The American Crossword Puzzle Tournament

The American Crossword Puzzle Tournament took place last weekend and, for the third time, Dan Feyer won. Here's the video of the final round:

The big story this year, of course, was Dr Fill, the computer. Although Dr Fill wasn't able to win, he did okay with a very respectable 141st place. See the NYT article here.

Language is a Playground

Language is a playground. When not serving some utilitarian purpose, letters and words flirt and frisk and frolic; sometimes, without supervision, they build spectacular sand castles. As a would-be writer, the most inspiring—and, paradoxically, useful—thing to happen to me was finding others who believed in rolling up their sleeves and playing in the sand.

                                                     ~ Daniel Levin Becker

Clever Clue of the Month

February 2012
Clue: Judges those who steal …............UMPS
Constructor: Steve Salitan; Editor: Mike Shenk
Wall Street Journal, 2/3/12

Two months in a row for Mike Shenk! Congratulations.

Crosswords and Art

In a new exhibit at the Covey Center for the Arts in Provo, Utah, Linnie Brown and her father, Marnius Wolf have selected 14 sets of crossword clues and answers and created a painting in response to each set. Their paintings are displayed next to each other, with the titles coming directly from the answers to the crossword puzzle.

Read the article here.

Clever Clue of the Month

Please vote for the best clue from February (either by email or in the comments below). The Clever Clue of the Month will be announced on Saturday (the 3rd) at approximately 9:00 PM Central. Here are the nominees:

What pool hustlers do? ..........LAPS
Evening drive ...................REVENGE
Child actress ...................STREEP
Judges those who steal ..........UMPS
Fallout victims .................BABYTEETH