CROSSWORDS: Fun; Humor; Distraction; Joy

Summary | Quotes | References

Summary

• Puzzles provide opportunities for
• fun and joy -- perhaps already (or after you're finished this class)?
• wordplay and humor
• creativity
• focus and flow
• surprise
• distraction

Quotes

• "In the 1980s, a new group of puzzlemakers saw that crosswords
  were starting to remind them of their worst teachers from grade school...
  Wouldn't it be more fun and attract more solvers if puzzles were a little more playful?
  Just a smidge trickier and a lot wittier? ~NYT obit: Merl Reagle
• "I like to see the crossword puzzle as... half-full.
  The solid black squares were the only ones I could figure out,
  so that's something."
• I woke up the other day with a puzzled look on my face...
  I had fallen asleep on my crossword.
• I suspect there will never be an edible version of a crossword...
  but if there is, I'll eat my words.
• I just tried to present my crossword app as... a boarding pass,
  so today is going well."
• Yes, crosswords are a lot like life...
  they're only boring if you don't have sense of adventure." ~Mary in All About Steve
• "Puzzles are like songs --... A good puzzle can give you all the pleasure of being
  duped that a mystery story can. It has surface innocence, surprise, the revelation
  of a concealed meaning, and the catharsis of solution." ~Stephen Sondheim
• "Total absorption in a task ('flow') is a state... that some artists experience
  in their creative moments and that many other people achieve when enthralled
  by a film, a book, or a crossword puzzle: interruptions are not welcome"
  ~Thinking, Fast and Slow; Daniel Kahneman

• 
  

  [If your job title is] "'long-range planner' or 'lieutenant governor,'...
  you are pretty much free to lounge around and do crossword
  puzzles until retirement." ~Dave Barry; How to Attend a Meeting

• "Why did Will Shortz... go to the therapist?
  What kind of necklace was Will Shortz wearing?
  What kind of pillow did Will Shortz sleep on?"
  ~Natasha Lyonne Cracks a Few Crossword Jokes;
  video: 0:34; 7/26/2018
• "What's a nine-letter word for 'fun'?...
  C r _ _ _ _ _ _ _" ~dictionary.com
• "Life is Shortz." ~NYT Crossword in Gothic
• "puzzle-head: someone who's crazy about crosswords"
• "If I have to choose between cleaning and doing a crossword,...
  it would have to be the crossword every time."
  ~The Crossword Lady in How Clean Is Your House #1 [video; 7:56]
• "I'm a games and theory kind of guy. I love puzzles,...
  so it was fun dissecting Shakespeare's prose." ~Neil Patrick Harris
• "In the course of shooting of Pillow Talk, Doris Day... adopted Rock Hudson's
  habit of doing crossword puzzles during downtime on the set."
• "Her life would be a giddy crossword,... working
  down from some clues and across from others." ~Leif Enger

References

• topics: architecture, art, clothing, comic strips, government bans,
  happiness, humor, improv comedy, joy, love of language, poetry
• National Word Nerd Day: Jan 19th
• NYT: Crossword Gifts
  drawing a blank about what to get the crossword puzzle fanatic in your life?
  These puzzle-themed gifts are sure to bring joy (down and) across the board!
  Puzzles & Games assortment of jigsaw, crossword, 3-D puzzles
  to test readers while commemorating history
  Crossword Puzzle Reprint $150.00; signed
• Crossword: Improv Comedy Game Night Seattle Theatre Sports:
  "at the beginning of this fun improv show, a crossword puzzle form is presented to the audience.
  Each scene of the show is a clue to a word that is filled in by the audience.
  None of the clues, words, games or scenes are prepared, and the puzzle and
  contents are all improvised. At the end, the audience decides the theme
  based on looking at the words in the whole puzzle;" performed by
  Unexpected Productions' resident narrative improv troupe
• Essential Gear for Waiting Hours in Line: Crossword, anyone? paper or digital; NYT; 7/7/2023
• Why I Craved Crosswords in Prison 5/3/2023
• A Puzzle Is a Journey: Wyna Liu, a NYT Crossword editor, examines a nontraditional puzzle
  Hoang-Kim Vu’s beautiful narrative puzzle, "The Long Way Home," first published on Sept. 8, 2021, in AVCX
  It's challenging to tell a story with a crossword; NYT; 3/31/2023

• 
  

  Love of crosswords started in a courtroom 5/24/2022

• My one consistent source of joy is the jingle at the end of the NYT crossword 4/1/2022
• Crosswords Helped Me With My Fear of Flying NYT; 11/24/2021
• Queen carries a penknife in her handbag
  -- and a crossword in case she gets bored Mirror; 8/9/2021
• Crossword Constructor David Kwong to Present
  New Virtual Theater Piece 'Inside the Box' 9/4/2020
• Crochet Crossword Puzzle Lovers Afghan Pattern 5/11/2020
• 'New York Times' Pledges To Cover Biden
  Sexual Assault Allegations In Upcoming Crossword Onion; 4/10/2020
• Solver Stories: Bringing Order to Chaos In Italy, a country ravaged by the effects of coronavirus,
  a man finds some solace and peace by focusing on crossword puzzles; NYT; 4/6/2020
• 'The Crossword Show With Zach Sherwin' Gets Down, and Across, at ArtsRiot 3/4/2020
• Curiosity: Crosswords & crossroads play; 3/3/2020
• The Art and Politics of Crosswords joys and addiction; NYr; 6/21/2019
• How Zach Sherwin fills in his crossword-themed comedy game show 6/14/2019
• Will Shortz Frustrated That Police Yet To Crack Taunting Puzzles Revealing Locations
  Of 40 Years Of Murder Victims ;-) Onion; 5/28/2019
• 35 Hilarious Tweets For People Who Love Crossword Puzzles HuffPo; 2/20/2019
• Doing Crosswords at Home: The Artistic Way #31 Kiefernstrasse, Dusseldorf, Germany; 5/2/2017
• Crossword Quilt Tutorial 5/26/2016
• No Joke: China's Broadcasting Authority Bans Puns And Wordplay 12/2/2014
• Get that tune out of your head scientists claim to have found a way to help anyone plagued by "earworms"
  -- those annoying tunes that lodge themselves inside our heads and repeat on an endless loop; puzzles; 3/24/2013
• How to Ride Public Transportation Without Losing Your Mind puzzles; LH; 9/11/2012
• Modern Crossword Humor 8/16/2012
• Libyans Agree To Come Up With Something For Qaddafi To Do All Day
  In Exchange For Him Leaving Onion; 3/11/2011
• Creative and Cool Crossword Inspired Designs and Products
  Lvov wall; coasters; bib; umbrella; sneakers; pajamas; pillow; TP; wallet; cup; tanktop;
  frame; mat; hoodie; bag; dress; scarf; vase; earrings; journal; 1/19/2011
• Why Do Crosswords? 9/21/2010
• Rapid Thinking Makes People Happy
  "Activities that promote fast thinking, such as whipping through an easy crossword puzzle
  or brain-storming quickly about an idea, can boost energy and mood...They further suggest
  that slow, varied thinking [SW: harder puzzles?] leads to the kind of calm, peaceful happiness
  associated with mindfulness meditation"; 1/27/2009
• Whence the Joy in Crosswords? NYT: The Crossword Puzzle Moment; NYT; 1/18/2009

• 
  

  Crossword poems poems composed with words found in a single crossword puzzle.
  The "across" section of the poem uses words from the across clues.
  The "down" section uses words from the down clues. The "answers" section are words
  from the answer grid. The title uses words from any section; 4/2002

• Crossword cravings: A passion for puzzles plus a love of language equals a lifelong hobby 6/1/1999
• Crossword Art I [video: 1:31]; abstract paintings
• crosswordmug.com "Don't Just Do the Puzzle OVER a Cup of Coffee -- Do It ON Your Cup of Coffee" [on right];
  "With a crossword, we're challenging ourselves to create order our of chaos" ~Will Shortz
• cartoons: 'Ashen & Noir' by Patrick Merrell