#Los angeles times crossword editor mods#
#Los angeles times crossword editor series#

Let’s ask the constructor to look at that area again.” When we’re done, this helps us to visualize potential issues: “O.K., there are a lot of minus marks in this one corner - this is an area that needs to be revised.” Or, “This crossing between two obscurish names - that’s going to be a problem.

#Los angeles times crossword editor mods#

So as Joel and I look at this grid, we would just go row by row and column by column, checking the entries: CELT, EACH, MODS and the rest.įAGLIANO: Yeah, so we look at all the Across answers first, and then all the Downs, making minus marks for answers we think are subpar, check marks for answers we like, exclamation points for “Wow!,” question marks for things to be looked up and sometimes written comments. We ask for submissions on paper rather than by email because it’s easier for us to examine the whole grid at once, and to mark up the manuscript with pluses, minuses and other comments. SHORTZ: If we like a theme well enough, then we look at the puzzle’s fill. As Brad says, the fact that the clue gives a reason for the professor to make it his favorite song makes it amusing.

SHORTZ: I still sort of like the TENURE TRACK one, because it makes me smile. CALL NUMBER is maybe my favorite theme example, because both key words in the answer are used playfully in the clue.įAGLIANO: Whereas MACBOOK and TENURE don’t change at all, for instance. Here, PUZZLE PIECE is still about a PUZZLE, although here it’s changed a little from a jigsaw puzzle to a crossword, so there’s a little twist there. SHORTZ: In an ideal puzzle, all the key words in the answer are not referred to in the clue. For example, TENURE TRACK has nothing to do with a song, which is good. One other asset of the theme is that they’ve placed their base phrases pretty far from the eventual things they’re cluing. And here, the synonyms are all placed as the last words, which allows the solver to have some expectation - O.K., the next theme answer is going to involve some synonym of “song” at the end and another word at the beginning. One thing we’re always looking for when we’re reviewing themes is whether or not the idea is handled throughout the puzzle in a consistent and clear way. My least favorite of the theme entries is definitely MACBOOK AIR, because AIR is a rather unusual term for a song.įAGLIANO: Yeah, what I think is done well in the theme is the parallelism. But I’m liking the theme better now that I’ve seen the clues that Robyn Weintraub and Brad Wilber wrote to go with it. SHORTZ: Well, when I first saw the theme, honestly, I wasn’t sure it was my cup of tea. If you would like to give it a try, however, the unedited puzzle is available on the web, in Across Lite and as a PDF. The editors are looking at the puzzle as an exercise to show you their process and to deliver on the promise from Part 4 that they do not, in fact, bite.

#Los angeles times crossword editor series#

It’s important to remember that this puzzle was not meant to run in The New York Times, because by the time the series is over, you will have seen every aspect of it and the mystery will be gone.

While they typically examine the entire puzzle for editing, to keep this relatively short, they will zero in only on selected entries and clues from our crossword puzzle. Fagliano approach editing a crossword puzzle. Today we pull back the curtain on their editorial process and look at how Mr. How do The New York Times editors, Will Shortz and Joel Fagliano, decide on which day of the week a puzzle should run? What changes, if any, do they make to your creation? A rejection can be disappointing and is a sign to try again, but a “Yes!” is exhilarating.įor most people, the mysterious part is what happens to your puzzle once it’s in the hands of the editors.

Once you’ve kissed your work goodbye, time seems to tick by really slowly until you get that email. DEB AMLEN: The hardest part of submitting your finished crossword puzzle to an editor is the waiting.