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Codecrafting with Crosswords!

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We’ve discussed ciphers and codecracking numerous times in the past, and rightly so. It’s a style of puzzling that has literally affected the outcomes of battles, helped shape key historical moments, and changed the face of spycraft.

And it’s a puzzle form that continues to evolve to this day. We’ve moved far beyond the simple one-to-one replacement encryptions of your standard newspaper cryptogram, and intrepid solvers are always looking for newer and more devious ways to conceal their messages.

Tumblr user Cipherface has cooked up a pretty ingenious system that actually uses another style of puzzling in its execution: crosswords.

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Here’s how it works. You write your message out in the open spaces of the crossword, ignoring the black squares.

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Then, map out this diagonal path as the first step to encrypting your message.

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Do the same with the puzzle’s answer key, and you’ve got your running key, the text used to substitute letters for the letters in your actual message.

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Then you run your message through the tabula recta, a table where you use the letter you want revealed and the letter in your running key to pick the letter in your encryption.

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Here, we can see Cipherface mapping out the encrypted message using this method.

From the Tumblr writeup:

The idea is to use a crossword puzzle for the transposition and the answers to the previous weeks puzzle as a running key. And the blank spaces are used to insert nulls into the final ciphertext. You then mail it to a friend who uses the date it was mailed to decide which puzzle to use for decryption.

It’s a pretty clever way to leave your encryption key in plain sight, and yet keep your messages secret. The running key keeps changing, so it’s more effective than traditional running keys, which stayed the same for longer periods of time.

Not to mention, using the puzzle’s publishing date? What a quick and easy way to keep your friend informed in an innocuous way. You’d just need to decide ahead of time which newspaper to use.

And it figures. The best way to make a puzzle better? Add another puzzle.

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Potent Quotables!

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Quotations are a major part of the puzzle landscape. From cryptograms and Syllacrostics to crosswords where you end up with unhelpful clues like “Part 1 of quote,” I’d bet that an avid solver rarely goes a day without encountering a quote somewhere in their puzzling.

I was working on a quote puzzle just the other day, and it occurred to me that, despite the hundreds and hundreds of puzzles involving quotes that I’ve created and edited over the years, I couldn’t think of any that were actually about puzzles.

So, naturally, I went looking for quotes about puzzles.

I had to narrow the field to crosswords, because quotes about puzzles were both too numerous and, oddly enough, not actually about puzzles.

“Each person is an enigma. You’re a puzzle not only to yourself but also to everyone else, and the great mystery of our time is how we penetrate this puzzle.” — Theodore Zeldin

Oh sure, they mention puzzles, but only as a metaphor for something else. People are puzzles, or life is a puzzle, or the world is a puzzle, or writing is a puzzle, or acting is a puzzle, or making a movie is a puzzle. Insert topic, blah blah, puzzle metaphor.

You get the idea.

At least some people stick to the subject of puzzles when getting metaphorical.

“There seem to be two main types of people in the world: crosswords and Sudokus.” — Rebecca McKinsey

Betty White has something to say on that subject:

“I love words. Sudoku I don’t get into, I’m not into numbers that much, and there are people who are hooked on that. But crossword puzzles, I just can’t — if I get a puppy and I paper train him and I put the — if all of a sudden I’d open the paper and there’s a crossword puzzle — ‘No, no, you can’t go on that, honey. I’ll take it.'”

See, now we’re getting into actual crossword quotes.

Oh, no, wait. One more metaphor:

“Fighting with him was like trying to solve a crossword and realizing there’s no right answer.” — Taylor Swift

Apparently Taylor Swift doesn’t know how crossword puzzles work. (Then again, she had that song where Romeo and Juliet had a happy ending, so maybe I’m barking up the wrong tree here…)

I shall rebut Miss Swift with a Stephen Sondheim quote: “The nice thing about doing a crossword puzzle is, you know there is a solution.”

Okay, we’re back on track.

This might be the most famous quote about crosswords:

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There’s a definite theme of crosswords being associated with retirement and relaxation.

“But I’m really enjoying my retirement. I get to sleep in every day. I do crossword puzzles and eat cake.” — Derek Landy

“I would prefer to live forever in perfect health, but if I must at some time leave this life, I would like to do so ensconced on a chaise longue, perfumed, wearing a velvet robe and pearl earrings, with a flute of champagne beside me and having just discovered the answer to the last problem in a British cryptic crossword.” — Olivia de Havilland

“I enjoy walking my dog and completing crossword puzzles.” — Brian Jacques

Of course, some folks have regrets…

“Do I rue a life wasted doing crosswords? Yes, but I do know the three-letter-word for regret.” — Robert Breault

Others have complaints…

“Wouldn’t it be wonderful if I won a helicopter in a crossword puzzle competition? There is not much hope though I am afraid, as they never give such practical prizes.” — Leonora Carrington

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But, to be honest, my two favorite quotes about crosswords didn’t come from celebrities or revered thinkers. (At least, not yet revered.) They came from college students on Tumblr, sharing observations, either their own or those of others.

“Who did Jessica Simpson last divorce?! Like, I don’t know. I could tell you all about Rousseau though.” — Girl doing a crossword puzzle in class

I think I’ll give the final word to another Tumblr user, who summed up crosswords brilliantly.

“A crossword puzzle is an unholy marriage of spelling bee, trivia contest, and a troll that lives under a bridge and asks you riddles.”

Do you have any favorite quotes about puzzles, fellow PuzzleNationers? Let us know in the comments section below!

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An Excluded Solver Strikes Back!

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Many people find crossword puzzles daunting.

For some, it’s the crosswordese, those obscure or curious words that you only encounter in crossword grids. Whether it’s European rivers or needlecases, these entries never make casual conversational appearances.

For others, it’s the pop culture that often feels dusty and out-of-touch. It’s not like many silent movie stars are household names these days.

Thankfully, many current outlets and constructors have moved away from this stodgy approach to grid construction and cluing, working hard to keep cultural references fresh and up-to-date, and striving for fluid grid-filling entries that remain both accessible and interesting.

Unfortunately, the reputation of crosswords as behind-the-times is still prevalent in many circles, including among younger solvers.

But I was amused to find one younger solver who sought to balance the scales a bit by taking matters into her own hands.

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Tumblr user Greater-than-the-Sword created and shared her own crossword. (Well, technically a criss-cross to puzzle aficionados like ourselves, but the average person would call this a crossword.)

In her own words:

Tired of your parents always doing better than you at crossword puzzles just because they’re old and get the ancient pop culture references? I made this Millennial’s Crossword Puzzle™. Guaranteed to make your parents feel old and less smug.

Sample clues included “is either white and gold or blue and black” for DRESS (referencing the optical illusion that took over the Internet for a day or two) and “Popular Youtuber” for PEWDIEPIE.

Although the puzzle didn’t make me feel old or less smug, it did make me laugh, since I found several of the entries completely baffling and impenetrable. It also reminded me of how amazingly fast cultural references emerge and vanish in the age of the Internet. I got about half of the reference in the puzzle, many of which applied to memes and pop culture from the last few years.

(Though I must confess that it took me an embarrassingly long time to realize the clue “bendy cabbage patch” meant BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH.)

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I was unable to reach Greater-than-the-Sword to ask her what sort of feedback she received on the puzzle — either from millennials or from older solvers who accepted the challenge — but I found it to be a delightful response to lazy crossword construction.

You’re welcome to try your luck against the puzzle here.

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It’s Follow-Up Friday: Here We Go Again edition!

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Welcome to Follow-Up Friday!

Follow-Up Friday is an opportunity to look back on past posts and puzzly topics. Whether we’re updating you with new developments, providing answers to a previously-posted brain teaser or puzzle, or simply revisiting a subject with a fresh perspective, Follow-Up Friday lets us look back and look forward.

In today’s edition, I’d like to revisit optical illusions. One illusion in particular, in fact.

It’s hard to believe that almost exactly a year ago, I dedicated an entire post to explaining the viral Internet phenomenon known as The Dress.

For those who have forgotten (oh, how I envy you), the above picture of a dress was uploaded to Tumblr, and the Internet collectively lost its mind debating whether the dress was white and gold or black and blue.

But why are we revisiting this topic? Because there’s another oversaturated photo of an item of clothing sweeping the Internet these days.

I give you… The Jacket.

And this time around, there are FOUR possible color combinations that people are debating: blue and white, black and brown, green and gold, and green and brown.

So, take a look at that picture, and tell me what you see.

Made your choice? Okay.

According to this article on ABC News, the jacket is blue and white:

High school sophomore and Santa Clarita, California, resident Mariam Kabba said she began a group chat Thursday about the dress after one of her friends was adamant that her blue-and-white jacket was brown and black.

To be fair, I did a quick search of men’s and women’s jackets on the Adidas website, and the only color combinations I saw that fit the style and striping of The Jacket were…you guessed it, blue and white.

But I suspect that won’t dissuade doubters. I can still remember the ardent arguments of the white and gold faction during the heady days of The Dress.

I also wonder if Adidas might capitalize by releasing a four-set of The Jacket jackets, so you can truly have whichever one you see in the picture. That’s what I’d do.

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You can also share your pictures with us on Instagram, friend us on Facebook, check us out on Twitter, Pinterest, and Tumblr, and explore the always-expanding library of PuzzleNation apps and games on our website!