Patrick Berry

Last updated

Patrick Berry
Born1970 (age 53–54)
Occupations
  • Puzzle creator
  • puzzle editor
  • author
Years active1993–present
Website aframegames.com

Patrick D. Berry (born 1970) is an American puzzle creator and editor who constructs crossword puzzles and variety puzzles. He had 227 crosswords published in The New York Times from 1999 to 2018. His how-to guide for crossword construction was first published as a For Dummies book in 2004. One of the most revered constructors of his time, [1] [2] [3] Berry has been called the "Thomas Pynchon of crosswords". [4] [5]

Contents

Career

Berry grew up in Boca Raton, Florida, and often solved Dell Magazines variety puzzles and tried to write his own crosswords in his youth. [6] [7] He discovered cryptic crosswords in 1992 and had his first cryptic constructing effort accepted by Games magazine. [6] His first published variety puzzle appeared in Games's April 1993 issue. [7] [8]

Berry continued writing puzzles for outlets such as The New Yorker , Harper's Magazine , and the American Crossword Federation's Tough Cryptics newsletter. [6] He invented several variety puzzle formats, such as Rows Garden, Some Assembly Required, Boxing Rings, and Snake Charmer. [4] [7] [9] After the publishing house he worked for shut down in late 1997, he became a full-time "freelance puzzler" ("a very dubious career choice"). [6] [7] He began constructing and editing American-style crosswords for Games World of Crosswords, a sister publication of Games, on a freelance basis. [6] [7] His first New York Times crossword was published on Friday, September 17, 1999. [10]

Wiley, the publisher of the For Dummies book series, approached Berry around 2003 to write a book of crossword puzzles; Berry wanted the book to include a how-to guide on crossword construction, an idea that Wiley approved. [3] [11] Crossword Puzzle Challenges for Dummies, marketed more as a puzzle book than as a resource for aspiring constructors, was published in March 2004. [3] [11] After it had gone out of print, Berry reacquired the rights, updated it, and republished it as a PDF ebook, the Crossword Constructor's Handbook, in 2015. [4] [11] [12]

Most of Berry's 227 crosswords for the Times—published from 1999 to 2018—were themelesses or Sundays. [10] [13] He constructed a six-puzzle meta suite (a series of related puzzles) for the week of October 17, 2011, at the request of editor Will Shortz. [14] [15] He has regularly written variety puzzles for The Wall Street Journal and formerly edited the Chronicle of Higher Education crossword. [4] [8] He began writing weekly novelty word puzzles for the New York Times variety page in 2015 and has been on The New Yorker's puzzle roster since 2018. [16] [17] Puzzle suites are occasionally released on his website, A-Frame Games. [7]

Berry was awarded the Merl Reagle MEmoRiaL Award "for lifetime achievement in crossword construction" at the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament in 2021. [18]

Personal life

As of 2018, Berry lives in an A-frame house in Athens, Georgia. [7] [9]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crossword</span> Grid-based word puzzle

A crossword is a word game consisting of a grid of black and white squares, into which solvers enter words or phrases ("entries") crossing each other horizontally ("across") and vertically ("down") according to a set of clues. Each white square is typically filled with one letter, while the black squares are used to separate entries. The first white square in each entry is typically numbered to correspond to its clue.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cryptic crossword</span> Multifaceted crossword puzzle

A cryptic crossword is a crossword puzzle in which each clue is a word puzzle. Cryptic crosswords are particularly popular in the United Kingdom, where they originated, as well as Ireland, the Netherlands, and in several Commonwealth nations, including Australia, Canada, India, Kenya, Malta, New Zealand, and South Africa. Compilers of cryptic crosswords are commonly called setters in the UK and constructors in the US. Particularly in the UK, a distinction may be made between cryptics and quick crosswords, and sometimes two sets of clues are given for a single puzzle grid.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Will Shortz</span> American puzzle creator and editor (born 1952)

William F. Shortz is an American puzzle creator and editor who is the crossword editor for The New York Times. He graduated from Indiana University with a degree in the invented field of enigmatology. After starting his career at Penny Press and Games magazine, he was hired by The New York Times in 1993. Shortz's American Crossword Puzzle Tournament is the country's oldest and largest crossword tournament.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American Crossword Puzzle Tournament</span>

The American Crossword Puzzle Tournament (ACPT) is a crossword-solving tournament held annually in February, March, or April. 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 2023 event set an attendance record with more than 750 competitors.

<i>The New York Times</i> crossword Daily American-style crossword puzzle

The New York Times crossword is a daily American-style crossword puzzle published in The New York Times, syndicated to more than 300 other newspapers and journals, and released online on the newspaper's website and mobile apps as part of The New York Times Games.

Crosswordese is the group of words frequently found in US crossword puzzles but seldom found in everyday conversation. The words are usually short, three to five letters, with letter combinations which crossword constructors find useful in the creation of crossword puzzles, such as words that start and/or end with vowels, abbreviations consisting entirely of consonants, unusual combinations of letters, and words consisting almost entirely of frequently used letters. Such words are needed in almost every puzzle to some extent. Too much crosswordese in a crossword puzzle is frowned upon by crossword-makers and crossword enthusiasts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Margaret Farrar</span> Journalist and crossword puzzle editor

Margaret Petherbridge Farrar was an American journalist and the first crossword puzzle editor for The New York Times (1942–1968). Creator of many of the rules of modern crossword design, she compiled and edited a long-running series of crossword puzzle books – including the first book of any kind that Simon & Schuster published (1924). She was considered "the grand dame of the American crossword puzzle."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Merl Reagle</span>

Merl Harry Reagle was an American crossword constructor. For 30 years, he constructed a puzzle every Sunday for the San Francisco Chronicle, which he syndicated to more than 50 Sunday newspapers, including the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Seattle Times, The Plain Dealer, the Hartford Courant, the New York Observer, and the Arizona Daily Star. Reagle also produced crossword puzzles for AARP: The Magazine and the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henry Hook (crossword constructor)</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manny Nosowsky</span> American physician

Manny Nosowsky is a U.S. crossword puzzle creator. A medical doctor by training, he retired from a San Francisco urology practice and, beginning in 1991, has created crossword puzzles that have been published in The New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and many other newspapers. Will Shortz, the crossword puzzle editor for The New York Times, has described Nosowsky as "a national treasure" and included four Nosowsky puzzles in his 2002 book Will Shortz's Favorite Crossword Puzzles. Since Shortz became editor of the Times crossword in November 1993, Nosowsky has published nearly 250 puzzles there, making him by far the most prolific published constructor in the Times. Nosowsky is frequently chosen to produce puzzles for the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brendan Emmett Quigley</span> American crossword constructor (born 1974)

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David Steinberg is a crossword constructor and editor. At 14, he became the then second-youngest published constructor in the New York Times, and at 15, the youngest published constructor in the Los Angeles Times and the youngest known crossword editor ever for a major newspaper.

Bernice Gordon was an American constructor of crosswords. She created puzzles for many publications after beginning her career in the early 1950s, and holds the record as the oldest contributor to The New York Times crossword puzzle. A 1965 Times puzzle she wrote is credited as the first rebus puzzle, fitting an exclamation point into a single square. She celebrated her 100th birthday in 2014, just a few weeks after the 100th anniversary of the crossword. Her last puzzle was published in the Los Angeles Times on December 2, 2014.

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References

  1. ↑ Birnholz, Evan (October 16, 2016). "Evan Birnholz's guide to the Oct. 16 Post Magazine crossword, 'Mind the Gap, Part II'". The Washington Post . Archived from the original on December 19, 2018. Retrieved November 9, 2023. PB1 is one of the greats in the crossword business.
  2. ↑ Raphel, Adrienne (2020). Thinking Inside the Box: Adventures with Crosswords and the Puzzling People Who Can't Live Without Them. Penguin Books. p. 39. ISBN   9780525522102. Patrick Berry, one of the top constructors alive.
  3. 1 2 3 Horne, Jim (November 13, 2010). "Doubleheaders". The New York Times . Archived from the original on November 9, 2023. Retrieved November 8, 2023. Patrick Berry is considered a master of modern word puzzles.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Kassel, Matthew (December 3, 2015). "Patrick Berry Is the Thomas Pynchon of Crosswords". Observer . Archived from the original on November 12, 2023. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
  5. ↑ Reid, Hilary (April 7, 2020). "The Best Crossword Puzzle Books, According to Will Shortz and Other Crossword Obsessives". The Strategist . Archived from the original on November 9, 2023. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 O'Kelly, Kevin (June 12, 1998). "Clued in: Carrboro resident has his ups and downs crafting crossword puzzles". The Chapel Hill News . p. B4–B5. Archived from the original on November 9, 2023. Retrieved November 9, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Amlen, Deb (January 22, 2018). "60 Seconds With Patrick Berry". The New York Times . Archived from the original on November 12, 2023. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
  8. 1 2 Merrell, Patrick (May 20, 2010). "Belmont and Preakness, for Two". The New York Times . Archived from the original on November 9, 2023. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
  9. 1 2 "About Patrick". aframegames.com. Archived from the original on November 9, 2023. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
  10. 1 2 "Patrick Berry author page". XWord Info. Archived from the original on November 9, 2023. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
  11. 1 2 3 Berry, Patrick (2015) [2004]. Crossword Constructor's Handbook . p. 3. Archived from the original on November 9, 2023. Retrieved November 9, 2023.
  12. ↑ Pareene, Alex (March 6, 2023). "I Love And Hate My Stupidly Expensive Crossword Puzzle Device". Defector . Archived from the original on November 9, 2023. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
  13. ↑ Horne, Jim (November 20, 2008). "Friday, Nov. 21, 2008, crossword by Patrick Berry". The New York Times . Archived from the original on November 9, 2023. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
  14. ↑ Amlen, Deb (October 24, 2011). "Inside Patrick Berry's Brain: A Review of the 'Crossing' Words Contest". The New York Times . Archived from the original on November 9, 2023. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
  15. ↑ "Cross Word Contest". XWord Info. Archived from the original on November 9, 2023. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
  16. ↑ Shortz, Will (February 19, 2015). "Good Puzzle News in The New York Times Magazine". The New York Times. Retrieved February 26, 2024.
  17. ↑ Maynes-Aminzade, Liz; Henriquez, Nicholas; Haglund, David (April 5, 2019). "Introducing the Weekend Crossword". The New Yorker . Archived from the original on November 9, 2023. Retrieved November 9, 2023.
  18. ↑ "Annual MEmoRiaL Award". American Crossword Puzzle Tournament. Archived from the original on November 9, 2023. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
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