Crossword grid art, explained
I’ve gotten a few questions from readers about grid art in crossword puzzles. What is it? Why is it used? How do editors decide when to break the rules about symmetry? Grid art is a picture of some sort in a puzzle formed by black squares. We’ve had creations in the shape of smiley faces, animals, the yin-yang symbol and spelled-out words like MOM or S.O.S. Typically, we’d like a puzzle with grid art to still follow the general rules of black-square placement. So a picture shouldn’t section off portions of the grid, and there shouldn’t be any “unchecked squares.” Every square should be “checked,” that is, part of both an Across and a Down entry. That gives solvers two ways to get to the answer; if you don’t know the answer to the Across clue, you have another chance in the Down. We have broken all of these rules, but there was a very clear reason for doing so. For instance, in the puzzle below, there is an entry in the middle of the grid that’s completely separate from the rest of the rest, and each of the letters is only part of that one word. But the puzzle comes with a note telling solvers that just two letters from the alphabet do not appear in the completed grid, and that those should be written in the center slot. As it turns out, the puzzle is piñata-themed. The letters “C” and “Y” are missing, so when you write C AND Y in the grid, you’re placing CANDY inside the piñata! Since the note at the top of the puzzle is a second clue for 35-Across, we’d still consider those squares to be “checked.”
While we normally request that puzzles have symmetry, grid art occasionally leads to asymmetrical puzzles. We allow this because the purpose of symmetry is to create a puzzle that is visually appealing and feels orderly. When the black squares create a picture, it’s a different way to achieve the same effect. Grid art typically is an extra hint to the theme. For example, the grids below have themes about martinis and the Fibonacci sequence.
Sometimes a themeless puzzle will have grid art, too. When this is the case, there’s often one long entry that is related to the art. The clock in this grid art is referenced at 24-Down with the clue [Setting depicted by this puzzle’s grid] — the time on the clock looks to be ONE THIRTY. In this mostly themeless puzzle, there’s a little mini-theme, with the answers SOMETHING’S FISHY and ON THE WATERFRONT hinted by the fish swimming through the grid. I’ve tried to make puzzles with grid art before, and they’re very challenging to pull off because so many black squares are locked in place. I’m always impressed when a constructor pulls off a puzzle with a fun visual element in the grid.
Solve Friday’s Crossword on Easy Mode!
In today’s Wordplay column, Sean McGowan writes about debut entries, which are answers that have never appeared in the Crossword. For expert hints on today’s puzzle, read his column. Were you able to solve the Friday puzzle with Easy Mode? We want your input! Share your experience with us by email. Easy vs. HardIn today’s daily puzzle, 18-Across is clued [Get to the point?], which is a cute misdirect. While this clue may make you think about a long-winded person, the real meaning is quite different! For Easy Mode I wrote the clue as [Narrow gradually], which isn’t the most exciting clue but gets right to the point.
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 Easy vs. Hard is TAPER.
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