The JimH Crossword Blog

Amen corner

You learn the most amazing things solving puzzles. Sometimes by sheer coincidence there are some clues that might be tricky to some, but you just happen to know them. Tony winner for Sweeney Todd? I'm a Sondheim fan. Len CARIOU. It means nothing to Nero? The Latin word NIHIL happened to by part of my lame high school's lame motto. I was flying.

And then I got stuck in the corners. I had no idea what an amen corner was, and it's the key to solving this Thursday puzzle. So I learned something (since I had to look it up) and had some fun too.

My commercial web hosting service for xwordinfo.com is being flaky today, an embarrassing turn of events since I just started publicizing the service. I don't want to name any names, but maybe I should have paid attention to the hidden implication in the name DiscountAsp.net. Seriously, they've been great, but the timing sucks.

Facts about the Ivory Coast don't help

Nothing special in the Wednesday puzzle this week so I'll mention something else delightful about Tuesday's puzzle from Julie Ann Bowling.

I used to kick myself when I misread clues but it gradually dawned on me that many of those mistakes were from intentionally misleading clues. Hardly seems cricket, but apparently crossword constructors have no ethical standards at all. Here's a nice example.

I first read the clue for 30 Down as "Ivory Coast and others" (5 letters.) Well, what does one know about the Côte d'Ivoire anyway? Former French Colony or African Country are both too long. I had no idea.

Only later did I catch my mistake. The clue actually read "Ivory, Coast and others." Note the comma between the first two words. The clue is diabolical because the capitalization works either way, and it didn't even depend on the old first-letter-is-always-capitalized trick to throw you off.

Can you see it? Click here for the answer.

Little Woman

If you're constructing a crossword puzzle, the one fact you know for sure about your audience is that they love words. Tuesday's delightful puzzle from Julie Ann Bowling (not previously in my www.xwordinfo.com database) takes full advantage of that knowledge with four clever theme clues requiring altering the usual pronunciation of a phrase. An example is "What a comedian might do before going onstage?" (10 letters) is POLISHJOKE. Groan.

My favorite clue was "Little Woman?" (10 letters). The answer, of course, is MINUTEMAID.

Introducing xwordinfo.com -- fun crossword stats

A little statistical analysis can provide interesting insight into the crossword constructor's world.

While you were over-eating this Thanksgiving, I spent the long weekend writing a crossword analysis website called XWord Info at www.xwordinfo.com. Then I dumped in all the crossword files from Jan 1 2007 and let it grind away on them. I'll add lots more analysis over time, but here are some interesting early results.

The most popular answer words this year are ERA, ADO, (yep) and ELI (which I found more surprising.) The list here shows all the words used ten or more times this year along with their clues and links to their puzzles. The clues are especially interesting when you note the day of the week associated with each. For example, ONE has been used 16 times this year. A Monday clue is "White Monopoly bill." Sunday gets us the clever "It's next to nothing" and Thursday has the even better "Night stand leader." Yes, OREO makes the list with 10 entries including the odd Tuesday clue "Hydrox rival, once."

The most popular authors are listed here and this has been a bit of a revelation to me. I feel like a moviegoer who has just learned that following favorite directors can be fun. Topping the list is Patrick Berry with 13. (That number will grow as I add data from 2006 and earlier.) Not only is 13 a lot, they're all Friday, Saturday or Sunday, and they're all outstanding puzzles! I have them collected together. I want to meet this guy, and the next two on the list as well -- Paula Gamache and Mike Nothnagel. I'm incredibly impressed with their output and I'll look for them in particular in the future. Another name that jumped out was Fred Piscop from the Washington Post puzzles I also enjoy. At the NYT, he apparently does mostly easy early-week puzzles, but they're so natural sounding you might not notice the art.

Check XWord Info directly for more links including all the trick puzzles and all the 15 characters or longer answers. It turns out a few have already been used more than once: ANIMALMAGNETISM, FAMOUSLASTWORDS, THERESNOIINTEAM, and believe it or not, JALFREDPRUFROCK, still measuring out his life with coffee spoons.

Over time I'll dump more crossword files into the database and let the analyzer grind away, but it's already been a fun experiment.

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UPDATE: I have added puzzles back to Jan 1, 2006 now, so some of the stats have changed. AREA ties with ERE now the most popular answers. See more here.

Brilliant Thanksgiving puzzle

I didn't get around to doing the Thursday crossword puzzle until this morning. What a great way to start the day. It's brilliant. Bravo, Oliver Hill, crossword constructor supreme. If you haven't done it yet and you've paid your NYT premium dues, stop reading and check it out. You can download the Across Lite file here: Thursday, November 22, 2007

I've talked before in the Pen or pencil post about how the best way to solve puzzles is to print them out on good quality paper. There's a risk when you do that. Sometimes you miss some extraneous clue that appears only in the paper version. I thought that's what happened here. The two long theme answers were both clued "[See diagram]".  Huh? What was I missing?

There was something else odd about the puzzle as well. It's extremely rare that NYT puzzles have orphan boxes -- empty squares that fit only a down or only an across clue. This puzzle has four, all clustered near the middle. There are very few black squares. The most prominent ones make a big X through the center of the puzzle. A big X. When it finally dawned on me, I thought of the characters in "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World" all searching for the Big W. They couldn't see it because it was right in front of their eyes. Just like the big X today. What a nice discovery when you finally figure it out.

British vs. American crosswords

There's a bit of a revolutionary war between the advocates of British-style or cryptic puzzles vs. American style or, as as they're known in some circles, normal puzzles. It turns out I've done a reverse Benedict Arnold. I've become a fan of the American style.

An upcoming post will describe what I call the Crossword Puzzle Moment that makes American puzzles work. This entry is about cryptic puzzles, why they're great, and why they're not quite as good.

First, here's the argument against the American form. It's what I used to believe and why I didn't bother with them for years. Normal puzzles ask for a series of facts. If you happen to know the capital of Bolivia (tricky in this case because there are two possible answers, Sucre or La Paz, and they're both five letters!) then you write it in. If you don't, you're stuck and the game is over. You might as well spend the rest of your evening watching Reality TV Shows while you wash down your barbequed cheeseburger with a refreshing Coca Cola.

Cryptic puzzles, on the other hand, represent the height of puzzling sophistication and rely, not on mundane facts, but on your ability to sort out puns, anagrams, hidden words, classic or pop references, bad jokes, and extremely twisted logic. What could be more fun? Here's an example I still remember from the Globe and Mail many years ago: Half the alphabet studied by physicists (4 letters.)

This is an ingenious clue, and like all ingenious clues you can figure out the answer if you can warp your brain in precisely the correct way. Half the alphabet? Hmmm. Well, there are 26 letters all together. Half the alphabet would be 13 letters. Does that help?

Not immediately. If you took just the vowels you'd fall short. Maybe it's the ones with descenders or something? Nope, that doesn't work either. Well, let's see. If you take the first 13 letters, what happens? That would be all the letters from A to M. Is that helpful?

The problem with Cryptic clues is that they require an aha cranial event that might or might not occur. The mark of a good clue is that if you stare at it long enough, the letters dissolve into view in front of your eyes. Cryptics can't promise that. Still, the best ones are fun and satisfying and, yes, I miss the Globe and Mail. The Nation has great cryptic puzzles but they don't publish every day.

Anyway, back to our alphabet clue. If you haven't seen it already, the answer is indeed A to M. ATOM. What a great clue.

As Tiny Tim never said, Happy Thanksgiving, every one.

Carte blanche offer

I'm working on my NYT Crossword Statistical Analysis program and it turns out there are some surprising facts Cruciverb doesn't reveal. But I'm skipping ahead. I'll let you know when it's fully cooked, or at least ready for beta tasting. (I don't know if that looks like a pun or a spelling mistake. You can decide.)

The Wednesday puzzle has a military theme. I liked "Standby's salvation" (NOSHOW) and particularly 27 Across: "Carte blanche offer" (6 letters.) It's a creative clue. The answer is NAMEIT.

Combining religions

Tuesday's puzzle combines two great American religions. Many people like myself choose to remember the Sabbath by curling up with the NYT and, among other delights, doing the Sunday puzzle. There are at least two schools of thought, though. For others, keeping Sunday holy means watching football on television.

The theme clues are all what Lewis Carroll called portmanteau words -- mashups created by combining, in this case, two NFL team names. The theme is made clear when you solve 56 Across which tells you the two teams could meet in the SUPERBOWL.

Here's a nice little touch, an extra detail attended to by the creator Larry Shearer. The two halves of each answer include teams who really could meet, meaning there's one team from the AFC and one from the NFC. For example, 17 Across is "Big spender's woe." Answer: GIANT BILL. The NY Giants are in the NFC and the Buffalo Bills are in the AFC.

I don't think most people would notice. I had to look it up, but the real fans would know instinctively. This puzzle didn't just jam together two random teams. Care was taken, and those who happened to notice got a bonus smile.

Speed solving

How depressing.

Mondays are the only days I generally time myself. They are the easiest puzzles and it takes longer to print them out than to solve them in Across Lite. Well, that's not quite true. Today's took me a little over five minutes. Many Mondays I'm a little under five. A couple of times in my life I've been under four. For that to happen, everything has to fall into place exactly right. Speed reading the clues and typing as fast as I can takes that much time.

It turns out I'm only average, if that. I should never have linked to Crossword Fiend who is, apparently, some supernatural force of nature from Chicago whose over-clocked brain works on completely different scientific principles. Today's report blithely notes a time of 2:42. This is incomprehensible to me. I've only been timing myself for a few years, but I'm not getting any faster. Even when I get close to a super-fast time, there will be a letter or two that trips me up and I founder while the seconds tick on louder and louder. Just depressing.

For the sake of this blog, I did an experiment this morning. I solved the Monday puzzle last night on my computer. I tried the same puzzle again this morning, reading and typing as fast as I could. It was a humbling experience. Despite the fact that I had already worked it out less than twelve hours earlier, my time was still slower than the Fiend's.

So I console myself. I'm not by nature or inclination a speed solver. No, I just enjoy the leisurely pleasure of finding the answers. I feel sorry for those poor sods who are driven by satanic pressure to compete with their friends and then show off. Man, I'm glad I'm not one of them!

I just wish I were faster.

You might hear it going up and down

This Sunday puzzle titled WORLD PAY demonstrates the tradeoffs puzzle creators have to make. It was a tougher puzzle than usual for a Sunday, it included a few clunky answer words, but the theme trick was great fun and there were an amazing number of theme clues. I won't give it away in case you're still working on it.

Puzzles are supposed to be great for mental flexibility. A couple of clues today reminded me of that. 103 Across is "Bass part," three letters. If you're a musician and you get an image of a double bass in your head, it's hard to shake that and imagine what else bass could be. I think this is especially tricky when the intended meaning is pronounced differently. The answer turns out to be FIN.

83 Across represents a related but different form of mental gymnastics. The clue is "You might hear it going up and down," five letters. I had no idea what this meant. What makes noise going up and down? It turns out that is the wrong question. I've provided another clue with the attached photo. The gentleman with the bizarre beard is Elisha Otis, he of elevator fame.

Note how cleverly the clue is worded. If it said "You might hear it going up OR down" it would have been far easier. One could quibble (I won't) that an Otis customer is never going both up and down. Instead, I admire the clue for it's devilish cleverness. Or at least for making me grin.

Oh, right, the answer. MUZAK.