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Crosswords at a Crossroad: the Puzzle Turns 100. What Is the Clue to Its Survival? Lynn J

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Crosswords at a Crossroad: the Puzzle Turns 100. What Is the Clue to Its Survival? Lynn J Old Dominion University ODU Digital Commons Institute for the Humanities Theses Institute for the Humanities Spring 2013 Crosswords at a Crossroad: The Puzzle Turns 100. What Is the Clue to Its Survival? Lynn J. Feigenbaum Old Dominion University Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/humanities_etds Part of the Communication Technology and New Media Commons, Digital Humanities Commons, and the Leisure Studies Commons Recommended Citation Feigenbaum, Lynn J.. "Crosswords at a Crossroad: The uzP zle Turns 100. What Is the Clue to Its Survival?" (2013). Master of Arts (MA), thesis, Humanities, Old Dominion University, DOI: 10.25777/54gc-7d11 https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/humanities_etds/11 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Institute for the Humanities at ODU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Institute for the Humanities Theses by an authorized administrator of ODU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. CROSSWORDS AT A CROSSROAD THE PUZZLE TURNS 100. WHAT IS THE CLUE TO ITS SURVIVAL? by Lynn J. Feigenbaum B.A. August 2009, Cornell University A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Old Dominion University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF ARTS HUMANITIES OLD DOMINION UNIVERSITY May 2013 Approved by: Avi Santo (Director) Lindal Buchanan (Member) Heidi Schlipphacke (Member) UMI Number: 1522760 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. UMI 1522760 Published by ProQuest LLC 2013. Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 ABSTRACT CROSSWORDS AT A CROSSROAD THE PUZZLE TURNS 100. WHAT IS THE CLUE TO ITS SURVIVAL? Lynn J. Feigenbaum Old Dominion University, 2013 Director: Dr. Avi Santo Celebrating the 100th anniversary of the crossword on Dec. 21, 2013 will be a dedicated, demanding and outspoken following - an online community that may be the key to its future as a popular American pastime. The crossword puzzle has always had a tight-knit core of fans, even in its earliest years. But, for the most part, doing a crossword was a solitary pursuit. That has changed with the advent of a burgeoning fan community on the internet, a virtual community of crossword enthusiasts. It is not far-fetched to regard the saga of the crossword as a microcosm of modem community building, a case history on how a traditional pastime can adapt to new media. In this paper, my intent is to show - through research, interview and my own longtime amateur participation in puzzling - the importance of community to a leisure-time pursuit; and specifically how cyber-fans use their collective voice to influence crossword output both creatively and economically. Creatively because blogs and other web resources have raised the volume and reach of an active crossword fan base, allowing it to exert more far-reaching pushback on puzzle creators and content. Economically because with the dramatic decline of the crossword’s longtime medium, the print newspaper, this traditionally paper-and-pencil pastime is moving online. Complicating the discussion is a growing generation gap, a tug-of-war between younger and older puzzlers for what they see as relevant and acceptable content. Thus, the crossword is at a crossroad: an older generation forms a core part of the fan base while younger puzzlers are charged with adapting and shaping the crossword for survival in the future . Copyright © 2013 by Lynn J. Feigenbaum, All Rights Reserved Dedicated to my husband David (1941-2002). Still missing you, babe. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS What? Write a master’s thesis on the crossword puzzle? The credit and blame go to my tireless thesis advisor, Avi Santo, whose vision of popular culture proved too strong a muse to resist. His rallying cries - “Where is your discourse analysis?” and “Step outside the narrative!” and “This is interesting but WHY DOES IT MATTER?” - forced me to keep digging and stay on track. Without his encouragement and angst-management skills, this paper would be as blank as an empty crossword grid. Other gifted, inspiring ODU professors also stoked my late-blooming dedication to higher education: Lindal Buchanan and Heidi Schlipphacke, who veered from their specialties to join my thesis committee; and Martha Daas, Gary Edgerton, Dana Heller, Luisa Igloria, Michael Pearson and Timothy Seibles. All their talents gave me a new, post-retirement challenge, with Humanities director Jeffrey Jones smoothing the way. Alas, my children did not inherit the puzzling gene. But their time-starved support is priceless. Nancy’s innate academic insights made me realize why she’s such a great teacher while son John let me vent and grumble over morning dog walks. I hope this effort is an inspiration to my five grandchildren, though they’ll probably tweet their theses. Friendships also kept me going. Despite her own great challenges, Linda has been my sounding board and inspiration. A shout-out too to crossword buddies Alice and Maureen, and newbie Steve, my tournament support group. Most of all, a special salute to Will, Merl and all the puzzle editors and constructors who have given us so many hours and decades of solving joy. And to the bloggers, database keepers, writers and documentarians who enrich the art of crossword puzzling and our understanding of it. I don’t know if they will find my conclusions an “aha!” or a “d’oh!” or a snore, but hopefully my thoughts will add a little something to the annals (two n’s, please) of this great pastime. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF FIGURES.......................................................................................................................viii INTRODUCTION: FAN-TASTIC CROSSWORDS................................................................. 1 CONTINUITY AND CHANGE............................................................................................ 4 THE iPUZZLE AND OTHER EYE-OPENERS...................................................................7 ALMOST AN ANAGRAM: RAP AND THE AARP........................................................ 10 THE VANISHING NEWSPAPER.......................................................................................12 LOOKING FOR MR. HAPPY PENCIL............................................................................. 15 A CHECKERED FUTURE..................................................................................................19 CHAPTER I: THE CROSSWORD’S EARLY DAYS........................................................... 23 PLAZA 6409 AND THE “AHA!” MOMENT ....................................................................27 THE ROARING AND PUZZLING ’20S............................................................................30 IN THE HEADLINES AND BEHIND BARS....................................................................33 A “PRIMITIVE SORT OF MENTAL EXERCISE” .......................................................... 35 SURVIVING APODS, SNEES, ESNES AND ROCS.......................................................39 CHAPTER 2: THE TIMES PUZZLE’S BIG FO U R ................................................................41 MARGARET FARRAR, PIONEER...................................................................................41 WILL WENG, WIT AND GENTLE MAN.........................................................................44 EUGENE T. MALESKA, EDITOR AND EPITHET........................................................45 WILL SHORTZ, ROCKIN’ POP-CULTURIST................................................................ 48 CHAPTER 3: CROSSWORDS: THE COMMUNITY........................................................... 53 FROM BALLROOM TO BLOGSVILLE...........................................................................57 THE BLOG PLAYERS........................................................................................................60 ONLINE MARKETPLACE................................................................................................ 66 A “VAST MOB OF SERFS”............................................................................................... 69 CHAPTER 4: ILLIN’ AND CHILLIN’ ..................................................................................... 71 MINT OR CANDY? A TASTE OF FAN-TAGONISM....................................................74 BALLSY CLUING, TARGET MARKETING...................................................................77 MALESKA AND THE WHEELHOUSE...........................................................................81 THE COMMUNITY OF CROSSWORD USA...................................................................84 WORDS TAKING SHAPE..................................................................................................87 “SPEAKING” CROSSWORD ONLINE............................................................................89 PERSONALLY CONNECTED.......................................................................................... 91 CONCLUSION: AT THE CROSSROAD.................................................................................93
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