Emily Cox and Henry Rathvon

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Emily Cox.jpg
Emily Cox
HRathvon.jpg
Henry Rathvon

Emily Cox and Henry Rathvon are a married, retired American puzzle-writing team. They wrote the "Atlantic Puzzler", a monthly cryptic crossword in The Atlantic magazine, from September 1977 to October 2009, [1] [2] and wrote cryptic crosswords every four weeks for The Wall Street Journal from 2010 to 2023. [3]

Contents

Often published under the pseudonym Hex, Cox and Rathvon are considered pioneers of the American cryptic crossword and remain among the form's greatest exponents. [4] [5] [6] Their first efforts were inspired by attempts to follow in the footsteps of Stephen Sondheim and Richard Maltby, Jr. at New York magazine. [3]

Cryptic Crosswords for The Atlantic and The Wall Street Journal

Their first cryptic puzzle for The Atlantic, on 1 September 1977, was entitled "Short and Sweet." They wrote a total of 370 puzzles for The Atlantic, [3] although, beginning in March 2006, the Atlantic Puzzler was published online-only. [4]

Their first cryptic for the Wall Street Journal in January 2010 subtly announced their new home; it was entitled "Relocation." The instructions began,

It’s Moving Day! We’ve packed everything into 143 boxes and left it for you, dear solver, to figure out what goes where. [7]

"Relocation" was the first of 181 Journal puzzles. [3]

All of their puzzles for The Atlantic and The Wall Street Journal are available online. [3]

Retirement

They retired in December 2023. Their retirement was announced, cryptically, in their 16 December 2023 WSJ Saturday Variety Puzzle, "Departure." [8]

Other Work

They also created acrostics and cryptic crosswords for the New York Times , cryptics for Canada's National Post , puzzles for the US Airways in-flight magazine, and (with Henry Hook) Sunday crosswords for the Boston Globe .

In 2007, they created an elaborate marriage proposal for two aficionados of the Sunday Boston Globe Magazine crossword. Aric Egmont and Jennie Bass, a young couple in Boston, shared a love of crossword puzzles, and were accustomed to doing the Sunday crossword puzzle together. Intending to propose, and hoping for a great surprise, Aric approached Doug Most, the editor of the Globe Magazine, and through him, Cox and Rathvon, soliciting a special crossword. Cox and Rathvon's puzzle, "Popping the Question," appeared on Sunday 23 September 2007, and was filled both with personal references for Jennie — the names of her friend, her sister, and even Egmont's name — and with various clued clever forms of marriage proposal. The answer to "A poker player's proposal" was "May I have your hand," and to "Macrame artist's proposal" was "Let's tie the knot." The two most significant clues were 111 across, "Generic Proposal," a typically cryptic homophonic clue combining "Jen" and "Aric," and 116 across, "Winston's mother." The answers, of course, were "Will you marry me?" and "Jennie." Her answer was an emphatic "Yes." [9] [10]

In 2005, Rathvon's play Trapezium , a comedy in iambic pentameter, was produced by the Orlando-UCF Shakespeare Festival. The play was also performed at Playhouse on Park in West Hartford, CT in 2010. [11]

Personal life

Cox's parents were the pianist Shirley Louise ( née Peet) Cox and the Rev. Dr. Howard H. Cox. [12] From a young age, Emily showed interest in playing trombone, painting suspension bridges, [13] reading about science matters, and rock climbing. [14]

Cox and Rathvon, who are married, [15] at one point lived in Hershey, Pennsylvania.

References

  1. ↑ Arnot, Michelle (August 5, 2008). Four-Letter Words: And Other Secrets of a Crossword Insider. Penguin. p. 78. ISBN   978-0-399-53435-5 . Retrieved April 16, 2011.
  2. ↑ "Biography". The Atlantic Monthly.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Cox, Emily; Rathvon, Henry. "Cryptic Puzzles by Emily Cox & Henry Rathvon". Cox Rathvon (Hex). Retrieved February 17, 2024.
  4. 1 2 LaFrance, Adrienne (October 1, 2018). "Introducing The Atlantic Crossword". The Atlantic. Retrieved February 17, 2023.
  5. ↑ Kosman, Joshua; Picciotto, Henri (September 12, 2013). "Cryptic Royalty". The Nation. Retrieved February 17, 2023.
  6. ↑ Zimmer, Ben (December 4, 2021). "Stephen Sondheim Didn't Just Change Musicals. He Changed Crosswords". Slate. Retrieved February 17, 2023.
  7. ↑ Cox, Emily; Rathvon, Henry. "Relocation". Cox Rathvon (Hex). Retrieved February 19, 2024.
  8. ↑ Cox, Emily; Rathvon, Henry. "Departure (Saturday Variety Puzzle, December 16)". The Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones & Company, Inc. Retrieved February 17, 2024.
  9. ↑ "111 Across: Will You Marry Me? Puzzle lover plants marriage proposal in the Boston Globe's Sunday crossword". ABC News. ABC News. September 25, 2007. Retrieved February 19, 2024.
  10. ↑ "My Jumbo Valentine: How to Propose with Style and What To Do If You're Jilted at the Altar". Tufts Magazine. Tufts University. Winter 2008. Retrieved February 19, 2024.
  11. ↑ "Playhouse on Park: Plays and Musicals 2009-2010". www.playhouseonpark.org. Archived from the original on January 17, 2022. Retrieved February 17, 2025.
  12. ↑ Popichak, Josh (November 21, 2020). "Shirley Louise (Peet) Cox, 92, of Bethlehem (Obituary)". sauconsource.com. Retrieved February 17, 2023.
  13. ↑ "Emily Cox and Henry Rathvon". The Atlantic. Retrieved January 16, 2018.
  14. ↑ Horne, Jim (November 8, 2008). "Acrostics Creators". The New York Times . Retrieved January 16, 2018.
  15. ↑ "Man uses crossword puzzle for marriage proposal". The Standard-Times . September 25, 2007. Retrieved February 17, 2023.
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