I used to help my mama do the crossword puzzle in our local paper when I was still in school. That warm feeling of putting our heads together and having special time with her was unbeatable.
Then the actor Ray Dooley and I were in a play at Yale Rep in the late ’80s, and the cast often commuted back and forth by train from NYC to New Haven. He generously showed me his technique for solving the New York Times daily puzzle, which used to be even more satisfying with the original hard copy Times, folded into that unmistakable quadrant, pencil or pen (if you were confident) scratching against the newsprint paper stock providing such pleasurable ASMR (even though we didn’t know what that was back then).
My love for puzzles has grown exponentially with the advent of Wordle, Connections, Spangram, Sudoku, etc. I have no special genius for them, but they are somehow relaxing and stimulating at the same time. You can solve with a pal or on your own, propped up in bed or nicely crammed into subway seating or waiting rooms. I have only the most pleasant associations with puzzles. (By the way, I am currently working in London and have been enjoying the BBC’s Ludwig with David Mitchell and Anna Maxwell Martin, two of my favorite actors, about a woman and her master puzzle-solving brother-in-law who work together trying to find her husband by solving riddles and clues. Heaven!)
And so when I was asked to collaborate on a puzzle for A24’s new collection 99 TV Crosswords, I thought about Gerri’s go-to drink on Succession, the martini, as a theme. I wondered if the puzzlemeisters Kate Hawkins and Rachel Fabi could somehow carve out the shape of a classic martini glass in the negative spaces; I was delighted that they chuckled and said “Of course! Great idea! We love it!” — and they were off!
So, please, chill a glass and find a nice chaise to sprawl on and enjoy this excellent puzzle.
Excerpted from A24’s 99 TV Crosswords: For Serious Streamers and Channel Flippers, Prestige Devotees and Reality Buffs, and Every TV Lover in Between, edited by Brooke Husic and Will Nediger.
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