I got it — gooood. Oh, no. Awful about his strokes. Those things are sc sc scary.

Shortz's life and career have not been without criticism and controversy. I don't excuse him one bit for any of his bad decisions/instances of having poor judgement.

I admire him more generally for his back story. He decided as a young boy that he wanted to be involved with puzzles as a profession. He was able to design his own college major and he was granted a bachelors degree in a major of his own creation, Enigmatology. The study of puzzles.

I subscribed to Games Magazine and he was a star. I liked his Enigmatology story. When DS was studying theater at the state university and bemoaning that he wasn’t in a conservatory, I suggested he could fulfill some of that via non-theater courses, but alas they were not in the acceptable ”fulfills X requirement”.

And I liked your pun!

I do a daily cryptic crossword (another reason to love Stephen Sondheim) but they add a level of challenge for me by being Australian. I have to adjust spelling and pronunciation, and learn something about cricket and rugby terms.

I don't think I've done the LA one in many years...most likely did a sunday puzz. IIRC, I found it easier than the NYT.

NYT has always been out of my league, but my dad used to do them in pen(!)

I don't think I've ever tried the LATimes puzzles. My fave puzzler has been Merl Reagle, but he sadly passed away some years back - he did leave a legacy of many, many puzzles, and our local alt. weekly still reprints his old ones. I bought a few of his books. His puzzles are a bit humorous, with fun themes and puns and lots of pop culture references for us Boomers.

Thanks, all. I wanted to get one for someone who has some cog decline. I don’t know the level she’s at. Funny, though, last summer when I was visiting, she was doing one. I did some of it. We have different interests, and opposite ”expertise.”

Idon’t do them regularly and used to do them in pencil, which is a pain because pencil doesn’t erase any better than ink. And it barely shows.

The thing for me about crosswords, is that it seems a lot of the words are about subjects about which I have little interest of knowledge. I have some knowledge of pop culture but not a lot. I do not follow sports, TV prime time shows or celebrity news.

So if the clue is something about ”Cardi B,” I will go into the blank box until I can fill in around it. Like the Alabama team.

I can find them engrossing, although probably a huge waste of time. More gray matter enriching than Tik Tok, however.

I get annoyed with the very ”easy” x word puzzles. If I am going to kiss off a few hours, I might as well do the NYT puzzle. It is, I think, more rewarding than guessing or fiddling with the xword in the Boondock Gazette. I have noidea what Hogan or H Heroes middle name is. Might as well burn the lamp oil on figuring out the first cousin of Euripides.

A Swiss nurse, many years ago, was commenting to me about so and so doing the NYT crossword in ink, and going along very quickly.

You know what I saw as the issue with that? Yes, who the heck knows if the many waiting for his interview and hotting in ink, was not just entering letters. I have had friends who do the NYT x word in ink. Sadly, they are now gone. Maybe I should do what I can to fill their shoes.

If it is not challenging, even if I get only 1/30the puzzle done, now only 3/4 th done, I at least have learned a couple of odd words, and put off cleaning a room.

I’ve learned there is a certain culture to them, and the answer depends on how the clue is phrased, and so on.

I bought a book of the NYT xw puzzles 15 years ago, did a few, then forgot about it as real life barged in.

I photocopied one on the LA times puzzles (book saysthey progress in difficulty). I completed it,but cannot say that I feel a great sense of satisfaction. I returned the book ($20) and bought other things at the store. — garden seeds.

I must have watched too much news last night. —- the dismantling.

I woke up twice from horrific nightmares.

I like things like trivia games and Trivia Nights in pubs. And, occasionally watching Jeopardy. I've never been enchanted by doing any kind of puzzles on paper or the newspaper online games/contests. Or jigsaw puzzles.

I recently discovered the documentary The Palindromists on Netflix. It was about a palindrome contest held as a side event during one of Will Shortz's crossword puzzle championships. I found it very interesting, the people who competed had unbelievable skill to concoct such phrases in short order.

One I found quite clever, not from the contest but written by one of the participants:

Go hang a salami! I'm a lasagna hog!

Sounds interesting.