Summary:
Crossword puzzles have challenged, titillated, entertained, and vexed some of the best minds out there. Have you got the right stuff to be a good cruciverbalist?

Details or Sample:
They lurk everywhere: at restaurants, the mall, baseball diamonds, the hardware store, maybe even at your child’s school. Some are loners, others may be social climbers. Some dress impeccably, while some are most comfortable in jeans and a t-shirt. There are those who are wealthy, and those who are far from it. Because they look just like everybody else, they can usually blend in. That is, until they produce the one thing that sets them apart: the puzzle page of the daily paper. There is a special name for this group of problem solvers: They are called “cruciverbalists” (at least that is better than “crossword puzzle solvers”).

They’re usually a benign sort, as long as they get their daily brain workout. Sunday mornings may be a particularly tense time for them, however, especially among the more competitive. That’s because the Sunday New York Times Crossword Puzzle is the epicenter of the crossword universe. It takes major mojo. There are highly skilled cruciverbalists who compete to see who can solve it the fastest (the pros can do it in the time it takes the rookies to scan the Across clues). There are the lingerers who draw out the delicious challenge like a fine liqueur. For some, it is a group effort: They form teams to ponder the obscure clue and brainstorm via instant messaging.
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The American Crossword Puzzle Tournament — the nation’s oldest and largest event of its kind — has been held every winter in Stamford, Connecticut for 31 years. More than 700 puzzle solvers participated in 2008’s competition, which, like most of its predecessors, consisted of parties, polite boasting, conviviality, reminiscing over favorite clues of the past decade and opining on the best puzzle ever created. Oh, and intense tournament play. The ACPT is congenially hosted by New York Times Crossword Puzzle Editor Will Shortz, a 50-something puzzle wunderkind who is the only known person with a degree from Indiana University in enigmatology, the study of puzzles. He designed his own curriculum.
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The surprisingly (to its creators) popular 2006 film, “Wordplay,” tells the story of the strange world of cruciverbalism, with actual film of that year’s ACPT and interviews with the best-of-the-best competitors and several celebrity cruciverbalists, including Hillary Clinton’s husband, Bill, The Daily Show’s Jon Stewart, documentary filmmaker Ken Burns, the musical Indigo Girls, Yankees’ pitcher Mike Mussina, and Senator Bob Dole — a cross-section of humanity if ever there was one. They all understand the keys to success: Start with the small and simple and gradually work your way up the puzzle ladder. And practice, practice, practice. In pencil.

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Written by: gigi
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