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Will Shortz
Shortz at the 2011 Boston Crossword Puzzle Tournament
Born	(1952-08-26) August 26, 1952 (age 72) Crawfordsville, Indiana, U.S.
Other names	The Puzzlemaster
Education	Indiana University Bloomington (B.A.) University of Virginia (J.D.)
Occupation(s)	Crossword editor Table tennis center owner
Notable credit(s)	New York Times Puzzle Editor (since 1993), NPR's Weekend Edition Sunday Puzzle master (since 1987)

William F. Shortz (born August 26, 1952) is an American puzzle creator and editor and crossword puzzle editor for The New York Times.

Early life and education

Will Shortz was born and raised on an Arabian horse farm in Crawfordsville, Indiana. He was drawn to puzzles at an early age; in eighth grade he wrote a paper titled “Puzzles as a Profession.” (The paper earned him a B+.) At age 13, Shortz wrote to Language on Vacation author Dmitri Borgmann for advice on how to pursue a career in puzzles. At age 16, Shortz began regularly contributing crossword puzzles to Dell publications. He eventually graduated from Indiana University in 1974, and is the only person known to hold a college degree in enigmatology, the study of puzzles. Shortz wrote his thesis about the history of American word puzzles. Shortz achieved this by designing his own curriculum through Indiana University's Individualized Major Program. He also earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Virginia School of Law (1977), but did not sit for the bar exam and began a career in puzzles instead. Shortz is the author or editor of more than 100 books and owns over 20,000 puzzle books and magazines dating back to 1545, reportedly the world's largest private library on the subject. He is a member and historian of the National Puzzlers' League.

Career and notable contributions

Shortz began his career at Penny Press Magazines, then moved to Games magazine for 15 years, serving as its editor from 1989 to 1993. He has been the crossword puzzle editor for The New York Times since 1993 (the fourth in the paper's history, following Eugene Thomas Maleska), and has been the puzzle master on NPR's Weekend Edition Sunday since the program was started in 1987. He is the founder of the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament (1978), and has served as its director since that time. He founded the World Puzzle Championship in 1992 and is a director of the U.S. Puzzle Team. Shortz is also weekly guest on NPR's Weekend Edition Sunday where he hosts the Sunday Puzzle, a cooperative game between the show's host and one of the show's listeners. The lucky player is picked randomly from a group of submissions containing the correct answer to a qualifier puzzle issued the week before.

• In February 2009, Shortz helped introduce the KenKen puzzle into The New York Times.
• In 2013, Shortz lent his name and talents in puzzle writing and editing to a new bimonthly publication entitled Will Shortz' WordPlay, published by Penny Press.
• He has said that his favorite crossword of all time is the Election Day crossword of November 5, 1996, designed by Jeremiah Farrell. It had two correct solutions with the same set of clues, one saying that the "Lead story in tomorrow's newspaper (!)" would be "BOB DOLE ELECTED", and the other correct solution saying "CLINTON ELECTED". His favorite individual clue is "It might turn into a different story" (whose solution is SPIRAL STAIRCASE).

Puzzle Types

Shortz is known for creating several puzzle types including these:

• The Spiral (taken from the recurring puzzle type "La Conchita" ("The Seashell"), La Settimana Enigmistica, Italy)
• Bull's-Eye 20 Questions (taken from the recurring puzzle type "Il Bersaglio" ("The Target"), La Settimana Enigmistica, Italy)
• Petal Pushers (taken from the recurring puzzle type in La Settimana Enigmistica, Italy)
• Wry Sandwiches (invented by Gerald S. Kaufman in his book New Word Puzzles)

Media influence and publicity

Television appearances

• Shortz has been a guest on a number of TV talk shows shows, including Martha Stewart Living, Oprah, The Daily Show, and The Colbert Report.
• He has also appeared on Millionaire as an expert for the "Ask the Expert" lifeline.
• Shortz appeared on an episode of The Simpsons titled "Homer and Lisa Exchange Cross Words", which first aired on November 16, 2008.
• Shortz later appeared in Dinner: Impossible as himself, challenging the chef to create dishes that mimic common English idioms at the annual American Crossword Puzzle Tournament. The episode aired on May 6, 2009.
• He appeared on an episode of How I Met Your Mother titled "Robots Versus Wrestlers", which first aired on May 10, 2010 during season 5. He appeared as himself at an upscale dinner party that included Arianna Huffington and Peter Bogdanovich, also playing themselves.
• On December 18, 2015 he presented the answers on Jeopardy! in the category "The New York Times Crossword".
• In 2015 Shortz was mentioned in passing in Brooklyn Nine-Nine episode "The Mattress" before guest-starring in the 2018 episode "The Puzzle Master" as Sam Jepson, a rival puzzler to Vin Stermley.
• In 2018 Shortz was featured on HBO's Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel (ep. 254, May 2018).
• In 2020 Shortz was the "central character" on an episode of To Tell the Truth. Actress Gillian Jacobs identified him almost immediately due to recognizing his voice from Weekend Edition on NPR.

Movie appearances

• Shortz provided the puzzle clues which The Riddler (Jim Carrey) leaves for Batman (Val Kilmer) in the 1995 film Batman Forever.
• The 2006 documentary Wordplay by Patrick Creadon focuses on Shortz and the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament. Various famous fans of his puzzles such as Bill Clinton, Ken Burns, Jon Stewart, Daniel Okrent, Indigo Girls and Mike Mussina appear in the film.

Other

• In March 2016, FiveThirtyEight reported on allegations of plagiarism regarding USA Today editor Timothy Parker's use of themes, clues, and grids previously published in The New York Times. The Times also reported on the story, in which Shortz is quoted as saying: "When the same theme answers appear in the same order from one publication to the next, that makes you look closer. When they appear with the same clues, that looks suspicious. And when it happens repeatedly, then you know it's plagiarism."

Controversies

Shortz in 2019 caused international uproar when he published the word BEANER –– a severe racist Mexican slur –– in the New York Times crossword, despite being warned by many pre-publication that the term is only a racist slur. After Shortz was forced to issue multiple apologies, and The New York Times then had to apologize for Shortz's victim-blaming, tone-deaf apologies, where he excused and defended his racist and sexist editorial decisions –– after being warned –– on his living in "rarefied circles," it came out that Jeff Chen, blogger for XWordInfo.com, The New York Times' official crossword companion site, had warned Shortz of the term's racist connotations prior to publication. Shortz brushed off Chen's warning, saying any term with a non-offensive meaning, despite any offensive meaning it may also have, gets Shortz' editorial stamp of approval. After Chen went public saying he warned Shortz of the racist slur, Shortz doubled down by immediately releasing a statement defending letter strings that are only Asian racist slurs, specifically GOOK and CHINK, appearing in The New York Times crossword's answer grids.

Shortz has also run and been forced to apologized for offensive clues including these: ILLEGAL (“One caught by border patrol”); MEN (“Exasperated comment from a feminist”); and HOOD (“Place with homies”), among other racist and sexist cluing decisions.

Shortz published so few women crossword constructors –– far fewer than any New York Times crossword editor, ever –– that thousands of puzzlemakers signed an open letter to the New York Times publisher demanding gender parity, and that constructors see their edited work before publication, so they could speak out against Shortz' including racist, sexist, and other offensive content in their bylined puzzles, which until then was not standard practice.

Honors and awards

• On May 3, 2008, Shortz gave the commencement speech for his alma mater, Indiana University. As an introduction to his speech, Shortz quizzed the audience on well-known IU graduates and their unconventional majors. He advised recent graduates to pick a career in which they "don't mind the least interesting parts." Shortz apparently also wrote brainteasers and a hidden message that were included in the printed commencement program.
• In May 2010, he was given an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Wabash College in Crawfordsville, Indiana.
• In 2012, he received the Sam Loyd Award from the Association for Games & Puzzles International for creating interest in mechanical puzzles.
• In May 2016, he gave the commencement speech in 2018 at the University of Virginia Law School Commencement.
• In May 2018, Shortz was given an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Indiana University.

Personal life

Shortz resides in Pleasantville, New York, where he works from home. He is an avid table tennis player. In May 2011, with Barbadian champion (and his long-time friend) Robert Roberts, he opened one of the largest table tennis clubs in the Northeast in Pleasantville. In 2012, Shortz set a goal for himself to play table tennis every day for a year, but surpassed his goal, playing for 1000 consecutive days. In his free time, Shortz enjoys biking, reading, traveling, and collecting antique puzzle books.

References

1. "About Will Shortz". NPR.
2. ^ Hiltner, Stephen (August 1, 2017). "Will Shortz: A Profile of a Lifelong Puzzle Master". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved September 3, 2019.
3. Simmons, Mark (Winter 2006). "NPR Puzzlemaster Will Shortz". Games Quarterly: 24.
4. "Will Shortz". NPR.org. Retrieved November 12, 2020.
5. "Puzzlemaster Will Shortz to present IU's 2008 commencement address". April 1, 2008.
6. "New York Times crossword editor to give "puzzling" lecture at IU". Indiana University Bloomington. March 29, 2000. Archived from the original on October 26, 2005. Retrieved July 25, 2005.
7. ^ "Indiana University Commencement Address | C-SPAN.org". www.c-span.org. Retrieved November 12, 2020.
8. "Individualized Major Program". Indiana.edu. Retrieved November 26, 2013.
9. ^ "University of Virginia news item". Virginia.edu. April 3, 2008. Archived from the original on August 5, 2012. Retrieved November 26, 2013.
10. "Puzzle pundit has a word", Australian Courier-Mail, 28 October 2006
11. "Sunday Puzzle". Npr.org. Retrieved November 26, 2013.
12. Stephey, M. J., "Puzzle Guru Will Shortz.". Time March 2, 2009. June 15, 2009.
13. PennyPress official page for WILL SHORTZ' WORDPLAY
14. American Crossword Puzzle Tournament: "Business Unusual: Will Shortz"
15. Thompson, Clive. "New York Magazine". Nymag.com. Retrieved November 26, 2013.
16. The Oprah Winfrey Show: "How'd They Do That?"
17. "Will on Millionaire Wednesday". YouTube. November 26, 2008. Retrieved November 26, 2013.
18. TV.com (May 6, 2009). "TV.com". TV.com. Retrieved November 26, 2013.
19. "Listings | TheFutonCritic.com – The Web's Best Television Resource". TheFutonCritic.com. May 10, 2010. Retrieved November 26, 2013.
20. "We asked: NYT crossword editor Will Shortz". Jeopardy.com. December 18, 2015. Retrieved June 17, 2017.
21. "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" The Mattress (TV Episode 2015) - IMDb, retrieved October 25, 2020
22. ""Brooklyn Nine-Nine" the Puzzle Master (TV Episode 2018)".
23. "Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel – May 2018".
24. Various. "Did Supergirl Suit Overdo It? Why Did Soaps Story Snub Santa Barbara? What the 'Fork, Killing Eve? And More TV Qs". TV Line. Retrieved July 2, 2021.
25. IMDB Entry for "Batman Forever"
26. Wordplay at IMDb
27. Rosenberg, Eli (March 5, 2016). "Crosswords Seemingly Copied From The New York Times Questioned". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved March 13, 2016.
28. "The worst slur for Mexican-Americans is still a mystery for some". NBC News. Retrieved September 12, 2021.
29. "New York Times crossword editor apologizes for racial slur used in puzzle". WFTS. January 9, 2019. Retrieved September 12, 2021.
30. "Definition of beaner | Dictionary.com". www.dictionary.com. Retrieved September 12, 2021.
31. Graham, Ruth (January 3, 2019). "The NYT Crossword Puzzle's Use of an Ethnic Slur Says a Lot About the State of Crossword Puzzling". Slate Magazine. Retrieved September 12, 2021.
32. snarly (January 3, 2019). "A puzzlingly poor apology | SorryWatch". Retrieved September 12, 2021.
33. snarly (January 3, 2019). "A puzzlingly poor apology | SorryWatch". Retrieved September 12, 2021.
34. "New York Times Crossword Puzzle Editor 'Apologizes' for Including 'BEANER' as Answer". Latino Rebels. January 3, 2019. Retrieved September 12, 2021.
35. Swanson, Ian (January 3, 2019). "NYT crossword editor apologizes after derogatory Hispanic slur appears in puzzle". TheHill. Retrieved September 12, 2021.
36. snarly (January 3, 2019). "A puzzlingly poor apology | SorryWatch". Retrieved September 12, 2021.
37. Last, Natan (March 18, 2020). "The Hidden Bigotry of Crosswords". The Atlantic. Retrieved September 12, 2021.
38. "New York Times Crossword Constructors Are Fighting Against its Systemic Bias". www.vice.com. Retrieved September 12, 2021.
39. "Wabash College: News Crawfordsville, Indiana". Wabash.edu. May 16, 2010. Retrieved November 26, 2013.
40. Association Awards: Sam Loyd Award Association for Games & Puzzles International
41. "Graduation Speaker Will Shortz '77 Says UVA Law Students Smart Enough to Fill in Blanks". University of Virginia School of Law. October 27, 2016. Retrieved November 12, 2020.
42. Dewi Cooke; Chitrangada Choudhury. "Double Happiness".
43. Reilly, Kathleen. "Westchester Table Tennis Center Debuts in Pleasantville". AOL Patch. Retrieved May 10, 2011.
44. Schwartz, Casey. "Puzzle Master Will Shortz Played Ping-Pong for 1,000 Days in a Row". Retrieved July 4, 2015.
45. "Will Shortz". NPR.org. Retrieved November 14, 2020.

External links

• A Puzzling Occupation from the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament
• Opens New Table Tennis Club in Westchester 2011
• Bookologist Interviews Will Shortz About Crossword Puzzle Collecting
• American Crossword Puzzle Tournament
• New York Times crosswords some sample puzzles and crossword forums are free; access to the daily puzzle requires a paid subscription
• New York Times crossword editor to give "puzzling" lecture at IU
• Synopses of Will Shortz puzzle segments on Weekend Edition Sunday
• The Puzzle Master – Wired magazine interview
• WORDPLAY site for Independent Lens on PBS
• Wordplay The Movie at IMDb
• An Insight of the Journey of Puzzle Master

• 1952 births
• Living people
• Crossword compilers
• NPR personalities
• The New York Times editors
• Indiana University Bloomington alumni
• People from Pleasantville, New York
• Puzzle designers
• University of Virginia School of Law alumni
• People from Crawfordsville, Indiana