Crossword Puzzles That Rock

One of my aspirations in life is to be able to finish The New York Times Crossword Puzzle without succumbing to a Google search, or phoning a friend. So far, I have yet to achieve that goal. Let’s face it, some of the clues are downright sneaky. When I make a more earnest effort to achieve this goal, it’ll be the Monday edition of The New York Times crossword puzzle I’ll try first. I hear that this is the best bet for crossword neophytes.

The Crossword Puzzle King

One of the benefits of researching topics for Studio 602 is that I get to discover strange and whimsical words like cruciverbalist, which is someone who constructs crossword puzzles. One notable cruciverbalist, Brendan Emmett Quigley, has graced the pages of The New York Times, among other publications, leaving millions of Americans puzzled in his wake. He’s even had his puzzles featured on the game show Jeopardy.

[VIDEO] Brendan Emmett Quigley Crossword Puzzle on Jeopardy

Mr. Crossword Puzzle meets Mr. Blackwing

I first heard of Brendan Emmett Quigley from an interview with Alex Beam, who just happens to be a fan of Blackwing pencils. Alex Beam shared his love for the craftsmanship of this notable pencil in his video entitled, “Better Than an iPad,” which if you haven’t seen it, is worth watching. Alex refers to Brendan as, “Mr. Crossword,” and it’s no surprise that a pencil aficionado and a crossword guru had many interesting things to discuss.

Among the many things they talked about was the fact that Quigley gives away puzzles for free on his website, an idea he attributes to the band Radiohead. Secondly, they discussed how Quigley is making a valiant effort to get young people interested in puzzle solving by including clues and words that are associated with pop culture, which explains why The Boston Globe once wrote an article dubbing Brendan, “The Coolest Cruciverbalist.” The Boston Globe attributes the hipness of the New York Times Crossword Puzzle to, well, Mr. Crossword himself.

Sex, Drugs, and Rock n’ Roll Crosswords

Brendan’s excitement for pop culture and music are no surprise, since Brendan has been a musician for years. This makes the theme for Quigley’s most recent book, “Sex, Drugs, and Rock n’ Roll Crosswords,” an apt choice of words. The collection of puzzles emphasizes his enthusiasm for music by bringing two of his passions together in one book. In fact, no one seems better suited to show the world that a crossword puzzle has the ability to rock than Brendan.

Crossword puzzles may seem like a niche market, but then again so are pencils. In fact, I admire what Brendan is doing. By selling custom crossword puzzles, his books, and keeping The New York Times hip, he’s able to do what he loves, and he even makes an honest buck on top of it all.

Like Brendan, the team here at Pencils.com has taken something that was once a staple of American daily life and reintroduced it to people, reminding them that there’s still great value in something that is made out of wood, or in Brendan’s case, printed on newspaper.

For Brendan, it was taking a passion for making crossword puzzles, crafting clues and combining clever words for readers to uncover that excited him. It was the desire to create something that kept him driven. The Pencils.com team shares that enthusiasm as well, so whether you’re using our pencils to write beautiful words, or solve one of Brendan’s crosswords puzzles, we encourage you to stay creative. Now it’s time to get back to that Monday edition of the The New York Times Crossword Puzzle I was talking about.