Though crosswords are no longer created by hand, the old-fashioned way on graph paper, Shortz still edits print-outs of the puzzles with pencil, substituting words or rewriting clues to adjust the level of difficulty. And when you're done you write the clues.” Then you construct a grid with as good vocabulary as you can. ![]() They have to be symmetrical and put in symmetrical positions. You put your long answers in the diagram. “If you're making a puzzle, first you think of your theme. “The process of creating a crossword is exactly the opposite of how you solve it,” explained Shortz. Now, in his 20th year as crossword puzzle editor at the Times, he selects and edits puzzles from puzzle-makers all over the world. Not believing he could make a living at puzzles, and still thinking of his father’s advice, Shortz followed it up with a law degree from the University of Virginia. He is the only person in the world to have a college degree in enigmatology (his thesis was on the history of American word puzzles before 1860). It is simply not acceptable in The New York Times Crossword and we apologize for including it.Shortz created his first puzzles at age 8 and then sold one to a puzzle magazine at 14, becoming a regular contributor two years later. In addition, a NYTimes spokesperson said this to The Wrap: “Tuesday’s Crossword puzzle included an entry that was offensive and hurtful. ABEL to AHEM and ANI to ALI is just one of the many ways to revise.Īn ugly blot on an otherwise pleasant puzzle. Even if BEANER punches just a small number of solvers, that makes it worth changing - especially since the fix is super easy. Puzzles ought to be enjoyable, a smile-inducing diversion from the daily struggles of life. So I shrug it off.īEANER on the other hand, feels so, so, so very wrong, considering that the alternate definition isn’t much in real usage these days. But I do understand this one, since a CHINK in one’s armor is a very common saying. My response is that it’s easy to say that if you haven’t been told to “go home, you dirty f*cking chink” (and much worse). ![]() For example, I personally take offense to CHINK in puzzles, and a couple of readers have bluntly told me “I’m being too sensitive” (and worse). I respect Will’s viewpoint that people will see what they want to see in any entry. But a pitch at someone’s head is usually called a “bean ball,” not a BEANER.Īnd I Googled BEANER to see what came up first - a page full of definitions as the racist term. Yes, BEANER is in the dictionary as a baseball term. This is one of the less than 5% of things that I strongly disagree with, though. I generally think Will does a great job in editing the NYT puzzle - hard to argue with results, with solvership exploding into the hundreds of thousands under his helm. So the editors never heard the slur before, and they didn’t think this was an issue until someone told them.īy the way, here is what Jeff Chen wrote: “Maybe we live in rarified circles,” could perhaps be the most NYTimes response ever. We highlighted the answer in case you missed it:Īnd this screen grab shows the clue for the answer:Īs expected, NYTimes puzzle editor Will Shortz has already issued a half-hearted apology, one that you HAVE to read:Ī response from Will Shortz about the entry 2D in today's crossword puzzle. ‘TAN PENDEJOS (does anyone know what ‘tan means?) įor a second, we thought it was a joke, but yeah, it was real, as these screen grabs of the New York Times’ crossword from Tuesday show. That someone at The NY Times didn’t think that having “beaner” as an answer to a crossword puzzle clue shows AGAIN how clueless they are about Mexican-American ANYTHING. We got this tip from Gustavo Arellano, when he tweeted this on Wednesday night:
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