a love letter to crosswords

I started doing the NYT Crossword about two years ago. Perhaps this is an unusual admission for someone who loves reading, writing and words in general, but I actually never really got into crosswords for most of my life. I found them to be overly culturally specific, too clever by half, obtuse, boring, or all of the above. It was only because I was already playing Connections, Strands and Wordle on the NYT Games app that I began trying the Mini out of curiosity, and then some of the free Midi Crossword packs, which led me, eventually, to the full-sized daily Crossword. In two years, I went from just about being able to clear Mondays unaided to reliably taking on late week puzzles, which became my favourite crosswording time of the week. I’m in the camp who loves rebuses and other gimmicks on Thursdays, and I came to really enjoy the chewiness of Fridays and Saturdays, as well as the big size and fun themes of Sundays. In my early crosswording days, I think what I learned first and…