Interview with Half-Century Constructor Lou Sabin

Today I'm delighted to publish an interview with Lou Sabin, a prolific New York Times crossword constructor of at least 137 puzzles, 108 during the pre-Shortz era and 29 under Will Shortz's editorship.  Lou is also one of the few constructors to have published in The Times for more than 50 years!  To read the interview, click here or on the Pre-Shortzian Constructor Interviews tab above, then scroll down.  If you'd like to read more about Lou, see this 2009 Wordplay article by XWord Info's Jim Horne and this 2011 profile by John Saccenti, "The Puzzling Pastime of Creating Crosswords."

1964 Puzzles Done, John Samson Profile and Fred Piscop Commentary in CROSSW RD Magazine, Mary Cee Whitten, and Funny Typos—Plus, Ben Coe First to Solve Blast! Challenge

Project Update

Great news:  The 1964 puzzles are now up on XWord Info, and I'm hoping to have the 1963 puzzles ready by next Friday—many thanks again to Jim Horne for posting them!  It's been a couple of weeks since the last update, and quite a few more puzzles have come in.  On Saturday the 24th, Todd Gross sent 11 puzzles with 15 mistakes.  Then Wednesday afternoon Denny Baker sent another 30 puzzles, which were followed late that night by 28 more from Mark Diehl.  Friday the 30th Todd sent in 8 puzzles with 12 mistakes, then kicked off February on Super Bowl Sunday by sending in 10 with 24 mistakes.  Late Tuesday night he sent an additional 10 with 29 mistakes, then 10 more with 9 mistakes on Wednesday morning, another 10 with 11 mistakes and 5 more with 8 mistakes that night, and early Friday morning an additional 10 with 20 mistakes—whew!  Thanks so much, everyone—great job!

Ben Coe Solves Blast! Challenge

Congratulations to Ben Coe, who sent in the first correct solution to the most recent Blast! challenge on Friday, January 30, at 11:31 a.m.!  Two entries from the May 4, 1963, puzzle had this clue:  "Newly extinct American species?"  The answers were REDCAP and PASSENGER TRAINS.  Although I don't hear much about REDCAPs, PASSENGER TRAINS definitely still exist in large quantities!  Maybe it's best that crosswords focus on conserving the cahow.

This week's challenge appears in the sidebar—good luck!

John Samson Profile and Fred Piscop Commentary in CROSSW RD Magazine

In honor of Bernice Gordon and her long friendship with John Samson, I've posted the profile of John that originally appeared in the September/October 1994 issue of CROSSW RD Magazine—click here to read it on Scribd.  This terrific piece by Helene Hovanec provides a fascinating glimpse not only of John himself but also of Eugene T. Maleska, who harshly rejected John's first submission, ordering him to never send anything again.  Despite this inauspicious beginning, the two ultimately became co-editors and friends—a testament to John's perseverance (and congenial nature!).

John Samson in 1994. Photo copyright
1994, 2015, Megalo Media, Inc. Reprinted
by permission of Stan Chess and
CROSSW-RD Magazine. 

I've also posted Fred Piscop's follow-up commentary, "'Your Stuff Stinks,'" that appeared in the next issue, November/December 1994.  This thought-provoking piece offers aspiring constructors sage advice that is just as relevant today as it was more than 20 years ago.  To read it, click here.

Mary Cee Whitten

Photo courtesy of The Evening Independent.

Litzer, proofreader, and historian Todd Gross has been busy researching pre-Shortzian constructors and recently found a link to a great 1985 article featuring constructor Mary Cee Whitten:  "Crossword constructors:  Who makes up these mind-teasers?" by James Ricci.  According to my (incomplete) records, Whitten published at least 7 puzzles in the pre-Shortz era.  The article includes comments by Eugene T. Maleska, constructor and puzzle editor Herb Ettenson, and constructor Judith Dalton.  To read it, click here; the piece continues on another page, which you can navigate to by clicking on the righthand arrow at the top of the page.  Thanks again, Todd, for this awesome find!

Funny Typos

The proofreading has continued to chug along; as a result, my file of funny litzing errors has continued to grow!  Here are ten rib-ticklers from the archives:

• DANGLE
• Right:  Be misplaced, as a participle.
• Wrong:  Be misplaced, as a principle.
• ELI
• Right:  Blue rooter.
• Wrong:  Blue rooster.
• ETNA
• Right:  Threat to Sicily.
• Wrong:  Treat to Sicily.
• IRREG
• Right:  Kind of verb: Abbr.
• Wrong:  Kind of verb: Irreg.
• ORGIE
• Right:  Carousal: Fr.
• Wrong:  Carousel: Fr.
• SLIP-ON
• Right:  Type of garment.
• Wrong:  Type of government.
• STAGES
• Right:  Rocket parts.
• Wrong:  Pocket parts.
• TILTH
• Right:  Cultivated land.
• Wrong:  Cultivated lard.
• TIMERS
• Right:  Kitchen aids.
• Wrong:  Lichen aids.
• ZANY
• Right:  Clownish.
• Wrong:  Clownfish.

I was actually able to find a picture of a Yale rooster stickpin, which I've included below:

Image courtesy of Collectible Ivy. 

In Memoriam: Bernice Gordon, 1914–2015

In honor of Bernice Gordon, my friend and collaborator who died yesterday at the age of 101, there will be no regular post today; the blog will resume next Friday.

I first contacted Bernice in March of 2013 about doing an interview for this site.  Shortly thereafter, we decided to collaborate on a puzzle about age differences; that puzzle was published on June 26, 2013, in The New York Times.  At the time, Bernice was 99 and the oldest living Times constructor and, at 16, I was the youngest; our age difference was 83 years.  In September that year we met in person in Philadelphia—a meeting I wrote about here.  I was on the East Coast briefly again this summer and one morning drove down from New Haven to Philadelphia to meet Bernice for lunch.  We had a lovely meal, talked about crosswords, and played Bookworm on her computer until I had to leave late that afternoon for New York.  All told, we collaborated on three puzzles; our second one appeared in the Times on August 11, 2014, and our most recent effort was, fittingly, accepted by her dear friend John Samson on November 11 and will appear in Simon & Schuster's Mega 15.

Over time we became fast friends, exchanging more than 700 e-mails, all of which I saved; in the relatively short time we knew each other, she also became the grandmother I never really had.  Lately we had both been writing every day or so, because Bernice knew she was dying.  Even though my e-mails were short and usually of little import, I knew she loved getting them, and I hoped they would keep her alive longer.  Bernice very much wanted to know where I would end up going to college, but in December, just a few days before I was to hear from my early action school, her e-mails to me abruptly stopped.  I kept writing, and when I learned that I had been accepted, wrote to her right away, not knowing whether she would ever receive the news.  Two days later, though, she wrote back—she was thrilled for me, and I was so glad she was alive.  Even though she still didn't know for certain where I would end up, she knew it would be somewhere wonderful and told me she could now die in peace.  We exchanged quite a few more e-mails between then and January 11—her 101st birthday and the day I received her last e-mail.  I kept writing, hoping her e-mails would resume again, but they never did.  On Wednesday, the night before she died, I sent her what would be my final e-mail.