Genius crossword hides celebrity name as grid yields two valid solutions

When November’s Genius puzzle was devised in July, sceptics dismissed its celebrity angle as a bad TV tie-in. Eleven million live viewers later, the puzzle has proved far more inventive than expected. Glyph’s grid required entrants to pick a side: the majority of down clues needed a letter removed before solving.

Those extra letters, taken in clue order, spelled the name CLAUDIA WINKLEMAN — someone who may not pick a side. Four down clues were deliberately ambiguous and accepted multiple, equally valid answers. Examples included BEARS or BARES, PATER or PRIORFAT or OAT, and GOLFBALL or GOLFBAGS.

That ambiguity allowed different solvers to complete the grid in different ways. Because of those variations the central entry, shown as T __ E __ __ __ __ __ __ __ in the published grid, could be read as THE FAITHFUL or THE TRAITORS. The puzzle mirrors the mind games of its subject, and the editor wonders what Glyph will produce next.

December’s Genius is already awaited. In the cluing conference, contributors were thanked for SCALES. The audacity award went to Montano for a knowingly unwieldy clue; runner-up was Crowsfeet324. A joint honour went to Mr_Rob_T and Newlaplandes for a collaborative clue. The winning clue was "A major climbs ranges.

Key Topics

Culture, United States, Crosswords, Puzzles, Television, Celebrities, Books