Merl Reagle: Difference between revisions
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On November 16, 2008, Reagle's was a "special guest voice" on an episode of ''[[The Simpsons]]'' called "[[Homer and Lisa Exchange Cross Words]]." In the episode, which featured a ''New York Times'' crossword, a cartoon version of Reagle appeared together with Shortz, and Lisa Simpson discovered secret messages embedded in both the clues and the puzzle, which Reagle constructed and Shortz edited. The actual crossword appearing that same day in the ''Times'' had the embedded messages. Reagle also has been featured on [[CNN]], [[Today (NBC program)|the ''Today'' show]], ''[[Nightline (US news program)|Nightline]]'', ''[[The Oprah Winfrey Show|Oprah]]''[http://www.oprah.com/tows/slide/200702/20070201/slide_20070201_350_105.jhtml], and [[National Public Radio]].<ref name="amende">Amende, Coral. ''The Crossword Obsession: the History and Lore of the World's Most Popular Pastime.'' New York: Berkley Books, 2001, p. 365</ref> An [http://www.sundaycrosswords.com/puzzlearticle.htm article] he wrote on crossword construction for the ''[[Philadelphia Inquirer]]'' in February 1997 was reproduced in shorter form in the July 1998 ''[[Reader's Digest]]''. |
On November 16, 2008, Reagle's was a "special guest voice" on an episode of ''[[The Simpsons]]'' called "[[Homer and Lisa Exchange Cross Words]]." In the episode, which featured a ''New York Times'' crossword, a cartoon version of Reagle appeared together with Shortz, and Lisa Simpson discovered secret messages embedded in both the clues and the puzzle, which Reagle constructed and Shortz edited. The actual crossword appearing that same day in the ''Times'' had the embedded messages. Reagle also has been featured on [[CNN]], [[Today (NBC program)|the ''Today'' show]], ''[[Nightline (US news program)|Nightline]]'', ''[[The Oprah Winfrey Show|Oprah]]''[http://www.oprah.com/tows/slide/200702/20070201/slide_20070201_350_105.jhtml], and [[National Public Radio]].<ref name="amende">Amende, Coral. ''The Crossword Obsession: the History and Lore of the World's Most Popular Pastime.'' New York: Berkley Books, 2001, p. 365</ref> An [http://www.sundaycrosswords.com/puzzlearticle.htm article] he wrote on crossword construction for the ''[[Philadelphia Inquirer]]'' in February 1997 was reproduced in shorter form in the July 1998 ''[[Reader's Digest]]''. |
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One of the few crossword puzzle constructors who makes a full-time living at his craft, Reagle is the only U.S. Sunday crossword maker who does his own [[print syndication|syndication]]. With the assistance of his wife, Marie Haley, he has published |
One of the few crossword puzzle constructors who makes a full-time living at his craft, Reagle is the only U.S. Sunday crossword maker who does his own [[print syndication|syndication]]. With the assistance of his wife, Marie Haley, he has published 15 volumes of his Sunday crosswords, which he sells from his [http://www.sundaycrosswords.com website]. Merl and Marie make their home in the [[Tampa Bay, Florida]] area. |
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==References== |
==References== |
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Revision as of 00:48, 14 November 2009
Merl Reagle (b. January 5, 1950, Audubon, New Jersey) is a U.S. crossword puzzle creator. Since 1985, he has constructed a puzzle every Sunday for the San Francisco Chronicle (originally the San Francisco Examiner); it is now also published by Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Seattle Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer, the Hartford Courant, the New York Observer, and the Arizona Daily Star, among others.
Reagle made his first crossword when he was six and sold a puzzle to The New York Times at age 16, a feat that made him the youngest published Times puzzle constructor at the time.
Representative puzzles: humor and wide-open grids
Will Shortz, the crossword puzzle editor for The New York Times, has said that "his themes are consistently fresher and funnier than anyone else's. And he's one of the greatest puzzlemakers at interlocking words in intricate, wide-open patterns."[1] Games magazine has called him "the best Sunday crossword creator in America,"[2] and a poll of puzzle makers at cruciverb.com[1], a popular web site for crossword constructors, ranked Reagle the most admired by his peers.[3] His 2004 puzzle, "Wide Open Spaces", holds the record for the lowest word count (i.e., number of answers) in a Sunday puzzle. The 21 x 21 grid has only 112 words (with 51 black squares).[2] The prolific crossword editor Stanley Newman called Reagle's puzzle "Gridlock"[3] "the best single crossword of the last 25 years."[4]
His fellow constructors routinely credit Reagle for creating some of the funniest themes for his puzzles. One, called "Hit Song", was what he called "Sean Penn's version of "My Way". It included the theme entries I'M IN A / RUSH, NO PICTURES, PLEASE, OR / ELSE YOU'LL LEARN THE / BLACKENED EYE WAY / THE RECORD SHOWS / I'LL BUST YOUR / NOSE IF YOU GET IN... / MY WAY.[5] Other much-discussed puzzles carried titles like "Inappropriate Muzak for a Doctor's Office" and "Least Popular Beanie Babies".
Portrayal in the film Wordplay
He is noted for making puzzles with pencil and paper, without the aid of a computer. The 2006 documentary Wordplay depicted Reagle's on-camera construction of a crossword that subsequently was published in the Times. The film then showed various famous crossword enthusiasts, including Bill Clinton, Jon Stewart, The Indigo Girls, and Mike Mussina, attempting to solve the puzzle. Reagle has often constructed puzzles for the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament, which he first attended in 1979, its second year. He now serves as a tournament judge, and is a commentator for the tournament's finals.[4]
Other appearances
On November 16, 2008, Reagle's was a "special guest voice" on an episode of The Simpsons called "Homer and Lisa Exchange Cross Words." In the episode, which featured a New York Times crossword, a cartoon version of Reagle appeared together with Shortz, and Lisa Simpson discovered secret messages embedded in both the clues and the puzzle, which Reagle constructed and Shortz edited. The actual crossword appearing that same day in the Times had the embedded messages. Reagle also has been featured on CNN, the Today show, Nightline, Oprah[5], and National Public Radio.[5] An article he wrote on crossword construction for the Philadelphia Inquirer in February 1997 was reproduced in shorter form in the July 1998 Reader's Digest.
One of the few crossword puzzle constructors who makes a full-time living at his craft, Reagle is the only U.S. Sunday crossword maker who does his own syndication. With the assistance of his wife, Marie Haley, he has published 15 volumes of his Sunday crosswords, which he sells from his website. Merl and Marie make their home in the Tampa Bay, Florida area.
References
- ^ Grossmann, John, "Puzzling: Merl Reagle Lives to Tease Your Brain." Delta Sky Magazine, October, 2003.
- ^ Games Magazine World of Puzzles, March 1995.
- ^ Gaffney, Matt. Gridlock: Crossword Puzzles and the Mad Geniuses Who Create Them. New York: Thunder's Mouth Press, 2006, p. 210.
- ^ Newman, Stanley, ed. Crossworder's OWN Newsletter, June, 1990.
- ^ a b Amende, Coral. The Crossword Obsession: the History and Lore of the World's Most Popular Pastime. New York: Berkley Books, 2001, p. 365