Nate Meyvis

Reading notes: Cruciverbalism

This feels like a book I would have checked out of the games section of the library as a 12-year-old (in 1995), in the best way. It is not available electronically. This sort of extremely opinionated book about a sport, game, or puzzle can often be very good.

  1. The lists of crosswordese are useful enough, but the Wikipedia lists are better for serious students.
  2. The anti-Eugene-Maleska rant (really, a throughline) is a highlight, and also a window into the history of the New York Times.
  3. Now that I've read that editors look for clues that seem hard but are actually easy, it seems obvious. (And it enriches the solving experience to know that "fake-hard" clues exist and to guess which ones they are.)

Recommended.


Published 2023-05-18.