The
New Yorker published its first issue in 1925, amid what the writer Adrienne Raphel has described as a nationwide “crossword craze.” But more than seventy years passed before the magazine introduced a crossword puzzle a British-style cryptic crossword, which was gone before the twenty-first century arrived.
Two decades later, the Puzzles & Games Dept. was born online. On the fewoccasions when these newcrosswords ran in print, the response was warm. “It is a special treat to be able to use a pen,” Barbara, from Colorado, wrote in to tell us; “I really enjoy the hard copy version,” Lauryl, from Massachusetts, enthused. Frostier were the letters when the puzzle didn’t return: “Why is there no crossword puzzle in the print magazine?? I’m very disappointed,” wrote Carla, from (where else?) New York.
Pop Up a Lot
Erik Agard opens our solving weekend.
Wilmer Flores, left, of the New York Mets caught a pop-up in front of Jay Bruce during the second inning against the Atlanta Braves at SunTrust Park in Atlanta in 2017.Credit.Scott Cunningham, via Getty Images
Feb. 4, 2021
FRIDAY PUZZLE February is Black History Month, and the puzzles for Monday through Saturday this week were made by Black constructors. In this article, the editorial director for New York Times Games, Everdeen Mason, discusses the week’s puzzles in the context of Black History Month.
You know it’s an Erik Agard puzzle when the clues challenge your knowledge base. That’s a good thing and totally appropriate for a Friday puzzle. One of the ways I know I’ve had a good time with a puzzle is when I learn something new from it.
A Perfect Score ⦠or Half of One
Erik Agard collaborates with Wendy L. Brandes, who makes her New York Times Crossword debut.
In this photo from 1966, the statue of Abraham Lincoln towered over visitors in the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.Credit.Terry Chambers/Fox Photos, via Getty Images
Dec. 24, 2020
FRIDAY PUZZLE â Weâve been floating along this week â solving some gloriously happy debuts â and this is another one, at least for one of the constructors. Wendy L. Brandes makes her New York Times Crossword debut in a challenging Friday collaboration with Erik Agard, who now serves as the editor of the USA Today crossword.