

Or, maybe you’ll want to stay in the box with your favorite cat.Please keep in mind that similar clues can have different answers that is why we always recommend to check the number of letters. Then, think outside of the box for your clues and answers. If you plan to attempt one, make sure you have the basics down first. Three were published in 2014, and 2018 has already seen two of them.Ĭreating a Schrödinger puzzle is no small feat, but if a creator can pull one off, odds are high it could appear in the New York Times. Of the twelve published in the New York Times, eight were published in the last decade. Interestingly, it seems Schrödinger puzzles are rising in popularity. Maleska, nine different squares have more than one correct answer. The first and only Schrödinger puzzle not edited by Will Shortz was published on Sunday, February 2, 1988. It’s just a good puzzle.”Īs of this writing, the New York Times has published twelve Schrödinger puzzles. While many wondered if this puzzle was a social or political statement in some way, Will Shortz reportedly said, “No, this puzzle is not a response to anything. Not only that, it was the theme of the puzzle. For the first time in New York Times crossword history, the term “gender fluid” appeared. Some who found CLINTON deemed the New York Times presumptuous.Īlmost twenty years later in 2016, Ben Tausing’s puzzle created a similar stir. In fact, solvers who found the BOBDOLE answer called in a misprint. It didn’t matter who actually won the election. The GIF below posted by Reddit user chewpendous and shared by the Daily Dot demonstrates the cleverness.Īs you can see, the answer to the themed clue, “Lead story in tomorrow’s newspaper (!), with 43-Across” could have been CLINTON or BOBDOLE. There are several famous Schrödinger puzzles, but none more famous than Will Shortz’ favorite created by Jeremiah Farrell and published on November 5, 1996, or Election Day. These letters are not interchangeable, though. In a rebus, multiple letters appear in a single square, sometimes forming an entire word.

Keep in mind that this differs from a rebus. Some people also refer to these as “quantum crosswords.” That means an unsolved puzzle has two answers for one clue. In this way, the solver has no way of knowing which answer is “right” until they solved the puzzle. How does that relate to crosswords? A Schrödinger puzzle, then, is a puzzle with answers that could be one answer or another. This means the cat is theoretically both alive and dead. It is used to discuss quantum mechanics, but most people understand it in its simplest terms: if you placed a cat in a box with something deadly, you would have no way of knowing whether it’s alive or dead unless someone opened the box. Many of us have heard of the famous thought experiment devised by Erwin Schrödinger and his theoretical cat. But what is it, and what does it look like? And how popular are they? One type of crossword theme is so clever, it has its own name: a Schrödinger puzzle. While a clever crossword leads solvers to an “Aha!” moment, it can lead creators to publication and fame. More often than not, however, “cleverness” relates to the theme in some way. “Clever” can mean a variety of different things.
#One clue crossword word of the day answers professional#
For cruciverbalists – professional or amateur, creators or solvers – there’s nothing more satisfying than coming along a clever crossword.
