Exciting things have been happening with crossword puzzles in the US: more constructors, more outlets to get puzzles published, clues and answers that would never have appeared even a few years ago, and puzzle packs raising a whole lot of money for charities and humanitarian causes. You hear from crossword constructor extraordinaire Erik Agard, Juliana Pache of BlackCrossword.com, Rachel Fabi of These Puzzles Fund Abortion, and Adrian Johnson from Puzzles for Palestine. Get the transcript of this episode, and find links to more information about the people, puzzles and topics therein at theallusionist.org/grids. This is another instalment in the Word Play series about word games and puzzles; previous episodes include the history of anagrams, and turning words into games. Content note: there is one Category B swear. This episode was produced by me, Helen Zaltzman, with Martin Austwick of palebirdmusic.com. Become a member of the Allusioverse at theallusionist.org/donate and as well as keeping this independent podcast going, you get regular livestreams, chaotic inside scoops into the making of this show, and watchalong parties - AND to hang out with your fellow Allusionauts in our delightful Discord community. The Allusionist's online home is theallusionist.org. Stay in touch via facebook.com/allusionistshow, instagram.com/allusionistshow, youtube.com/allusionistshow, twitter.com/allusionistshow etc. Our ad partner is Multitude. If you want me to talk lovingly and winningly about your product or thing on the show in 2024, sponsor an episode: contact Multitude at multitude.productions/ads. This episode is sponsored by: • Babbel, the language-learning app designed by real people for real conversations. Get up to 60% off your Babbel subscription at Babbel.com/allusionist.`• Home Chef, meal kits that fit your needs. For a limited time, Home Chef is offering Allusionist listeners 18 free meals, plus free shipping on your first box, and free dessert for life, at HomeChef.com/allusionist.• Wildgrain, the subscription box for sourdough breads, fresh pastas, and artisanal pastries that you can cook from frozen in 25 minutes. Get $30 off your first box, PLUS free croissants in every box, when you start your subscription at Wildgrain.com/allusionist or use promo code ALLUSIONIST at checkout.• Squarespace, your one-stop shop for building and running your online empire. Go to squarespace.com/allusionist for a free 2-week trial, and get 10 percent off your first purchase of a website or domain with the code allusionist. Support the show: http://patreon.com/allusionist See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
This is the illusionist, in which I, Helen Zaltzman, search for the hidden meaning in language.
Shuffle those letters around.
Gnu algae.
That's it.
It was staring us in the face this entire time.
Welcome to another installment in the wordplay series about word games and word puzzles.
This episode is about crosswords.
Crosswords have come up a couple of times before in the show.
One of the very earliest episodes was about how british style cryptic crosswords work.
And in the 2017 episode encrypt Decrypt, I covered the Lollapazula crossword tournament in New York City.
Today.
We hear from some people doing some very cool stuff in crosswords in the USA content note there is one category, b swear.
By the way, if you're in the UK, you can listen to the illusionist on BBC sounds, and while you're there, you'll find so much more to listen to in the this genre.
Edutainment infamusment.
You know, where you receive shots of facts down the ice luge of fun audio diversions like Crowd Science, the podcast where they answer your questions about science with the help of smart people from all around the world and discover extra surprises along the way.
I've been asked a lot of questions in my time, a lot.
And still I've never thought of some of these.
What was the time that the first clock was set to?
And some questions I've never found an answer to.
Like what's the best way to make a decision?