The Times didn’t invent the crossword, but it’s the publication most closely associated with it-ever since Margaret Farrar, the paper’s first puzzle editor, nailed some cruciverbalist theses to the door of the puzzling world. From the perspective of the solver, the question of pencil or pen is a barometer of verve-Jon Stewart once joked that he completes crosswords in glue stick.įor either party the typical grid comprises 15 squares on each axis, the size of the New York Times‘s weekday puzzle. From the perspective of the constructor the tool of choice is a matter of pragmatics. I made my first attempt on a Tuesday night, waiting at my desk for the close of the week’s editorial cycle, and I used blue lead, for which actual newsroom uses are dwindling.
#Fahrar crossword editor software#
Though software exists to aid the gridding process, I went the discount route with a pencil, which is its own sort of adventure. The “fill” (noun) refers to the words that make up the grid, and “grid” in this formulation can become an intransitive verb-”People definitely grid by hand,” a crossword constructor told me when I asked him if I could use a pencil.
Or, if you prefer, “before one grids.” Some lingo comes with this territory. There are things to get out of the way before one fills the grid in earnest. It turns out there are no shortcuts in crossword building, and moreover I was going at the process backward. If you’re the type of person who worries about that sort of thing, you’re advised to do the puzzle first.Ī month ago, I dropped the word SAVANT into the first crossword puzzle I ever tried constructing, hoping it would be some sort of talisman. Spoiler alert: Some of the answers to Sam Worley’s crossword puzzle (PDF) are discussed in this article.
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