair," and I generally find that to be true--at least for my skill level.
I'm not quite good enough yet to do more than a few puzzles a week, and I worry about the space on my bookshelf occupied by crosswords that I might never complete as I near my fortieth birthday.
There are some very good crossword blogs out there. Rex Parker discusses the New York Times crossword puzzle daily, and Orange writes very entertainingly about all of the puzzles that she keeps up with every day. They both hold sway in the crossword community and are noteworthy for their dedication and commitment to the craft of cruciverbalism. I'm just another one of the many on the Internet who appreciates their work.
I intend to take a slightly different approach to crosswords. Most days, I will post an "explainer" on a crossword word or phrase, beginning with the answers that most regularly appear in crosswords, as determined by the cruciverb Web site, an indispensable resource for crossword constructors. Even the most common crossword answers can yield some pretty interesting information for the curious.
An explainer is like an encyclopedic dictionary entry: it provides further insight into the word or phrase and discusses many of the possible meanings and uses of the term. My girlfriend, who has been very supportive of this project and has prodded me to start this blog, will be contributing some of the entries.
My background in reference publishing has me crafting and editing these in a pretty straightforward manner, but some entries might require a less conventional approach and the tone might evolve over time. You will likely gain some insight into our lives and our way of thinking based on where we decide to put our focus in these entries.
I welcome your comments, discussion, and feedback, and I'll accept corrections or further clarifications if I make some error that needs attention.
So with that in mind, we'll begin with the most common crossword answer, ERA.
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