A Passion For Puzzles

I'm a two-a-day crossword addict. I get my fix from the daily edition of the Miami Herald and on line at the L.A. Times. Why else would I know that the entrance to a mine shaft is an adit, that a fancy needle case is an enui, or that a medley of things is an olio??

If you do enough of these crossword puzzles, you become the proud possessor of an amazing amount of extraneous and totally unuseable knowledge. You also end up with a helluva vocabulary. Lately,the word bolus keeps showing up as the definition for a large pill. Try working that into a conversation. There is no question that puzzle writers have favorite words that they use over and over again. Any puzzler worthy of the game knows that a Canadian hockey player is always Orr and a Giant heavy hitter is always Ott. Beware of a clue with a question mark after it. Inevitably its answer is going to be a clever play on words.

Nirvana for puzzlers, of course, is the Sunday New York Times. There's nothing to boast about until you can honestly say you've done every word of the Sunday Times puzzle. Years ago, I got a valuable lesson on doing crosswords from my friend Judy who truly does whizz through that weekly lesson in puzzle humility. I was visiting her in her Connecticut home and she had thoughtfully xeroxed a copy of Sunday's puzzle for me so we could companionably work side by side. A few minutes had passed and I was still stuck on 1 Across when she looked over at me and said impatiently, "Move on, Joan. First do all the words you know. Then go back and worry about the ones you don't know."

Excellent advice. I've followed it ever since, at least when I'm working on a puzzle, if not always in life. You out there who also love puzzles would do well to remember it as well. By the way, as long as I'm admitting to my addiction, I confess that I only work in pen, never pencil. A form of arrogance? Perhaps. I just prefer the feeling of a pen. Towards the end of the week, as the puzzle gets harder, the page may end up with multiple write overs. Fridays are always the worst. Monday's the easiest.

I was fascinated to learn that there is actually an annual "superbowl" for crossword players. Check out the 2006 documentary "Wordplay", that focuses on the world of crossword puzzles, those that construct them, those that love to solve them, and those that compete in the annual competition.

I'm not sure I'm ready for puzzle prime time just yet, but I'm working on it. Just need to fill in a couple of more spaces. . .does anyone out there know a six letter word for a stunted ear of corn??

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Photo caption: Miami Herald puzzle page, Wednesday, May 14th