{"id":14726,"date":"2022-12-16T12:47:48","date_gmt":"2022-12-16T17:47:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/?p=14726"},"modified":"2022-12-19T10:44:18","modified_gmt":"2022-12-19T15:44:18","slug":"piscop-puzzlemaster","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/piscop-puzzlemaster\/","title":{"rendered":"Crossword Legend Is Still Puzzling"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"has-large-font-size\">Fred Piscop \u201970 has a new wordplay book out\u2014and he has created a Big Red-themed crossword just for you!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>By <strong>Lindsay Lennon<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-drop-cap\">Turning a pastime into a profession is a fantasy for most. Puzzlemaster Fred Piscop \u201970\u2014who was in his 40s and working as a computer support technician when he started creating crosswords on the side\u2014is the epitome of that lofty dream.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p> \u201cIn 1995, I got laid off and said, \u2018To hell with this. I\u2019ve had it with the nine-to-five. I\u2019m just going to make puzzles for a living from now on,\u2019\u201d Piscop recalls, speaking from his home office on his native Long Island. \u201cAnd very luckily, I was able to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Piscop started out creating cryptics, a tricky British style of puzzle that\u2019s still his favorite to solve. In fact, he wrote the definitive book on it\u2014<em>Cryptic Crosswords and How to Solve Them<\/em>\u2014in 1998.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But his r\u00e9sum\u00e9 is heavy on conventional American-style crosswords. He made his <em>New York Times <\/em>debut in 1993 in the paper\u2019s first-ever weekday crossword to carry a constructor byline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns alignwide is-style-default is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-9d6595d7 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>He has edited crosswords at <em>USA Today <\/em>and the <em>Washington Post<\/em> and contributes to <em>Newsday<\/em>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He appeared in <em>Wordplay<\/em>, the 2006 documentary about crossword diehards, and has published several crossword books. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Thanks to a referral from puzzle legend Will Shortz, he even nabbed a commission from comedian Jon Stewart, who proposed to his now-wife in a custom crossword.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Now, nearly three decades in, Piscop\u2019s gaze has shifted to his diverse vault of styles with the release of his latest collection, <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.unionsquareandco.com\/9781454944652\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">The Healthy Brain Book of Word Puzzles<\/a><\/em>\u2014as well as the popular \u201cSplit Decisions\u201d game he\u2019s created for the <em>Times <\/em>since 2013<em>.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-style-link has-cornell-red-background-color has-background\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\">\n\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"933\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/CUSoonGrid-933x1024.jpg\" alt=\"The blank grid of a crossword puzzle\" class=\"wp-image-14806\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/CUSoonGrid-933x1024.jpg 933w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/CUSoonGrid-273x300.jpg 273w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/CUSoonGrid-768x843.jpg 768w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/CUSoonGrid-632x694.jpg 632w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/CUSoonGrid-316x347.jpg 316w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/CUSoonGrid-400x439.jpg 400w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/CUSoonGrid-200x220.jpg 200w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/CUSoonGrid-100x110.jpg 100w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/CUSoonGrid.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 933px) 100vw, 933px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"rkv-gutter-bottom-quarter\">Test your brainpower with a Cornell-themed crossword!<\/p>\n\n\n<a  data-e-Disable-Page-Transition=\"true\" class=\"download-link\" title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/download\/14825\/?tmstv=1776943320\" rel=\"nofollow\" id=\"download-link-14825\" data-redirect=\"false\" >\n\t\ud83d\udcc4 C.U. Soon! Crossword<\/a>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:3px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n<a  data-e-Disable-Page-Transition=\"true\" class=\"download-link\" title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/download\/14827\/?tmstv=1776943320\" rel=\"nofollow\" id=\"download-link-14827\" data-redirect=\"false\" >\n\t\ud83d\udd0d C.U. Soon! Large Print<\/a>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:3px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n<a  data-e-Disable-Page-Transition=\"true\" class=\"download-link\" title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/download\/14829\/?tmstv=1776943320\" rel=\"nofollow\" id=\"download-link-14829\" data-redirect=\"false\" >\n\t\u2714 C.U. Soon! Solution<\/a>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>About a third of the new book is devoted to Split Decisions, which challenges solvers to find common letters among word pairs (e.g., \u201c_ _AP_\u201d and \u201c_ _M I_\u201d become ADAPT and ADMIT).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The remainder of the book offers five styles covering a range of tastes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cTwo By Two\u201d features mini \u201ccrisscrosses,\u201d where solvers must fill in a grid with consonants using only vowels as clues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In \u201cClueless Crosswords,\u201d players contend with blank squares to form seven-letter words, with multiple correct possibilities for each word\u2014but only one solution to the grid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text alignwide is-stacked-on-mobile is-style-offset\"><figure class=\"wp-block-media-text__media\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"500\" src=\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/piscop-puzzle-book-A.jpg\" alt=\"The cover of the Healthy Brain Book of Word Puzzles\" class=\"wp-image-14913 size-full\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/piscop-puzzle-book-A.jpg 500w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/piscop-puzzle-book-A-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/piscop-puzzle-book-A-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/piscop-puzzle-book-A-316x316.jpg 316w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/piscop-puzzle-book-A-400x400.jpg 400w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/piscop-puzzle-book-A-200x200.jpg 200w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/piscop-puzzle-book-A-100x100.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/figure><div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<p>For word jumble fans, \u201cMixagrams\u201d feature sets of four- and five-letter words mixed up in correct letter order (e.g., SHOELUPIX = HELIX and SOUP) which come together to answer the puzzle\u2019s punny title question.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Similarly, in \u201cDouble Exposure,\u201d solvers use common words among columns of letters to form phrases at the end. And cruciverbalists who love hints might enjoy \u201cBits and Pieces,\u201d where sets of connected letters share crossword-esque clues.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Every type of game in <em>The Healthy Brain Book<\/em> was invented by Piscop\u2019s childhood teacher, George Bredehorn, who led an experimental accelerated class at the local public school that covered fourth, fifth, and sixth grades in two years. (Piscop entered at age 8.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI learned to think creatively,\u201d Piscop recalls. \u201cGeorge kind of chucked all the standard curriculum and gave us more immediate, mind-expanding stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The new book is Piscop\u2019s latest effort to expand the Split Decisions brand. An app is in the works, and he also shares occasional puzzles on <a href=\"https:\/\/split-decisions.us\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">his website<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But despite his broadening wordplay contributions, Piscop remains a celebrated creator of conventional crosswords\u2014including monthly bonus puzzles for <em>Times <\/em>subscribers where, he says, \u201cI cram in as much themed content as I can.\u201d (November\u2019s \u201cCarving the Turkey\u201d had 38 \u201ccarve\u201d-related clues.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:10px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-heading\">Piscop Puzzles: A Sampling<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<section aria-label=\"Image Carousel\" class=\"wp-block-rkv-carousel rkv-swiper swiper\"><div class=\"alignfull swiper-buttons\"><div class=\"swiper-button-prev\"><\/div><div class=\"swiper-button-next\"><\/div><\/div><div class=\"swiper-wrapper\"><figure class=\"rkv-carousel__image swiper-slide\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/Split-Decisions-sample-A.jpg\" alt=\"A split decisions puzzle\" data-src=\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/Split-Decisions-sample-A.jpg\" \/><\/figure><figure class=\"rkv-carousel__image swiper-slide\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/Mixagrams-sample-A.jpg\" alt=\"Two samples of Mixagrams puzzles\" data-src=\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/Mixagrams-sample-A.jpg\" \/><\/figure><figure class=\"rkv-carousel__image swiper-slide\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/Clueless-Crosswords-sample-A.jpg\" alt=\"two samples of &quot;clueless crosswords&quot;\" data-src=\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/Clueless-Crosswords-sample-A.jpg\" \/><\/figure><\/div><div class=\"swiper-pagination\"><\/div><\/section>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\"><em>These sample puzzles\u2014intended for illustrative purposes only\u2014are reprinted with permission of the publisher from <\/em>The Healthy Brain Book of Word Puzzles<em> by Fred Piscop (Puzzlewright, October 2022).<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:10px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>While Piscop leans into themes as a crossword creator, he\u2019s indifferent toward them as a solver. One of his favorites is the themeless <em>Newsday <\/em>\u201cSaturday Stumper\u201d\u2014which, he opines, is harder than the <em>Times<\/em>\u2019 Saturday crossword.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And for his daily \u201cgo-to solve\u201d\u2014a morning ritual alongside coffee and oatmeal\u2014Piscop turns to the <em>Guardian <\/em>and his old flame: the British cryptic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Top: Photo by Uli Seit<\/em>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Editor\u2019s note: The \u201cC.U. Later!\u201d crossword is a .pdf file and is intended for downloading in order to print and complete by hand. As such, it does not meet WCAG web accessibility standards.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">Published December 16, 2022<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\" \/>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Fred Piscop \u201970 has a new wordplay book out\u2014and he has created a Big Red-themed crossword just for you!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":68,"featured_media":14912,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"alumni_hub_syml_posts":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[229],"tags":[],"cornell_year_post":[457],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-14726","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumni","cornell_year_post-457"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Crossword Legend Is Still Puzzling - Cornellians | Cornell University<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Fred Piscop \u201970 has a new wordplay book out\u2014and he has created a Big Red-themed crossword just for you!\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/piscop-puzzlemaster\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Crossword Legend Is Still Puzzling - Cornellians | Cornell University\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Fred Piscop \u201970 has a new wordplay book out\u2014and he has created a Big Red-themed crossword just for you!\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/piscop-puzzlemaster\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Cornellians | Cornell University\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Cornellians\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-12-16T17:47:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-12-19T15:44:18+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/piscop-credit-Uli-Seit-A.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"900\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Beth Saulnier\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@WeCornellians\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@WeCornellians\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Beth Saulnier\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/alumni.cornell.edu\\\/cornellians\\\/piscop-puzzlemaster\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/alumni.cornell.edu\\\/cornellians\\\/piscop-puzzlemaster\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Beth Saulnier\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/alumni.cornell.edu\\\/cornellians\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/32fea64e8c64bb984ed5809675634100\"},\"headline\":\"Crossword Legend Is Still Puzzling\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-12-16T17:47:48+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-12-19T15:44:18+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/alumni.cornell.edu\\\/cornellians\\\/piscop-puzzlemaster\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":732,\"commentCount\":4,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/alumni.cornell.edu\\\/cornellians\\\/piscop-puzzlemaster\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/alumni.cornell.edu\\\/cornellians\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2022\\\/12\\\/piscop-credit-Uli-Seit-A.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Alumni\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/alumni.cornell.edu\\\/cornellians\\\/piscop-puzzlemaster\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/alumni.cornell.edu\\\/cornellians\\\/piscop-puzzlemaster\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/alumni.cornell.edu\\\/cornellians\\\/piscop-puzzlemaster\\\/\",\"name\":\"Crossword Legend Is Still Puzzling - 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