Tag Archives: crossword

The Results from the 14th ORCAS Awards!

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The ORCAS are the Oscars of the crossword community, dedicated to celebrating excellence in crosswords, and that was certainly the case during last night’s awards ceremony!

Clocking in at just under an hour, this was an event at breakneck speed, opening as all online award shows should: with technical difficulties.

David Kwong offered some anagram suggestions for other award shows and then passed the mic to Rich Proulx, whose bowtie game was ON POINT.

Rich’s intro was delightful, particularly when he shared that over $15,000 had been raised for the Trevor Project through the ORCAS puzzle packet!

With 97 people in attendance — including many nominees and puzzle luminaries in the chat — the first award was preceded by a tough trivia puzzle celebrating all of this year’s presenters:

After the solution was revealed, Ophira Eisenberg joined David in the hosting duties before inviting our first two guest presenters to handle BEST META CROSSWORD and BEST EASY CROSSWORD.

Aimee Lucido (author of Words Apart) read out the nominees for BEST META CROSSWORD.

I must confess that meta crosswords aren’t always my bag, but there’s no denying the skill and craftiness it takes to construct an effective meta. I ended up voting for “Blind Stitch” by Hanh Huynh because it felt like such a solidly constructed introduction to the concept of meta crosswords. It’s a great solve.

WINNER: Evan Birnholz for “Flying Colors”

“Queen of the Mondays” Lynn Lempel then read out the nominees for BEST EASY CROSSWORD.

Making easy crosswords is way tougher than it looks, and making easy crosswords that are still surprising and engaging is even harder. Despite that, this was a stacked category.

My vote went to Nate Cardin’s Untitled puzzle from the LA Times on February 25. Managing to find five phrases/compound words (OVERDRAFT, BODY WASH) where both parts could be followed by the word BOARD was an impressive feat of cruciverbalism.

WINNER: Jess Shulman for “Clear Up to Here?” (Lynn was the first presenter of the evening to do the “opening the envelope” gimmick for the winner.)

T Campbell and Laura Braunstein joined to present the next two categories.

Laura, one of the minds behind The Inkubator crossword, presented the EMERGING CONSTRUCTOR AWARD.

I sadly wasn’t familiar with all of the nominees in this category, so I had to go with someone whose puzzles I felt I’d had a good sampling of. My vote went to Carina da Rosa, whose work in Puzzmo and LilAVCX I’d enjoyed throughout the year.

And it turns out I wasn’t alone in my assessment!

WINNER: Carina da Rosa

T Campbell did a wonderful introduction about what separates BEST SUNDAY-SIZED CROSSWORD from the usual crossword fare before reading the nominees.

Despite the sheer ambition of “Just One Clue 2” and its crowd-sourced cluing, my vote came down to either the grid shape wordplay of Jonathan Raksin and Jeff Chen’s “Self-Starters” and the diabolic vocabulary in crosstina Aquafina and erik agard’s “themeless no. 36.”

I mean, we got SATAN WORSHIP and TWO CHEEKS OF THE SAME ASS, neither of which I’ve ever encountered in a grid. That being said, my deep affection for visual gimmicks in crosswords won out here.

WINNER: crosstina Aquafina and erik agard’s “themeless no. 36.”

Stella Zawistowski and Kim Vu were the next two guest presenters, with Stella handling BEST VARIETY CROSSWORD.

I love variety crosswords, because there are so many ways you can play with the traditional crossword formula to make something new and exciting. Rows Garden and Marching Bands puzzles are deviously designed masterpieces when constructed well, and this category showed off skill and cleverness in equal measure.

My vote went to a puzzle style I’d never seen before, as Ryan Faley’s “Nonplussed 4” combined across and down cluing with a non-traditional grid and a Rows Garden-style interior shape (pluses instead of blooms). I loved the construction and creativity, and the revealer was the cherry on top. Terrific stuff.

WINNER: joon pahk’s Two Outta Three Ain’t Bad

“joooooooooooooooooooooooooon” calls rang out both over the stream and in the chat to celebrate joon’s win.

Kim then read the nominees for BEST TOURNAMENT CROSSWORD.

Tournament puzzles are invariably bangers because they can push the difficulty AND creative envelopes, and this category was LOADED with heaps of cool ideas and challenges. (Last year’s Lollapuzzoola alone could have filled this entire category.)

The two puzzles that stuck with me the most were David Steinberg’s Westwords puzzle and Kareem Ayas’s Wild Discoveries puzzle from Lollapuzzoola. They were both wildly inventive, challenging, and above all else, memorable. This was the toughest choice of the entire ballot.

In the end, Kareem got my vote. And again, I wasn’t the only one impressed by his playful puzzling.

WINNER: Kareem Ayas for “Wild Discoveries”

A brief In Memoriam played next, offering tongue-in-cheek farewells to Deb Amlen (for ending her tenure with The New York Times), the Browser Crossword, and the free version of The New York Times Mini Crossword.

We then got a sincere send-off for influential creator and puzzle icon Mel Taub.

Our next two guest presenters were Peter Collins and Vic Fleming. They had a great little gimmick involving a swear jar and a virtual handover of $10 to celebrate the eventual winner of BEST CLUE (and my favorite of the nominated clues):

WINNER: [They might have “fuck you” money] for SWEAR JARS by Amie Walker and Amanda Rafkin, AVCX, April 18th

They next presented BEST THEMED CROSSWORD, which was another stacked category.

This category was a case of leading with your strongest contender, because Ada Nicolle blew me away with “Would You Let Me Finish” from Apple News+ on January 5th.

The grid is populated with longer entries that, when the last letters are removed, form the actual answers to the clues. So GOT THE ICK becomes GO-TH-IC, for example. It’s a great gimmick and a fun reveal when you get it.

WINNER: Untitled by Adam Wagner and Rebecca Goldstein

Rafael Musa, Ryan Fitzgerald, and Ben Gross then interrupted the proceedings for an interactive game with the audience. But first, they had a surprise award to hand out!

The Leviathan Award celebrates important contributions to the world of crosswords, so Ryan was blindsided by this award for creating the crossword software Ingrid. A video full of kind words from fellow constructors was played. It was heartwarming stuff.

Three instances of a puzzle game called Bracket City challenged the audience next. The goal was to unravel a series of crossword-style clues nested within each other, like so:

I doubt I was the first to solve this puzzle, but I was the first to post the solution in the chat: BLACK AND WHITE.

Work from the inside out with the brackets. [gun, as an engine] is REV, so you get [REVolving __] for DOOR, then [Friday with REVolving DOORbusters] for BLACK. [south of Spain] is SUR, so you get [flag raised in SURrender] for WHITE. BLACK AND WHITE is the final answer.

David and Ophira solved the first two puzzles live while the audience solved at home, and everyone was challenged to solve the third (and most complicated) bracket city puzzle in their free time. Can you unravel it?

David and Ophira continued the awards and presented the next category, BEST MIDI CROSSWORD.

As was the case with several categories, we were absolutely spoiled for choices when it came to midi crosswords. Crossword Gentleman Doug Peterson had a great one, we had ablaut reduplications from Alex Rossell Hayes, a tightly constructed foursome of BOOM-based entries from Amie Walker, and Peanuts grid art from franci dimitrovska.

But I had to go “By the Numbers” by Kaye Brown. The sheer ambition of a LOST-centric puzzle with character names reading across and aligning with the infamous numbers from the show. It’s a fantastic bit of constructing wizardry.

WINNER: Amie Walker for “Bangers”

Our next presenters were Brad Wilber and Mangesh Ghogre to handle the one-two punch of BEST CRYPTIC CROSSWORD and BEST VARIETY CRYPTIC CROSSWORD.

I have been on a quest to improve my cryptic crossword solving over the last few years, so the nominees in these two categories put me through my paces! The devious cluing was at its peak in the cryptics, and I think I spent more time on each cryptic than I did on any two or three of the puzzles in the other categories!

Amidst all the tough cluing and interesting vocabulary, it was Jamie Ding’s AVCX Cryptic and The Rackenfracker’s “High Definition” who got my votes this year.

WINNER, BEST CRYPTIC: PiGuyN for “pi guy cryptic 22”

WINNER, BEST VARIETY CRYPTIC: The Rackenfracker (JonMichael Rasmus & Sean Weitner) for “High Definition”

Our penultimate pair of guest presenters were Katie Grogg (looking glam!) and Jared Goudsmit. They presented the nominees and some great puns as well (and made a strong case for hosting next year’s awards).

The first award they presented was BEST CROSSWORD-RELATED MEDIA.

This is a new category for this year’s ORCAS, and as you can imagine, I was absolutely stoked to be included amidst a murderer’s row of excellent, insightful commentary on all things crosswords.

I quite selfishly voted for a PuzzCulture piece, as I was immensely proud of “The Curious Case of Richard Simon’s Aunt, Hedwig.” I didn’t expect to win, and was very content just for the opportunity for new eyes to find the blog.

WINNER: Adam Aaronson for “Square Theory”.

The chat was so chuffed for Adam, with several shouting out his post as eye-opening and game-changing. Congratulations Adam!

Katie and Jared then presented BEST CROSSWORD COMMENTARY.

I love the behind-the-curtain glimpses offered in columns like Rex Parker’s, Wordplay, and the LA Times Crossword Corner, many of whom have been commenting crosswords longer than some of the attendees have been making crosswords or solving them!

All of these nods are well-deserved — Deb and Malaika are brilliant, distinct voices in the crossworld — but it was “Malaika Handa and Stephen Lurie” by Renee Thomason that got my vote.

WINNER: Sally Hoelscher for “Terrors of the Deep”

Our final two awards were presented by Christina Iverson and the very dapper Andy Kravis. First up was BEST THEMELESS CROSSWORD.

This one was a three-horse race for me, with killer efforts by Paolo Pasco, guest host Christina, and Erik Agard, all chock-full of great vocabulary and ambitious crossings. I finally managed to narrow it to Erik’s August 18th New Yorker puzzle when it came to my vote, but really, any of these three would be worthy winners.

WINNER: Erik Agard’s August 18th New Yorker puzzle

Finally, it was time for CONSTRUCTOR OF THE YEAR.

I genuinely have no idea how you even narrow down nominations for this category, because there are SO MANY talented constructors. My shortlist would be 30 people deep, easy!

Each of the puzzles included in the Trevor Project Puzzle Pack represented the nominees well, but it was Rafael Musa and Adam Wagner’s puzzles that stuck with me the most. I loved the gimmick in Adam’s “Endless Loop,” but in the end, I went with Rafael Musa. Each time I saw that name in the byline, I knew I was guaranteed a terrific solve.

WINNER: Adam Wagner

Adam was there to accept and gave a very sweet speech, celebrating the welcoming crossword community and the support of his wife and family. Amazingly, he only started constructing in 2019!

You can’t complain about an award show that only takes up an hour of your time, especially when Oscar and Emmy broadcasts can last into the wee hours. And the crossword community is full of quirky, likable folks, so anytime you can get a bunch of them in a room (virtual or otherwise) together, you’re guaranteed a good time.

I thought it was a little weird that the games got more time than some of the categories, but this was my first ORCAS. Maybe that’s how the show usually goes!

Congratulations to all the winners! There were so many amazing puzzles published last year, and it was a pleasure to get to solve so many mind-bending, entertaining, and lovingly crafted cruciverbalist creations.

It was cool to see 5 out of my 15 selections get the nod (and a few other winners in my honorable mentions). And I’m already taking notes to contribute nominees to next year’s ORCAS!

What did you think of the ORCAS, fellow puzzler? Did your favorites win? Was there a puzzle you loved that you wish had gotten more of a spotlight?

Let me know in the comments section below. I’d love to hear from you!

Such a Lyrical Tease, This Fresh Crosswordese

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Ah, crosswordese. The double-edged sword of cruciverbalism.

Crosswordese is the catch-all term for those words that appear frequently in puzzles, and for the most part, only in puzzles. That’s not to say they can’t also be in common use, or part of everyday pop culture. But they definitely show up more often in crosswords than casual conversation.

In the past, we’ve featured rhyming works that attempted to highlight as much crosswordese as possible. But those are nearly a decade old, and while many of those words are still prominent in crosswords, plenty of other vocabulary words have nestled themselves in the pockets of crossword constructors in the meantime.

So I took a shot at concocting a bit of rhyming verse celebrating not just the past of crosswordese, but the present. I hope you enjoy!

We’ve seen SNEEs and INEEs and ETUIs so TWEE
ANOAs and ELANDs and the old ARAL sea.

We’ve OOHed and AAHed over AHAs and PHEWs,
ITO, UTA, and TATI, long gone from the news.

PSST, AHEM, and WHOA! Exclamations galore!
ARE SO and ARE TOO plus AM TOO and more.

OREO’s “Mountain: Comb. form” gave way to a snack,
ASHE’s namesake arena helped bring his name back.

Hurray for new RAEs, Carly _ Jepsen and ISSA
Charlotte, Norma, no more, constructors never miss a

Chance to drop some textspeak, TMI, BTW
IMO, SMH, OHO might I trouble you

for a CHAI TEA or BOBA or a hot bowl of PHO
or maybe let’s cool it, right OLAF and ELSA?

EVOO on salad, smoothie with ACAI berry,
ACELA is coming, we better not tarry.

EGO left SNL, AYO was a guest host
one-fourth of the way to an EGOT boast.

I don’t wish to ERR, RUE, or misrepresent:
is a Tolkien creature an ORC and an ENT?

So many NOOBS left out: ARIE, RHEA, ENOLA.
(India, Seehorn, and Holmes, in the footsteps of POLA.)

I suppose this endeavor’s gone A TAD bit AFAR,
maybe next time, just scribble TL;DR.

Did I manage to include your favorite crosswordese, fellow puzzler? Let me know in the comments section below! I’d love to hear from you.

Puzzly Suggestions for Valentine’s Day!

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Valentine’s Day is only a few days away, but there’s still plenty of time to whip up a puzzly treat for the special someone in your life!

And naturally we’ve got a few suggestions…

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Jigsaw puzzles are the perfect metaphor for relationships, as they require separate pieces working together to complete the picture.

There are do-it-yourself jigsaw patterns you can utilize at most every art store or hobby shop. You could depict anything from a favorite photo to a specific Valentine’s message in the completed image.

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If jigsaws aren’t their style, you can always start with something simple, like a subscription to a puzzle service like The American Values Club Crossword. New puzzles every week or every month are a great gift.

If they’re more into mechanical puzzles, our friends at Tavern Puzzles offer several brain teasers that incorporate a heart shape.

heartpuzzle

But if you’re looking for something more personalized, why not make a crossword for them yourself?

(Yes, you can also commission a top puzzler to do one for you, but you’d usually want to get the ball rolling on something like that well before Valentine’s Day.)

For example, Reddit user peregrinate shared a crossword they constructed for their boyfriend, including the lovely artistic way they rendered their gift!

Now, to be fair, crosswords can be tough and time-intensive to make, so if that feels a little daunting, why not try a Framework puzzle or a crisscross instead? They incorporate the same crossing style, but don’t require you to use every letter.

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It allows you to maintain a terrific word list all about you and your significant other without all the effort of filling in every square crossword-style.

Or you could write the object of your affection a coded love letter! All throughout history, people have employed different tricks and techniques to keep their private messages away from prying eyes, and you could do the same!

Whether it’s a simple letter-shifting cipher or something more complex, make sure your message is worth reading. =)

butterflylock
Image courtesy of ibookbinding.com

Plus you could learn a bit of letterlocking to add some flair, and a sense of puzzly secrecy and personalization, to your message. It involves a mix of precise folds, interlocking pieces of paper, and sealing wax in order to create a distinctive design or pattern.

Even if you don’t go the encryption route, the unique presentation of a letter-locked message makes a simple card or a heartfelt note feel more precious.

Have you considered a puzzle bouquet? You could grab some newspaper crosswords and origami them into flower shapes for a fun puzzle-fueled spin on a holiday classic.

puzzleflowers

Or you could gather flower-themed puzzles and spell out messages in the grids.

Rows Garden immediately comes to mind, as do Daisy and Flower Power, which you can find in Penny Press magazines!

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Or you could hide jigsaw pieces around the house that, when put together, spell out a Valentine’s message or a picture of the two of you.

Put your own spin on the idea. A little bit of effort can go a long way, plus it doesn’t cost anything.

With a little more effort, you could whip up a scavenger hunt! You could leave clues around leading to a gift, or a romantic dinner, or some other grand finale. Maybe offer a rose with each clue. (You can do this without leaving the house, like a reverse escape room!)

Show off how much you know about him or her. You could make each clue (or destination, safety allowing) about your relationship or about your partner, allowing you to show off how well you know them… where you first met, favorite meals, favorite movie…

If you don’t want to leave things around where anyone could nab them, keep a few small tokens on you, giving one for each destination reached or clue solved. Heck, you could enlist a friend to text clues to your special someone once they’ve reached a particular destination!

Or for something less formal, you could make a game of your romantic wanderings and play Valentine’s Day Bingo.

valentines-bingo-stripes-blank-blog
I found this blank template on Makoodle.com

Maybe go for a walk or take a drive with your loved one, and see if they can get bingo by observing different things. A couple holding hands as they walk, a Valentine’s Day proposal, outrageously priced flowers…

You could even channel-surf and see if you can get bingo from all the Valentine’s Day programming.

The possibilities are endless when you put your mind to it.

Image courtesy of Escape the Room.

What about a couples’ escape room date?

While many escape rooms are geared toward larger groups, you can absolutely find ones tailored to couples or pairs, giving you a more private opportunity to flex your puzzly skills with your significant other!

(Although I wouldn’t recommend surprising someone with an escape room date unless you’re VERY sure they’d like it!)

Or don’t go out, and solve a mystery from home, like the ones offered by our friends at Scarlet Envelope!

Unravel a murder or solve a crime from the comfort of your own space. Set the mood, get the food, and partner up to outwit a devious criminal!

There are any number of ways to add a personalized and puzzly twist to the holiday. Do you have any suggestions, fellow puzzler? Let us know in the comments below! We’d love to hear from you.

Delving into the 2026 Boswords Winter Wondersolve Puzzles!

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Tuesday night was my first chance to sit down and try my hand at the puzzles from this year’s Winter Wondersolve event. Given the talent involved amongst the organizers and constructors — as well as the always-reliable puzzles featured in previous Boswords-hosted events — I had high expectations, and I was not disappointed.

So let’s put those puzzles under the microscope and see what’s what!

Warm-Up: Opening Kickoff by John Lieb

Perennial Boswords warm-up puzzle master Mr. Lieb delivers a terrific puzzle to knock any ring rust off of solvers with this 16×11 football-shaped grid.

With both teams competing in this year’s Super Bowl (as well as one team’s coach) in the grid, the theme is on point and the smart construction makes this puzzle so accessible. It’s a first-class starter for a day of solving.

My favorite clue was the double use of “Like a haunted house” for both SCARY and EERIE, especially since they were in mirrored spots in the grid.

Puzzle #1: French Twist by Pao Roy

The tournament proper launched with this 15x grid that relied on pronunciation as much as wordplay, adding an “eh” sound to established phrases, like PURE NONSENSE becoming PUREE NONSENSE or SNAIL MAIL becoming SNAIL MELEE.

I appreciate a puzzle that takes you out of the traditional solving experience, so the fact that I had to say each theme entry aloud to get the most out of the solve was great fun. Add in the tight construction and you’ve got a strong opener on your hands.

Interesting grid entries included THE FONZ, HARISSA, TUMBLR, and DEEP CUTS, and my favorite clue was “Only Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee to win a National Book Award (for her memoir “Just Kids”)” for PATTI SMITH. I learned something in this puzzle!

Puzzle #2: Pandora’s Box by Wendy L. Brandes

Puzzle #2 was only a half-step or so tougher than Puzzle #1, remaining very solver friendly while still peppered with some great vocabulary.

This 16×17 grid had a marvelous visual element, with some of the bad things contained in Pandora’s Box literally escaping from their rows and longer entries, so CIVIC ENGAGEMENT only read CIVNGAGEMENT, as the rest of VICE was spelled out in the circled letters above.

With HOPE remaining in the box in the final themed entry, this puzzle’s beautifully visual style nicely encapsulated the classic myth. My favorite puzzle of the day!

Interesting grid entries included STRIATED, ENRON, USER FEES, and AMATEURISH, and my favorite clue was “Name contained in a wedding registry?” for GREG.

Puzzle #3: Skipping a Grade by Adam Aaronson (or dm ronson, perhaps?)

The most devious puzzle of the day belongs to Adam Aaronson, as this 16×17 grid featured theme entries where all of the As have been removed from phrases, turning BLACKSABBATH into BLCKSBBTH. With six theme entries plus the revealer STRAIGHT A’S, this grid was packed!

And it’s hard to deny the absolute insanity of writing FLLLLLLLL for “Refrain in a Christmas carol.” An unforgettable puzzly moment, to be sure.

Interesting grid entries included BEAN BAG CHAIR, RIZZLER, I’LL SUE, and CULT HIT, and my favorite clue was “India is in its alphabet, but not in it” for NATO.

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Puzzle #4: Themeless by Amanda Rafkin and Amie Walker

The tournament concludes with the toughest puzzle of the day, a 15x themeless grid with an S-shaped grid pattern that created a genuine flow while solving.

Two sets of clues were offered for the final puzzle — FLURRY clues on the easier side (approximately a NYT Wednesday level) and BLIZZARD clues on the tougher side of the spectrum (approximately a NYT weekend level) — but both offered their fair share of challenges for solvers of all skill levels.

I have gained a new appreciation for themeless puzzles over the last few years (in no small part thanks to Boswords’s seasonal themeless leagues), and this one was a highlight, for sure. Great long entries, fun fill, and really smart construction made the final challenge of the day a very satisfying solve.

Interesting grid entries included WHITE LIE, STRAY CAT, SCRAP PAPER, TARGETED AD, and THERE THERE. Both the easier and tougher sets of clues had some gems, so I’ll list them separately below:

FLURRY clues:

  • “Brass fastener, as in a kid’s model skeleton” for BRAD (love the specificity!)
  • “Ball culture affirmative” for YAS
  • ‘”You can totally pull off a Mariah Carey song at karaoke tonight,’ probably” for WHITE LIE
  • “Wool whose name becomes a country if you change one letter” for ANGORA

BLIZZARD clues:

  • “Draft pick?” for SCRAP PAPER
  • “Twosome in ‘Waiting for Godot'” for ACTS
  • “Whopper Jr.?” for WHITE LIE
  • “It might be right up your alley” for STRAY CAT

This year’s tournament felt like the perfect introduction to tournament-style solving and puzzles for a newbie competitor, and the wide array of themes, cluing, and grid entry vocabulary kept me engaged throughout the entire solve.

The cluing this year was topnotch, and I laughed out loud several times at the clever linguistic trickery on display.

Boswords events aren’t about difficulty, they’re about the joy of crossword solving and wordplay and all the delights that come with filling in these black-and-white grids, and this year’s Winter Wondersolve was no exception.

It’s the right mix of challenge and creativity for solvers accustomed to NYT-style solving, and I think the constructors and organizers did one heck of a job putting together the event. A hearty tip-of-the-hat to the hardworking puzzlers for pulling this all off!

I can’t wait to see what they cook up for us next.

And speaking of, the Boswords 2026 Spring Themeless League is coming soon! A weekly tournament that happens every Monday night from 9-10 pm Eastern in March and April (with a bonus livestream hangout!), the Spring Themeless League is the kind of community puzzly joy that is always welcome.

Registration for the event opens Saturday, February 15th, and they’ve already announced a killer’s row of constructors (in addition to the spot for the winner of their open submission contest).

This year’s line-up includes Kareem Ayas, Michael Berg, Malaika Handa, Katie Hoody, Rafael Musa, Jess Shulman, Byron Walden, and Stella Zawistowski.

Check out the Boswords website for full details!

Thanks for solving with me today. Did you tackle the challenge of the Winter Wondersolve, or will you be participating in this year’s Spring Themeless League? Let me know in the comments section below, I’d love to hear from you!

Open Submission Contest for the Boswords Spring Themeless League!

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The Winter Wondersolve has come and gone, but the team at Boswords is already looking ahead to their 2026 Spring Themeless League.

The Spring Themeless League spreads out a tournament-style solving experience over nine weeks, with one themeless crossword per week. Each puzzle is scored based on your answer accuracy (incorrect letters, empty squares, etc.) and how quickly you complete the grid.

While each week’s puzzle only has one solution, there are three sets of clues, each representing a different difficulty level for solvers. Smooth is the least challenging, Choppy is the middle ground, and Stormy is the most challenging. (When solvers register to participate, they choose the difficulty level that suits them best.)

And the Boswords team has announced that they’ll be accepting Open Submissions for one of those themeless puzzles.

They’re looking for an unclued themeless grid (size 15x or 15×16), and it’s only open to constructors who have never had a themeless crossword published in the New York Times (prior to 1/24/26). Constructors who have constructed for a previous Boswords event are also ineligible.

Click here for full details and guidelines for your submission!

Send your grid by Sunday, February 22nd, and you should hear by March 1st if your grid has been chosen.

What an awesome opportunity for up-and-coming cruciverbalists to show off their constructing talents!

While we’re talking about crosswords, let me also take this time to again shout out the ORCAS collaboration with the Trevor Project.

Just donate to the Trevor Project from the special link, and you’ll receive a puzzle pack featuring 76 ORCA-nominated puzzles from 44 outlets, plus five original puzzles from the Constructor of the Year nominees. I solved my way through the entire pack, and it was an absolute joy.

Please give if you can, it’s a wonderful cause. For information on how to make a donation and receive the puzzle pack, email: theorcaawards@gmail.com.

Oh, and the ORCAS ballot for this year’s nominees is now public, so be sure to get your votes in for all those marvelous puzzles and constructors.

(Oh, and PuzzCulture is nominated as well — Best Crossword-Related Media — and the competition is stiff. So much great crossword commentary and content available online!)

Crossword fans have a lot to look forward to in the coming weeks and months!

Boswords Winter Wondersolve was on Sunday (I’ll be delving into the tournament puzzles on Thursday), this coming Saturday is the Westport Library Crossword Tournament, and we’ve got the ORCAS livestream on Monday, February 23rd.

Not only that, but the Boswords Spring Themeless League starts in March, plus we’ve got the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament and Crossword Con in April! (And somewhere in there, Westwords will announce when registration is open for their June event.)

Are you looking forward to any puzzly events coming up, or will you be submitting to the Boswords Spring Themeless League open submission contest? Let us know in the comments below, we’d love to hear from you.

The Great Rebus Debate

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I love Reddit. You can find a subreddit to discuss practically any topic. You can share memes, share thoughts, share opinions, and debate other users for eternity there. I’ve learned a lot, laughed a lot, and been baffled quite a few times during my Reddit journeys.

So you can imagine my surprise when I stumbled across a post about crosswords in the subreddit r/mildlyinfuriating, a subreddit designed for all the little indignities, inconveniences, and choices that leave users slightly miffed.

The title of the post said it all: The crossword I’m working on expects me to know that I need to write multiple letters in one square.

You see, gentle reader, this person had just encountered a rebus puzzle for the first time.

For the uninitiated (welcome!), a rebus puzzle is any crossword that requires you to disregard the one-letter-per-cell rule of crosswords, placing a symbol, a number, or multiple letters into a single cell.

They are one of the more devious tricks in the cruciverbalist arsenal, and there’s no denying that the first time you encounter a rebus, it feels like you’re going mad. You know the answer, but it seems too long, or not quite right, and it won’t fit.

AND CROSSWORDS ARE ALL ABOUT MAKING IT FIT.

Reddit user grubas summed it up nicely: When you don’t know a rebus is coming it’s the worst thing ever.

Yes, there’s usually a clue or a title slyly mentioning the trickery afoot, but for a new solver or one unfamiliar with rebuses, that can often feel like not enough of a hint.

In two days, this post has accumulated TWENTY-SIX THOUSAND up votes and over a thousand comments.

Some users said that rebus puzzles are the reason they stop solving the weekly NYT crossword after Wednesdays. Some claimed they stopped solving the NYT altogether. That’s a bummer.

Many others, even rebus fans, acknowledged that the first time you encounter a rebus puzzle, it’s brutal. Plenty of those commenters now see it as a welcome challenge, and even an expected one when Thursday rolls around.

I do enjoy a rebus, though I’m frequently flummoxed by the ones where the rebus involves one answer reading down and a different one reading across in the same box. But either way, the confusion and occasional frustration I feel with them is usually worth it when I finally crack what’s going on and complete the puzzle. That’s a great feeling.

Several users requested a symbol or sign to warn them of a rebus puzzle. It’s a nice idea, but it also immediately spoils the chance for the a-ha moment when you realize you’re solving a rebus puzzle. I must confess I’m not a huge fan of this idea (unless it can be concealed in a Hint feature or something, and not be immediately evident from the jump).

The OP (original poster) later clarified their position on crosswords, stating that they view crosswords more as a trivia challenge than a “how do I make the right answer fit” challenge. Which is totally understandable.

In a world fraught with so much uncertainty, people like their routine, their comfort diversions, and for one of those comforts to suddenly not make sense, it can be genuinely unpleasant. I absolutely get that!

A day later, someone shared the post on the r/crossword subreddit, with the title Rebuses don’t seem so popular outside of r/crossword based on the comments here!

But, funnily enough, the debate was just as enthusiastic there as it was on the r/mildlyinfuriating subreddit!

Several commenters commiserated with the original post, understanding that for some crossword solvers, a rebus is a step too far. As Shepherd77 put it, “Rebuses are a hat on a hat and my head is already warm enough.”

Other solvers were surprised that the additional challenge wasn’t welcome among fellow puzzlers, citing that rebuses and other crosswords that break from the traditional rules were pleasant surprises and some of their favorites.

Everyone’s welcome to their opinion. I mean, I don’t go a week without hearing some solvers complain that the cluing and entries are too antiquated or unwelcoming to new solvers, while other solvers complain that there’s too much modern slang/pop culture in the puzzles.

Of course, if everyone’s complaining, that’s usually the sign of a good compromise.

I tried to read as many of the comments as I could to get a good sample from all sides. And I think xanoran84 had a terrific response to the vitriol in both subreddits:

Mostly, I’m very baffled by how much anger people express at puzzles being tricky. If I can’t figure out a puzzle, I just assume I’m not good at it yet, I don’t get mad at the puzzle for being a puzzle. But I guess just… People are different.

Ain’t that the truth.

So where do you stand on the great rebus debate, fellow solver? Do you like them? Love them? Loathe them? Think they should be marked as a rebus from the start?

Let us know in the comments section below. We’d love to hear from you!