Will Shortz Edits His 10,000th Crossword
If Malcolm Gladwell is correct, Will Shortz is finally an expert.
Credit.Illustrated by Ben Kirchner
April 7, 2021, 6:00 a.m. ET
There may be only a handful of people in the puzzle community keeping track of such things, but on April 7, Will Shortz will have edited 10,000 puzzles since joining The New York Times as crossword editor in November 1993. That, of course, is an approximate number, counting from his start date. There are the Variety puzzles, and occasionally, Mr. Shortz has been allowed a vacation.
If the “10,000-Hour Rule” made popular by Malcolm Gladwell is to be believed the theory holds that 10,000 hours of practicing an activity is the “magic number of greatness” then Mr. Shortz would finally qualify as an expert on editing crossword puzzles, if we counted in units instead of hours. In terms of time, he has put in many more hours than that.
New York Theater on the National Register of Historic Places
Amanda Chung and Karl Ni are, like, “OMG!”
People lined up in the rain to see Isaac Hayes perform at the Apollo Theater in New York in 1970.Credit.Don Paulsen for the Michael Ochs Archives, via Getty Images
April 5, 2021
TUESDAY PUZZLE Interesting-looking grid, isn’t it? Amanda Chung and Karl Ni have used a fairly common grid design, where the left-right symmetry makes the puzzle look as if it’s almost smiling at us.
Is that a hint to the theme? Possibly. The way I read it, it’s a lovely addition to the enthusiastic, uplifting entries Ms. Chung and Mr. Ni included in their theme set.
Quite a Job, You Have to Admit
Sam Ezersky wishes us all a happy April Fools’ Day.
A ticket taker admitted attendees before Game 5 of the 2010 Eastern Conference Finals between the Montreal Canadiens and the Philadelphia Flyers in Philadelphia, Pa.Credit.Bruce Bennett, via Getty Images
March 31, 2021
THURSDAY PUZZLE It doesn’t happen every year, but once in a while the puzzle editors like to throw solvers a curveball on April 1. The most notable one at least while I’ve been here was in 2016, when Peter Gordon made a puzzle containing the message, “DUE TO BUDGET CUTS, THE NEW YORK TIMES CROSSWORD PUZZLE WILL END TOMORROW.” I thought that this was a hilarious April Fools’ joke that no one would possibly take seriously, so the Wordplay column for that day played along.
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