Why fill changes over time
“I often hear discussed the first time a word, name or phrase appears in a crossword. How about the last time a clue/answer combo is seen? When will Lon Chaney no longer be known to solvers? How about the words ‘rad’ or ‘neato’? Can you sense when designers are dropping words/clues from their pool of resources?” — Amy Luka, Glen Ridge, N.J. From Christina: We talk a lot about debuts because it’s easy to say definitively when the first time an entry has run. We can say the most recent time an entry has run, or know that a word hasn’t been used in, say, 40 years. But it’s hard to know whether a word would ever be used again at some point. The Hawaiian cliff PALI hasn’t appeared in a crossword since 1992 — but who knows, maybe some event will take place on PALI that puts it in the news and brings the word back to the crossword. Or, maybe someone named PALI will become the next big pop star. There are certainly evolving sensibilities concerning what words are used in crosswords, and what words are becoming “crusty” or starting to feel dated. Many crossword constructors use similar word lists that typically include entries that have run in crosswords before. This results in certain words becoming crossword staples, even when they’re a bit dated. The actor LON Chaney, the firefighter Red ADAIR and the ALOU brothers of baseball are often considered to fall in this category. While some constructors might delete these entries from their word lists because they’re not especially fresh anymore, others might still enjoy a classic reference, or just feel neutral on the matter. One of the greatest resources for crossword constructors and solvers alike is XWord Info, which you can use to see not just every crossword that The New York Times has run, but every entry along with each clue used for it. You can also look at an entry and see a graph with a timeline depicting the years in which the entry has run.
Certain words, like OLIO (pictured above), have dropped in popularity, but they are still used occasionally. From 1950 until Will Shortz took over as editor in 1993, OLIO ran about 10 times a year. Since 2020, the word has run seven times. It’s one of those words that may never completely disappear, but it appears to be falling out of fashion as “crosswordese.” There are many words that were frequently used before the Shortz Era that stopped being used when Shortz took over. Below is the graph of the entry INEE, almost exclusively clued as [Arrow poison]. The entry rather abruptly stopped being used in the Shortz era.
The 10 most common bits of crosswordese that have not been used since 1992 are INEE, ARAR, UNAL, ENARE, ENNS, ATLE, ISER, IRADE, AMENT and AVAL. Shortz wrote to me in an email that he doesn’t remember specifically cautioning constructors not to use such words, but rather, that the best constructors simply didn’t use entries like this. “The constructors I wanted to publish had a different, more modern sensibility. Crosswords should be filled with answers that people know or would like to know.”
Solve Friday’s Crossword on Easy Mode!
For expert hints on today’s puzzle, read the Wordplay column. Were you able to solve the Friday puzzle with Easy Mode? We want your input! Share your experience with us on the X platform, on Threads or by email. Get a ClueMy favorite clue from last week is 36-Down from Saturday, Jan. 17. Think of the different meanings of “marks” besides grades. 36-Down: Good marks?
How are we doing? Thanks for playing! Subscribe to New York Times Games. If you were forwarded this newsletter, you can sign up to receive it regularly here. P.S. The answer to Get a Clue is SAPS.
|
