South African Plant Used for Herbal Tea
Adrian Johnson makes his New York Times Crossword debut.
Workers at Skimmelberg Farm in South Africa graded and treated Rooibos tea leaves before packaging them in 2017.Credit.MUJAHID SAFODIEN/AFP, via Getty Images
April 6, 2021, 10:00 p.m. ET
WEDNESDAY PUZZLE When my children fledged the nest, I established a text group so I could talk to them both at the same time. To keep things lively, I named the group “Favorite Child.”
I would like to say that many of these texts are (from my end) wise and loving lessons on the complexities of life, as well as (from their end) a plethora of thanks for having raised them with the ability to see the humor in a text group called Favorite Child, but if I’m being completely honest, a vast majority of what goes back and forth are funny memes and cute animal videos.
Will Shortz Edits His 10,000th Crossword
If Malcolm Gladwell is correct, Will Shortz is finally an expert.
Credit.Illustrated by Ben Kirchner
April 7, 2021, 6:00 a.m. ET
There may be only a handful of people in the puzzle community keeping track of such things, but on April 7, Will Shortz will have edited 10,000 puzzles since joining The New York Times as crossword editor in November 1993. That, of course, is an approximate number, counting from his start date. There are the Variety puzzles, and occasionally, Mr. Shortz has been allowed a vacation.
If the “10,000-Hour Rule” made popular by Malcolm Gladwell is to be believed the theory holds that 10,000 hours of practicing an activity is the “magic number of greatness” then Mr. Shortz would finally qualify as an expert on editing crossword puzzles, if we counted in units instead of hours. In terms of time, he has put in many more hours than that.
Solution to Lynn Lempel s March 28 Post Magazine crossword, Bodybuilding washingtonpost.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from washingtonpost.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
The New York Times Easy Crossword Puzzles to Go the Distance features 200 easy crosswords with removable pages for solving on the go.Easy puzzles are the bes.
Always Up to Something
Grant Thackray warms us up for our solving weekend.
Looking up at the spiral staircase in Elizabeth Tower better known as Big Ben in London.Credit.Victoria Jones - WPA Pool, via Getty Images
Feb. 11, 2021
FRIDAY PUZZLE Before we dive into Grant Thackray’s puzzle, the crossword editor Will Shortz has an administrivial announcement about the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament:
Dear Friends,
The 2021 American Crossword Puzzle Tournament, as you may have guessed by now, will be conducted online.
It will incorporate as many elements of the usual in-person event as we can fit in. There will be cash prizes.