This is the March edition of Socialism and the Kitchen Sink: Crossword for Comrades. March’s puzzle follows standard New York Times crossword rules (for any sticklers in the first edition), and continues the theme of queer and feminist clues.
Before starting on the puzzle, here’s a little recommended reading: the Washington Post ran an interview earlier this month, “I’m a Black woman who creates crossword puzzles. That’s rare, but it shouldn’t be.”
Indeed, this community, like most online subculture communities, is ruthless.
Yet, finally, I found some relief. “Must admit to knowing very little about Marcus Garvey.… Thanks to crosswords…for leading me there,” one enthusiast said. When it came to learning the name of a horse racing champion or their jockey, I was more like this last commenter — excited that a puzzle introduced me to something new. This attitude, while seemingly compatible with a love for testing your trivial knowledge, is actually rare in the world of crossword critics.…
“This isn’t a real test of knowledge or intelligence,” I told the constructor I was dating [when I was introduced to crosswords], stubbornly.
“No,” he said. “It’s a game.”