Hundreds of books, calendars, and other ephemera have been published using the puzzles, creating a secondary line of products outside the traditional confines of the newspaper. Through an examination of the puzzle’s folklore, cultural references, and evolution, one finds that the puzzle has come to support the Times’ lofty status in American news publications. The New York Times crossword, through its association with the “paper of record” in the United States, has become the gold standard of American crossword puzzles. Crosswords are typically relegated to the categories of trivia and games however, with the New York Times crossword being ingrained in our popular culture through film, television, and other artifacts, the puzzle is no longer a trivial text, but evolves into something more significant. This anecdote illustrates the larger cultural perception about the connection between intelligence and the New York Times crossword puzzle, as well as the broader importance of puzzles and trivia in American society. ![]() At seven, I had not yet worked the puzzle, but I knew preternaturally that these two components must connote intelligence. Between observing both this practice and her nightly viewing of Jeopardy!, I came to believe that she was quite intelligent. She perched at the end of the dining room table with her blue ballpoint pen, the paper folded into quarters, and her Entemann’s crumb donut on a white china plate. ![]() When I was younger, I watched in awe as my grandmother completed the Sunday New York Times crossword puzzle … in ink.
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