Cruciverbalism
A Crossword Fanatic's Guide to Life in the Grid
Chapter One
Crossfire: The Pipsqueak Manifesto
I remember the date when I declared war on the New York Times
crossword puzzle: October 19, 1984. It was the day of the LOA
outrage. My annoyance with the Times puzzle was simmering much
of that fall-who can forget the affront to Good Times TV star
Jimmie Walker, lumped into the clue "Comedian or former N.Y.
mayor" for an answer that employed the less-than-dy-no-mite!
spelling, Jimmy Walker? Then there was the infamous "parting
words" clue for farewell, an answer that a plurality of
solvers-and lexicographers-would regard as one word. But LOA
was what pushed me over the edge. Or, rather, its clue did:
"Seat of Wayne County, Utah."
Now, in the course of building a crossword puzzle, it is
sometimes necessary to include the sequence L-O-A when you've
got an exquisite stack of words that will work only if you can
keep those three letters in the mix. Fair enough. The painless
tradition is to give the clue "Mauna ___," for ... read full excerpt from: Cruciverbalism ebook
