19. Puzzling Thoughts…

…about coffee. Coffee is the world’s second favorite drink (after water) and the beverage of choice for many puzzle solvers. So what could be better than a palm-size, 320-page puzzle and trivia book about coffee?

COFFEE TIME debuts Friday, August 31st ($8.95), and I challenge you to read the book and not find 100 interesting things about coffee that you didn’t know before. Even better, the book is filled with an entertaining and amusing array of original crosswords, sudoku, word puzzles, brainteasers, word searches, acrostics, mazes, quizzes, and cryptograms. Here’s a sneak peek inside…

18. Squares #6

17. Puzzling Thoughts…

…about crossword clues. The subject of crossword clue rules, and the lack of a written list of them, recently came up on The New York Times crossword forum. Experience, paying attention, and comparing notes appear to be the main sources of information, which seems kind of like finding out about the facts of life from your pals on a street corner. There are a few places I know of that address the topic. Patrick Berry’s Crossword Puzzle Challenges for Dummies and Matt Gaffney’s The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Crossword Puzzles & Word Games have lots of information on writing clues. Also, there’s Sage Advice on cruciverb.com (some cluing discussion); The NYT Crosswords to Boost Your Brainpower (with solving and cluing tips from Will Shortz and Frank Longo); and How to Conquer the NYT Crossword Puzzle (an in-depth solving analysis by Amy Reynaldo).

In an attempt to remedy this situation a bit, I wrote down the first 20 rules [updated to 22] of crossword cluing that came to mind. It’s certainly not the complete or final word on the topic, but I think it addresses most of the main issues.

16. Paper Route

Another quickie brainteaser from the pages of MAD Kids.

Puzzle by Patrick Merrell ©copyright 2006 by E.C.Publications, Inc.

15. Utter Nonsense (free crossword)

This is a crossword I wrote several years ago for the judges at the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament (coming to Brooklyn February 29, 2008). It was adapted from a joke that Pete Barbutti told years ago on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. The focus of Pete’s joke was a banjo player.
Download a PDF: utternonsense.pdf PDF answer: utteranswer.pdf
Across Lite download: [CLICK HERE]

14. Squares #5 (new every Monday)

13. INSIDER (every now and then)

We interrupt this blog…

…for a brief aside. I grew up hating Indian food. My mother was a great cook, but once every six months or so she would make a curried chicken dish that left everything to be desired. I could imagine Indians looking at one of her pasty, toxic-yellow concoctions and saying, “What is that?”

12. Squares #4 (new every Monday)

11. Puzzling Thoughts…

…about crossword constructors’ other lives. Puzzlemakers are a motley hodgepodge of humanity. Or an impressive cross-section of talent, depending on your style of cluing. Either way, they certainly account for a lot of different occupations.

Kahn!

The latest issue of Syracuse University Magazine features an article about fellow S.U. grad and crossworder David J. Kahn. A Sunday-size, Syracuse-themed Kahn crossword accompanies it.
Online article: [CLICK HERE] Download puzzle pdf: [CLICK HERE]
Puzzle answer: [CLICK HERE]   Across Lite download: [CLICK HERE]

10. Squares #3 (new every Monday)

9. Puzzling Thoughts…

…about middle initials. I got an official piece of correspondence from Will Shortz one day. Printed on it was the name William F. Shortz. My first thought was that Will Shortz seems much more fitting. My second thought was, “I wonder what the F stands for?” It seems to me I actually asked him once, but if I did I’m not remembering the answer. I’m betting Frederick. He’s definitely not a Farnsworth or Ferdinand.

8. Spooky Mazes

Available today: Charlie & Wilbur’s SPOOKY MAZES from Sterling Publishing written, illustrated, and designed by Patrick Merrell. A follow-up to Charlie & Wilbur’s DINOSAUR MAZES featuring an action-packed trip from one spooky maze to the next. Ages 4-8, 48 pages, $4.95.
[Click: Barnes & Noble] - [Click: Amazon] - [Sterling's Web site]

Published by Sterling Publishing Co.,Inc. © 2007 by Patrick Merrell