Merl Reagle
Encyclopedia
Merl Reagle is an American
crossword
constructor. Since 1985, he has constructed a puzzle every Sunday for the San Francisco Chronicle
(originally the San Francisco Examiner); it is now also published by the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times
, the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Seattle Times, The Plain Dealer (Cleveland, Ohio
), the Hartford Courant, the New York Observer
, and the Arizona Daily Star
, among others.
Reagle made his first crossword when he was six and sold a puzzle to The New York Times
at age 16, a feat that made him the youngest published Times
puzzle constructor at the time.
, the crossword puzzle editor for The New York Times
, has said that "his themes are consistently fresher and funnier than anyone else's. And he's one of the greatest puzzlemakers at interlocking words in intricate, wide-open patterns." Games magazine has called him "the best Sunday crossword creator in America," and a poll of puzzle makers at cruciverb.comhttp://www.cruciverb.com, a popular web site for crossword constructors, ranked Reagle the most admired by his peers. His 2004 puzzle, "Wide Open Spaces", holds the record for the lowest word count (i.e., number of answers) in a Sunday puzzle. The 21 x 21 grid has only 112 words (with 51 black squares).http://www.cruciverb.com/index.php/articles/572 The prolific crossword editor Stanley Newman
called Reagle's puzzle "Gridlock"http://www.sundaycrosswords.com/SkyMagInterview_files/gridlock.pdf "the best single crossword of the last 25 years."
His fellow constructors routinely credit Reagle for creating some of the funniest themes for his puzzles. One, called "Hit Song", was what he called "Sean Penn
's version of "My Way
". It included the theme entries I'M IN A / RUSH, NO PICTURES, PLEASE, OR / ELSE YOU'LL LEARN THE / BLACKENED EYE WAY / THE RECORD SHOWS / I'LL BUST YOUR / NOSE IF YOU GET IN... / MY WAY. Other much-discussed puzzles carried titles like "Inappropriate Muzak for a Doctor's Office" and "Least Popular Beanie Babies".
Portrayal in the film Wordplay
He is noted for making puzzles with pencil and paper, without the aid of a computer. The 2006 documentary Wordplay
depicted Reagle's on-camera construction of a crossword that subsequently was published in The New York Times
. The film then showed various famous crossword enthusiasts, including Bill Clinton
, Jon Stewart
, the Indigo Girls
, and Mike Mussina
, attempting to solve the puzzle. Reagle has often constructed puzzles for the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament
, which he first attended in 1979, its second year. He now serves as a tournament judge, and is a commentator for the tournament's finals.http://www.sundaycrosswords.com/puzzlearticle.htm
On November 16, 2008, Reagle's was a "special guest voice" on an episode of The Simpsons
called "Homer and Lisa Exchange Cross Words
." In the episode, which featured a New York Times crossword, a cartoon version of Reagle appeared together with Shortz, and Lisa Simpson discovered secret messages embedded in both the clues and the puzzle, which Reagle constructed and Shortz edited. The actual crossword appearing that same day in the Times had the embedded messages.
Reagle also has been featured on CNN
, the Today show, Nightline, Oprah
http://www.oprah.com/tows/slide/200702/20070201/slide_20070201_350_105.jhtml, and National Public Radio. An article he wrote on crossword construction for the Philadelphia Inquirer in February 1997 was reproduced in shorter form in the July 1998 Reader's Digest
.
One of the few crossword puzzle constructors who makes a full-time living at his craft, Reagle is the only U.S. Sunday crossword maker who does his own syndication
. With the assistance of his wife, Marie Haley, he has published 16 volumes of his Sunday crosswords, which he sells from his website.
Merl and Marie make their home in the Tampa Bay, Florida area.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
crossword
Crossword
A crossword is a word puzzle that normally takes the form of a square or rectangular grid of white and shaded squares. The goal is to fill the white squares with letters, forming words or phrases, by solving clues which lead to the answers. In languages that are written left-to-right, the answer...
constructor. Since 1985, he has constructed a puzzle every Sunday for the San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
(originally the San Francisco Examiner); it is now also published by the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
, the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Seattle Times, The Plain Dealer (Cleveland, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
), the Hartford Courant, the New York Observer
New York Observer
The New York Observer is a weekly newspaper first published in New York City on September 22, 1987, by Arthur L. Carter, a very successful former investment banker with publishing interests. The Observer focuses on the city's culture, real estate, the media, politics and the entertainment and...
, and the Arizona Daily Star
Arizona Daily Star
The Arizona Daily Star is the major morning daily newspaper that serves Tucson and surrounding districts of southern Arizona in the United States. The paper was purchased by Pulitzer in 1971; Lee Enterprises bought Pulitzer in 2005....
, among others.
Reagle made his first crossword when he was six and sold a puzzle to The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
at age 16, a feat that made him the youngest published Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
puzzle constructor at the time.
Representative puzzles: humor and wide-open grids
Will ShortzWill Shortz
Will Shortz is an American puzzle creator and editor, and currently the crossword puzzle editor for The New York Times.-Early life and education:...
, the crossword puzzle editor for The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, has said that "his themes are consistently fresher and funnier than anyone else's. And he's one of the greatest puzzlemakers at interlocking words in intricate, wide-open patterns." Games magazine has called him "the best Sunday crossword creator in America," and a poll of puzzle makers at cruciverb.comhttp://www.cruciverb.com, a popular web site for crossword constructors, ranked Reagle the most admired by his peers. His 2004 puzzle, "Wide Open Spaces", holds the record for the lowest word count (i.e., number of answers) in a Sunday puzzle. The 21 x 21 grid has only 112 words (with 51 black squares).http://www.cruciverb.com/index.php/articles/572 The prolific crossword editor Stanley Newman
Stanley Newman
Stanley Newman is a U.S. puzzle creator, editor, and publisher. Newman has been the editor of the Newsday Sunday crossword puzzle since 1988 and the editor of the Newsday daily crossword puzzle since 1992...
called Reagle's puzzle "Gridlock"http://www.sundaycrosswords.com/SkyMagInterview_files/gridlock.pdf "the best single crossword of the last 25 years."
His fellow constructors routinely credit Reagle for creating some of the funniest themes for his puzzles. One, called "Hit Song", was what he called "Sean Penn
Sean Penn
Sean Justin Penn is an American actor, screenwriter and film director, also known for his political and social activism...
's version of "My Way
My Way (song)
"My Way" is a song popularized by Frank Sinatra. Its lyrics were written by Paul Anka and set to music based on the French song "Comme d'habitude" composed in 1967 by Claude François and Jacques Revaux, with lyrics by Claude François and Gilles Thibault. Anka's English lyrics are unrelated to the...
". It included the theme entries I'M IN A / RUSH, NO PICTURES, PLEASE, OR / ELSE YOU'LL LEARN THE / BLACKENED EYE WAY / THE RECORD SHOWS / I'LL BUST YOUR / NOSE IF YOU GET IN... / MY WAY. Other much-discussed puzzles carried titles like "Inappropriate Muzak for a Doctor's Office" and "Least Popular Beanie Babies".
Portrayal in the film WordplayWordplay (film)Wordplay is a 2006 documentary film directed by Patrick Creadon. It features Will Shortz, the editor of the New York Times crossword puzzle, crossword constructor Merl Reagle, and many other noted crossword solvers and constructors...
He is noted for making puzzles with pencil and paper, without the aid of a computer. The 2006 documentary WordplayWordplay (film)
Wordplay is a 2006 documentary film directed by Patrick Creadon. It features Will Shortz, the editor of the New York Times crossword puzzle, crossword constructor Merl Reagle, and many other noted crossword solvers and constructors...
depicted Reagle's on-camera construction of a crossword that subsequently was published in The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
. The film then showed various famous crossword enthusiasts, including Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
, Jon Stewart
Jon Stewart
Jon Stewart is an American political satirist, writer, television host, actor, media critic and stand-up comedian...
, the Indigo Girls
Indigo Girls
The Indigo Girls are an American folk rock music duo, consisting of Amy Ray and Emily Saliers. They met in elementary school and began performing together as high school students in Decatur, Georgia, part of the Atlanta metropolitan area...
, and Mike Mussina
Mike Mussina
Michael Cole Mussina , nicknamed Moose, is a former Major League Baseball right-handed starting pitcher. He played for the Baltimore Orioles and the New York Yankees ....
, attempting to solve the puzzle. Reagle has often constructed puzzles for the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament
American Crossword Puzzle Tournament
The American Crossword Puzzle Tournament is a crossword-solving tournament held annually in late February or early March. Founded in 1978 by Will Shortz, who still directs the tournament, it is the oldest and largest crossword tournament held in the United States; the 2009 event attracted nearly...
, which he first attended in 1979, its second year. He now serves as a tournament judge, and is a commentator for the tournament's finals.http://www.sundaycrosswords.com/puzzlearticle.htm
Other appearances
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
called "Homer and Lisa Exchange Cross Words
Homer and Lisa Exchange Cross Words
"Homer and Lisa Exchange Cross Words" is the sixth episode of The Simpsons twentieth season. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on November 16, 2008. In the episode, Lisa discovers that she has a talent for solving crossword puzzles, and she enters a crossword tournament...
." In the episode, which featured a New York Times crossword, a cartoon version of Reagle appeared together with Shortz, and Lisa Simpson discovered secret messages embedded in both the clues and the puzzle, which Reagle constructed and Shortz edited. The actual crossword appearing that same day in the Times had the embedded messages.
Reagle also has been featured on CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
, the Today show, Nightline, Oprah
The Oprah Winfrey Show
The Oprah Winfrey Show is an American syndicated talk show hosted and produced by its namesake Oprah Winfrey. It ran nationally for 25 seasons beginning in 1986, before concluding in 2011. It is the highest-rated talk show in American television history....
http://www.oprah.com/tows/slide/200702/20070201/slide_20070201_350_105.jhtml, and National Public Radio. An article he wrote on crossword construction for the Philadelphia Inquirer in February 1997 was reproduced in shorter form in the July 1998 Reader's Digest
Reader's Digest
Reader's Digest is a general interest family magazine, published ten times annually. Formerly based in Chappaqua, New York, its headquarters is now in New York City. It was founded in 1922, by DeWitt Wallace and Lila Bell Wallace...
.
One of the few crossword puzzle constructors who makes a full-time living at his craft, Reagle is the only U.S. Sunday crossword maker who does his own syndication
Print syndication
Print syndication distributes news articles, columns, comic strips and other features to newspapers, magazines and websites. They offer reprint rights and grant permissions to other parties for republishing content of which they own/represent copyrights....
. With the assistance of his wife, Marie Haley, he has published 16 volumes of his Sunday crosswords, which he sells from his website.
Merl and Marie make their home in the Tampa Bay, Florida area.